Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

Rents going up may not be pleasant to hear for tenants, but it could be music to your ears if you are an investor. The recent CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index, April 2021 , showed a 5.3% increase in national rent year over year which doubled the increase experienced in April 2020.   This is the largest annual rent price increase in nearly 15 years. Interestingly, detached rentals are experiencing an even higher growth rate of 7.9% year over year compared to the 2.2% annual rate for attached rentals.   This is supported by the CoreLogic report that half of millennials and 2/3 of baby boomers "strongly prefer to live in a single, stand-alone home." From an investor's point of view, single-family rentals offer large loan-to-value mortgages at fixed interest rated for long terms on appreciating assets with definite tax advantages and reasonable control.   Rentals are considered to be the IDEAL investment because if offers income to offset the carrying cost of the in...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties How to Protect Your Identity Online Protecting your identity online requires more than just ignoring spam emails from unknown senders, especially when it comes to using WiFi. Whether at home or in public, most people nowadays use wireless networks to save data on their phone plans or avoid spotty internet connections. However, this convenience comes at a risk. If you’re not careful, hackers might access your WiFi connection and compromise sensitive information stored on your device and in online accounts. To help keep your information secure no matter where you’re surfing the web, the Federal Communications Commission offers the following tips: Public WiFi When in public places, such as a coffee shop, check the validity of WiFi hotspots. If more than one hotspot appears claiming to belong to the establishment you’re in, check with the staff to avoid connecting to an imposter networ...

An interesting homeownership cycle begins with a starter home and progresses to larger and smaller homes throughout a person's lifetime.   Within a few years after purchasing their initial home, they might move up to a little larger house.   The reasons could be that they simply want a larger home and can afford it, or their increased family size may be motivating the move. While the children are small, they can probably get by with less space but as they grow and behave more like adults, even though they may not be, the need for more room becomes more pressing.   Depending on the size of the family, this will last some time and then, as they go off to college, enter the work force and find their own living space, the parents may find that they no longer need the larger home.   In the interest of saving money or possibly convenience, they migrate from a larger home to a smaller home until they consider an assisted living facility or possibly, a nursing home. ...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Signs That Your House Has an HVAC Problem You rely on the HVAC system to keep your house at a comfortable temperature year-round. It can be easy to take it for granted until a problem arises, and you come home to a freezing house in the winter or a sweltering house in the summer. Knowing common signs of an HVAC problem and when to call a professional can help you avoid extreme temperatures and astronomical utility bills. Strange Smells You might notice an unusual odor. If you turned on the heat or air conditioning after it had been off for several months, there could be a slight burning smell. That is normal and should disappear within a day. If the odor lingers longer than that, there could be a problem with the system that needs to be diagnosed and repaired by an HVAC technician. If your home has gas heat and you smell rotten eggs, there could be a natural gas leak. Turn off the ...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties 10 Laundry Tips to Cut Your Energy Bill Did you know that laundry machines are among the costliest appliances in your home to operate because of their high energy usage? Given that many families clean multiple loads of clothes every week, taking steps to be more efficient in the laundry room might help lower your overall power bill. The U.S. Department of Energy offers the following tips: 1. Use cold water.  Using warm water instead of hot can cut a load’s energy use in half, and using cold water will save even more. Cold-water detergents can be helpful to ensure items get clean, and high-efficiency detergents (indicated by the “HE” symbol) should be used when required by the manufacturer. 2. Wash full loads.  Your washer will use about the same amount of energy no matter the size of the load, so fill it up. 3. Air dry when possible.  Hang laundry outside or on a dry...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Hidden Dangers in Your Backyard A backyard can be an excellent place to let your kids and pets play and to entertain guests, but it could also be filled with hazards. One trip or a curious child or pet could lead to an accident and serious injuries, as well. Water Pools and hot tubs may look appealing to kids, but they can be deadly. Ponds, lakes and streams can also pose a threat to your family. Even if kids only sneak outside unsupervised for a minute, they can drown, even in shallow water. If you have a pool or hot tub in your yard and you have young children who live with you or visit, install a fence with a locking gate around it or cover the water when not in use. If there is any natural body of water in your yard, put up a fence to keep your kids away. Never leave a child unattended in or around a body of water, even for a few seconds. Gardens Gardens can be beautiful to loo...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties 4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Taking on a DIY Project If you’re handy around the house, the thought of tackling a variety of home improvement projects with your own two hands might have crossed your mind a time or two. But before you dig into a DIY project, it’s important to consider some factors beyond your ability to do the job right. You’ll also want to consider the cost of all the tools and materials needed, as well as the amount of time you’ll need to devote to the project. Here are four important questions to ask yourself before attacking a DIY project at home: How complex is it? You may know how to hang drywall and install a kitchen sink, but do you really want to do everything that’s required in a complete kitchen makeover? The bigger and more complex a project is, the greater the chance that it might be too much work for one person. You may need to hire a few professi...

Some homeowners who could not afford to make their mortgage payments this past year have been relieved to find out that their mortgage servicer or lender allowed them to pause or possibly, reduce their payments for a limited period.   While it does relieve the financial pressure, it is a temporary remedy. About 2/3 of the people who entered forbearance during the pandemic have exited the program.   There are only a little over two million homeowners remaining in forbearance. It is important for owners who find that they cannot make the payments on their mortgage to contact their lender and request a forbearance.   If you stop making mortgage payments without a forbearance agreement, the servicer will report this information to the credit reporting companies, and it can have a lasting negative impact on your credit history.   Without going through that process, the lender assumes you are delinquent, and protections afforded under forbearance may not apply. Forbe...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Protecting Kids From Identity Theft Protecting children is a constant responsibility for parents and guardians alike, and many are unaware that they also need to be protected from identity theft. Identity thieves often apply for government benefits, open bank and credit card accounts, and apply for a loan in the name of the victim, even a child. They often do this long before the child is old enough to open a credit card themselves, destroying a child’s credit history. If your child is getting mail such as bills for products they didn’t receive, an IRS notice that income taxes haven’t been paid, or you or your child are turned down for government benefits because the benefits are being paid to another account linked to your child’s Social Security Number, then they may be the victim of identity theft. To protect them, make sure you’re not carrying around their birth certificate or ...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties 4 Ways to Slash Utility Bills With a DIY Energy Audit Fixing a few of your home’s most likely trouble spots can improve energy efficiency and save you a bundle on utility bills. Consumer editors at  ThisOldHouse.com  provide a starting point for your DIY energy audit: Drafty Windows On a windy day, close all windows and exterior doors, as well as the chimney flue damper. Light a stick of incense, move it around the perimeter of each window and watch for air that stirs the rise of smoke. If you find a culprit, scrape out any cracked or dried caulk on the outside where the casing meets the siding. Apply a fresh bead of paintable acrylic latex, such as DAP’s Alex Plus. For doors, add new weather stripping. The work may shave off up to $20 from your annual bill for each window and door you weatherize. Damaged Fireplace Damper Up to 20 percent of your home’s warmed air can be ...

Even in the current, low inventory housing market, sellers are resisting the urge to sell it themselves and still seeking the help of a real estate professional.   It may be more important than ever and there is too much at stake to risk going it alone. The number of people attempting to sell on their own has been in steady decline since 2003 from 14% to 8% in the latest Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers produced by the National Association of REALTORS®. The most frequently mentioned difficulties that owners who decided to sell it without the benefit of an agent included preparing the home for sale, understanding, and performing the paperwork, getting the price right and selling it within the length of time planned.   Another commonly cited challenge was having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale. The other nine out of ten homeowners who are selling are many times faced with the question: "How do I determine which agent to use?"   In some situation...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Household Items You Should Sell and Not Throw Out A cleaning binge or a simple walk through your house can turn up all kinds of items that you may want to toss in the garbage. Throwing them away, however, could be like throwing money away. With a little effort, you could sell various household items online, at local consignment shops or during a garage sale, among other options. Below are some used items that probably take up extra space in your home, but could net you some cash: Electronics Old cellphones, computers, tablets and other electronic devices can have too short a lifespan and fill up a drawer or clutter a room fast. Websites such as Amazon, Gazelle and Decluttr buy old electronics, possibly paying $100 or so to help you buy the next gadget you want. To get the best price, cellphones should be in working order with no major cracks or other damage and with only some light...

Ask any real estate agent and they will tell you a similar sad story.   The seller, whose home just hit the market, received an offer which was less than the list price, but felt secure their home would sell quickly and countered for more.   For whatever reason, the buyer did not continue to negotiate and moved on. After a week or two and no other offers, the seller instructed the listing agent to contact the buyer's agent and say that the seller had reconsidered and would now accept their original offer. However, the initial enthusiasm the buyer had was gone and they were looking elsewhere. This is a story that frequently happens across America, in all price ranges.   The lesson to be learned is that sometimes, the first offer is the best.   Consider the rationale, a home is fresh on the market and buyers, especially the ones who have lost bids on other homes, act quickly to hopefully avoid some of the competition. When an offer is not accepted, it voids the o...