Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Curtain Alternatives to Dress Your Windows Looking to dress your windows with something other than curtains? The following ideas are fun, great for creative expression and relatively inexpensive. Screens.  These thin, partially transparent screens can be pulled down when you need them and still let some light through. Bright frames.  Don’t want any type of coverage but looking for a color pop? Paint bright wooden frames (think pictures frames) and fit them around your window for flare. Canopies.  Instead of hanging curtains on a rod, fix two long sheaths of fabric from a bed crown hung above the window and then draw them back like curtains. This looks particularly lovely behind a bed. Beads.  Grab a funky beaded curtain, available in all shapes and sizes—a great addition to a kid’s bedroom or playroom. Frosted glass.  If you’re looking at a room with windows that always need covering—l

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Top Benefits of Having Kids Share a Room If you have or plan to have children and you’re shopping for a new home, one of the most important deciding factors will likely be the number of bedrooms. While many parents seek out homes that are large enough for each child to have his or her own room, some choose to have their children share bedrooms because of the clear benefits. It Teaches Important Social Skills Sharing a bedroom with a sibling teaches kids respect. Children who share rooms have to learn to respect each other’s belongings, space, and need for peace and quiet. They need to learn to clean up after themselves, to share possessions, to respect each other’s privacy and to keep the noise level down so a sibling can study or sleep. Respect for others will be valuable when children go off to college and share a room with a new roommate or when they live with a spouse or partner in

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties 5 Ways to Pick the Perfect Color Scheme If you’re revamping your interior design scheme, you may be considering a new color palette. Should you go with earthy hues? Vibrant jewel tones? Cool blues and grays? Below are five ways to pick a color scheme that will work for you. Choose from what you have.  If you’re not revamping with an entirely new furniture set, then you may want to pick a color from what you already have. A boldly patterned sofa or floor rug can serve as a jumping off point. Start with three . If you’re feeling overwhelmed with options, choose three colors you love and keep it to there, with one as your main color, another as your secondary and a third for accents. (Four if you count white, which is more of a neutral). Base with black . If you can tie black into your color scheme, you’ll always have something easy (and versatile) to return to. No need to get macabre—thi

Sometimes, as people approach the inevitable, they start trying to get their things "in order".   They may even have a will, but they decide to transfer title to real estate prior to their death which could be an unnecessary expense for the would-be heir. Generally, when property is passed through direction of a will, the heir will receive a stepped-up basis which means that the fair market value of the property at the time of death becomes the cost basis for the heir.   If the property were sold for that fair market value, there would be no gain and no capital gains tax due. However, if the property is gifted prior to death of the donor, along with the title to the property comes the cost basis of the property.   The transfer of title does not trigger the capital gains tax but when the property is sold, the gain is calculated by subtracting the basis from the sales price leaving a capital gain subject to tax.   In other words, the person receiving the gift does not get t

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties How to Choose the Right Kitchen Sink In the wide world of kitchen décor, the sink is rarely a star. Sandwiched between the granite countertops and the kitchen backsplash, it is perhaps the last thing homeowners think about. But considering how often we use it, and the different chores we use it for, the sink deserves a considered choice. Kitchen design consultants at HGTV provide kitchen sink basics to think about: Size and Shape   Classic Farmhouse A large, single-basin sink, this classic design works well if you plan to use it for multiple chores beyond washing dishes, such as cleaning over-sized pots, pans and baking sheets, or bathing dogs or babies. More common is the double farmhouse sink, with two basins of equal size.   Traditional Double Sink With two basins of different size, these allow the user to prep in the smaller size and clean up in the larger one, or separately wash s

Mortgage insurance benefits the lender if a borrower with less than a 20% down payment defaults on their loan.   Most conventional mortgages greater than 80% and all FHA loans require the borrower to have this coverage. Private mortgage insurance on conventional loans can range from 0.5% to 2.25% based on the loan-to-value and the credit worthiness of the borrower.   A $350,000 mortgage would have a monthly mortgage insurance premium of $146 a month at the low-end of the scale and over $600 on the high-end. You may request that your mortgage servicer cancel the PMI when the principal balance reaches 80% of the original value at the time the loan was made.   You should have received a PMI disclosure form when you signed the mortgage documents stating the date.   If you have made additional principal contributions, it will accelerate the date. Other criteria considered to cancel the PMI on your loan is: The request must be in writing. You must be current on your payme

  Information brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Changing Up the Flooring? How to Remove Carpet Glue If you’ve recently moved into a new home, you might decide to change out the carpets in the house either to expose the wood flooring underneath or to add in a newer rug or carpet design. The challenge is, once you start ripping out the carpet, you’ll notice glue marks that are stuck due to years of working to keep the carpet in place. These problematic remnants are often more challenging to get rid of than the actual carpet itself. Thankfully, some elbow grease combined with the following basic DIY instructions will help. Are you an expert on glue? Probably not, which is why you need to figure out the type of glue you are dealing with before you begin. You see, there’s a bunch of different carpet glues and removing the various kinds requires different solutions and steps. In the simplest terms, tar-based adhesives are dark brown or tan,