Category Archives: Uncategorized

A beginner’s guide to decorating

Posted on November 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

INVEST IN THE ESSENTIALS “I always tell people who are decorating their first apartments that it is important to spend money on the bigger-ticket items, like sofas, beds and dining tables,” said the interior designer Sheila Bridges. “You can always accessorize with inexpensive things like toss pillows, bedding and lighting to pull everything together.” Investment pieces — like that little black dress or the perfect-fitting blazer in your wardrobe — will act as a foundation you can build on.

MAKE SURE YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU If this is your first place, “it is likely that you will move in the next few years,” Ms. Bridges said. A well-made sofa or bed can go with you, but you’re not going to take the wallpaper. Likewise, it doesn’t make sense to splurge on custom curtains that won’t fit the windows in your next home.

Art, on the other hand, “will make a huge impact on your space and can be brought with you from apartment to apartment,” said Megan Opel, an interior designer at Laurel & Wolf, an online design service. “I advise splurging on original paintings from your favorite artists, because nothing will make a space feel more like you than personally curated art.”

But it doesn’t have to cost a lot. “Custom framing can take any hand-me-down or thrift-store find from trash to treasure,” said Kimberly Winthrop, a senior designer at Laurel & Wolf, who recommends Framebridge.com for “affordable and quick custom framing.”

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5 tips for millennials ready to buy a home

Posted on November 4, 2016 | Leave a comment

Seek to reduce your debts with extra income.

According to the latest Federal Reserve statistics, overall consumer debt, including car loans, is now relatively stable. But student loan debt continues to soar and now approaches $1 trillion.

For anyone seeking to progress financially, cutting debt — including credit card balances — is an absolute must.

”The interest rates charged on most credit cards are ridiculously high. All that interest can eat you alive,” Blankenship says.

Unfortunately, many 20-somethings make only enough money to meet necessary living expenses. They’re very limited in their capacity to pay off debt or generate savings for a down payment. Given this reality, Blankenship recommends that would-be buyers consider augmenting their income.

”Think about taking a second job. Or try to get overtime at your regular job, assuming overtime is available,” he says.

Conserve funds by limiting your wedding costs.

Kristin Meador, a real estate broker who often works with young buyers, wrote a book designed to help clients save substantial amounts on their wedding costs, ”How to Have a Wedding Without Spending a Dime: Or at Least Very Little.”

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San Diego-Housing price climb lukewarm

Posted on November 1, 2016 | Leave a comment

Prices grew modestly in San Diego County’s housing market in August, capping a slow summer, said the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices released Tuesday.

Adjusted for seasonal variation, the regional index of home prices was 5.8 percent higher in August compared to a year ago. However, compared to July, the market appreciated by .21 percent, or an annual rate of just 2.5 percent, continuing a pattern that began in June.

Most of the year’s price increases came early in the year, beginning with an annual rate of growth of 12.9 percent in January.

The housing markets of Los Angeles and Orange counties followed a similar path, with prices also increasing 5.8 percent year-over-year in August. San Francisco’s market was strongest in California, increasing 6.7 percent in the same time period.