6 Questions to Ask Before You Add SQ. FT to your home

1.Should you build an extension or move to a bigger house?

“People tend to go for extensions because they like where they live, they like the neighbours, the kids have grown up in the area and selling and moving has its own costs with stamp duties, buying and selling and relocation costs,” Robert Drechsel, director of Sherbrooke Design and Construction in Melbourne, says. “You can spend $150,000 before you even get something. That’s a good foot in the door to getting what you want in an extension,” Drechsel adds.

2. What is your budget? Continue reading

25 Home Items Worth Investing In

1. Mattress

We spend 25 years of our lives sleeping (!), so a good mattress is a must have…There is no one mattress that works for everyone. When picking out the right mattress for you, take into consideration things such as body type, lifestyle and the way you sleep (whether it’s on your back, stomach or side).

2. Pendant lights

Try to find locally designed and built light fittings which help tie your home to its location, as opposed to more mass produced options which show up in homes worldwide and thus possess a fair bit less personality…Similar to a table, they help establish the personality of a space and thus become a big communicator of the personality of the occupants.

3. Bed linen

There is lots of really cheap bed linen on the market, but spending just a little bit more can go a long way. Consider thread-count for softness and material depending on the time of the year. For instance, natural fibres including silk and cotton blends are ideal for hot summer nights.”

read more at: http://www.domain.com.au/advice/25-home-items-worth-investing-in-20160205-gmmm96/

 

New mortgage companies have ties with subprime lenders

LOS ANGELES — PennyMac, AmeriHome Mortgage and Stearns Lending have several things in common.

All are among the nation’s largest mortgage lenders — and none are banks. They’re part of a growing class of alternative lenders that now extend more than 4 in 10 home loans.

All are headquartered in Southern California, the epicenter of the last decade’s subprime-lending industry. And all are run by former executives of Countrywide Financial, the once-giant mortgage lender that made tens of billions of dollars in risky loans that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
This time, the executives say, will be different.

Unlike their subprime forebears, the firms maintain that they adhere to strict new lending standards to protect against mass defaults.

Still, some observers worry as housing markets heat up across the country and in Southern California, where prices are up by a third since 2012.

read more at: http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/new-mortgage-companies-have-ties-with-subprime-lenders/

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