Decorating Wednesday!

I'm in a Contemporary Mood Today. Here are a couple ideas. These are also great concepts for staging your home for sale.

Until Next Time,

Ebbie

Decorating Wednesday!

Decorating Wednesday!

With the holidays coming up a Planter with Red Plants makes a beautiful simple easy outside decor.

Sometimes I just really like simplicity.  This is a perfect example for the on stop type to hang everyone's winter coats from the blistery cold winter we are having.

Underneath these rich colored cabinetry are mounted lights giving that warm inviting glow for any Chef in the Kitchen. Pretty inviting right???

That time of year where everyone is bringing out the Red Wines for their Holiday Christmas Parties and Family Dinners!! Love the way you can store your wine and the uniqueness of the stools!

I love a long gorgeous table. The more the merrier! We love having company over!!

Again, the perfect man cave or after that thanksgiving turkey where everyone gets sleepy. Have your own personal Home Theater instead of going out in the cold!!!

End the night surrounded by family whether playing cards on the table, or charades in the couch area. Who doesn't love games???!!

Until next time and have a wonderful warm Happy Thanksgiving,

Ebbie

TV TUESDAY! Lake News

Was My Home A Good Investment?

Here is a interesting Calculator on Home Rate of Return:

Link to use Calculator: http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/home-rate-of-return/

Until Next Time,

Ebbie

Buy new or remodel?

The decision to buy new or remodel depends on a number of factors, some financial and some not — and ultimately, only you can decide what answer makes the most sense for you. That said, I'm leaning towards the new purchase.

Let's look at some of the issues to consider:

1. Cost per square foot: Although figuring the cost per square foot is an imperfect exercise at best, since it doesn't account for variations in floor plans and materials, it's worth doing the math (price divided by square footage). The bigger house is less expensive at $143.47 per square foot, versus $147.36 per square foot for the smaller one (after it's been expanded to 1,900 square feet).

What's your home worth?

2. Transaction and moving costs: You need to compare the costs of refinancing — and perhaps renting a place to stay while the remodeling takes place — versus the costs of buying new and moving. An online calculator can help you compare these expenses. An interesting one that not only allows you to compare costs but also asks questions to help you sort out your "gut feelings" towards remodeling versus moving can be found at RemodelOrMove.com.

Keep in mind that costs for loans and moving tend to fall into line with budget projections, while remodeling costs often exceed them, swelled by change orders, delays in delivering materials and unexpected problems that crop up during construction, like leaky pipes that are discovered when the drywall is removed.

3. Age and obsolescence: Although you don't say how old each house is, you need to take their relative ages into account, because that can make a difference in the eyes of future buyers. How much depends on the actual age of each house. For instance, if the larger house is 15 years old, and your current house is 20 years old, there may not be much of a qualitative difference between the two in most buyers' eyes. But if you only plan to put an addition on your home, it won't be competitive with a house that's five years old or less, and won't appreciate as quickly. A house that's new will have an updated floor plan, a current kitchen and bath, and materials, fixtures and finishes that have yet to see much wear and tear — well worth the $50 extra you'll pay per month on the loan.

4. The economy: You may get bargain rates from remodelers trying to keep their businesses in the black during a tough economy (though $33 a square foot for a 750-square-foot addition seems awfully low). But as home prices continue to fall, many people are seeing their home-equity lines of credit shrink or get cut off — so don't expect them to be reliable sources of money for a renovation. What's more, most of the measures the government is currently considering to stimulate housing, including mortgage rate buy-downs and tax credits, are targeted towards people who are purchasing homes, not those who are refinancing or remodeling.

The bottom line: If you remodel your house instead of moving, you'll be able to get exactly what you want and will have total control over the final result. But given the costs, uncertainties and hassles of remodeling — and the fact that you have a buyer in hand for your current home — if I were you, I'd trade up.

By June Fletcher, The Wall Street Journal

Until next time,

Ebbie

TV TUESDAY with LAKE TV

Laurie's "Enchanted Village Of The Lights"

Enchanted Village Of The Lights is held every year with beautiful light displays for the Holiday Season.

Opening date this year is November 17th with the last lighting for the season on January 1, 2014. We hope you enjoy it this year. 

Until next time, 
Ebbie

Every Wednesday We Will have {Decorating Wednesdays!}

I am so excited to share with you various ideas and concepts of different layouts on Decorating your home with what we call "Staple Pieces".  "Staple Pieces" are items I like to start off with than go from there and add other pieces of furniture, home decor, and various other items to go off of the Staple piece I work with.

Here are some neat ideas on decorating your home. It DOES NOT have to be costly.  We love clean, cut, and crispy.

No matter where you came from its always lovely to have that one stop for everyone to hang up your Coats, purse, and misc. items. This is one way with many options to do just that right next to the entry way.

Living at lake of the Ozarks we have plenty of Fisherman. Finding a simple item like these Fish Stands will accent any avid Fisherman's Kitchen.

 A "Staple Piece" is usually the main item or furniture you decorate off of. In this one the Couch and Rug are the "staple pieces" and all other furniture/items selected to surround and coordinate it fashionably!

It truly does not take much to accentuate a bare wall with these items creating a "Piece of Simplicity".

The Winter Month is coming and no matter what kind of Fireplace you may have...you can never go wrong with the basic Rocking chairs to cozy up to the fire.

Dining rooms may seem like a daunting task to decorate.  Not so true.  The staple piece is the artwork on the wall. Throw a black table and upholster chairs with the colors off the artwork. Easy Peasy!

Outside Fire Pits are all the Rage these days. Easy to build and do it yourself. Here is a tutorial and easy steps to create your own before the snow comes down!

Click Here!

With that said We wish you a warm and cozy fall.

Until Next Time,

Ebbie

How to prepare on buying your "Dream Home"....

If you’re like everyone else, you dream about buying a house but wake up to the reality of loose-end finances and the overwhelming prospect of a monthly mortgage.

So how to prepare?

1. Check your credit – Requesting a credit report is actually one of the easiest things you can do; clearing fraudulent activity is one of the hardest. That’s why it’s important to check your credit history early in the process if you’re thinking about buying. If you find something negative on your report, it could take months to clear things up. The U.S. government allows for one free report each year from each of the three national credit bureaus – TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Visit annualcreditreport.com for your free reports. It's a great first step.

2. Pay down debt – This might seem like a no-brainer, but banks don’t want to see that you have a whole lot of stuff and not a whole lot of money. Banks need to know you’ll be able to pay their loan first and foremost, and they like to see a high credit score, which debt negatively affects. So start paying off those credit cards, and put off purchasing that new car or making any other major purchases until after you’ve secured a mortgage. Speaking of mortgages…

3. Build a down payment – Conventional wisdom says a down payment should be no less than 20 percent of the home price. A 20-percent down payment is something to shoot for, but it's not necessarily required or entirely realistic, particularly for first-time homebuyers. A 3.5 percent down payment is the minimum required to secure an FHA loan. So although you might not end up bringing 20 percent to the transaction, you will have to prepare to bring some cash to the transaction.

4. Research neighborhoods – This is where the fun starts. If you’re not sure which part of town you’re looking to live, get out and explore! Drive around, walk the streets, visit the shops and eat in the restaurants. If you don’t see yourself living there, then move on to the next community. And don’t forget to research school districts – even if you don’t have children or don’t have children in public schools. Homes in good school districts move the fastest when it’s time to sell – should that day ever come.

5. Get pre-approved – Unless you’re paying cash, nothing shows a seller you’re ready to buy quite like having a pre-approval letter from a lender. Plus, you’ll know exactly how much you can borrow, which can guide you toward properties in your price range. Plan to secure a pre-approval just before you start looking at homes. Meet with several lenders to determine which company you trust most and which one can offer you the best terms and interest rate. Oftentimes, your real estate agent can provide you the names of reputable lenders.

If we can be any help to you finding your perfect home at the lake, please let us know or call 573-302-2313. Until next time! Ebbie :) 

Dick's Sporting Goods.... Bed Bath & Beyond slated to join Dierbergs in Osage Beach

Dierbergs

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — As Dierbergs Markets opens its doors next week, two national retailers new to the development will be getting their construction plans underway.

Dierbergs confirmed today that DICK’S Sporting Goods and Bed Bath & Beyond will open in the Dierbergs Lakeview Pointe Shopping Center within 11 months.

Dierbergs' new store in the center, 4655 Osage Beach Parkway, is set to open its doors at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

DICK’S Sporting Goods, a full-line sporting goods equipment, apparel and footwear company, plans to open its 34,000-square-foot store in November.

The housewares giant Bed Bath & Beyond, known for excellent customer service, everyday low prices and an extensive breadth and depth of product assortment, will open a 20,000-square-foot store in March 2014.

Two tenants attached to the supermarket, Eyes on Missouri (an optical store) and Great Clips Salon, are scheduled to open in May.  The UPS Store and JJ Twigs Pizza both occupy space within the supermarket and will open for business when Dierbergs cuts its ribbon Wednesday. Dierbergs is still in discussions with a variety of national and local businesses interested in the center’s remaining retail space.

Tracing its roots to a country store founded in Creve Coeur, Mo., in 1854, Dierbergs Markets is a fourth-generation, family-owned chain of 24 supermarkets with more than 4,000 Associates. The company’s 25th store opens April 24 in Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks; it is Dierbergs’ first store outside the metropolitan St. Louis market.

Source: http://lakeexpo.com/news/lake_news/article_8e881e44-a872-11e2-a3cc-001a4bcf887a.html

The Foreclosure Crisis is Drawing To a Close

The number of new foreclosure filings in August hit its lowest level in nearly eight years, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties.

Soaring home prices and a big decline in underwater borrowers -- those who owe more on their mortgage loans than their homes are worth -- have helped drive the trend.

August's initial foreclosure filings fell 44% to 55,575, just below the 56,063 that were recorded in October 2005. The foreclosure crunch began in summer 2006, at about the same time that housing prices hit their peak.

"This is a strong indicator that the crisis is over," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "The foreclosure floodwaters have receded in most parts of the country, although lenders and communities continue to clean up the damage left behind," he added.

The mopping-up process continues, however. In August, for example, the number of homes repossessed by lenders rose 6%, compared with July, to 39,277. But that still represents a drop of 25% year-over-year, and is more than 60% below the peak of repossessions in September, 2010.

The state with the highest rate of foreclosure filings was Nevada, with one for every 359 homes. According to Blomquist, many of those filings had been delayed by recent state legislation there that required lenders to redo their paperwork.

In Florida, one of every 383 homes had some kind of filing, the second highest rate among states. Ohio, Delaware and Maryland filled out the top five.

Florida cities accounted for six of the 10 hardest hit metro areas. Port St. Lucie topped the list, with a filing for one out of every 201 homes. Jacksonville, Miami and Ocala were also hard hit. Las Vegas reported the third highest rate and three Ohio cities -- Toledo, Cleveland and Akron -- also made the top 10 list.

If you are looking to list your property, or if you're looking for your new property at the Lake of the Ozarks please call the "Spouses Selling Houses" team at 572-302-2313. Until next time... Ebbie :)

How's The Market?

This is our newest feature on Ebbie's Blog from lake of the Ozarks. It's called "How's The Market" with Ebbie Bogema. A short glimpse into the monthly state of the Real Estate market here at the Lake of the Ozarks.

 

Ebbie will be keeping you updated on all of the current statistics on a monthly basis. We hope you enjoy this new feature and really welcome your feedback.

 

If you are looking for Real Estate at the Lake of the Ozarks please call the Spouses Selling Houses team. Until next time. Ebbie :)