Everything you need to know about the Tenant Protection Act.
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Consulting with Integrity
Another year in the books means another year as a homeowner. When you own a house, there are so many things that you need to go to keep up the property. Many of us don’t even know where to begin. Luckily, we can help you with that! Here’s a checklist for homeowners to kick the new year off right.
While it’s beautiful in southern California all year long, we still tend to spend the majority of our time indoors during the winter months. Heck, even during the summer, we’re guilty of cranking the AC up a bit too much. Suffice to say; we’re breathing in a lot of stagnant air.
Improve your air quality by getting an activated carbon dehumidifier. These devices help capture mold and bacteria in the air that may cause allergies and other illnesses. Also, make sure to check filters in furnaces and central air units.
Every house is unique. So, the needs of the property will differ from person to person. The best way to start 2020 off on the right foot is to know what you’re dealing with.
Take inventory of your house. Walk around and see what needs to be repaired or replaced. Write these projects down. Also, be sure to give yourself a deadline. A sense of accountability will push us to be the better homeowners we desire to be.
While we don’t have to contend with snow, some of our plants can’t sustain the winter months. That doesn’t mean there isn’t grass to mow or leaves to rake. Keep up with the minimal winter upkeep so you can transition into spring much easier.
Speaking of spring, plan out your garden. Research about companion plants to improve your bounty. Also, try to come up with organic ways to keep critters out of your patches. The more thought you put into your garden, the more you will yield in 2020.
2020 is a new decade. New beginnings mean getting rid of the old junk you don’t need anymore. Have a tag sale or donate some of your old treasures.
While you are going through your keepsakes, start organizing the things you went through. Instead of having old toys, clothes, and books mixed in together, try putting like items into totes. These practices will save you headaches in the event you actually need one of these items. Otherwise, this practice will just make it easier for you to donate or set up a table at a tag sale in the future.
We all have dreams of changing that extra bedroom into an office or the basement into a gym. Yet, we never pull the trigger. What’s the deal?
This is your house. You’re going to live here forever. Why not make into the perfect place for you? Transform that room into whatever you want it to be! You won’t regret it.
We love Long Beach. Why wouldn’t we?! The city of Long Beach is not only beautiful, but it is home to some amazing restaurants, shops, and tons of great events. We love having the ocean right at our fingertips and parks in our backyard. What we love most, however, are the amazing neighborhoods that make us proud to live in Long Beach.
Let’s explore just five of our favorite Long Beach neighborhoods to find out why we love to call Long Beach home!
Belmont Shore
Belmont Shore is the perfect mix of urban and suburban. This area has a younger vibe and attracts many young professionals with access to events, dining, and bars.
Bixby Knolls
Bixby Knolls is well-known for its low crime rate, high-performing schools, and high-end housing. This neighborhood is great for those who are willing to pay a larger price tag for opulence outside the city. The neighborhood is also near two freeways and the Long Beach airport, so this is a great area for commuters.
Naples
We love our own little “Venice of America.” Naples is Long Beach’s little Italy, complete with picturesque canals. The Marine Park is nearby offering a wonderful place to stroll, have a picnic, or take the kids to play.
East Village
If you love art and culture, the East Village might be for you. This area boasts lively night-life scene, high-performing schools, shopping, and galleries. Enjoy the festive bars, unique coffee shops, and green parks.
Hellman Street Craftsman Historic Village
Historic, charming craftsman bungalows make the Hellman Street area famous. This is a low-crime area with many good schools, making it a great choice for families. The best part? The North Alamitos Beach is well-within reach.
Long Beach is For You
No matter what neighborhood you settle into in Long Beach, we know that you’ll find yourself right at home! From tree-lined neighborhoods to winding canals, brunch to cocktail hour, beach parties to evening park strolls, Long Beach offers a quality of life hard to come by. We can’t wait for you to join us!
One of the primary reasons people look to buy a Southern California home is that they want to acquire assets. In all logicality, if you’re going to pay to live somewhere, you might as well pay toward not having to spend forever. You can’t achieve this feat by renting.
Now, when you have a mortgage on a property, you don’t own the house outright. However, what you paid toward the principal can serve as a line of credit. If you have home equity, you can even use it toward purchasing another property. Here is how.
Unlike purchasing the latest smartphone or the hottest new fashion, buying a house pays you back. It’s a long-term investment and can set you up for quite a profitable future. However, we’re living in the present, and that profitable future isn’t today.
Just because you’re not swimming in millions just yet doesn’t mean you are broke. A good portion of your money may have gone toward paying down what you owe the bank on your current property. Thanks to this investment, you can now start to reap the benefits of owning assets.
There are many reasons to use home equity to buy a second home. Perhaps you want to invest in a rental property to make a few extra bucks? Maybe you would like your children to move closer to you? Whatever the case may be, if you have equity, you have a way to buy a second home.
The best way to leverage your house toward buying another property is by accessing a Home Line of Credit (HELOC). A HELOC allows you the money necessary to put a down payment on a new property.
Most interest rates on HELOC run between 3% and 4%. Therefore, this type of loan is competitive to current mortgage market prices. In some cases, A HELOC interest rate might be even better!
Is a HELOC for a second property right for you? There’s only one significant factor to take into account. You need to be positive that you can pay on both loans.
If you are using the second property as a rental, make sure you can cover the insurance and taxes with the rent you will be pulling in. You want to always cover the minimum on your second mortgage. However, if you want to pay the mortgage on your second home down quicker, you’re going to have to cover the minimum and a little extra. Do your due diligence and find out if you are purchasing a house that’s a good deal and easy to rent.
Also, make sure you talk to your accountant. Real estate taxes are excellent deductible options for landlords. See how much you can write-off on this second property. That way, you can maximize your profits and pay off all your investments much quicker.
Trying to sell your home during the holiday season can present challenges but is not impossible. While most realtors will try to convince you otherwise, the winter months offer the opportunity to be on the market with fewer other homes.
It is important that your holiday décor does not overwhelm potential buyers touring your home. The desire to decorate as you normally would is understandable but for those selling their homes, keeping buyers in mind is best.
Skip the Lights
This may sound like blasphemy to some but while fun and festive, lights are a great way to hide the charm and character of your home’s exterior. While most buyers will be touring your home during the day, lights are still intrusive and unattractive with wires and cords running through your yard and around your windows.
Compliment Your Décor
Is your home tastefully themed with a darker color palette or a lighter blue hue? If so, consider purchasing holiday decorations that compliment these colors. Rather than put out your random, multicolor collection from years gone by, select some metallic or a complimentary palette to decorate your home.
Keep Others in Mind
The point in decorating a home for the holidays while staying on the market is to appeal to as many buyers as possible. Not everyone celebrates the same holidays as you do. Keep your decorations as neutral as possible (read: maybe skip the giant inflatable Santa this year.)
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Fresh is Best
Fresh flowers can be a great asset to your interior holiday design. Select appropriate colors like reds, greens, and whites to create a festive bouquet. Berries and baby’s breath are also great additions to a holiday arrangement.
Selling your home during the holidays does not mean a complete departure from decorations. Keeping things simple and sophisticated will help ensure you keep prospective buyers interested.
Whether you’re someone who loves it or someone who hates it, tax season is an inevitable part of each and every year. Sure, it’s time consuming and it can get a little bit confusing, but it’s always worth the hassle when you know that there’s a refund check coming your way mid-spring. To make it even more worth the hassle, we did our research and compiled a list of purchases that can increase your tax refund.
So, here are 10 purchases you didn’t know were tax deductible:
Teaching materials
Most teachers know the pain of having to shop for supplies throughout the year when the kits provided by the school are half empty and mostly broken. All those cute, tiny glitter glue sticks, colored pencils, and safety scissors can really add up, but if you’re a K-12 teacher, you can deduct up to $250 for materials to help ease the financial burden. Bonus deduction: if you’re married to another teacher, you have $500 to share on school supplies.
Medical and dental expenses
This is an incredibly practical and important deduction that many people aren’t taking advantage of. If these expenses accounted for more than 10% of your adjusted income the previous year, you can claim that amount as a deduction. If you don’t have insurance coverage in these areas, you may hit that number faster than you’d imagine.
Uncovered losses
If you experienced a casualty, disaster, or theft loss that was not covered by your insurance, you may be able to claim the loss as a tax deduction.
Charitable donations
Not only can you receive a tax deduction for goods or monetary donations made to qualified charitable organizations (think bins of clothes you brought to Goodwill last year), but you can also get a deduction for any out-of-pocket expenses that you used for charitable work, as well. If you contribute baked goods to charity fundraisers, for example, deducting the ingredients that you used would be allowed.
Sales taxes
This one can get a little trickier, as you have to decide if you want to itemize your deduction or take the standard deduction. The sales tax itemization breakdown could come out in your favor if you made a big purchase last year, like a car or an engagement ring. Your accountant (in-person or online through tax services like H&R Block) can break it down to help you determine which one will save you more money.
Lifetime learning
Aside from the more common tax deductions for college students, the Lifetime Learning credit can also help save you money on education costs at any age. According to TurboTax, you can get up to $2,000 per year deducted, taking off 20% of the first $10,000 you spend on your education after high school.
Childcare expenses
If you hire a babysitter to watch your little ones while you’re volunteering (without pay) for a charity, you can list this cost as a charitable contribution on your next tax return.
Self-employment Social Security
If you’re self-employed, you already know the misfortune of having to pay the full 15.3% of your income to taxes for Medicare and Social Security that would typically be divided with your employer. Luckily, you can deduct the amount that your employer would be paying, which comes out to 7.65%.
Unusual business expenses
This category is a fun one. Owning your own business opens up a world of possibilities, but who knew that you could deduct just about everything that you buy for that business? For example, you can get a tax deduction for freebies/gifts that you buy for employees and customers, up to $25 per person, and you can deduct the costs of a housekeeper or landscaper if you run your business out of your home office.
Home renovations
Last but not least on the list is certain home renovations. You can’t deduct the zipline you installed in the backyard that comes to an end just over your (also brand new) pool, but you can deduct renovations that you made to accommodate medical disabilities, like a ramp to make your home handicap accessible.
One of the most exciting things about being a homeowner around the holidays is getting to decorate your cozy home for the season. Especially around Christmastime, homeowners love to deck the halls and put up thousands of lights to show their love for the season – and to show off for the neighbors. While holiday lights and electric-powered reindeer will make your home a beautiful winter sight, it can also make your energy bills skyrocket.
Let’s investigate some energy-efficient and money-saving ways to spruce up your home while still staying savvy this winter.
Go Green
The holidays are the perfect time to use greenery to decorate. Hunt out gorgeous holiday or winter-themed wreaths, boughs, garlands, and swags. Put miniature evergreen trees in planters near your front door or decorate with real holly. Poinsettias are gorgeous winter flowers with a lovely holiday look. Use these inside to add holiday elegance to any room.
Light it Up!
If you just can’t part with the idea of a glimmering, light-lined rooftop or bushes, there are still some options that will keep your energy use under budget. Opt for LED lights that use up to 90% less energy. Fiber optic lights are also a great choice – they use a lot less energy and still put on a great show! Another way to limit energy use is to set a timer for your lights. This prevents them from being left on during the day and wasting energy. When you’re inside enjoying your Christmas tree, turn off other lights in the room and enjoy the soft glow of the tree alone.
Hunt for Treasure
You can find some amazing Christmas decorations at thrift and antique stores. Old glass ornaments and gorgeous mercury glass make fantastic porch decorations or wreath accents. Combine old candles for a warming hearth-like glow and keep cozy blankets and throws in your lounging areas. This not only makes the home look more like a cozy holiday home, but can help you reduce your energy use by using less electricity and heating.
Rejoice Resourcefully
Who doesn’t love to transform their home during the holidays? A little holiday décor can make a big difference when it comes to cheer and making merry. This season, take the energy-efficient challenge and limit the amount of energy you use to power your decoration.
We all know that Long Beach is an amazing place to live. If you have been considering making a permanent move to Long Beach or buying your first house, there is no better time to make this great city your home! The city of Long Beach provides several incentives to make it easier and more affordable to buy a home. Here are some of the top programs for first-time home buyers in Long Beach.
California Housing Finance Agency
CalHFA provides renters and homebuyers financing and programs for finding safe, affordable housing. This program is geared towards those with low to moderate income. They have a range of programs from loan assistance to grants, down payment help, and even resources for teachers.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
The HUD has many resources available to homebuyers on how to find fair housing issues, lists of lenders and real estate brokers, anti-discrimination help, and other homebuyer education to make the purchase of your new home fair and successful.
Affordable Housing Clearinghouse
The AHC is a great organization to look into if you are a first-time homebuyer. The counselors at AHC help you with homebuyer education, pre and post purchase advice, foreclosure prevention, and budget and credit workshops. They provide assistance in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Neighborhood Housing Services
The NHS is a non-profit lending agency that helps people access affordable and reasonable home loans, rehab, foreclosure prevention, financial education, and homeownership counseling for Los Angeles County. Be sure to check out their Neighborhood LIFT Home Buyer’s Program which provides a $25,000 grant to make homeownership a reality.
Home Preservation and Prevention CARES
This organization provides housing counseling right in Long Beach. Learn from financial education, home-buying advice, foreclosure prevention, and how to use credit and manage debt effectively.
All of these Long Beach and California programs can be of great assistance to new homebuyers, making the dream of home ownership a reality. Take advantage of these programs and start working towards your dream of owning a Long Beach home today!
Earthquakes are more dangerous than other natural events like hurricanes and tornadoes because there is rarely warning that one will occur. The key to earthquake safety is primarily preparation.
It is important to prepare your home for the possibility of an earthquake and ensure your family knows what to do during one. Follow this quick guide to be ready always.
Evaluate the Safety of Your Home
Some older homes do not feature the safety mechanisms of newer builds. If you are a homeowner, have an inspector come to do an evaluation. Renters should inquire with their landlords to determine what vulnerabilities may exist.
Do a Home Walkthrough to Identify Dangers
Tall bookshelves, heavy objects on shelves, and priceless items are all risks associated with earthquakes. While it is unreasonable to remove furniture from your home, it is important to know what to avoid during an earthquake.
If you live in an earthquake-prone region, consider taking expensive or priceless items off high shelves and securing them in a safe place where falling is not a threat.
Perform Family Drills
Determine the best places to get low and under sturdy supports or cover during an earthquake. Practice proceeding to these places and utilizing them quickly. Practice is essential to responding appropriately during a disaster.
Form an Earthquake Kit
First aid supplies should be kept in a kit that can be easily recovered after an earthquake. Non-perishable food and water for three days should be on hand in the event an earthquake makes transportation impossible. Keep the kit and food in a place that is accessible for every member of the family.
Have a Contact Plan
Make sure the family is aware of the contact plan in the event you are separated during the earthquake. Decide where everyone will meet if phones are rendered out of service.
Preparation is the key to survival during earthquakes. Take these steps now to ensure your home and family are prepared for the next one.
The recent decision by the Federal Reserve (the Fed) to lower interest rates by 25 basis points has some potential homebuyers wondering if they should pull the trigger on purchasing a new home.
Contrary to popular belief, the decision by the Fed has little impact on the overall status of mortgage rates. Rates depend on many factors including the housing market itself. The notable exception is for those currently paying on variable rate loans. The decrease of basis points correlates to a drop in variable rate and slightly reduces those mortgage payments.
The news that the recent lowering of interest rates by the Fed has little impact on mortgage rates should not deter you from the positive home buying market. Mortgage rates are under 5% in many cases and the housing market is positioned to give the advantage to the purchaser.
2018 saw enough market volatility to encourage a mortgage rate decrease to an average of 4.5%. These rates appear to be sticking around as economists are encouraged by the growth the adjustment has caused.
The increase of home prices is trending downward, as well. This is encouraging news for those who may have been priced out in previous years. A 6% rise in sales price in 2018 scared off many prospective shoppers but the rate seems to be slowing, with estimates at 4% for this year.
Some markets still suffer from inventory shortages, but the outlook is promising. New home starts are estimated to increase in the near future, providing more opportunities for homebuyers to find a great option.
The time is now for buyers to take advantage of a good market. With mortgage rates holding steady, new inventory, and a stable job market, chances are the purchasing climate will not get much better.
After falling through the second half of 2022, Southern California home prices … Continue reading...