These are ideas found in the current issue of Realtor.com’s magazine:

1. Move it.

Simply rearranging the furniture can reenergize a room. Add and remove furniture, lamps, rugs, and accessories from other parts of the house to create a whole new look. Mirrors are particularly useful when it comes to updating a room. Try one out in different rooms to see where it fits best. Even just moving a mirror to a different wall can create a more welcoming feel.

2. Plant it.

Houseplants are a generally undervalued design component that can add texture, warmth, and color to any room. Just drop plants in their store containers into decorative planters. Small plants can be moved easily and regrouped to change a room’s look, while larger ones make a statement on their own.

Group plants of differing heights, fullness, and color for the most dramatic effect. Jettison the scraggly specimens, Westman says. “It’s important to have plants that are well maintained and in tip-top condition.”

3. Paint it.

Paint is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to make a substantial change. Use dramatic colors in powder rooms and dining rooms, and more neutral colors in living spaces. When selecting colors, “be sure to ask, ‘What am I trying to do? How do I want this to feel?’” Birdsong says. “And always, always do a test before you paint the whole room.”

4. Organize it.

“Clutter just happens,” Birdsong says. “So neaten up!” She advocates a variety of organizing tools to make a space feel polished while maintaining utility. Hooks and shelves inside the door give people a place to hang coats and keys, while canvas bins or natural baskets help contain magazines and mail. “Just a row of hooks preattached on a board is so easy to install,” she says. “And shelves are a great way to neatly display collectibles.”

5. Hide it.

Have a banged-up wall? It may be easy to camouflage. Paintable wallpaper (available for as little as $16/roll from Creative Wallcovering) will smooth out an uneven wall or hide minor dents and dings. Adventurous home owners can even try a simple two-step painting process for a more complex finish. Birdsong suggests applying a solid base coat, then a glaze.

“These days, it’s pretty user-friendly,” she says. Caution: Your intent should never be to mislead buyers; be sure to disclose flaws that would affect home value.

6. Replace it.

Cabinet handles, switch plates, and other small pieces of housing hardware can update a home for just a few dollars a piece. Westman suggests scanning each room to see what looks worn or outdated and then replacing it. Inexpensive quick-connect faucets can make upgrading the look of your bathroom a snap. Just be sure to measure before you go to the hardware store. Some sinks are drilled for an eight-inch spread. Others require just four inches.

“And don’t forget the toilet seat,” adds Westman. “Fresh towels and a new toilet seat go a long way toward making a bathroom feel clean and new.”

7. Light it.

Lighting can have a major impact on a home’s look and feel. Whether a room seems dark or too bright and harsh, try “layering” the lighting by adding accent pendants and lamps. Make sure they have independent controls, so that you can turn them on and off at will.

“Light is such a mood setter,” Westman says. “You can create a cozy feel just by turning down the lights.” Add dimmers in the dining room, bathrooms, kitchen, and even the hallways for less than $4 each. Then adjust the lighting to create the mood you want.

8. Clean it.

Turn a critical eye to the flooring to make sure it’s up to snuff. Scrub grout and seal natural stone. Rub out scratches and nicks on wood floors with scratch cover. “Get down on your hands and knees and detail the floors,” Birdsong says. “It takes a little elbow grease, but the results are well worth it.” Vinyl flooring is a bit harder to spruce up but usually can be replaced easily and inexpensively.

I joined a gym partially so my pants might continue to fit and partially to make some much needed endorphins during tough real estate and job times. Especially after reading Tom’s recent post claiming that low mortgages may have already bottomed out.

Here’s what happened last week:

I was retrieving my pants from the locker at the gym - and before I realized that I had foolishly stuffed my cell phone and some change in my pockets, they were all over the floor. I was bemoaning my broken cell, when a large naked woman came up to retrieve the change. At first I thought she was assisting me, but then she just walked away with my quarters. I said, “Um, I believe those came out of my pockets.”
She replied, backside to me, “No, it’s mine.” Of course, if she could have read my thought cloud it would have said something like, “Well, if this change didn’t fall out of my pocket, WHERE pray tell do you THINK it fell from? And if I pull your arm will MORE fall out?”
She walked back to her place where she proceeded to aggressively apply lotion to her rear - in my general direction and way too close to my bubble.  It seemed like a real conversation-ender.
Honestly it was surreal. I mean, one can hardly look at an entirely naked person, much less be confrontational. Maybe she needed the money, I don’t know. I decided that the 75-cents or so was worth the story as it was.

I didn’t want to have to add some pitiful ending like “and then the naked woman beat me down.”

So after asking around, two kind friends stepped forward to give me their old cell phones. (It’s always great to say something like, “Did you hear that I broke my cell phone? It involves nudity and theft.” Everyone makes time for a story like that.) The phone that liked my SIM card the best didn’t have a cord, so my husband went around to local hotels and dug through their lost and found bins. He got the perfect match so I’m all set up at no cost. I was pretty proud of the ingenuity there.

I’m not sure if there is a moral to this story, but it was too good not to tell.

(Thanks to Julee who came up with some of the funny things to add to my thought bubble cloud other than just WTF?)

I can get overwhelmed with design. There’s a lot of choices out there and what goes with what is always a bit mysterious for me. Shows like “Queer Eye” where these fabulous guys make fun of how ordinary folks decorate their homes doesn’t help either.

But there’s some low cost assistance available. Gabbert’s (in Edina’s Galleria )  often runs professional-led workshops on the basics of design and even design for busy families.  They don’t have a working website at the moment, but you can call them to get on their mailing list at 952-928-3123

Another idea is the “Apartment Therapy” movement. The concept came out of making the most out of small New York city apartments. But the basic tenants have spawned a movement of living better with less stuff and more function. It features an eight-step home cure that is followed like a religion by some. It has grown into a website as well with more of a decorating emphasis.

After improving through 11 straight weeks, mortgage rates finally ticked higher last week.  This, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey.  The Freddie Mac survey showed that mandatory mortgage fees rose last week, too.

Unfortunately, the bad news for rate shoppers doesn’t stop there.

Because Freddie Mac’s rate survey is conducted on Tuesday but its reports aren’t released until Thursday, the published data doesn’t even account for the previous 48 hours of activity in which rates and fees have risen further.

Versus last week, 30-year fixed, conforming mortgage rates are up 0.16% on average nationwide.  On a $200,000 home loan, this equates to a roughly $20 extra per month, or $7,055 over the life of a 30-year loan.

The Era of Low Rates may not be over, but it may be time to get off the fence.

(Image courtesy: Freddie Mac)

When a homeowner sells his home and decides to buy a new one, there are 3 basic options for the residence — sell it, keep it, or rent it.

Unfortunately, no matter which path they choose, move-up homebuyers in need of a new conforming mortgage will find qualifying for a home loan to be more difficult this season than in the past. 

Mortgage guidelines are dramatically tighter for people “carrying two mortgages”.

Among the changes this spring’s buyers face:

Selling the primary residence
If you plan to close on your new home prior to the closing of your existing home — even if it’s only by a day – both payments must be listed as monthly debts on your mortgage application. This will disqualify the majority of homebuyers.

Converting your residence to a second home
If your current home has less than 30 percent equity in it, your mortgage application for the new home will not be approved unless you can show 6 months worth of mortgage payments + taxes + insurance in reserves for the current home and new home combined.

Converting your residence to an investment property
If your current home has less than 30 percent equity in it, any rental income derived from a tenant is disallowed on your mortgage application for the new home.  You must still count the mortgage payment + taxes + insurance as a monthly debt.

In other words, being a move-up buyer isn’t as simple as it used to be.  New lending rules make buying a new home an exercise in timing and financial planning.  And the rules are expected to get tougher, too.

Therefore, if you expect to be a move-up buyer in the next 12 months, consider moving up your timeframe or — at least — planning ahead for it. 

Understanding the new mortgage landscape and how they can influence your upcoming purchase may be the difference between getting approved for a home loan, and getting turned down.

When light rail went into Minneapolis a few years back, a skyway - the enclosed metal portal between two buildings - had to be taken down. Now it’s for sale.

The architecture firm that owns it threw on Craig’s List for around $80K. They claim you could use it as a yoga studio or wine bar. It could also be a killer addition to your home - can you imagine the plants you could grow there? I personally love this idea.

Here’s the link should you be dreaming of a new Florida room for your home: http://www.startribune.com/local/38061639.html

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index is a popular measure of domestic home prices, released monthly. 

The index reports on the largest 20 U.S. markets, painting a broad picture of real estate values nationwide.

Despite the Case-Shiller Index’s two obvious flaws — (1) it only counts repeat sales on single-family residences, and (2) it only includes 20 major housing markets — the model makes it easier to identify broader real estate trends in our nation’s largest cities.

Data, though, is just data.  It often takes a good picture to bring it all home.  Enter The New York Times.

On its website, The Gray Lady has posted an interactive Case-Shiller graphic.  For each of the 20 cities studied, users can compare how home values rose versus the national composite throughout the early part of the decade, and how values have fallen since. 

Not surprisingly, of the 20 cities that showed stable growth pre-2006, nearly all are outperforming in the current real estate climate.

After a weak holiday shopping season, annual retail sales declined in 2008.

It marks the first annual Retail Sales decline since the government started tracking the data 40 years ago.

It also gives credence to the notion that the U.S. economy is suffering through a deeper recession that previously thought.  A pullback in spending — especially during the shopping-heavy month of December — highlights the cautious nature of today’s American shoppers.

And in a strange sort of way, all of this may end up being good news for spring home buyers.

Because Retail Sales are reflective of consumer spending, a dramatic pullback helps to keep the economy in slow gear, countering the inflationary impact of government stimulus and direct intervention.  Inflation, you’ll remember, causes mortgage rates to rise.  Its absence, therefore, helps to keep mortgage rates low.

In addition, it’s earnings season on Wall Street and weak corporate guidance has spurred a 6-day decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  As dollars leave the stock market, investors are parking them in the safer world of bonds.  This includes mortgage bonds, of course, which further pressures rates lower.

As we’re seeing, economic weakness — to a point — can be the friend of a person in need of a new home loan.  For active home buyers or people entering the market this spring, therefore, the timing may be just right.

(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal Online)

Another week, another headline screams how mortgage rates have falled to an all-time low.

Freddie Mac published its weekly mortgage rate survey Thursday and found that the “average” mortgage rate is now 4.96 percent, the lowest since the survey started in 1971.

But, if we look beyond the headline, we find that there’s another part of the story worth watching.  Mortgage rates are falling but the number of points required to lock those rates is not.

Lenders now require an average payment of 0.7 points to get the 4.96 percent rate from the headlines.  That’s up from 0.6 percent last week and 0.4 percent a year ago.

A “point” is a fee equal to 1 percent of the loan size. 

Therefore, to get access to a 4.96 percent interest rate on a $200,000 home loan, today’s lender would require an extra $200 versus last week and $600 versus last year.  Today’s mortgage borrower would be subject to a $1,400 closing cost in addition to the “typical” closing costs accompanying a purchase or refinance.

This is a period of historically low rates — there’s no doubt about that.  However, the cost of getting access to low rates is increasing.  The press doesn’t always tell that part of the story and it’s one more reason to look deeper than the headlines.

(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal)

The City of Minneapolis has been offering perspective home buyers a financial incentive to purchase in what it is calling “key neighborhoods” in Minneapolis. It’s a program called the “Minneapolis Advantage.” From what I see on the map above and  heard on MPR, those key neighbors are mostly in North Minneapolis.

It gives $10K to buyers to put towards their downpayment and closing cost in an effort to rebuild the housing market in areas were foreclosures are rampant. All funding is fully committed at this time, but plans are underway to continue the closing cost assistance program in 2009.

It’s worth following up on as there are no income guidelines to qualify.This is what $$ recipient Brian Reichow had to say when interviewed on public radio, “Particularly since the requirements for the program were minimal, at best,” Reichow said. “There weren’t any income requirements; you simply had to find a house that was on a block with a boarded or foreclosed home, which is not difficult in north Minneapolis.”

Here have been some outcomes for the pilot program:

Property Details

• Properties were required to be on the block with a foreclosed home: 62% of the properties were foreclosed and 9% of the properties purchased were boarded and vacant.
• 62% of the properties, registered as non-homestead prior to being purchased, now have a homestead status.
• The program had a mix of purchase prices, but more than 50% of the buyers bought homes under $100,000 and 82% purchased homes under $150,000.
• Half of the eligible neighborhoods were in North Minneapolis; 80% of the homes purchased were located there.

And here’s a hidden advantage to buying a house in one of those “key” areas. Often these neighborhoods did not succumb to remodeling crazes that gave us green appliances and lights on wagon wheels. So if you’re big into historic homes with orginial goodies like wood trim, built-ins and old-tyme light fixtures you might find them there.