Real Estate with Angela Carpio

I know! Between work, life, friends and family, life get busy. You have spent a few hundred thousand dollars purchasing a home. You want to minimize additional cost by doing maintenance. These are some inexpensive ways of caring for your home.  Clean and vacuum curtains, window blinds, and ceiling fans. Dirt and dusts accumulate on your curtain, drapes, window blinds and ceiling fans. Clean them. You want them looking so fresh and so clean, clean. Might help with your allergies too. The more often you clean them, the less disgusting it will be.   Test for carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. Replace batteries as needed. Inoperable carbon monoxide and smoke detectors defeats the purpose of having one. Neither does dead batteries so be sure to text your carbon and smoke detectors to make sure that it works. This is one of the ways you protect, not only your home but also your family. Easy to do and the benefit is priceless.   Check caulking around sinks, tubs and shower area.

  Here are five questions to ask the new construction home builder before making an offer on a new construction home.   1. Is there a Mello-Roos or Special Assessment?                Mello-Roos and Special Assessments are extra taxes imposed on a specific community on top of your usual ad valorem tax (1% in California). You need to know if the community you are interested in have Mello-Roos or Special Assessment taxes prior to making an offer on a new construction home because this may greatly affect your estimated monthly payment. Some communities in California has 2% tax rate, some have 1.5%. To eliminate the guessing game, just ask the sales person and make sure your lender ran the numbers on the correct tax rate so you have a better understanding of what your payment would look like.   2. Is there an HOA?                Always ask if there is an HOA because although it is not usually a part of your mortgage payment, it is typically a monthly payment associated with owni

Here are 5 reasons why some homes sell faster than others.   Ample Storage Space Having ample storage space appeals to home buyers because it would allow them to have everything organized and to avoid clutter. Buyers think that storage is important. Declutter closets to make them appear roomier. Toss away broken items. Donate clothes you have not worn in a while. Go through your pantry and dispose of expired canned goods. Pack away seasonal things you may not use all the time but would like to bring with you on your next house. The more you keep, the more you have to move. The harder it is to move. Use this opportunity to go through your stuff and unload those unnecessary and unused items. Storage space sells home!   Staged Home Deep clean your entire house. Rent a carpet steamer from Home Depot and steam your carpet. Depersonalize your home by removing family pictures and other items that would make a buyer focus more on that item than the house. Declutter and arrange your