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Individuals contracting in California without a contractor’s license as a first offense face up to six (6) months in jail or a fine of up to $5,000. This is a substantial increase from the misdemeanor offense with no set jail time or penalties prior to 2010.

Getting caught as a second-time offender will require the individual to pay a fine of twenty-percent (20%) of the total contract price, or $5,000, whichever is greater. This also includes a stay of at least ninety (90) days in county jail. Continue reading ‘Unlicensed Contractors in California Face Tough Laws’ »

Just as it is in any state, Northern Virginia Realtors look to cash in on profit from the large number of foreclosed homes across the country. However, as a realtor in Northern Virginia, there is one important thing you have to take into consideration. You do not need to wait for foreclosure proceedings to start to get great real estate deals. We may also choose to cash in on foreclosure short sales and severely discounted sales by property owners.

When homeowners cannot pay their mortgage and see no solution to their problem in the near future and they are faced with no other recourse but possible foreclosure, they can still save their credit score and to avoid costly and lengthy foreclosure proceedings by deciding on a short sale. As Northern Virginia realtors, we may now approach the mortgage lender of the property and try to get him/her to agree to sell for less than the outstanding mortgage debt. If a Northern Virginia realtor is successful, the lender will agree to take the loss, so long as they still get some money and avoid tedious foreclosure proceedings. Continue reading ‘Step Up, My Dear Realtor!’ »

Even if people are doing their best to find their own houses, it seems that more of them are not able to do so. Either they cannot afford the house or they are not able to pay their dues for the property.

The main problem is that a lot of them are underestimating the amount of the property. They will still buy it even if they are not really that capable of that amount. So if you are on the look out for your new house, it is important for you to know the following steps in order to determine the property amount that you can afford. Continue reading ‘How Much House can You Afford’ »

You have taken the first step. You have decided to sell your home. You have contracted a real estate agent that you are comfortable with and they are advertising your home for sale on MLS. You have even had a number of showings. The problem, however, is you haven’t had any offers. Let’s look at a few easy to do steps you can take to get those offers in.

The first thing we should look at is what I call drive up appeal. Because you only get 1 chance to make a first impression, let’s try to make it a good one. The front of your house should be inviting. The lawn is neatly cut, dead patches should be replace with new sod . The house should not be hidden by bushes and trees. All bushes in front should be trimmed no higher than 3 ft. Trees should be trimmed up 10 to 12 feet, unless of course, they are newly planted. Pull all weeds, border off between the bushes and the grass. You can lay an inexpensive pine bark mulch around the bushes for a nice clean contrasting effect. Consider also planting flowers around the entry for color. Caulk around windows and door. Paint the trim and door to freshen the look of the house. Clean the windows, screens and spray wash the eves and front of the house. Continue reading ‘How To Make Your Home More Marketable’ »

Convert your basement into livable space

Space has become a premium product and has forced home owners and home makers to utilize space more constructively, in such a way that get the best price for it and make it user friendly for home occupants. Hence, certain spaces which were a mandatory part of any old houses, like basements and garages, have become obsolete in the present home plans. Even old home owners are looking to increase space utilization by converting such spaces to livable spaces and thereby increase the total utilized square feet of any house and thus increase value.

Basements are one such area that is being increasingly looked at as wastage and hence being converted to more usable and friendly requirements. Some specific conversions as far as basements are concerned are kitchen, study area, children’s play room, and living area or even work space. If you intend to convert the basement, the first step is to study the entire space and look at the feasibility of conversion. This depends on the structural strength of the room as well as other conditions like lighting, ventilation and dampness. Some basements tend to be in really bad shape; especially due to the dampness and hence needs to be rectified as far as water proofing is concerned. You shall need to paint the entire area with water proof or mould proof paint. Then you need to engage a plumber as well as an electrician to get an estimate about the lines that shall be needed to put in the basement, depending upon the type of conversion that you finalize. Continue reading ‘Convert your Basement into Livable Space’ »

General Sherman slept here!!

At least that is the legend around Norris Lake, just outside of Atlanta. Rumor has it that General William Tecumseh Sherman and his forces camped in the river basin that is now known as Norris Lake for a period after sucessfully destroying Atlanta and the extensive railroad system. It is highly likely to be true because the Lake is mostly surrounded by high hills and would have offered great protection and looking at a map of Sherman’s route, Norris Lake would have been right on his way from Decatur to Covingtonm and on to Savannah.

But regardless of what happened 145 years ago, we do know that in 1936 the No Business Creek, which feeds the Yellow River was dammed up to create Norris Lake, for the purpose of building a fishing camp for the harried city slickers in Atlanta. Tiny summer cottages and little concrete block boat houses were erected on the waterfront. Continue reading ‘Bargain priced water front Atlanta homes’ »