ValentinesDay - jkhatri.com

Show Your Home a Little Love This Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate the ones we love, but this year, after you’ve celebrated with flowers, chocolates, and a candle-lit dinner, be sure to show your home a little love too.

New Decorations

Adding some new decorative items, whether they’re temporary, like a bouquet of flowers on the dining room table, or more permanent, like a fresh coat of paint, are a great way to show your home a little love and help yourself fall in love with your home all over again.

Clean Up

Get a head start on your spring cleaning by washing the windows, cleaning the carpets, and dusting the fans now. The fresh feeling you create is a great way to show your home some love.

Minor Renovations

Looking to save water? Consider a new showerhead. Want to upgrade the fixtures in your home? Consider new outlet covers. Home renovations don’t have to be big and expensive; even small upgrades can have a big impact on your home.

ORANGE COUNTY HOME FLIPPING SLIPS 3% IN 2018

Home flipping — defined as a purchasing then selling a property within 12-months — dropped 3 percent in Orange County in 2018 and stayed about the same in Seminole County. In both counties, investors saw smaller ROIs compared to 2017. Read more

Preview Tiles in your Home using Augmented Reality with Updated View in My Room 3D Tool

Visualizing how one sample tile will look throughout an entire room can be a challenge, but Houzz is here to help with the latest update to our View in My Room 3D tool! Today, we introduced a new augmented reality (AR) feature that enables shoppers to virtually cover their floor with tile, true-to-scale. Shoppers can see what their homes would look like with new flooring, find out how much tile is needed to cover the space, and order an appropriate amount of material all within the Houzz app.

To use the feature, simply tap the View in My Room 3D button on a product page for any 3D-enabled tile product, launching the iPhone, iPad or Android camera. Read more

Prices Still Rule the National Housing Market; Inventory Catches a Break

Six straight months of declining home sales have resulted in one of the largest year–over–year inventory increases in at least 10 years, according to the most recent RE/MAX National Housing Report.
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Lucky In Love and House Hunting: Agent Advice to Find the Right Fit

If you and your partner are house hunting — don’t let the stress of shopping for a new home dampen your romance. With two different opinions driving the purchase process, it can create disagreements. RE/MAX offers advice and tips for finding your perfect home — together.

TALK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE TOGETHER
“Consider the lifestyle changes most couples face throughout a long relationship,” says agent Lisa Harris of RE/MAX Center in Braselton, Georgia, near Atlanta. “Homeowners are living in their homes longer than ever, so couples need to consider possible lifestyle changes in the future. Think about kids, elderly parents, job changes and hobbies.”
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8 home security hacks recommended by police

Did you know that many police departments have a community affairs officer whose primary goal is to build a strong working relationship with the community? That means you have access to a trained safety expert who wants to give you ideas to keep your home and neighborhood safe.

Read on for eight simple home security hacks from a recent home safety evaluation conducted by a police officer
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How to Move Cross-Country: See How These Renters Made It Work

From NYC to PDX — these renters made the move and even found room for a pup!

When former New Yorkers Erica Warren and Cici Harrison drove across the country and settled in the Pacific Northwest, they had a list of criteria for their new rental.

They’d need a parking space, a home office so Erica could work remotely and, of course, a yard so they could adopt a dog. And this rental couldn’t be too splashy, because a cross-country move is expensive enough.
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IRS PROVIDES CLEAR TEST ON RENTAL INCOME, EXCHANGE DEDUCTION

The Internal Revenue Service has issued final rules on the 20 percent business income deduction (Sec. 199A of the Tax Code) that was enacted in late 2017 as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Among other things, the rules confirm that the deduction applies to your business income, as a real estate agent or broker, if you operate as a sole proprietor or owner of a partnership, S corporation, or limited liability company. It applies even if your income exceeds a threshold set in the law of $157,500 for single filers and $315,000 for joint filers.

In addition, the rules provide guidance that NAR has been seeking on two other provisions of importance to you: 1) whether any real estate rental income you have is eligible for the deduction, and 2) how the deduction applies to properties you’ve exchanged under Sec. 1031 of the tax code.

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Is Florida at risk of recession?

The chance of a recession in Florida has doubled in the past year, but the state is “pretty safe” from recession in 2019, economists said Monday.

The chance of a recession is low in the next nine months, Jerry Parrish, chief economist for the Florida Chamber Foundation said at its annual economic outlook and jobs forecast in Orlando.

In an interview, University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said he agrees job growth is slowing but that Florida’s economy remains strong. Read more

3.2 percent drop in home sales last year

Real estate agents warned that this year could be slower as well

Home sales plunged in the Orlando area in December as 2018 finished with fewer sales than the year before, and real estate agents warned that 2019 could be slower as well.

Year-end totals for 2018 show the total number of homes sold dropped 3.2 percent from 2017, while home prices finished 2018 up 5.7 percent compared with 2017.
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