Choosing the Best White Color

Photo credit - C2 Paint

Have you noticed that everywhere you look in the neighborhood there's a house with white exterior paint  combined with black trim?  It's supposedly being going on for about 2 years, but now it's quite noticeable almost in every neighborhood.  The interesting  thing about colors is they seem to go with  certain architectural styles, for a long time pink stucco on older California Spanish Mediterranean was very common, and smaller bungalow houses were perhaps off-white, or painted an older traditional color as dictated by the local historic district guidelines. 

But now, regardless of architectural style, neighborhoods that don't have restrictions are popping with white, sometimes very very white, exterior--with black trim.  It doesn't always work, but colors go in trends, sometimes trends with a sharp popularity curve. 

MoodBoard - C2 Paint

And it's the same with interior colors.... did you ever go into a home where every room was a different pastel color? I saw one in another county recently, it's been on the market for ages, it didn't sell then re-listed with another agent, and still sat on the market. Too many colors disrupt the flow. And, colors are personal, and for that very reason, when a home is on the market, the seller needs to focus on creating as much wide appeal as possible so the viewer can focus on the property, not on the seller's taste.

How to choose the best white color? White tones range from very cool to very warm, some with a grayish undertone, or a blue one, stretching into warmer colors with taupe, cream or orangey undertones. 

The light will bring out those undertones, more light allows cooler undertones while less light needs warm undertones.

Warmer colors have a more welcoming feel in large spaces, cooler colors might be considered more energizing.  Both types blend best with other color groupings that match the warm or cool tones of the chosen white. 

Space and light are important to work with when choosing colors!  Trends may dictate to a certain extent the color choices, but you can't go wrong with more neutral pallets.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker  http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #0118899

Are You Taking Your Tax-Deductible Home Improvements?

With tax day approaching, have you checked out these potential tax deductions?

 - Energy Efficient Upgrades, including Energy Efficiency Home Improvement Credit up to $3200; a home energy audit identifying health and safety issues in the home; Energy Star's exterior windows and skylights; biomass stove which has a thermal efficient rating of at least 75% to qualify for the credit.

 - Clean Energy Upgrades, including the Residential Clean Energy Credit, including a solar water heater and geothermal heat pumps.

- Historic Home Upgrades, for the federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit for renovating a historic home, involving such items as pipes, stairs,  posts and beams.

 - Medically Necessary Upgrades, to qualify for a medical expense deduction.

 - Home Office Repairs and Improvements, including wiring, security, dual and triple-pane windows, repairing damaged outlets.

 - Rental Property Repairs, If part of the home is rented out, certain repair expenses may be deducted; repairing water leaks to avoid mold issues; repairing leaky ducts to prevent heat loss and improve air quality.

See the article below for more information:

7 Types of Tax-Deductible Home Improvements

Your tax professional will be able to give you complete advice on these and other possible tax deductions.

 Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

New Real Estate Practices in California

There are changes coming to the way REALTORS and all real estate licensees do business. 

One change has actually been discussed many many times since about 2004, or perhaps a little earlier, and that is, requiring buyers to sign buyer representation agreements with their agent of choice. Of course, listing a home with a listing agreement in place has been in place for decades, but working with  a buyer, until July 2024, did not require that practice.  Well, this is all changing.

The Road to Solutions

California Regional MLS, one of the largest  MLSs in California and the nation, is soon putting a rule into place that a buyer-broker agreement must be executed before property is shown to a buyer by a REALTOR.  You may have been reading about the lawsuits over the past few months, and the settlement reached with the National Association of Realtors--much information that has come out in the media is just plain inaccurate--however, the following statement comes directly from NAR concerning one of the agreements in the settlement and which I actually look forward to:

"Written agreements for MLS participants acting for buyers: While NAR has been advocating for the use of written agreements for years, in this settlement we have agreed to require MLS participants working with buyers to enter into written agreements with their buyers. This change will go into effect in mid-July 2024."

Many brokers already utilize these agreements, which have been available to the industry for years, with their clients.  The buyer-broker agreement, which is a standardized form provided through California Association of Realtors, may have varying terms, such as length of time, geographic area, commission to agent, or even for a specific number of homes or type of homes to be shown. Putting someone in their car, or meeting them at a property, just scratches the surface of what an agent does to help a buyer find the right home.  Buyer-broker agreements are legally binding contracts which  work in both directions: the buyer commitment to the agent and the broker/agent commitment to the buyer.

An agent should be first sitting down with a buyer and taking in the buyer's thoughts and questions about a home purchase, before showing property. This is how I've always done business since I started, and I believe it's the best way. When there is good communication between buyer and agent, there is usually a better understanding of the process, and less of the phenomenon known as buyer remorse. The buyer should expect a very clear and thorough review of a buyer agreement from the agent.

A home purchase is a huge commitment to a mortgage, obtaining home insurance, understanding future maintenance expenses, property taxes, and how a buyer's income will absorb these costs. A buyer is making a commitment, and that commitment deserves clear professional communication by an agent, and the agent who is offering his/her professional help also needs the commitment of the buyer in order to get to the goal of a home purchase. 

More updates will be provided on this topic, and please don't hesitate to contact me with questions!

Looking forward to the future!

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996