Cheryl Karr - Your Solid Source Realty Agent

  Have you seen this latest infographic from Keeping Current Matters? Strong buyer activity is hopefully coming soon!    

  Paying off debt is one of the most worthwhile financial goals you can set for yourself. If you free yourself of obligations to your creditors, it comes with a whole host of benefits. You may be able to raise your credit score, you'll no longer waste money on interest, and you'll free up the cash you were devoting to your monthly payment. Unfortunately, it can take a lot of effort to achieve freedom from debt – especially if you owe a lot of money. As such, you can't afford errors that make the process even more challenging. In particular, here are four big mistakes you'll definitely want to steer clear of. 1. Tapping your retirement accounts Perhaps you're struggling with debt while your retirement account balances are growing. You may be tempted to just pull the money out of your 401(k) or IRA to pay back your creditors and kiss your debt goodbye for good. Unfortunately, this is almost always a really bad idea. First and foremost, if you're under 59...

  I personally am getting my IPhone 12 today and can't wait to see it's capabilities. Hopefully, my 8 year old grandson can help me with some if not all of the features! If you've been interested in the IPhone 12, or long-awaiting it's arrival, I found this article really interesting. Do you think it'll be a smash hit? https://www.cnet.com/news/were-about-to-learn-if-apples-iphone-12-is-a-smash-hit 

  Equity is the difference between the value of your property and what you owe on your mortgage, if      you have one.   It’s the share of the property that you actually own, not what the bank owns, until your mortgage payments are completed and you own your property in full. Equity usually means more profit when it’s time to sell.   If needed, it can even provide cash through a home equity loan or cash-out refinance. Unless you have a negative amortization loan or a reverse mortgage, equity automatically increases monthly when you make your mortgage payment.   However, there are way you can grow your equity more rapidly. 1.        It starts when you purchase your home in an “up and coming” market.   If home values in your neighborhood are going up, your property value is rising as well, if you maintain you home. 2.        When buying a home, increase your down payment or, ...

  An evacuation plan is a necessity for every home, especially if you live in an area where fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, and other disasters are a possibility. Many homeowners create evacuation plans for their homes and practice them with their kids, but far fewer have considered one for their pets. Take these steps to add your pets to your evacuation plan. Assign pet evacuation to an adult. Everyone should know how to act during an evacuation, and that includes assigning one parent or adult to the pets. This allows the other parent and the children to focus on their part of the evacuation plan, so there’s no confusion during a high-stress moment when time is of the essence. Keep evacuation maps and pet carriers readily accessible. If you need to evacuate, you should know exactly where every important item is. If you pets require carriers, keep them in a place that you can access easily. Practice your plan. Include your pets in your home evacuatio...

  If you’re a parent, sometimes you need to get a little creative to make sure your little munchkins have enough room to play and do the things they enjoy. When your yard or living room area just isn’t enough, you might consider revamping your basement just for them. Here are a few tips! Keep It Comfy Your kids will likely spend a lot of their time playing with various games and toys on the floor so you want to give them a nice surface to do so. Install materials like cork flooring, rubber or foam mats, or synthetic carpet tiles, like nylon or olefin, that are cost-effective and easy to install. Get Creative with Color and Décor Because your basement is hidden away from most guests, this room doesn’t necessarily need to align with the décor and color scheme you’ve chosen for the rest of your home. By choosing bright or unique colors, you can help open up the room and create an exciting space for your children to be creative. Don’t rule out wallpaper either! It c...

  When purchasing a home, there are several fees you have to understand and factor in to your budget before you hit the closing table. Here’s what you need to know. What are closing costs? Closing costs are the fees for services required to finalize your mortgage. Typically, the buyer is responsible for paying these costs unless otherwise negotiated to have the seller contribute. Fees include (but certainly are not limited to) attorney, appraisal, inspection, government taxes, title insurance, home insurance, mortgage insurance, and property taxes. How much are closing costs? According to Zillow.com, closing costs usually total about 2 to 5 percent of the home’s purchase price, and they generally vary depending on the property purchased and state you reside in. Your lender will provide you with an estimate of your closing costs following your loan approval, and although that number can change slightly, your final costs should be similar. How can you reduce clo...

  I personally found this really interesting and wanted to share with you. Hootsuite recently shared this article - Facebook Stats that Matter to Marketers. These are pretty intriguing to look at! acebook is the biggest of all the social networks, by far, based on just about every measure. In this post, we lay out 47 current Facebook statistics—updated for 2021—that prove this enormous platform is still a must for marketers in almost every sphere. Let’s explore the Facebook stats that will matter to marketers this year. General Facebook stats 1. Facebook has 2.74 billion monthly active users That’s an increase of 12% year-over-year from September 2019. If there’s one stat that proves the importance of incorporating Facebook into your marketing strategy, this is it. There’s simply no other platform that offers this kind of reach. 2. Facebook reaches 59% of the world’s social networking population It’s the only social platform to reach more than half of all social m...