Katie Tobin
@ Tattoo
Q:How do you keep your life clean?
A:"I don't own any cars and I do almost all my shopping from farmers markets."
NOBODY LIKES TO be called a dummy. But the authors of "Home Buying for Dummies" would probably be the first to tell you it's better to admit when you're a little clueless about the real estate market than to later be saddled with debt because you bought a place you couldn't really afford.
"No one is born knowing how to buy a home," write Eric Tyson and Ray Brown, the co-authors of "Home Buying" ($22, Wiley), which was released in its fourth edition this spring. They encourage buyers — especially first-timers — to take a holistic approach to shopping for a new pad. Consider how buying real estate will impact every aspect of your life, from your weekly latte budget to your commute to work, the authors advise.
In light of the recent changes in the home-buying market, such as tightened rules for lenders and falling home values, a cautious approach seems particularly smart. But Tyson says he and Brown have been preaching patience all along.
"We're proud of the fact that since the first edition of the book, we've counseled people to save a decent down payment amount and not take on risky mortgages and loans," says Tyson, whose Web site, Erictyson.com, covers financial and housing news. "You've got to look at your overall personal financial situation, and get that in order first."
We asked Tyson to share more of his must-know tips for newbies.
» EXPRESS: Everyone's saying it's not as easy to buy a home today as it was in the past. Can you explain why?
» TYSON: There's certainly more of a supply of homes to choose from today. When people talk about the difficulty, they're referring to the financing end of it. If you don't have a high credit score and you don't have enough money saved for a down payment, you are going to have a tougher time finding affordable financing.
But people need to keep in perspective that despite the fact that real estate in most parts of country has declined in value by a fair amount, real estate is still a good long-term investment — that has not changed. Because prices have come down and interest rates are so low, housing is the most affordable it's been in a long time.
Continue Reading "Get Smart About Real Estate: Eric Tyson" »
WHEN NATASHA SMITH moved from Florida to Washington nearly two years ago, she dealt with many of the adjustments that come with a major relocation. But one change she wasn't willing to undertake was shelling out thousands of dollars for rent every year. So, Smith, 25, crashed at her older sister's house in Clinton, Md., while she embarked on a yearlong quest to buy a condo.
Her search came to an end in mid-April when she closed on a two-bedroom condo in Hyattsville near the Metro station. And it ended on an unexpected high note: The new first-time home buyer federal tax credit unveiled in February as part of the economic recovery act essentially repaid her $8,000 in cash.
"Toward the end of my search, I heard about the $8,000 tax credit, and that gave me more incentive to finally go through with something," says Smith, an advertising and sales coordinator for the American Resort Development Association. "It definitely sped up my decision."
Smith's condo is one of a projected 160,000 home sales to be stimulated by the new tax credit, according to the National Association of Home Builders. That number includes 101,000 first-time buyers eligible for the credit and another 59,000 existing homeowners who will be able to trade up because a rookie buyer purchased their home, the NAHB said.
Continue Reading "Reap New Rewards: First-Time Home Buyers Receive Tax Credit" »
THE LIFE OF A first-time condo buyer today is not an easy one. A newbie could spend weeks, maybe months, attending open houses, dealing with real estate agents and mortgage officers and piles of paperwork — and all while our nation's financial system is in the worst shape since the Great Depression. Many new buyers are understandably nervous about making such a big purchase now: "What if I lose my job?" "What if the market falls further?"
Responding to these insecurities, real estate firms have begun to promote new safeguards. Long & Foster Real Estate started offering insurance in April that would pay up to six months of a homebuyer's mortgage in the event of a layoff. Drees Homes, which builds townhomes and single-family residences in Frederick and Laurel, has created a similar program.
Still, there are plenty of reasons why a rookie buyer might hesitate to sign a contract. Maybe financing falls through at the last minute, or by the time you've gotten your mortgage, the value of your home has plummeted. Maybe you just lost your job. Maybe you want to buy that townhouse, but you're just ... worried.
But there are plenty of ways to protect yourself — contingency plans smart buyers can use to back away from property they no longer want, and methods they can use to get more for their money. Learn these tips well and use them responsibly.
» The Inspection Contingency
Most contracts work like this: Before going to the final closing, the buyer pays the seller a percentage of the condo's value as "earnest money." This isn't a down payment (which is typically much more money), but just a way for the buyer to signify, "I'm serious about this purchase." The seller gets to keep that money if the buyer then decides to walk away — unless certain contingencies are met.
Continue Reading "Safety Nets For Novices: Tips for First-Time Condo Buyers" »
AT ALEXANDRIA'S Jackson 20 restaurant, the darkly dramatic dining room boasts a life-size bronze pig, ceiling lights shrouded in metal mesh shades and a rusty wall clock that looks zapped in from Victorian London.
But it's a single wall — covered in black and white wallpaper printed with empty, Baroque-style picture frames — that packs the biggest punch. "We were going for a modern colonial mood to fit the neighborhood," says interior designer Robert Polacek, who chose the slightly cheeky Schumacher paper. "The wallpaper makes a bold statement."
Until recently, having halls decked with wallpaper meant that you were either living in your grandma's house or stuck in the 1980s, when neon squiggles in Boy George hues were the rage.
But now, fueled partially by the crafty-cool movement, the paste-up patterns are back. "There's a greater appreciation for graphic design and illustration by this generation," says Lauren Smith, co-author of "Wallpaper Projects" ($23, Chronicle). "Newer papers are graphic but modern. It's a big change from the country-kitchen look people remember."
Continue Reading "The Wallpaper Chase: Patterns on Walls, Stairs and Chairs is Stylish Again" »
PATRICIA EBRAHIMI CLAIMS her first staging job was when she was 12 years old, when her mom said she had to share a room with her sister. A few rearranged beds and a room divider later, Ebrahimi realized she had a knack for bringing out the potential in a space through creative design.
In 2005, Ebrahimi started professionally staging homes in the D.C. market and founded the Rockville-based business Show-Smart! to help homeowners make their properties more attractive to potential buyers.
"Everyone looks better elegantly dressed than naked — unless you're a swimsuit model — and that's the same for real estate," she says.
Ebrahimi says sellers need to accent the best features of their property — a great layout, floors, renovated kitchen, lots of storage space or a master bathroom, for example — and play down the negatives. It's about neutralizing the space to appeal to the broadest set of buyers, so don't take it personally.
Continue Reading "Keeping Up Appearances: Making Your Home Sale-Ready with a Staging Pro" »
WHEN YOUR SOFA SEEMS sad or your bed looks boring, a throw pillow functions like a bit of decor bling. Not only can a well-placed pouf dress up your nest, but it can also provide a place to rest your head — or for Mr. Whiskers to nap. "Pillows are a quick way to update, especially if they are colorful and your home is a sea of neutrals," says Mei Xu, owner of Rockville-based Blissliving home.com, which sells sequined bolsters, striped squares and other stylish bits of fluff. But remember, pillows are to a piece of upholstery as a necklace or scarf is to a dress: One or two equals a sleek statement; too many will overwhelm — and overpad — your pad.
1) Channel the Silk Road with wool pillows made by Kyrgyzstani women. They'd look hip on a leather chair. ($119 each; Art With Flowers, Tysons Galleria;
703-903-6837)
2) Outside, dandelions cause sneezing. Inside, strewn across Paper Cloud's linen square, they cause snoozing. ($85; Vivi, 7254 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda; 301-656-5626)
3) Like something you'd lean back on at a Budapest cafe, but hipper, Thomas Paul's Art Nouveau-gone-newer puff suits a boudoir. ($96; RCKNDY, 1515 U St. NW; 202-332-5639)
4) Blissliving Home's rain-slicker yellow vinyl rectangle provides a dramatic pop against a printed chair or mixed in with patterned bolsters. ($50, Blisslivinghome.com)
5) Style scan: When rendered in a beige linen blend, a mundane bar code morphs into modernist art. Plop Ferm Living's witty piece
on a red recliner. ($110, 2modern.com)
6) Whether you cuddle up with Jane Austen or Dan Brown, CB2's "Lit 101" pillow boasts a funky library vibe. It'd work well combined with bright, solid poufs. ($20, Cb2.com)
Photo by Marge Ely/Express
DON'T BE FOOLED BY Trish Suhr's honey-soaked Southern twang. The peppy, Kentucky-born co-star of the Style network's "Clean House" (check local listings) is ruthless when it comes to ridding people of their clutter. This week, Suhr and crew started their quest for the messiest home in the country, which wraps up July 1 with a two-hour special on the most offensive abode.
» EXPRESS: You're just back from filming the search for the messiest home. Did you find it?
» SUHR: I believe we did. I will tell you that once you think you've seen it all, there's always more. When you start to see the homes on the show, you won't think it could get any worse — and it does. It just keeps blowing your mind.
» EXPRESS: I bet many of us will be shocked at seeing how others live. Do messy people seem like regular folks?
» SUHR: Yep, they do! I would love to say that there's some formula for what a clutter bug looks like, but they're just as everyday normal as you or me. You'd probably even think, "This person seems neat as a pin." And then you walk through the door and think, "How are you even living like this?"
Continue Reading "Yard Sale Queen: 'Clean House' Co-Star Trish Suhr" »
FLOOR-TO-CEILING WINDOWS, steel appliances and slick floors meant that the Logan Circle condo lawyer David Joy, 44, and diplomat Offy Ismojo, 47, bought in 2007 looked mod the moment they moved in. Except for the boxes of books crowding the den. "We had more room in our last place," says Ismojo. "But here, we didn't want bookshelves everywhere. That would look like the Library of Congress."
So, the pair consulted designer Shannon Wang of Apartment Zero (406 Seventh St. NW), who picked out white, modular bookshelves and placed them behind the room's gray wool sofa. Now, Joy and Ismojo's cookbooks, Michael Chabon novels and travel guides fill the bookcase cubbies, along with vases and family photos. "It encourages us not to collect junk," says Joy.
Until everyone gives up books for Kindles, book storage challenges many nesters, be they college students stashing textbooks on Ikea Billy shelves or recovering English majors lusting for home libraries.
But, ironically, part of loving books may be learning to let them go. "Some people hold onto every book they've ever read," says Libby Langdon, interior designer and author of "Libby Langdon's Small Space Secrets" ($25, Knack). "If keeping organized is tough, thin out your collection. Keep hardcovers that mean a lot; donate the zillion little paperbacks."
Still, many people aren't happy unless they live surrounded by old novels and new art books. "Books add warmth to a home," says D.C. designer Sarah Wessel, who fitted a room in the D.C. Design House (through May 10) out as a plush library with built-in bookcases painted white. Hardbacks covered in wallpaper scraps were interspersed with artwork, creating a room both bookish and beautiful.
Coordinating storage systems, either by installing built-in shelves or using matching bookshelves from Ikea or Design Within Reach, goes a long way toward making a mess of books look like a meaningful collection. "Instead of having a million bookshelves all over the house, put them in one area," Langdon says. "It'll look like a library."
Continue Reading "Tome Improvement: Love Your Library With Hip Shelving" »
IT'S A QUANDRY for the global age: How does a citizen of the world translate a jet-setting lifestyle into designer digs without seeming as pretentious as, er, the term "jet-setting"? A decidedly 2009 approach might mean accenting your pad with ikats and suzanis — Central Asia's feisty alternatives to tired toile and lame leopard prints.
You'll recognize suzanis by the graphic flowers and curvy vines embroidered onto rectangular cotton and silk textiles, while the tribal patterns of ikats stem from a sophisticated style of tie-dye (yarns are colored first, then carefully woven into preset geometric patterns). "The bright colors and playfulness of these textiles make people happy," says Mia Backman Worrell, co-owner of Timothy Paul Bedding + Home (15291 14th St. NW; 202-234-2020).
These trademark whimsical patterns are splashed everywhere right now — covers of glossies, stylish boutiques — both as the real, often antique thing and in mass market, often mod incarnations (funky shower curtains, shapely ottomans).
Continue Reading "Material World: Asian Textiles' Silk Road Style" »
WHEN DESIGN guru Frank Fontana comes knocking at your door, your pad is probably about to get a cheap-yet-sleek makeover. That's because the straight-talking, fast-walking host of HGTV's "Design on a Dime" (check schedule at Hgtv.com for reruns) relishes creating good style at a good price. We caught up with the frequent "Good Morning America" guest about decor on a budget.
» EXPRESS: Do people decorate differently during a recession?
» FONTANA: I think it means a lot of people try doing things for themselves. But sometimes that makes them bold. Maybe they'll get a DIY Venetian plaster kit at Home Depot.
» EXPRESS: What good, cheap spruce-up ideas you can give me?
» FONTANA: Spend more on stuff you're going to have for a while versus stuff that'll see you through a transition. If you're a college student, go to Ikea and get cheapy stuff. If you're older, take $3,000 to buy some quality furniture, then chintz out on the other stuff. And don't hire painters - that's something anyone can do themselves.
Addison Road