|
|
-
Even if the weather in your area is still a bit chilly, it’s time to start thinking about giving your lawn a little TLC.
For many, this means heading down to the local home improvement warehouse to buy chemical products that might produce a green lawn, but will do a great deal of damage to the soil, water, and wildlife in the process.
If you’d rather take a more organic approach to lawn care, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Fertilization: Spring is a crucial time to fertilize because it replenishes the food reserves your yard draws from while dormant in the winter and fuels grass’ rapid growth phase. Hopefully, you’ve been composting your kitchen waste all year long, and you have the means to make compost tea to fertilize your lawn and garden. This will produce a thick, healthy lawn that also helps prevent weeds. (And don’t worry: if you haven’t been composting, there are lots of packaged organic fertilizers on the market, but just like when shopping for organic foods, be careful and read the label).
Weed control: Apply a pre-emergent weed killer on lawns to prevent grassy weeds from germinating. Spring broadleaf weeds like dandelions, clovers and plantains, are best prevented by maintaining a proper mowing height and fertilization. After a mild winter, annual weeds that germinate in the fall, like henbit and chickweed, will be more visible and require higher levels of broadleaf weed control through herbicides. Never use chemical weed killers! Check out natural and effective options like Burn Out, (made from clove oil, vinegar and lemon juice) instead.
Pest control/Disease repair: Severe winters may increase the incidence of winter diseases such as snow mold and Bermuda dead spot. Proper cultural care is important in helping your lawn recover from stress related winter diseases. Properly timed fertilizer application and mowing at the recommended height for your grass type are two items that will aid in the recovery of your lawn.
Mowing: Contrary to popular belief, setting your mower at a very low height can actually increase weeds by exposing the soil surface to sunlight and removing stored nutrients in leaf blades. Cool weather grasses, such as bluegrass, ryegrass and fescues, should maintain a height of 2.5 to 3.5 inches. Warm season grasses, like bermuda, zoysia, St. Augustine and centipede, should be kept at 1.5 to 2.5 inches tall. Also, think about skipping the loud, carbon-intensive gas powered mower for an electric or human-powered alternative.
-
Bathrooms are one of the most costly rooms to remodel–generally second only to kitchens. These costs are often incurred in labor charges on items that go beyond the typical do-it-yourselfer’s skills. If you find yourself in the position of needing a bathroom update, but without the funds for a full remodel, here’s some quick, budget-friendly updates that will give your bathroom a brand new look.
Here are some great tips from Addicted2Decorating on how to get your bathroom in tip top shape.
Painting is absolutely the cheapest way to transform any room. For around $25, you can have a brand new look. And because they’re smaller than other rooms, bathrooms are often a great place to experiment with interesting new wall treatments. Do you like stripes? Try them in your bathroom!
Most people overlook the importance of lighting in almost every room of their home. If you’re still living with an outdated bath bar (often called Hollywood lighting), then you can have a fresh, new update for as little as $30.
Again, paint is the cheapest way to update. Are your wood cabinets looking tired from years and years of use? Give them a fresh coat of paint, and they’ll look new! I recommend a good cleaning, followed by a light sanding, then priming. Top with a coat or two of an oil-based paint, and you’ve got a brand new look. And the cost? About $70.
Hardware is the "jewelry” of your cabinets. Not having hardware on your cabinets is like putting on a great outfit, but forgetting to accessorize. Hardware is also a great place to be creative and unique. You can expect to pay anywhere from $3 to $15 (or more) for each knob or pull. But it’s well worth it!
Sometimes a new, fresh look is as easy as replacing your worn-out, faded towels with some soft, fluffy new towels. And as popular as spa-inspired interiors are these days, it’s difficult to go wrong with white! White also gives your space a fresh, clean look. You can expect to pay from $5 to $30 per towel, depending on the quality.
When most of us think of purchasing a rug for our bathroom, we generally head to the bathroom department of the local home store. But why not try something with a little more style? Instead of a regular bath mat, try introducing a small area rug into your bathroom. Instant color and style! And because the rug is generally smaller than one you’d need for a living room, it’s possible to find one for $50 to $100.
I’m really surprised at how many people still use toilet seat covers in their bathrooms. Toilet seat covers are not only outdated, but they’re incredibly unsanitary. Remove it and reveal your sparkly clean toilet. And the cost? Free! Simply remove…..AND TOSS!
If you have a plain, plate-glass, builder’s basic mirror, give it a frame! Simply purchase some moulding from your local home improvement store, cut to fit, paint, and adhere it to your mirror. Fill in the corners with a bit of wood filler, sand, and touch-up the paint. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making a frame yourself, you can always remove the mirror completely, and replace it with a purchased, framed mirror. Either way, the impact will be tremendous. This can easily be achieved for $50 to $100.
If you have a bathroom that requires a shower curtain, this is NOT the place to make a simply utilitarian choice. Visually, shower curtains consume a large area of the bathroom, and this is the perfect place to add color and style to your bathroom. So now’s the time to get rid of your plain, plastic shower curtain, and find one that defines your style!!
For all your real estate needs, contact John Flavin @ 617-479-1000
-
There are many ways that you can invest in real estate. One way is by purchasing land. This option can be a very lucrative choice, as long as you keep the few important points in mind. The reason why purchasing land could be a viable option is because you get to pick your location, and build a home to your specs. This will allow you to find your own contractors to construct your building for you. By having full control over who you choose and what you pay, it becomes easier for you to save on costs.
Keep in mind that while you do have full control over who you choose to build on your property, it also means that there will be more responsibility hanging over your shoulders. For example, you would need to make sure that you have all the right permits to construct your building, and you also have to make sure that you choose the right contractors; otherwise the whole project can turn into a big catastrophe. Therefore, before deciding to purchase a piece of property that is completely void of any buildings, take some time to do some research, as this will save you a lot of headache in the long run.
Buying land in a down market can also be a great investment. Land is becoming harder to come by, which is creating a higher demand for land and in turn bringing the price up. Buying land now and holding onto to it could bring some great return. Think about it in 10 years from now there will be a lot less land and your lot could be worth a pot of gold. Invest now and reap the rewards down the road. Think of it like a savings account, you deposit money into a piece of land and watch your money grow!
-
It is almost 2012 and now is the time to start thinking about tax planning strategies. Specifically, both the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "Health Care Act”) and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Jobs Creation Act (the "Tax Relief Act”) were enacted into law in 2010 and offer certain tax planning opportunities.
1. Maximize your medical expense account
A medical expense flexible spending account, or FSA (Flexible Spending Account), allows you to use before-tax earnings to pay for medical or health care expenses not covered by your health insurance. Assuming a 25 percent tax rate, this means that for every $100 you allocate to your health care FSA you will avoid $25 in tax. The Health Care Act limits the maximum contribution to these types of accounts to $2,500 starting in 2013, so 2012 is the last year to use an FSA to pay for orthodonture work or other large medical expenses on a tax favored basis. You should check the specifics of your employer’s plan, but using before-tax dollars for medical expenses will maximize your health care dollars.
2. Is it time to sell?
The Tax Relief Act maintained the top capital gains and dividends rate of 15 percent for 2011 and 2012. In 2013, the top capital gains rate will increase to 20 percent and the top dividends tax rate will increase to 39.6 percent. The Health Care Act also created a new 3.8 percent tax on investment income that will increase your tax rate by 3.8 percent on investment earnings if you file jointly and make over $250,000. While the threshold is relatively high, it is not indexed for inflation and applies the tax to all investment earnings to the extent modified income exceeds the threshold. As we saw with the Alternative Minimum Tax, what seems like a tax on those with higher income will likely become a broad based tax after some period of time due to the impact of inflation. Given these temporary lower rates, and the looming 3.8 percent tax, you might consider whether it makes sense to sell some capital assets in 2011 or 2012. Of course, tax considerations are only one factor when determining whether to buy, hold or sell an investment.
3. Consider converting retirement assets
In 2010 there was a tremendous increase in conversions of traditional retirement assets to Roth 401(k)s or Roth IRAs due to the elimination of income limits on conversion and the one time opportunity to pay the conversion tax liability in 2011 and 2012. However, even without the ability to pay the tax liability over two years, converting to a Roth can still be a very powerful planning strategy. Roth retirement assets provide a tax-free asset that diversifies your retirement portfolio, allows for yearly retirement tax planning, and acts as a hedge against future tax rate increases. Roth IRA assets are also not subject to age 70 1/2 required minimum distributions or RMDs, which further enhances the power of the tax-free Roth growth.
4. Contribute to an IRA
Many individuals do not realize that they can contribute to an IRA no matter how much income they make. The income limits for IRA contributions only apply to determine if the contribution to the IRA is deductible from income. If you have earned income and are not at least age 70 1/2, funding an IRA even on an after-tax basis can be a powerful savings strategy and can help to make up for past under saving. And don’t wait to fund the IRA when you file your income tax return in April. You can make that contribution now and enjoy extra time to grow your retirement nest egg.
5. Make charitable contributions
The Tax Relief Act extended for 2011 only a prior tax law provision permitting individuals age 70 1/2 or older to use up to $100,000 per year of IRA distributions to make charitable contributions and avoid paying income tax on that amount. Absent this provision the individual would have to include the IRA amount in income and then take a charitable deduction. Given the limitations on charitable contributions and itemized deductions under current law, it is very likely that this two step process would result in the individual not receiving a charitable deduction in an amount to offset the income recognition.
If you are age 70 1/2 or older and you plan on making charitable contributions, by using your IRA funds you can maximize the tax benefit of that donation.
-
If you are thinking about owning a piece of property to live in while wanting to have an extra section to help pay the bills, then you will find that there is an effective way to do it. Today, many people are considering the idea of buying a multi-family home, because this allows you to have your own space for you and your family while getting extra income from renting the other apartments. Keep in mind that as advantageous as this is, there are a few points that you have to consider.
The first thing to keep in mind is becoming a landlord will require some extra work. When repairs are needed, or a tenant does not pay the rent it can cause some unwanted worries. This being said it can also be a great way to start off allowing you to live, in some cases, rent free while getting monthly income to help pay down your mortgage.
Another point to remember is that when it comes to renting, is choosing the right tenants, you have to remember that you are in fact running a business, as you will be collecting an income from the home you are renting. Take the time to choose the right tenant, a credit check, otherwise you might find yourself in a situation where you will be losing money if your tenant does not pay up at the end of the month. If you are willing to put in the work, purchasing a multi-family home can be a great way to invest.
|
Property Search
Flavin & Flavin Realty
