A-plus ideas for creating a smart study space

In a matter of weeks, or even days, it will be time for kids to head back to school. Each year, the homework takes a little longer, and each subject gets a lot more challenging.

You can help your child stay ahead of the game by creating an ideal workspace.

Mary Susan Bicicchi, a LaGrange interior designer, explains that there is no cookie-cutter solution to children's study areas.

"Some families like their children to be in the room when they study, others like them nearby so they can assist when needed," she said.

Recently, Bicicchi has seen a rise in popularity of "family communication centers" - a common place to put a computer, printer, bulletin board for reminders and study tables or desks.

"If it is in the budget, shelves for books and trophies as well as cabinet doors to hide things are very desirable," she said.

As more children use their own computers, desks should have ample space for monitors, cords and speakers. "With laptops you can get away with a smaller desk top ... but I prefer to give children a larger writing surface when possible," Bicicchi said.

For extremely small rooms, be sure to use vertical space as much as possible. Or, Bicicchi suggests, take a 6-foot closet space and build in a desk.

"With ample lighting, you can close the doors to hide any mess and everything is at your fingertips," she said. "I recently designed one of these for my dad and he calls it 'the submarine' ... because every inch of space is used and easily accessible. He used to be spread out all over his office."

Clueless about what color scheme to choose? Bicicchi recommends timeless basics that you and your children won't tire of easily.

Though many younger girls seem to be attracted to citrus colors like lime, orange and yellow, Bicicchi advocates black and white with a pop of color as a "great timeless combo." Buy folders, bins and picture frames in brighter accent colors.

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source: dailyherald.com

A few easy tasks

Here's a very easy tip. If you use chalkboard paint like the designers did on the backsplashes in the kitchen, first attach Masonite panels to the wall.

This provides a smoother finish than the drywall and makes erasing easier.

In the outdoor spaces, the top rail of the wood planters is Trex, a combination of wood and plastic.

And French-door style shower doors give the all-glass look in the boy's bathroom that is too small to accommodate one swinging door.

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source: dailyherald.com

Furnace could be issue for inspector, seller

Q: When I purchased my home, it was the middle of the summer and very hot, so my home inspector did not test the forced air furnace. Months later, when the cold weather arrived, I found the heater to be inoperative, and the contractor I called said the system is unsafe. The repair costs are more than I can afford. Should I go after the inspector for negligence, the sellers for nondisclosure, or both?

Chris

A: The home inspector may or may not have been negligent, depending on what was stated in the inspection report. Furnace inspections are among the most important aspects of a home inspection because of the potential for hazardous conditions and the high costs of repair or replacement of equipment.

Home inspectors should operate and inspect them, regardless of the weather.

Unfortunately, some thermostats are unable to activate a heating system when the air temperature is above 90 F. But this does not mean that the furnace inspection should simply be dismissed.

If a home inspector, for any reason, is unable to operate a furnace, the inspection report should recommend reinspection prior to close of escrow or evaluation by a licensed heating contractor. If your inspector did neither, then he was negligent and could be liable for the cost of repairs. You should contact him in this regard.

Of equal concern is the question of disclosure by the sellers.

If the heating system was inoperable before the property was sold and the sellers were aware of that fact, they should have disclosed this to all concerned parties. Failure to provide such disclosure could render them liable.

On the other hand, it is possible that they had no knowledge of the problem. For example, if the home had been used as a rental or had been vacant for a prolonged period, the sellers may not have known that the furnace was inoperative. In any event, the sellers, along with the home inspector, should be notified that this problem has come to light.

Q: I am 68 years old, with relatively good health, and I am looking for another career. What about home inspection? I've just signed up for a 7-week course, beginning soon. Am I at that age where home inspection work is too demanding, or do you think I'll be OK?

Tom

A: It depends on what shape you are in. How do you feel about crawling under houses, with barely enough room to move, or through an attic, snaking your way through trusses, ankle deep in fiberglass insulation, while brushing dusty webs from your face? If those working conditions are acceptable, you've overcome the second worst aspect of home inspecting.

The real deterrent is the legal liability. Home buyers will base major purchase decisions on your findings. If you miss any defects in the course of your inspections (and all home inspectors do miss things; especially when they are new to the profession), you could be held liable. Aside from that, home inspection is a challenging and interesting way to make a living, even in the active years of early seniority.

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Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: dailyherald.com

Paying off mortgage not always best

Q: I am 58 and just purchased the home in which my wife and I plan to spend the rest of our lives. We paid points to reduce the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to 4.75 percent.

I am feeling very insecure. The payment is affordable now, but I plan to retire in seven years and my income will drop. At that point, my property taxes will almost certainly be higher as well.

I fear that when I retire, the mortgage payment will become a major strain on my finances. I would like to get it down to about half of what it is now. What is the best way to do that? I have free assets equal to about half the loan balance.

A: Your free assets make it possible to eliminate your insecurity about a payment you can't afford. The issue is how best to use those assets.

Paying down the balance and refinancing:

Using your free assets to pay down the balance of your existing mortgage would shorten the term but not reduce the payment. You would have to refinance to get the payment down, which would mean replacing your 4.75 percent rate with a current market rate of at least 6 percent. That is inadvisable. You may have to give up the 4.75 percent rate when you retire, but there is no point in giving it up now.

Paying down the balance and modifying the loan:

Some lenders, for a fee, will modify a loan contract. Because the rate on your mortgage is so low, it would be in the lender's interest to have the balance paid down, even if not completely. Assuming the lender is willing, you can use your free assets to pay down the balance and then modify the contract based on the new balance. This would allow you to retain the 4.75 percent rate on half of your loan.

If you pay off half the balance and the rate and term remain the same, the payment would fall by half as well. This would give you the peace of mind you are looking for.

However, there can be no assurance that the lender will be willing or able to modify the loan. Your mortgage could be sitting in a pool of mortgages that are the collateral for a mortgage security, in which case a modification would not be possible. Without the modification, there would be little point in paying down the balance.

Furthermore, it is probably a mistake to pay off any part of a 4.75 percent debt when risk-free investments are available at yields higher than that. Repaying debt is an investment that yields the interest rate on the debt. Since you can currently buy an insured 7-year certificate of deposit (CD) yielding at least 5.25 percent, you will be better off when you retire if you buy the CD rather than pay down the mortgage balance.

Sit tight and invest:

I would use the spare cash to buy a CD that will mature about the time you retire. At that point you take stock of the market to plan your next move. If you can continue to earn more than 4.75 percent, you remain invested. On the other hand, if rates have come down to the point where you can no longer invest at a yield above 4.75 percent, you liquidate the CD, pay down the mortgage balance and refinance it to lower the payment.

The old maxim that you should have your mortgage paid off when you retire had a lot of merit for people whose wealth was largely in their home. For people with significant amounts of financial assets, however, the maxim needs revision. What matters is not the mortgage balance alone, but the balance relative to financial assets. Retiring with a $200,000 mortgage balance and $400,000 of financial assets is preferable to retiring with no mortgage and no assets.

Note that I recommended investing in an insured asset. Don't use the revised maxim as a license to gamble with your retirement, as a lot of market gunslingers would have you do. They would like you to do a cash-out refinance for the maximum amount possible, which they will arrange for you, and invest the proceeds in risky assets, which they will also arrange for you. They take theirs off the top, but whether it works for you depends on how well the investments do. It might work out or it might not, but if you are close to retirement, it is not a gamble I recommend.

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source: dailyherald.com

Business in residential rental has two sides to it

Q: I just drove by my rental house and noticed a sign in the front yard indicating that the tenant has applied for rezoning so he can conduct a software development business at the premises. The tenant never asked permission to do this. I feel this action is a breach of trust, and I have lost confidence in the tenant. In addition, I don't know how to monitor this activity in the future. Do you have a position on this circumstance and/or what action do you recommend on my part?

A: James McKinley, an attorney for landlords, replies: Your tenant has no right to request a zoning change for property he is renting for residential purposes. Almost all residential leases will contain a provision stating that the premises are for residential use only, and that the residents may not conduct any sort of business or commercial activity at the premises. You should serve a three-day notice to perform covenant or quit. This notice should quote the paragraph in the lease prohibiting commercial activity, state how the paragraph is being breached, and inform the tenant that if he does not cease all commercial activity at the leased premises, his lease will be terminated, and you will commence action to recover possession of the real property. If the tenant continues to conduct a software development business from the leased premises, you may file an unlawful detainer action.

Steven Kellman, an attorney for tenants, replies: Your tenant has the right to apply for rezoning anytime and anywhere. Whether it gets granted is another story. Regardless of the lease, the tenant may run into some roadblocks with the city council or the planning commission, or at any required public hearings. First of all, the tenant holds no ownership interest in the land and is simply trying to "design" a way, via obtaining the city's permission, to conduct a business out of the home. Very creative, but isn't that what we would expect from a software designer? This type of business (mainly working on the computer) may indeed be run out of the home without rezoning. The tenants may simply apply for a Home Occupation Permit offered by some cities because the business may not attract customers to the site or otherwise offend the neighbors. It may offend you, as the landlord, since the tenant would be essentially getting a commercial space for the price of a residential one. James is correct about serving a three-day notice if the lease prohibits the business activity. If there are no restrictive lease provisions, the tenants may not be doing anything wrong by attempting to run a business from the home, as long as they can get permission from the city in which they live. Of course, when the lease expires, you can correct the situation by amending the lease if it is missing any essential terms about the use of the property.

Q: I have a condo that I rent out. Recently, I was billed $150 by the condo association for an after-hours emergency entry. Apparently, my tenant's friend was concerned about him when he didn't show up for work and was not answering his door or cell phone. This friend called the condo association and got them to make an emergency entry. My tenant was not feeling well, but it was not an emergency. Who should pay for the bill? And would it make a difference if it were an emergency?

Landlords' attorney James McKinley replies: This is an interesting question, because you, as the property owner, entered into contracts with both your tenant and the homeowner association. However, there is no contract between the tenant and the homeowner association. You should review your condominium association's Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) to see under which circumstances, if any, the association may enter the unit without prior permission of the condominium owner. In addition, the CC&Rs would specify who would be responsible for those charges. Typically a homeowner association will enter a condominium unit only in the event of an emergency such as flooding, fire, or some other condition that is damaging the property and that can be remedied only by entering the condominium unit. Normally, the association, or its representative, the property management company, is required to attempt to notify the property owner first. Presumably, the homeowner association and the property management company both have your contact information, and failed to contact you. Additionally, it is unlikely that the CC&Rs provide for entry into the premises to check on the welfare of an occupant.

You should ask the homeowner association to reverse the charges because you were not contacted, and because they had no business making the emergency entry based on the word of your tenant's friend. Finally, you should also review the contract you have entered into with your tenant. Hopefully it contains a provision stating that any charges or fees incurred from the homeowner association, because of the acts or omissions of the tenant, are the tenant's responsibility. In that case, any charges from the homeowner's association would be passed through to your tenant.
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Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software
development, Internet programming,

real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name
registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the
complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

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Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: dailyherald.com