Eric Mitchell Real Estate

  How to Spot Foundation Problems The foundation provides support for your entire house, so keeping it level and in good condition is critical to the protection of the entire structure and the safety of your family. A foundation can become damaged by a variety of problems and natural occurrences. If you notice any of these warning signs, you should have your foundation inspected as soon as possible. Cracks The most glaring sign of a foundation problem is cracking in the foundation, walls or floors. This can be a result of movement in the soil that causes the house to sink. Even if a crack appears small, it can indicate that there is a serious problem. This should be addressed as soon as possible. Settling or Heaving You may notice that the house is settling or sinking on one side. This indicates a significant foundation problem that can result in safety issues. Ignoring even a small change will only allow the problem to get worse. Sometimes the opposite happens and the foundation m...

  Ending Small Talk: Tips for More Meaningful Conversations Having more meaningful relationships with friends both new and old is a great goal, and it can start with your conversations. Below are five tips for those of us frustrated with small talk. Skip the weather.  As tempting as it may be to springboard off the weather, this can lead you down the empty-conversation rabbit hole and into a twenty-minute dialogue about rain. Asking about almost anything else should yield more interesting results. Think of base questions.  So, what should you talk about, if not the weather? Come up with a short list of base questions you can turn to in a flash. If you’re talking to a stranger or new acquaintance, try “have you done any traveling lately?” or “are you reading any good books?” These more personal questions show genuine interest and will actually reveal something about your conversation partner. Make eye contact.  Regardless of what you’re discussing, work to maintain or...

How the Coronavirus is Affecting Mortgage Lenders' Requirements The COVID-19 pandemic has led to business shutdowns, furloughs and layoffs across the United States. Many homeowners are unable to afford their mortgages and have requested forbearance to reduce or delay their payments. The new reality has made lenders cautious when deciding whether to grant new mortgages to homebuyers. Lenders are also being careful when it comes to applications from homeowners who want to refinance their existing loans. More Stringent Requirements for Homebuyers Due to COVID-19 The economic uncertainty has mortgage lenders worried that if they grant new home loans, borrowers who are struggling financially due to the coronavirus might make payments late or miss them altogether. Lenders are therefore taking steps to reduce their risk. Many have raised their minimum credit score requirements, some dramatically, to make sure they give loans to people who will be likely to repay them. Lenders ...

Money Matters for Millennial Parents As a young parent, you may just be learning about all the responsibilities parenthood requires. When it comes to financial planning, setting your sight on the future can help immensely. Demolish debt.  Slaying your own debt will positively impact your family’s financial future. While it may take years to pay off those student loans or credit card debt, creating a plan can help. Tackle your lowest balance first to gain momentum then take on the next smallest. Additionally, pay attention to higher interest rates that are costing you a lot of money. Build a budget.  Creating a budget doesn’t have to be hard. There are many budgeting apps available on the market to help you track your expenses, or you can try the trusty envelope system with monthly allowances for groceries, entertainment, utilities, etc. Build an emergency fund.  Setting a fund for potential emergencies will never backfire. Aim for a small, achievable goal a...

Kitchen Trends That Are Going Out of Fashion Most of us spend a lot of time in the kitchen, preparing meals and cleaning up. In many cases, we spend so much time in our familiar kitchen space that we don’t pay much attention to what it looks like. But the trends, they are a-changin’. Today’s kitchens are sleek and practical. Design experts list seven kitchen looks that are quickly going out of style: Short backsplashes . Backsplashes that reach up to six to eight inches above the countertop are sorely outdated. If you’re up for a remodel, take the backsplash all the way up to the upper cabinets to make your kitchen feel bigger and cleaner.   Distressed wood cabinets.  Once the darling of country-style kitchens, the clunky distressed wood of yesteryear is giving way to natural wood or white finishes. Over the stove microwaves.  When microwaves came into fashion, homeowners put them over the stove to save counter space. But today’s families want necessities ...

Hanging on to Your Sanity While Working From Home At first, it may have seemed like a dream come true; sleep a little later…skip the commute…work in your pajamas if you feel like it.  But working from home can quickly outstay it’s welcome. You miss the routine – the coffee breaks and kibitzing, the face-to-face meetings, all those busy, ringing phones – and given the uncertainties of the COVID-19 crisis, there’s no way to know how long your work-at-home status will continue.  Psychologists and productivity experts provide these tips for making the most of the time you are working remotely: Choose a permanent workspace –  It may be tempting to work on the living room sofa. Don’t do it. Create a workspace at a desk or at the dining room table and make that your dedicated workspace. It will help keep you on track and may even help remind family members to avoid unnecessary disturbances.  Get dressed for work –  Whether it’s office casual or shorts an...

Is Granite on its Way Out? According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, granite countertops are in less demand today, while the use of quartz is on the rise. Why? For one thing, man-made quartz countertops are offered in a far greater range of looks and feels. Reason number two: it’s a bit easier to maintain over the long haul, and it’s deemed a better environmental choice because it emits lower levels of radon—a potentially cancer-causing agent. To be fair, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains the radioactive materials in granite countertops are far too minuscule to pose a health threat. So what, exactly, is a quartz countertop? It’s made of engineered stone, composed of at least 90% ground-up quartz mixed with a binder (like resin) then molded into a slab. Because pigment is added during the manufacturing process, the sky’s the limit when it comes to color. And quartz is non-porous and fairly resistant to stains, mold and bacteria. Unlike grani...