It is time to start thinking about summer! Granted, it almost always feels like summer in the Central Valley, but now summer is actually almost here. Do you have Memorial Day plans? What about 4th of July? Do you usually host a cookout, but want to kick it up a little this year? What about those spontaneous Saturday nights that you just want to have friends over in your backyard?
Well, sometimes throwing a party seems a lot easier than it really is. Cooking, cleaning, and decorating can take a lot of time, leaving you too exhausted to enjoy your guests. That is why we have put together some food prepping tips as well as some simple decor tricks to help ease your hosting spirit:
VISALIA, Calif. – May 20, 2016 – Local homebuilder San Joaquin Valley Homes (SJV Homes) announced it has purchased 37 acres of raw land on Jensen Street between St. John’s Parkway and Houston Avenue in Visalia and plans to build 144 single-family homes. Grading will begin in June, and a grand opening at the new neighborhood, called Pine River Estates, is scheduled for October 2016.
“This neighborhood will offer quality homes at an affordable price,” said SJV Homes’ Co-Founder Jim Robinson. “Prices will start in the low 200s with newly designed floor plans and elevations. Plus, its location near elementary, middle and high schools that are all located close together is ideal for families.”
As a first time home buyer, you are probably excited to pick out your new house! You may have created a list of what you want your home to include. How many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, your ideal location and more are probably included on your list. With a first home, you will also be obtaining your first mortgage. Many first time home buyers don’t put as much thought into their first mortgage as they do their first home. However, this is a huge financial committment. Therefore, it should be considered seriously. Take the time to read the following important mortgage information for a first time home buyer.
Get Pre-Approval
It is worthwhile to get pre-approved before you start searching for your dream home. You will need to provide the following for the pre-approval process:
Income Amount
Information About Other Assets
Proof of Employment
Driver’s License
Social Security Number
During the pre-approval process, you will be alerted to any issues with your credit report and credit score. For example, an error may be found on your credit report. By identifying issues early in the home buying process, you will have time to address the problem before you purchase your house
Our San Joaquin Valley homes offer the space, floor plans and amenities that you want in your next property, so you’re excited to buy one as soon as you can. That’s something we’re eager to help you with. Unfortunately, you also have your current home to sell before you can make a purchase, which is not something we’re directly involved with. However, our professional real estate experience can offer you the following tips on selling your home as quickly — and for the highest price – as possible.
Get a pro to help with the sale.
Unless you have many years experience in the real estate market, you need to get a professional agent to help you out. Sure, you’ll save money by doing it yourself. But you’ll have to handle advertising, open houses, showing the property, dealing with visits, and negotiating the deal. And you won’t know enough to figure out if the offer you received is worth considering. Then there’s the paperwork. As professionals ourselves, we know how complex processing the sale can be. If you miss dotting an “i” or crossing a “t,” you could easily mess up the sale and be financially liable for something you knew nothing about.
As a first-time home buyer or someone looking for better property, you’re also considering older homes. Many have traditional charm, bigger yards, full-grown trees, and well-established neighborhoods. They may also save you money over newer San Joaquin Valley homes. That is, if you’re willing to deal with time and expense of common old house problems.
No Insulation
Go back 50 years or so and houses may not have any insulation. Most builders believed that four inches of dead air inside the cavities of the framing provided enough protection from heat or cold. Any discomfort could easily be mitigated by a good furnace or air-conditioner, powered by cheap and abundant energy. Think about the cost and effort of adding insulation to an older property. You won’t face that issue in our new developments because all their structures are weather-proofed to the latest residential standards.
LA County’s Department of Sanitation has changed the name of their Kings County compost facility just as it has finally become operational. Approved by the Kings County Board of Supervisors in 2004, it has taken 12 years to make this happen in what is a remote part of the old lake bed. No longer part of Westlake Farms, the $130 million facility is now called Tulare Lake Compost.
”We should have our first batch of finished compost to sell in a few weeks” says engineer Paul Prestia.
Residential construction permits are off to a slow start in the county’s two largest cities this year.
Visalia is reporting 102 permits issued for single residential home through March. Last year, Visalia issued 509.
Multi-family permits are also slow in the early going of 2016. Until March, Visalia had issued just six permits for 12 units. During 2015, Visalia had 34 permits for 106 units.
Tulare is not reporting much better numbers.
Tulare planners to consider housing element
So far, Tulare has issued 59 single-family resident permits and no multi-family residential permits.
During 2015, Tulare issued 278 single-family residential permits and seven for commercial developments. There were no multi-family residential permits.
When decorating, people often think about wall colors and how to arrange keepsakes. But the walls of a home are so much more than just a place for paint. Every inch of your walls provide space to speak your style and bring refreshment, interest and excitement to everyone who enters. Here are some unique ways to use your walls to their full potential.
First, look at lots of art. Go to galleries, to thrift stores, browse the internet for photos and art pieces that stand out to you. After some time, you will start to notice a pattern. Maybe it’s a color pattern, or a subject pattern. Maybe you like bright, warm colors, or maybe you like lighthouses and seashells. Whatever it is, choose something that stands out to you. Find a painting, a photo or a poster. Frame it and bring it home and put it in your living room. Don’t find just one, but several that have something in common. Or use the same frame to tie several different pieces together.
San Joaquin Valley Homes celebrated the opening of Sedona at Palo Verde, their newest development in east Tulare on April 2. This was the official premier of their beautifully decorated model homes, featuring new plans. Currently the models are open daily for touring and a New Home Specialist is on site to provide information on the homes and neighborhood, as well as special offers and lender information.
The Grand Opening at Sedona was a huge success, prompting San Joaquin Valley Homes to prepare to release more home sites soon. For those looking to move quickly there are homes currently under construction, providing buyers with the opportunity to move in early, but just a few are still available.
“Sedona presents people living in, or moving to the San Joaquin Valley the perfect opportunity to secure a home early, at an attractive price, in what will become one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in Tulare,” said Joe Leal, who co-founded San Joaquin Valley Homes three years ago with long-time development partners Jim Robinson and Randy Merrill.
f you happen to have a little vignette of furniture in a small area of your home, try these garden stools instead of a coffee table! The stools are the perfect size to compliment a small sofa and won’t be overcrowded like a coffee table. Plus you can move them around and closer to you while lounging for easy placement of your beverage. Let these stools be your mini version of a coffee table!
One of the reasons you feel one of our San Joaquin Valley homes is better for you financially than renting is the tax savings. The following are some of the important deductions that you get for buying a home.
Mortgage interest is probably something you already know is a tax deduction. It forms a large part of your monthly payment during the early years and is deductible on up to a million-dollar loan. This deduction diminishes slowly over the years as more of your monthly payment starts consisting of principal rather than interest. Your lender sends you a Form 1098 in January to tell you how much of your payment consisted of deductible interest.
Points are the fees that you might pay a lender so you can obtain your mortgage. They usually represent a percentage of the total loan.
As a new homeowner, you don’t need to worry about major issues such as a failing roof. Yet, this doesn’t mean you can sit idle for the next 20 years. It is important to take steps to keep your home in good condition. Spring is a fantastic time to thoroughly inspect your home for any issues and make repairs while they are minor. Consider implementing the following spring preparation tasks to keep your home in new condition.
Outdoor Inspection
While it is unlikely your new home will have any major roofing or siding issues, it is good to get in the habit of taking a close look at the exterior each spring. This will help you become acquainted with the current condition of your home so you notice when something is not right and needs repair. Certain outdoor items, like the gutters, need to be cleaned out in the spring every year. Consider conducting the following inspection and maintenance tasks this spring.
Most people have two main reasons for buying a home. The primary one is to find suitable living space for themselves and their families. No less important is the secondary purpose: to put money into an asset that grows in value so when it is sold, the owner can reap financial rewards.
Housing Market
San Joaquin Valley Homes is a company that fulfills the first reason by providing well-built houses in good neighborhoods that contain the features that homeowners demand. The factors behind the second purpose remain outside our control but we can turn to third-party analysts to determine if those factors remain viable.
Metrostudy is an organization that provides “primary and secondary market information to the housing and residential construction industry.” It forms a reliable source of data for what’s happening in particular areas throughout the country. It considers the Central Valley housing market to be the strongest in eight years as of the fourth quarter of 2015. Building for 2015 was up 27 percent over the previous years.
Spring is nearly here. Birds are chirping outside your new Tulare home. Trees and flowers are budding. The transformation from winter to spring happens quickly. It’s a season that we always wish lasted longer. It is marked by mild weather, perfect breezes and picnics in lush parks, the beginning of beach vacations and longer days. Who couldn’t use more of these things?
There is one more thing about spring: cleaning. We are not writing this to pop your happy bubble. We are here to give you a plan and to help you through the annual ritual – and necessity – of spring cleaning.
First, if you are the type of person who just wants to get it all done as quickly as possible, more power to you. Block out a weekend, enlist the help of your family, open the windows and get to work. Use this Thorough Spring Cleaning Checklist from Imperfect Homemaking, where you’ll find ideas to help with tasks like organizing your pantry and fridge and cleaning your microwave, lamps and lampshades.
TULARE, Calif. – March 4, 2016 – Local homebuilder San Joaquin Valley Homes is ready to start selling the first of 53 single-family homes at Sedona at Palo Verde, which is located within a master-planned community of 350 homes.
Prices will be released mid-March to homebuyers on the interest list, who will be the first to have the opportunity to select and reserve a lot. To join the interest list for Sedona, click here or call 559-687-8333.
Sedona features popular designs such as Craftsman, Mediterranean and Tuscan on spacious lots of up to 9,400 square feet. The first release will offer all five floor plans ranging from 1,574 to 2,314 square feet, giving homebuyers a wide range of choices to fit their lifestyles. Prices will start in the low $200,000s.
Sedona, 53 Single-Family Homes in a Well-Located Master Plan Community in Tulare, Calif.”
Local homebuilder San Joaquin Valley Homes is ready to start selling the first of 53 single-family homes at Sedona at Palo Verde, which is located within a master-planned community of 350 homes.
Prices will be released mid-March to homebuyers on the interest list, who will be the first to have the opportunity to select and reserve a lot. To join the interest list for Sedona, click here or call 559-687-8333.
TULARE, Calif. – February 26, 2016– Local homebuilder San Joaquin Valley Homes (SJV Homes) announced it has sold all 71 homes at Catalina, a residential community at Mooney and Kern streets in Tulare, Calif. Sales began at Catalina in March 2014 and the last home was sold in December 2015, which reflects a brisk average closing rate of about 3.5 homes per month.
The journey to a new home is full of excitement. You thought about the details. You watched as the foundation was laid, as the walls went up, as the doors and windows were installed. Now, you are the owner of a new home.
Your home is an extension of you. It is where you spend the best hours of your day. It is home to the people you love most.
It was once one of many homes for sale in the Central Valley. Now it’s yours. And it begs for a housewarming party because your new home is not just a thing to show. It is a huge part of your life. So, get unpacked and get the invitations ready.
When you purchase a new home you have a vision for how it will look after you have moved in. Does that vision include clutter? Probably not. However, many homes become cluttered with time. Consider the following tips to avoid clutter in your new home.
Take Time Unpacking
It’s so exciting moving into a new house. You may feel the need to rush to get everything put away. Living in the chaos of unpacked boxes is unpleasant. However, it is worthwhile to take your time unpacking. Really think through where everything should go. Get rid of items you don’t think you will be using again. Taking the time now to find convenient locations for your stuff will make it more likely you will put them away when you are done using them. For example, if you use your iron weekly you will want it in an easily accessible place. This will make it less tempting to just leave it out between uses. Also, in some cases items get left out because they don’t have a home. Make sure you take the time to find a home for everything
An inventory of what you own is necessary for insurance. If anything is lost during a fire or stolen by a burglar, you have documentation of your ownership and replace it.
There’s no better time to create this inventory than now. You could develop your list the old-fashioned way: by writing down what you own, which is time consuming. Or you could use modern technology, such as a smart phone or video camera, to create a visual record relatively quickly. To do that, check out the following tips from professional photographer Jeff Wignall.
Start on the outside.
You’d correctly assume that most of your stuff is inside your San Joaquin Valley home. But what about the new bike you park on the porch, the barbecue grill next to the patio set, or the children’s play set in the backyard. If you confine your recording to the interior, you could easily miss these possessions. To ensure that you get everything, start your inventory from the outside with some wide shots of the home, so you know what you have in general and how they relate to your home. Then focus on some close-ups for more detail.
