Monthly Archives: February 2018

Kitchen Design Trends for Spring 2018

Kitchen Design Trends for Spring 2018

Kitchen design doesn’t change as quickly as other fashions, so when trends evolve, it’s time to pay attention, especially if you’re considering remodeling your kitchen. Here are five trends to consider:Kitchen Design Trends for Spring 2018

Color. White kitchens are clean, pristine, and modern but they don’t have to be monotone. Colors that are coming on strong are teal, a deep bluish green and marine blue, a saturated greenish blue. If you love white, or white and grey kitchens, think about adding more color to the island, walls, cabinets or backsplash.

Matte black fixtures. Matte black looks a lot like traditional polished bronze, so for the look to work, the style needs to be sleek, geometric and contemporary. The look is also a great update for your bathroom fixtures.

Workstations. Whether you’re baking, grilling or using the stovetop, install multiple food preparation areas for chopping and mixing. Family and friends can cook together, making meal preparation a fun bonding activity. You can separate foods for individual diets, like gluten-free, and clean up is easier.

Beverage stations. Taking the place of butler’s pantries, when no one has a butler these days, are beverage stations adjoining the kitchen. Chose the appliances around your favorite drinks, including coffee machines, smoothie makers, wine storage, juice bars and cocktail mixing.

Waterfall islands. To really show off your choice of granite, dress your island with a waterfall, where the granite cascades down the sides between the seating area and food prep area. The look is worth the extra expense.

Is Home Remodeling Right For You?

Home Remodeling

SHOULD YOU SELL OR REMODEL YOUR HOME?

Anything that gets as much use as your home shows wear and tear after a few years. Colors and decorative styles look tired and outdated, or you may need more room due to an addition in the family. So do you sell or remodel and stay?

Ask your Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network professional to show you homes for sale that have the size, features and finishes you want, and create a comparative market analysis of homes like yours so you’ll know what you can reasonably expect to net if you sell.

You’ll pay about 12% of the sales price and more in closing costs to sell and purchase another home. Moving costs are about $2,300, (if you have 4 movers at $200 per hour) for an intrastate move and about 7,400 pounds of household goods, according to the American Moving and Storage Association.

If you decide to remodel, make sure your design will meet your needs for years to come. You’ll need the right team – contractors, kitchen planners and interior designers to help you put it all together. Talk to your lender to learn how much you can borrow and if that sum will help you meet your remodeling goals.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for Homeowners: How It Will Affect You

While most tax costs that affect homeowners are determined by the taxing authorities in each state, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will affect property ownership for everyone.

Unless Congress does some tinkering with the Act after it was signed into law in December 2017, corporations will receive a massive tax cut as individuals and married couples receive higher standard income tax Tax Cuts and Jobs Actdeductions. Taxable rates are cut in all levels of income for individuals, and the standard tax deduction will double to $12,000. Joint filers will receive a deduction of $24,000.

Homeowners are used to deducting state and local income, property and sales taxes from their federal income tax, but those deductions will be capped at $10,000 annually for homes purchased after December 15, 2017. And the mortgage interest deduction will only be available to those with new mortgages under $750,000, according to Curbed.com, and for existing loans up to $1 million. The same deduction remains in place for second homes, says the The Wall Street Journal.

This could affect homeowners in high-cost areas such as California and New York but proponents of the Tax Act say doubled individual deductions should offset some, most or all of the difference.

Experts are unsure at this point whether or not the changes will affect the housing market, but it could have a terrific impact in some areas, if homeowners decide to wait and see what happens, lowering available inventory and causing prices to rise in mid-cost, high-demand areas like Dallas, Las Vegas and others. As always, please ask your tax professional for the best advice.