Category: Yancey Blog

If one of your goals in 2020 is homeownership, the Yancey Realty team is here to help. Our agents are knowledgable locals who pride themselves on their customer service skills. Give us a call today at 704-467-8877 to get started!

Whether you’re a millennial looking for your starter home, or you’re a senior searching for your retirement home, the Yancey Realty team is here to help! Homeownership is something everyone deserves, and we’d be honored to assist in your search!

Give us a call at 704-467-8877 to get started.

Creating a gallery wall in your home is an easy, do-it-yourself way to bring your personal style into any room. There is no right or wrong way to create one and no limit to the possibilities. Before you get started, check out the following tips for creating an eye-catching gallery wall that you will love.

Find your wall. Creating a great gallery wall doesn’t require a huge area to work with. Select a nook or corner in your living room, a small stretch of hallway, or your entry area.

Choose a focal piece. Find a favorite piece of art and use that as the center piece for your gallery wall. This could be a large canvas painting, family portrait, metal feature piece, or stylish mirror. Then choose pieces that complement and highlight it.

Determine your theme. Is this gallery wall going to contain artwork and images of all the same texture, color, and materials? Or are you going to mix and match different prints, photographs, décor pieces, frames, and drawings?

Decide on the arrangement. Gallery walls usually lean one of two ways — linear and orderly, or abstract and dimensional. Select the one that matches the look you’re going for and start hanging!

Tie the room together. Your gallery wall doesn’t have to end where the wall hits the flooring. Considering tying in other aspects of the room by coordinating colors and materials on pieces such as rugs, furniture, lamps, plants, bedding, decorative pillows, and more. Or, if you’ve already styled the rest of the room, use those colors to inspire the pieces in your gallery wall.

You’ve found your dream home and now it’s time to cross all your Ts and dot all your Is before it’s all your own. And one of the first items on your closing checklist is the home appraisal. So, what exactly is that?

The home appraisal is essentially a value assessment of the home and property. It is conducted by a certified third party and is used to determine whether the home is priced appropriately. 

During a home appraisal, the appraiser conducts a complete visual inspection of the interior and exterior of the home. He or she factors in a variety of things, including the homes floor plan functionality, condition, location, school district, fixtures, lot size, and more. An upward adjustment is generally made if the home has a deck, a view, or a large yard. The appraiser will also compare the home to several similar homes that were sold within the last six months in the area.

The final report must include a street map showing the property and the ones’ compared, photographs of the interior and exterior, an explanation on how the square footage was calculated, market sales data, public land records, and more.

After it is complete, the lender uses the information found to ensure that the property is worth the amount they are investing. This is a safe-guard for the lender as the home acts as collateral for the mortgage. If the buyer defaults on the mortgage and goes into foreclosure, the lender generally sells the home to recover the money borrowed. 

One of the biggest milestones you will reach in your life will be deciding to become a homeowner. But before you take the leap, make sure you set yourself up for easy transaction and a good homebuying experience. Check out the tips below to ensure it!

Do your research and find a good agent. Familiarizing yourself with the home buying process before beginning your house hunt and finding a knowledgeable, experienced agent to represent you can make all the difference in securing your dream house and paying the best price for it. We personally suggest one of the talented, local experts here at Yancey Realty to assist you!

Pay off other debts. Before you take on such a big, expensive purchase like buying a home, dedicate yourself to paying off your student loans, car loans, and credit card debt. Not only will this allow you to live more comfortably while you’re in your new home, but it will allow you to be a better candidate for a home loan.

Save for the down payment. The majority of home buyers don’t pay in cash for their home, but the more you are able to put down, the better financial position you will be in in the long run.

Create a budget early on, stick to it, and start saving well before you start seriously looking for your home. This will also help you determine the price range to search in.

Be patient. If this is your first home purchase, the process can feel intimidating and overwhelming and you may feel like you’ll never find a home that meets your wish list and is in your price range. But don’t lose hope. Stay patient and trust both the process and your agent!

Give our team a call at 704-467-8877 today to get started!

Looking for a fun way to bring an additional pop of color or design to a room with minimal time or money investment? Consider trying out an amazing area rug! Check out these tips for revamping your space with this fun decor piece.

Consider your lifestyle. Do you have two dogs and a cat? A couple young kiddos running around? You’ll want to take these factors into consideration. Choose a dark color tone to help hid inevitable stains and make sure the material you choose is easy to clean.

Choose the right size. Expert interior designers recommend choosing a rug that is just slightly smaller than the area covered by furniture, leaving enough space between it and the walls for the flooring to still shine through. 

Try these trends. Big bold patterns and rich colors are trending in the interior design space right now and rugs are no different. Try using one as the focal point of the room and select neutral-colored furniture to complement it. 

Build around the rug. Find a rug that makes a big statement and then build the room around it. Select furniture placement, accent pieces, and colors based on what ties into it. 

Define the area. Looking for a way to create two different areas within a single room? Rugs can help you achieve this by defining where one area begins and another starts, such as a reading nook and dining area.

Layer multiple. This daring new trend has just popped up on the interior design circuit. Choose two rugs of different shapes and textures, and layer them to create depth and a unique focal point.

One of the more challenging parts of being a homeowner is when something goes wrong or breaks, you’re in charge of fixing it. And unfortunately, one of the most common issues can be the hardest to detect — a plumbing leak. Here are 5 tips for catching a leak!

1. Review your water bill carefully. Have you noticed that your most recent bills have been unusually high but you haven’t changed your regular routine at all? This can be a telling sign that you may have a leak in your home.
2. Pay attention to water pressure. Although a shift in water pressure in your shower or kitchen sink can be caused by a clogged pipe, it’s crucial to rule out a leak.
3. Check below your sinks. A great habit to get into is routinely checking under bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room sinks to ensure you don’t have a slow drip. Not only will this warp your cabinetry and cause mold, but it can cost you a lot of money over time. Inspect flooring, walls, and ceilings.
4. Peeling paint or stains on walls or ceilings is an indicator that there might be some damage behind them. Make sure you regularly check the floors and sealant around appliances like tubs, toilets, refrigerators, and more for cracks or spongy areas as well.
5. Don’t neglect basements and crawl spaces. “Out of sight, out of mind” could really cause a major issue for you and your home in this case. Make sure you set a reminder to periodically check your house for mold, corrosion, and moisture before you are dealing with foundation damage.

You’ve purchased a home with a large backyard and all your pup wants to do is be outside! But after the 10th time you have to get up and open the door to let him or her in and out, you start researching doggy doors. Long-term convenience with a fairly simple installation sounds great to you! However, before committing, you should consider how it may affect the safety of your home.

A doggy door is a home feature that can make your house more susceptible to burglary. These doors are almost always placed in a back door or wall of the home, putting it out of the line of sight for passing traffic and neighbors. If a robber is small enough, they may be able to slip right through the door or use it to reach in and unlock the door. 

As long as you remain conscious and aware of the safety implications, there are several ways to secure your doggy door, keeping convenience in place while protecting you and your family.

The first and easiest option is to select a door that includes a sliding bolt or has a self-locking feature.

If you have a security system in place, you can have the design adjusted to include the doggy door and surrounding area. Many of these systems include sensors and cameras intelligent enough to ignore your pet’s body weight or shape but pick up on anything else.

Alternatively, you could install a motion detector that will signal you on your phone or report to your security company if someone is coming in and out of your home when engaged.

We’re thankful for our clients, friends and family this holiday season!

We wish you a fun-filled day spent with the people you cherish!

We will be closed to spend time with loved ones.

Rustic and farmhouse interior design are still in, and it isn’t going anywhere any time soon! If you’re ready to hop on board this trend, try introducing some of our favorite ideas into a room in your home. Take a look below!

Exposed wood. Whether you implement this in a small way, such as a coffee table, headboard, or chair, or go big with your remodel and add wooden beams or create a plank accent wall, exposed wood is essential to a rustic-style room. Make sure to combine various wood grains, colors, and finishes to add more depth and texture.

Fur. Whether you opt for real or faux, fur can be a unique feature piece and can bring together the room. Try a cowhide, bear, or sheepskin rug or purchase a fur throw for a couch or chair.

Accent materials. Incorporate iron or stone accents in furniture and décor, such as bar stools, coffee tables, overhead lighting, chandeliers, fireplaces, mantels, shelving, candleholders, and more.

Warm lighting. To give the room a cozy, relaxing feel, lean towards warm, yellow lightbulbs instead of LEDs or pick out some unique Edison bulbs for exposed lamps and decorative overhead lighting.

Small details. The magic is in the small details. Paint wood panels white or gray and letter your favorite saying on top. Purchase wooden picture frames, farmhouse signs, terracotta pots, wood slices, and mason jars and arrange them around the room.

Bold patterns. Mismatched quilts, layered rag rugs, and check-print chairs or blankets are great additions to any rustic room.