For most homeowners, their house’s exterior is a re ection of them, which makes it important to ensure its curb appeal is up to par. While there are plenty of ways to enhance the appearance of your home, these ideas can leave a lasting impression.
Choose the right plants
Opt for a mix of evergreen shrubs, perennials and seasonal owers that provide continuous color visual interest. For example, billowy trees can add height and movement while ground cover plants and shrubs can ll in spaces and prevent weeds.
Incorporate stonework
Hardscaping elements such as walkways, retaining walls and stone borders — as well as natural stone or stone veneer — can signi cantly enhance the structure and aesthetic of your front yard. Even if changing your home’s facade isn’t in your plans, natural stone, paver or
Transform your home’s exterior for maximum curb appeal
brick sidewalks or landscape rings can be incorporated to complement its architectural style.
Update lighting
Not only does outdoor lighting enhance safety and security, it can be used to highlight key features and create a welcoming ambiance a er dark. Consider adding lighting to (or replacing xtures around) your driveway, walkways and entryway to guide visitors and use spotlights to draw attention to architectural details, trees and garden beds.
Fresh coat of paint
One of the rst projects that comes to mind for many homeowners looking to improve curb appeal, a fresh coat of paint can make a striking di erence. However, if a full-scale paint job isn’t in the budget, refreshing the trim, bannisters and railings, gutters or other accent pieces can still help provide fresh pops of color. Find more ideas to improve your home’s curb appeal at eLivingtoday.com.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
New stonework, colorful plants and fresh paint can take your home from blah to wow.
Down payment options unlocking homeownership for more Americans
StatePoint Media
Saving for a down payment is one of the biggest barriers to buying a home, but it doesn’t have to be. Not only are down payment assistance programs helping people unlock homeownership, but some mortgage programs make it possible to put down as little as 3%. Here’s what to know:
Navigating PMI
Contrary to the popular belief that down payments must be 20% or more, the typical homebuyer makes a down payment between 5% and 20%. However, if you make a down payment of less than 20%, you may have to pay private mortgage insurance. PMI, which protects the lender if you are unable to pay your mortgage, is a monthly fee rolled into your mortgage payment. If it’s required, you’ll only need this insurance until you’ve built up 20% equity in your home.
Securing the right loan
There are many types of private and government-sponsored low down payment loan options available. For example, some private lenders have options designed speci cally for low- to moderate-income borrowers. Freddie Mac’s Home Possible mortgage provides down payment options as low as 3%, nancial exibility and reduced PMI. Some quali ed buyers can even attain this mortgage without a credit score. Likewise, Freddie Mac’s HomeOne loans, meant for rst-time homebuyers and borrowers who need exible nancing, o er similar bene ts. The Federal Housing Administration o ers down payment options as low as 3.5%. Obtained through lenders but insured by the federal government, they allow lower credit scores than most conventional loans. However, they require PMI and tend to be more expensive.
Looking to build or buy a home in a rural area? The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s two loan types make doing so more a ordable for eligible low- and moderate-income buyers. The Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program has a PMI premium but no down payment, whereas the Single-Family Housing Direct Home Loan Program provides down payment assistance to increase applicants’ repayment ability.
U.S. Department of Veterans A airs loans are made to eligible members of the military community. VA loans may not require a down payment or PMI and have additional features that can make homebuying more a ordable for military families.
Speak with your lender to learn more about these loan options.
Finding assistance
If you’re short on cash for your down payment, help may be available. Many state, county and city governments provide nancial assistance for well-quali ed people in their communities ready for homeownership. This help can come in the form of grants, second mortgage loans that come with low or no interest rates and deferred payments, as well as tax credits that free up more of your money for your down payment or closing costs. Having a certain kind of job, such as being a teacher or re ghter, or moving to a speci c neighborhood, such as one that has been identi ed as needing economic growth, could also qualify you for down payment assistance. Your housing counselor or lender can help determine which programs you are eligible for.
For more homebuying insights and information about a ordable homeownership visit myhome. freddiemac.com.
With low down payment loans, PMI solutions and support from assistance programs, owning a home is more accessible than you may realize.
Builder sentiment at third lowest reading since 2012
National Association of Home Builder News release
In a further sign of declining builder sentiment, the use of price incentives increased sharply in June as the housing market continues to so en, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Builder con dence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 32 in June, down two points from May, according to the NAHB/ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index recently released. The index
Equal Opportunity Law
All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the federal Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, physical handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preferences, limitation or discrimination.” California also extends protection based on age and marital status. The Mountain Democrat makes every effort to comply with these federal and state regulations. We ask your assistance in maintaining an acceptable standard of advertising. While they may seem inconvenient at times, these laws are written to protect you, our readers and advertisers, as well as ourselves. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this paper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For further information, you can call the Dept. of Fair Employment & Housing at (916) 445-9918 or the State Dept. of Consumer Affairs at (800) 344-9940.Note: Rental ads that contain the phrase “Single Occupancy” refer only to the physical characteristics of the dwelling and are not intended to state a preference of either marital or familial status.
has only posted a lower reading twice since 2012 –in December 2022 when it hit 31 and in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic when it plunged more than 40 points to 30.
“Buyers are increasingly moving to the sidelines due to elevated mortgage rates and tari and economic uncertainty,” said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes, a home builder and developer from Lexington, N.C. “To help address a ordability concerns and bring hesitant buyers o the fence, a growing number of builders are moving to cut prices.”
Indeed, the latest HMI survey also revealed that 37% of builders reported cutting prices in June, the highest percentage since NAHB began tracking this gure on a monthly basis in 2022. This compares with 34% of builders who reported cutting prices in May and 29% in April. Meanwhile, the average price reduction was 5% in June, the same as it’s been every month since last November. The use of sales incentives was 62% in June, up one percentage point from May.
“Rising inventory levels and prospective home buyers who are on hold waiting for a ordability conditions to improve are resulting in weakening price growth in most markets and generating price declines for resales in a growing number of markets,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert
Dietz. “Given current market conditions, NAHB is forecasting a decline in single-family starts for 2025.”
Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for more than 35 years, the NAHB/ Wells Fargo HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate tra c of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
All three of the major HMI indices posted losses in June. The HMI index gauging current sales conditions fell two points in June to a level of 35, the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months dropped two points lower to 40 while the gauge charting tra c of prospective buyers posted a two-point decline to 21, the lowest reading since November 2023.
Looking at the threemonth moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast fell one point to 43, the Midwest moved one point higher to 41, the South dropped three points to 33 and the West declined four points to 28.
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Live Where Others Vacation
POLLOCK PINES $489,900
This beautiful home was built in 2004 on a little less than 1 acre. It has end of road privacy yet is only 1 mile away from HWY 50 and town! It has a very open downstairs floor-plan with two bedrooms, a full bath, kitchen, laundry room, and living room. The private upstairs master bedroom suite features a loft, full walk-in closet and a very spacious full bathroom equipped with double sinks, soaking tub, and separate standing shower. There is plenty of storage with its finished attached two car garage. Plus a detached shed! For family activities it is only 5 miles away for the beautiful Jenkinson lake which features: water skiing, boating, and equestrian trails.
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It’s incredible that such a picturesque parcel of This special property has hilltop views of a local pond in one direction and far off mountain ranges in the other. Find gold in Slate Creek, which runs to the East side. Although the property is zoned R1, It will be limited by deed restriction to a maximum of a 4 way split. This is perfect for a ranch property or a family compound. Hurry, these are extremely limited properties.
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Placerville ~ $1,169,000
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Pollock Pines ~ $85,000
Awesome buildable 3.46 acres in Kingswood Estates. This usable property is only minutes from The town of Pollock Pines and from Sly Park Lake and recreation area. The well is already in and there is also a perc. test and survey. There is a fire hydrant located only 200’ away on Topaz Drive. Why not build in a beautiful forest and live where others vacation. End of the road privacy.
