No Place Like Home

One in five U.S. homeowners say they feel house rich but cash poor, according to the newly released Hometap Homeownership Study. The rising costs of homeownership nationwide prompted nearly 20% of 675 homeowners surveyed to classify themselves as feeling “house rich, cash poor” most of the time, according to the study produced by Hometap, a firm that provides loan alternatives for tapping home equity. Seventy-three percent of respondents say they feel “house rich, cash poor” at least some of the time.

“We knew there were pockets of homeowners who felt house rich, cash poor—we see that every day in our work—but were surprised to find that one in five feel that way so often,” says Jeffrey Glass, CEO of Hometap. “Mortgage rates are at historic lows, which is encouraging more people to buy, but despite 45 million homeowners with excess equity, we’re seeing really conservative behavior—perhaps a lasting effect of the 2008 financial crisis. Unless wages start to rise relative to home values, we’ll see more homeowners falling into the house rich, cash poor category.”

Eighty-two percent of homeowners cited the main stressor in homeownership as uncertainty over their future income; the next stressor was the anticipated costs of home maintenance and repairs, at 81%.

Lights are the jewelry of a space. Swap out light fixtures to instantly update the style of a kitchen, designers say. Houzz recently featured an article offering tips on how to choose kitchen lighting. Click HERE to read more insights.

Pets can take a major bite out of your home’s resale value, The Wall Street Journal reports. Scratched doors, stained floors, and chewed-up furniture can prove costly for homeowners to repair.

Homeowner Lexi Methvin knows all too well how pricey pet damage can be. Since purchasing her $1.25 million home in Basalt, Colo., three years ago, she told the WSJ that she estimates she’s spent between $25,000 to $30,000 on dog-related home repairs, carpet cleaning, and preventive measures from her three dogs.

“Anyone who has seen a puppy suffer separation anxiety knows that dogs can take a costly toll on real estate,” the WSJ reports. “These expenses far exceed the cost of owning a dog, estimated by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at between $737 and $1,040 a year.”

The living room—that main gathering spot in a home—is a critical part in your showings. Home stagers recently chimed in at Apartment Therapy with their favorite tips for creating a better-staged living room.

One of their biggest pieces of advice centered on the tendency to cram too much furniture into one space. Ensure the living room has proper flow with sizable walkways among furnishings. Nathan Thompson with Pavilion Broadway, a luxury interior design company with staging services in the U.K., told Apartment Therapy he has a rule of thumb to get the distance right: At least an 18-inch walkway between furniture pieces; with larger spaces, he recommends doubling that to 36 inches.