Annie Meadows with Hudson Residential

Raleigh Real Estate Agent with Hudson Residential

Home Trends

Fill Your Walls With Affordable Art!

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An easy way to elevate a room is to add a piece of art! Buying art could seem daunting and expensive but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are plenty of resources out there where you can find affordable art that looks expensive. I’ve rounded up a few online stores that have great options. The best part is you don’t even have to leave your house!

Where to Buy Affordable Art

Minted – This is one of our favorite sites to find great prints. Minted features prints from local and independent artists which we love! Get inspiration, shop, and even learn how to hang your art all on one site. If you don’t find the perfect piece, you can get a custom piece created by one of their artists starting at $75!

Etsy – We love etsy for lots of reasons, but if you haven’t searched for art you are missing out. There are plenty of prints and posters to choose from. Again with etsy, you can commission art if you have a certain vision in mind.

Lulu & Georgia – You might have shopped here for rugs and furniture, but that’s not all Lulu & Georgia has to offer. Prints start at just $30. Larger scale canvas paintings that go for thousands of dollars are also available if it’s in your budget! Can’t decide on a piece of art? Try a wall hanging to add interest to your bare walls.

Make your house a home with art! Buy what you love and what fits your personality. If you have any questions relating to your home, give me a call at 919-961-3277.

Source: My Domaine

How Coronavirus is Changing Our At-Home Style Vibes

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Since the coronavirus outbreak, our home has become so much more than where we lay our head at night. We are working from home, working out from home, home-schooling, and much more! We are now starting to see changes in interior spaces. Below are seven ways design experts predict interior design will change after coronavirus.

Annie Meadows with Hudson Residential

1. Larger Home Office Spaces
Make-shift offices are in kitchens, living rooms, and even basements. In the future, homeowners might be more interested in home offices. Since April 2020, interior design service Modsy has seen a 40% increase in home office design requests compared to the same month last year.

2. Defined Mudrooms and Entryways
A place to remove shoes, masks, jackets, and bags could help to mitigate germs and bacteria in the home!

3. Private Spaces
Being cooped up under one roof with your family can be stressful. There is now a need for private spaces so everyone can enjoy a little alone time. Think designated reading nooks or separate rooms for each child in the house.

4. Thoughtfully Designed Kitchens
Cooking has become a new hobby for many people during this time. It also has people thinking about how they organize and store their food. You might expect to see more storage, larger pantries, and specialty appliances. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bread machine or cold-brew coffee station?!

5. Hygienic Surfaces
Easy to clean hard surfaces like glazed tile will be a trend in bathrooms and kitchens. Also, no-touch technology for faucets and doorbells to reduce germs on frequently touched services in the house will be in!

6. Increased At-Home Entertaining
Even as restaurants open back up, homes of friends and family are controlled environments which make them an inviting option for safe gatherings. With warmer weather and grilling season in, you’ll find yourself on your back patio now more than ever.

7. New Shopping Habits
As people spend more time at home, the more critically they’ll think about decorating. High-quality furniture and sofas will become the new norm. Custom furniture and international shipments are in limbo or delayed so try shopping locally! A fun local favorite Union Camp Collective has a little something for everyone.

Source: Better Homes & Gardens

We Are Not in a Housing Crisis: Here Are Three Reasons Why

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COVID-19 has brought fear, pain, and uncertainty for many people. During these troubling times, it is important to stay educated and up-to-date with the latest information. You may have heard that we are in a housing crisis, but I am here to hopefully help calm your fears and give you the facts on this topic. As always, I am just an email away if you have any questions or just want to talk.

We Are Not in a Housing Crisis: Here's Three Reasons Why

1. Today’s market is vastly different from 2008. We all remember the market crash of 2008 but luckily, this is not 2008. As a refresher, the stock market crash of 2008 was the biggest single-day drop in history up to that point. The aftermath of this catastrophic financial event wiped out big chunks of Americans’ retirement savings and affected the economy long after the stock market recovered. The stock market crashed because too many people had taken on loans they couldn’t afford. Lenders relaxed their strict lending standards to extend credit to people who were less than qualified. This drove up housing prices to levels that many could not otherwise afford.

The good news is, today’s market conditions are far from the time when housing was a key factor that triggered a recession. We have easy-to-access mortgages, a surplus of inventory, and excessive equity tapping. You can rest assured that housing is not something that would take us back to that time.

According to Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, if there is a recession, “It will be different than the Great Recession. Things unraveled pretty quickly, and then the recovery was pretty slow. I would expect this to be milder. There’s no dysfunction in the banking system, we don’t have many households who are overleveraged with their mortgage payments and are potentially in trouble.”

2. Even if there is a recession, this does not mean there will be a housing crisis. If you look at the past five recessions in U.S. history, home values actually appreciated in three of them. In 2008, home values did drop by almost 20% but in the four previous recessions, home values depreciated only once (by less than 2%). In the other three, residential real estate values increased by 3.5%, 6.1%, and 6.6%.

3. While we don’t know the exact impact the virus will have on the housing market, we do know that housing isn’t the driver. COVID-19 has no doubt impacted our economy and will continue to do so. However, everyone needs a place to live and this is not going to change.

Concerns about a recession are real, but housing is not what is causing it. If you have questions about what it means for your family’s home buying or selling plans, give me a call at 919-961-3277 or email me at Annie@HudsonResidential.com.

Source: KeepingCurrentMatters.com

Do You Know How Much Your New Property Taxes Are?

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If you live in Wake County, you have probably been hearing a lot about the new property taxes, but do you know what yours are? You can easily find out with the Revenue Tax Calculator. You enter your Real Estate ID, which is on the top left of your account page on the Wake County Real Estate Data site. The program will then calculate your new property taxes.

Why Are There New Property Taxes?

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Loan Limit Increases for the Fourth Year Straight

Effective January 1, 2020, all property in Wake County was reappraised at 100% fair market. The prior assessed value represented 100% fair market value as of January 1, 2016. The purpose of the reappraisal is to re-establish tax equity and fairness between properties that may have changed in value at different rates depending on property type and location.

Changes in tax liability for individual properties depend on two factors:

  1. How much the property changed in value between 2016 and 2020
  2. The final tax rates adopted by each taxing jurisdiction in June 2020

You can learn more at Services.WakeGov.com.

Annie’s Kitchen Reno: The Finished Product

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Photos by Style House Photography. 

It’s finally complete! I am so excited to show you my finished kitchen. I could not be more proud of it and I am so grateful for the incredible team that worked so hard to make my dream a reality. If you are new to my kitchen renovation series, head back to our October blog to get all the details, but here is a quick summary of what we have been up to, who we have been working with, and before and after photos.

If you are planning on a renovation, give me a call at 919-961-3277 for free advice!

About the Renovation

I loved everything about my house… except for the kitchen, which is why we renovated. I have to give a big shout out to our kitchen designer Ruth Ann Taylor Long, CMKBD (Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer) from Taylored Spaces. There is no way I could have figured this out without Ruth Ann. She is super smart and detail-oriented. We took down the wall between the living room and kitchen and completely changed the footprint of our kitchen.

I have to give another shout out to Residential Remedies. They did all the work and they have been great. Alex, our project manager and “all-around do-everything guy”, checked in with us every day and gave us a full update at the end of each week. He made sure our project ran on time and on budget. He has been super responsive to communication throughout the entire process and gave us some money-saving tips along the way.

We also cannot forget Fred, worker bee, who did all of our demo and basically all the things no one else wanted to do. Thank you, all!

Before

First Few Weeks of Renovation

Where We Are at Week Five

Home Renovation: Week 5

Where We Are at Week Nine

Kitchen Renovation: During

About Taylored Spaces

“I like to think that Taylored Spaces, LLC, will offer you a ‘different’ approach to your buying experience. After all, you are not just buying cabinets… You are buying an experience— one where you will work with a designer to make selections, and cover details you never thought you would encounter, but they’ve been thought out for you already… You are having folks in your home during the day for days on end, some are strangers, and you need a trusty point person to be here for you (as I’m writing this, I’m on a client’s couch as granite is being installed in the other room…) You need an extra special touch, but you still want to get what you want for what you want to pay for it. It’s my personal promise to do everything in my power to make that happen for you, and leave you with a new space you and your family and friends will enjoy for years to come.” – Ruth Ann.

About Residential Remedies

Sure, you could move, but you’ve chosen to renovate because you love your neighborhood and you cherish your home. At Residential Remedies, we ensure that each addition maintains–and even enhances–that integrity of place. Our designers and custom builders work together to ensure that your renovation captures what already makes your home special. We blend old and new so seamlessly together that visitors will have a tough time spotting the addition.

 

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Loan Limit Increases for the Fourth Straight Year

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In November 2019, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that it is raising the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to more than $510,000. According to HousingWire.com, in most of the US, the 2020 maximum conforming loan limit will be raised to $510,4000, up from 2019’s level of $484,350. The FHFA did not increase the loan limit at all from 2006 to 2016 but has now increased it for the last four years in a row.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Loan Limit Increases for the Fourth Year Straight

Why the Increase?

The conforming loan limits for Fannie and Freddie are determined by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This established the baseline loan limit at $417,000 and mandated that, after a period of price declines, the baseline loan limit cannot rise again until home prices return to pre-decline levels.

Data from the FHFA shows that home prices increased by 5.38% between 2018 and 2019. This means that the baseline maximum conforming loan limit in 2020 will increase by the same percentage.

HousingWire.com explains, “for areas in which 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit, the maximum loan limit will be higher than the baseline loan limit. HERA establishes the maximum loan limit in those areas as a multiple of the area median home value, while setting a “ceiling” on that limit of 150% of the baseline loan limit.” The new ceiling loan limit for one-unit properties in most high-cost areas will be $765,600 — or 150% of $510,400.

The maximum conforming loan limit will be higher in 2020 in all but 43 counties or county-equivalents in the U.S.

Source: HousingWire.com

What Does This Mean for You?

This means, that though many home prices in the Triangle are high right now, you will be able to take out a bigger loan. This helps with the affordability crisis that is occurring in many housing markets across the country. Now potential home buyers who were originally not able to purchase homes in a certain price range will be able to.

Ask Annie

Interested in how this could affect your house search specifically? Call me today at 919-961-3277.

 

Annie’s Kitchen Reno Week Nine

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Kitchen Renovation: During

Well, we are coming down the home stretch with our kitchen renovation and I could not be more excited! If you are new to my kitchen renovation series, head back to October’s blog to get all the details, but here is a quick summary of what we have been up to, who we have been working with, and before and after photos.

If you are planning on a renovation, give me a call at 919-961-3277 for free advice!

About the Renovation

I love everything about my house… except for the kitchen, which I am excited to say, we are now in the process of renovating! I have to give a big shout out to our kitchen designer Ruth Ann Taylor Long, CMKBD (Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer) from Taylored Spaces. There is no way I could have figured this out without Ruth Ann. She is super smart and detail-oriented. We took down the wall between the living room and kitchen and completely changed the footprint of our kitchen.

I have to give another shout out to Residential Remedies. They are doing the work and they have been great. Alex, our project manager and “all-around do-everything guy”, checks in with us every day and gives us a full update at the end of each week. He made sure our project ran on time and on budget. He has been super responsive to communication throughout the entire process and gave us some money-saving tips along the way.

We also cannot forget Fred, worker bee, who did all of our demo and basically all the things no one else wanted to do. Thank you, all!

Before

First Few Weeks of Renovation

Where We Are at Week Five

Home Renovation: Week 5

Where We Are at Week Nine

Kitchen Renovation: During

About Taylored Spaces

“I like to think that Taylored Spaces, LLC, will offer you a ‘different’ approach to your buying experience. After all, you are not just buying cabinets… You are buying an experience— one where you will work with a designer to make selections, and cover details you never thought you would encounter, but they’ve been thought out for you already… You are having folks in your home during the day for days on end, some are strangers, and you need a trusty point person to be here for you (as I’m writing this, I’m on a client’s couch as granite is being installed in the other room…) You need an extra special touch, but you still want to get what you want for what you want to pay for it. It’s my personal promise to do everything in my power to make that happen for you, and leave you with a new space you and your family and friends will enjoy for years to come.” – Ruth Ann.

About Residential Remedies

Sure, you could move, but you’ve chosen to renovate because you love your neighborhood and you cherish your home. At Residential Remedies, we ensure that each addition maintains–and even enhances–that integrity of place. Our designers and custom builders work together to ensure that your renovation captures what already makes your home special. We blend old and new so seamlessly together that visitors will have a tough time spotting the addition.

 

Annie’s Kitchen Reno

By

I love everything about my house… except the kitchen, which I am excited to say, we are now in the process of renovating! As of mid-October, we are in week five of the renovation process, and things are going great so far. I have to give a big shout out to our kitchen designer Ruth Ann Taylor Long, CMKBD (Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer) from Taylored Spaces. We are taking down the wall between the living room and kitchen and completely changing the footprint of our kitchen. There is no way I could have figured this out without Ruth Ann. She is super smart and detail-oriented.

I have to give another shout out to Residential Remedies. They are doing the work and they have been great. Alex, our project manager, checks in with us every day and gives us a full update at the end of each week.

Check out the pictures below for what our kitchen looked like before and our progress so far. I will keep the blog updated as we keep moving along. Wish us luck. 😉

Before

First Few Weeks of Renovation

Where We Are at Week Five

Home Renovation: Week 5

About Taylored Spaces

“I like to think that Taylored Spaces, LLC, will offer you a ‘different’ approach to your buying experience. After all, you are not just buying cabinets… You are buying an experience— one where you will work with a designer to make selections, and cover details you never thought you would encounter, but they’ve been thought out for you already… You are having folks in your home during the day for days on end, some are strangers, and you need a trusty point person to be here for you (as I’m writing this, I’m on a client’s couch as granite is being installed in the other room…) You need an extra special touch, but you still want to get what you want for what you want to pay for it. It’s my personal promise to do everything in my power to make that happen for you, and leave you with a new space you and your family and friends will enjoy for years to come.” – Ruth Ann.

About Residential Remedies

Sure, you could move, but you’ve chosen to renovate because you love your neighborhood and you cherish your home. At Residential Remedies, we ensure that each addition maintains–and even enhances–that integrity of place. Our designers and custom builders work together to ensure that your renovation captures what already makes your home special. We blend old and new so seamlessly together that visitors will have a tough time spotting the addition.