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Things We Tend to Miss During Spring Cleaning.

Spring time! Beautiful weather, flowers blooming, sun kissed skin, and.......cleaning time =( Besides going out to play in the sun, it's time to do some deep cleaning in our homes. Bring out the gloves and take some allergy medicine because it's dust versus you!

Although we clean on a regular basis, there are things that we may overlook. So here are a few examples that may get your mind going and may help you think of places we definitely don't clean on a regular basis. Please share if you do have any good ideas. 

1. Shower Heads

A great way to remove all the build up on the shower head is to use white vinegar. Put some vinegar in a small bag and tie around the shower head. Let that sit for 30 minutes to an hour and wipe clean with a cloth, don't want to use anything to abrasive.

2. Pillows

We all wash our pillow cases, but rarely do we wash the actual pillow. It has our sweat, dead skin cells, and dust mites, so I think it's time we clean the entire pillow. Make sure to follow the cleaning instructions on the pillow tag and make sure it's completely dry. Try using tennis balls in the dryer to help fluff up the pillows.

3. Refrigerator Coils

These hard to reach things do get dusty, but just because we can't see them doesn't mean they are not there. (When a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it still make noise? LoL). We definitely should make this a priority in cleaning this year since we probably haven't done so for it's entire life. These coils, if covered in dust, have to work extra hard and overtime to keep the inside of your fridge cold and will shorten it's life drastically. So, locate your coils, usually on the back or underneath, vacuum the lose dust. Then take a coil brush or a duster to clean in between the coils. 

4. Inside of the Appliances

I was just talking to my friend about how often we are suppose to clean our appliances and she didn't even know we had to! Some of these appliances like the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher all clean, but we never clean them. Let's show some love to these appliances. Run an empty hot cycle with bleach in your washing machine. Tide also sells an awesome washing machine cleaner (that's what i use, thanks to my brother for introducing it to me). For the dryer, make sure to vacuum all the extra lint in those hard to reach places like the actual vent and hose. And for the dishwasher, use distilled vinegar and baking soda to give it a fresh new smell.

Please share other ideas that we may be missing during our Spring cleaning.  

The Federal Open Market Committee met in February 2017 and presented the current information on our economy. They stated the information presented indicated that the labor market is continuing to strengthen and basic economic activity continues to grow. Although unemployment did not see much change, job growth remains solid. Inflation is still running under the 2% mark, with household spending slightly going up. 

The committee states that the short term economic outlook "appears roughly balanced," but definitely more optimistic for the medium-term. The committee is trying to maximize employment and price stability, which is what they were created to do, so they'll be keeping a close eye on all the economic indicators for inflation and the global economic development. 

Due to the information given at the meeting, the committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 3/4 to 1 percent. Although they will be sticking to their existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities and rolling over maturing Treasury auctions. The committee will continue to do so until normalization of the level of the federal funds rate is well under way, to the accommodating financial conditions.  

The Fair Housing Council of Riverside has been around since 1986. It's a non-profit organization that fights to protect individuals and their housing rights.  They were created to ensure that people will live free from unlawful housing practices and discrimination. 

The Fair Housing Council met in January and unveiled a plan for a mix use affordable housing project in downtown Riverside. The council decided to replace offices at 3933 Mission Ave Inn. with a multi-use space. The plan is to build a multi-story building which would provide homes for low income residents, community meeting spaces, a museum of civil rights. 

Home Ownership is amazing. A place to call your own. A place to create memories, start a family, and build a financial nest egg. But that's not all! Home ownership is a great way to dwindle the amount of money you pay in taxes and helps you keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket. Make sure to read in it's entirety so you can save the most money and take that vacation you've always wanted!

TAX WRITE OFFS:

1. Mortgage interest

2. Property taxes

3. Private mortgage insurance

4. Energy efficient upgrades

5. "Age in Place" home improvements

    This one gets tricky, make sure to consult your tax professional 

6. Your home office

7. Home equity line of credit interest

These are some great tax write offs that are offered for owning your home. 

*Make sure to consult a tax professional about all these tax saving benefits

If you have questions about buying a home or need help getting ready to purchase your first home please feel free to contact us anytime. 

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I'm excited for first time home buyers! It's always a great opportunity and experience to own a piece of property. A place to call your own. The pride you feel pulling up to your driveway. The opportunity to build on something great. Decorate to your personality. Most importantly sharing it with your loved ones.

First time home buying is hitting close to home for me since many of my friends are starting to look for their first homes to buy. I recall the struggle and the fear of purchasing my first home, so I can relate to them and share their feelings and insecurities they may have. I can give first time home buyers insight and guide them through the largest purchase of their lives. The Van Der Mark Group puts a system in place to make sure the buyers feel comfortable and at ease while going through the process of purchasing. We strive to make the purchase of a home fun and memorable.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is helping first time home buyers gain some traction by regulating the real estate industry and being the largest mortgage insurer in the word. With their help, my trusted lender and I have placed many people in their first homes and have helped them sell that home to move into a larger home. If your interested in purchasing a home and have questions about the 3% down payment versus the normal 20% down payment, reach out to me and I'll explain the process  and get you ready to make that first exciting home purchase. 

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Inglewood Welcomes the NFL, Times 2!

Two decades without an NFL team and now LA gets 2 teams! The San Diego Chargers will be joining the Los Angeles Rams in the new $2.66 billion stadium and entertainment complex. This is great for sports fans, local business, and the city of Inglewood, but this also great for real estate investors. 

How? It's simple, with 2 teams LA gets twice the amount of home games. Usually having only 10 per season, we'll be getting 20 home games. That means double everything. Great traffic for local businesses, hotels, air bnb's, and restaurants. For investors this means demand for housing; employees need housing close to work, rental rates going up, and apartment units reaching 100% occupancy. This makes the opportunity in Inglewood and surrounding cities prime for starting a business and the real estate market.  I'm excited to see how things go for the community and the all the sports fans. Good luck to both teams, their new coaches, and all the investors to come.

Real estate investing is tricky and not black and white, make sure to contact us for assistance. 

Top 10 Anti-Burglary Tips

1. Maintain you property; Let people know the property is occupied.

2. Know your neighbors; You'll be able to let them know your visitors so they can see if any irregular activity is going on.

3. Play a robber; Assess your house and it's blind spots. See where you would break in and make changes.

4. Use of lights; Don't worry about the cost for lighting, it's cents and it only makes sense. Criminals do not want to be seen and will more than likely choose a target where they won't get caught. They're cowards.

5. Use smart devices; When you're gone, you can still make it look like someone is home. invest in smart technology so you can turn on lights and music from your mobile device. If you don't want to spend that much or don't want to incorporate tech devices, you can use an inexpensive alternatives such as a timer.

6. LOCK YOUR DOORS! Many times people forget to lock doors and close windows. Speaking to a Riverside Police Officer, he told me that many break ins happen through open doors and windows. 

7. Get a better locking system; Check your door jam and strike plate first, make sure they are solid, then invest in a good deadbolt.

8. Sirens; Burglars don't want the attention because they don't want to be caught. Their concern is witnesses, so let all the neighbors hear that someone is doing something wrong. 

9. Use surveillance cameras; The Los Angeles Police Department started a program encouraging homeowners to install a device called ring. It's a doorbell that can capture video and also be viewed on your smart devices. See who is at your door when your home or away. The LAPD claim that it has dropped the burglary rate 55% in the test neighborhood. Read the full article here.  

10. Label your property & create a list; Make sure you'll be able to identify your property. Use an invisible pen or engrave something on your valuables. Also, log all your expenses along with serial numbers and full description. 

I hope this helps. If you have any questions regarding this or any real estate matter contact us anytime. 

The Van Der Mark Group

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Resource: Tracey Hawkins