Homeowners are expected to spend a near-record $317 billion!!

HIGH-TECH HOME IMPROVEMENT TRENDS FOR 2017

Homeowners are expected to spend a near-record $317 billion on home improvements and repairs in 2017.

The 6.7 percent increase in spending from 2016 is partially driven by consumers’ growing appetites for high-tech gadgets.

Indoor gardens and self-cleaning toilets are among the high-tech home improvement trends to look for this year, according to Consumer Reports.

Along with eco-friendly composite countertops and luxury vinyl floors, no kitchen is complete without a climate-controlled, irrigated indoor garden like the Urban Cultivator.  Such products include everything you need to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables in your own kitchen.  All you need to provide is water and electricity.

Installing self-cleaning toilets in your bathrooms will free up the additional time you will need to cultivate and harvest produce for that night’s salad. Companies like Toto and Kohler are using a combination of electrolyzed water and an integrated UV light to sanitize toilet bowls keeping them fresher and cleaner longer than the old-fashioned brush, cleanser and elbow grease.

Consumer Reports suggests other home improvement trends to look for including:

• Home security systems and security cameras connected to your smartphone. In 2015, Ring  introduced the Ring Video Doorbell that allows you to answer the door from anywhere using your smartphone. Now, the company is adding a motion-activated camera with built-in floodlights, a siren alarm and two-way, talk.feature.
• Voice-activated appliances. All GE WiFi-ready appliances feature a digital assistant called Geneva that communicates with Amazon’s Alexa. So if you’re within earshot of an Echo, you can issue commands such as, “Alexa, ask Geneva when the dishwasher will be finished,” or “Alexa, tell Geneva to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.”
• Appliance drawers.  Typically 24 or 30 inches wide, these drawers house everything from dishwashers to microwaves to mini-refrigerators. A 30-inch appliance drawer from Viking Range is the first of its kind that doubles as a slow cooker, including a built-in meat probe and heavy-duty glides that can handle up to 200 pounds of meat.  

While some of these products have been available in limited quantities in recent years, the good news is that access is increasing and the cost is decreasing.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU MAKE YOUR NEXT MOVE?  

About  – Lori Alvarez is the CEO of Lori Alvarez & Team, kw Realty East Foothills who has been building her family legacy since February 2007. Where by the blessings and graces of God she has taken her team to be #1 TOP AGENT in Listing and / or Sales Agent for 2011/2012/2013/2014 /2015 in her Glendora office. She uses the MREA (Millionaire Real Estate Agent) models as an operations manual, many other amazing mentors, and her faith in God! Lori Alvarez can be reached by e-mail at Lori@Lorialvarez.net OR friend me on facebook OR Tweets available on Twitter! However my favorite is by phone at 909-227-4196! Rock with us on Youtube - click here!  To check out Lori's Listings click here! 

'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Finding your dream home!

Finding your dream home! 

Nothing can bring a real sense of security into the home except true love. Thanks Billy Graham

It's much like falling in love!

My first home! 

You just know it when it happens! 

You just feel it inside you! 

You just taste it! 

You just see it! 

You just make it happen! 

You will do whatever it takes to create a life in it! 

You can't stop thinking about it! 

Then you get it! 

Oh boy whats next?! 

The anticipation, the excitement, and the allure of all it promises! 

That is what it is to find your dream home! 

So don't give up just make it happen, it's where you are suppose to be! 

Follow me to your dream home! Everyone starts somewhere! We are just a call away! 

Be blessed & bless someone else, 

Lori Alvarez 

Fear or Faith it's your choice

Fear or Faith it's your choice

In need of prayer - stop here! 

My meditation this week is on this particular mindset or belief. I realized without risk there is no reason for faith. Without fear there is no reason for faith. So how do you decide to choose faith? For me personally it comes down to my belief that my God is bigger than any fear I may have. What are the fears I deal with; rejection is big - come on I am a realtor and things people say to realtors are just amazing! Its almost as if we aren't people right? Maybe we aren't and I just haven't realized it yet! Then of course there is the general thought process of I am not good enough and I have to set it aside, that comes from the enemy! So know matter where I am in life and what is happening I just need to remember my God is small, if I am allowing my fears to outweigh His mighty power. So I choose today faith because my God is bigger than any fear out there! 

What do you choose?

Be blessed and bless someone else,
Lori Alvarez  

Replace don’t remodel

Updating a bathroom?!

Replace don’t remodel

Thinking about sprucing up your house before you sell?

Here’s how to get the most bang for your buck. 

Forget about remodeling your kitchen or bathroom, a new front door or the addition of manufactured stone-veneer siding have much higher returns on investment, according to Remodeling magazine’s 2016 Cost vs. Value report.

The survey showed that the average ROI nationwide for 27 projects included in this year’s report was 64.4% up from 62% in 2015.  So, for every $100 spent, you will recoup an average $64.40.

Costs and values vary by region based on the job and housing markets.  For example, in San Francisco, where housing is in short supply, the ROI was more than 100% for every project.

In Los Angeles and Orange counties, manufactured stone veneer siding and upscale garage door replacement showed the highest ROI of 127.5% and 114.6% respectively. They were followed by attic insulation at 113.6%, midrange, entry-door replacement at 111.4% and minor kitchen remodel at 108%.

Keep it sleek! 

Projects in the region with the worst ROI were, from the bottom up: deck addition, 59.2%; upscale bathroom addition, 65.9%; midrange bathroom addition,66.5%; backup power generator, 69.4%, and upscale bathroom remodel, 70.4%

Many of the highest-scoring projects were on the home’s exterior reinforcing the value of projects that promote curb appeal.

For the complete report go to www.costvsvalue.com. 

Thinking about selling give us a call today at 909-227-4196 and we will put together a private no fee consultation sellers presentation and comprehensive market analysis! Or make an internet inquiry at www.LoriAlvarez.net

Be blessed & bless someone else! 

Your Family is #1 to us, which is why our family team continues to be the #1 team in KW Glendora 

About  – Lori Alvarez is the CEO of Lori Alvarez & Team, kw Realty, Glendora who has been building her family legacy since February 2007. Where by the blessings and graces of God she has taken her team to be #1 TOP AGENT in Listing and / or Sales Agent for 2011/2012/2013/2014/2015 in her Glendora office. She uses the MREA (Millionaire Real Estate Agent) models as an operations manual, many other amazing mentors, and her faith in God! Lori Alvarez can be reached by e-mail at Lori@Lorialvarez.net OR friend me on facebook OR Tweets available on Twitter! However my favorite is by phone at 909-227-4196! Rock with us on Youtube - click here!  To check out Lori's Listings click here!  How can we help you make your next real estate move? 

'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

written by Elaine Regus ( Lori Alvarez can put you in touch with her!)