Tony Romo Throws a $1.05M Home on the Market Near Dallas

With football season about to kick off, Tony Romo has his eye on more than one ball. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback has listed his 5,500-square-foot home outside Dallas for $1.05 million.

“Candice Romo did an amazing job updating this contemporary home,” said listing agent Nicole Andrews at Nicole Andrews Group. Her remodel included installing wood floors throughout the downstairs living areas, revamping the kitchen with double ovens and high-end stainless steel appliances, and adding to the formal dining room a butler’s pantry and a wet bar with a wine fridge.

Enter the home through a two-story foyer and great room filled with light and made cozy by a stacked stone fireplace. The family room also features a fireplace, as well as an eating or card-playing nook.

A third fireplace is in the master suite, to which Romo added luxury touches such as a jetted tub, frameless glass shower with multiple body sprays, and dual vanities and walk-in closets.

Located in a gated and guarded resort community with a golf course managed by the Four Seasons, the 6-bedroom, 6-bath home is also near two airports, downtown Dallas, and AT&T Stadium, where the Cowboys play.

Photos by Matrix Tours.

Related:

• Scottie Pippen Lists Mansion With Basketball Court
• Houston, We Have a Listing From the Apollo 13 Commander
• Adele Says ‘Hello’ to Beverly Hills Estate

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The Effect of Rising Sea Levels on Coastal Homes

Despite record-warm years and some crops already reacting to unusual shifts in the weather, climate change for many people remains an issue for the future. That future came a little closer this year, when scientists studying Antarctic ice loss reported that if carbon emissions continue unabated, sea levels could rise six feet this century — significantly higher than previous predictions of a two-foot rise by the year 2100.

If the oceans rose six feet today, 1.87 million homes in the United States valued at $882 billion would be flooded by sea water, according to a Zillow Research analysis using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Roughly half of them - 934,411 homes, worth $413 million - are in Florida.

Doug Aschenbach, a retiree from Ohio who lives in a Fort Lauderdale high-rise, figures it would take fewer than six feet of water to have a significant impact in his area. Indeed, Zillow’s analysis shows Fort Lauderdale is the U.S. city that would have the most homes under water — more than 38,000 — if the ocean rose six feet.

“On the one hand, I joke that I’m on the 16th floor, so I’ll be okay,” he said. “But on the other, our building has an underground parking garage right on the beach, so there are infrastructure issues.”

Aschenbach is heartened that these predictions are for decades into the future. “As long as city officials and others are thinking about them now, I view that as a good sign, because it will happen so gradually that there could be solutions to prevent a catastrophe.”

Cities get ready

Some areas are preparing in a big way. Miami Beach, where nearly 37,500 homes would be affected, plans to spend a half-billion dollars over the next several years to install pumps and raise roads and sea walls. So-called “king tides” already are causing more damage there than they used to, The Miami Herald reported.

In New York City, almost 32,000 homes would take on water with a six-foot rise. Climate science “fundamentally calls into question New York’s existence,” a former head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told Rolling Stone.

The city plans to break ground next year on a barrier system (known as “the Big U”) meant to protect lower Manhattan. It will start with “an undulating 10-foot-high steel-and-concrete-reinforced berm” running about two miles along the East River.

That sort of wall suits Manhattan, which is built on granite bedrock, said climate impact scientist Benjamin Strauss at Climate Central, a nonprofit news organization that reports on climate science. (Its online Surging Seas Risk Finder shows what effect rising waters will have on U.S. coastlines. By plugging in cities and postal codes, people can gauge which areas would be soaked at various water levels.)

Despite the risks, Strauss thinks “Manhattan will be with us for a long time. There are so many assets concentrated in such a small area that I’m sure people will invest heavily to protect it.”

South Florida might not be so fortunate, because its bedrock is porous. If sea levels permanently rose six feet or more, water would push through the rock like a sponge, Strauss said. “You can’t build a wall across the top of a sponge and keep water from getting from one side to the other.”

That makes it likely, Strauss said, that a lot of people will have to leave southern Florida. He recently told the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that high-end projections for this century would turn Miami-Dade County into a “collection of islands.”

Constantly moving shores

Migrations caused by rising sea levels would create a paradigm shift from a world with stable shores to one with moving shores, Strauss said. “And they’re going to keep moving for centuries.”

He also pointed out that ports all over the world are at sea level. “Europe has been rocked by a migration crisis the last couple of years, but that’s very small compared to what the world is likely to see if the sea-level rise continues to accelerate.”

While some land loss is inevitable, and is already happening in places like Louisiana, humans still appear to have the capacity to minimize how much and how quickly the seas rise.

For example, the new study predicting a potential six-foot rise by the end of the century said scenario is possible if carbon emissions continue unabated. Reducing emissions to zero over the next 50 to 60 years, however, would likely keep the increase closer to two feet.

There’s nothing in place that calls for such drastic measures, but Strauss remains hopeful.

“Just as there are scary tipping points in the climate system, there are things that could change much more quickly than we expect with technology and economic tipping points,” he said. If solar power suddenly became cheaper to produce than power from existing plants, “that would cause a much more rapid shift than anything anyone is talking about in global [climate] negotiations.”

Financial impact

While it’s possible to calculate the value of the homes that would be flooded by a six-foot rise in the oceans, it’s difficult to surmise the real-world impact.

Insurance companies tend to cover property using annual contracts, so they are more focused on the short term — for example, how climate change may affect current weather patterns, such as droughts, hail, tornadoes, hurricanes and heavy rains.

Reinsurers look at the bigger picture. Because they essentially insure insurance companies, the risk they take on for any given natural disaster can be considerably higher than a single insurer’s risk.

Asked about the predictions of seas rising six feet, Dennis Burke, vice president of state relations at the Reinsurance Association of America said, “If that happens, there will be parts of the country that are uninhabitable. That should be a concern to all of us, particularly with the shifts in demographics where more people are moving toward the coast because it’s a nice place to live."

The industry is in touch with NOAA, and understands that the science indicates there will be rising sea levels, said Burke, who also spoke at a “Climate Risk Summit” this summer in Washington State.

"Fortunately, the predicted sea-level rise gives us time to prepare. Individuals and society need to think about how and where to build - and to what height, and with what building techniques and materials," Burke said.

While there will still be risk, the insurance industry stands ready to aid homeowners. "Reinsurers have the capacity to insure natural catastrophes, including floods, and are eager to help insurers and society manage risk to give consumers peace of mind that they can rebuild their lives if necessary," Burke said.

Related:

• Rebirth in the Rust Belt: A Forgotten Corner of Cleveland Bounces Back
• Listings Analysis Reveals Popular Amenities in Every State
• Homes With ‘Subway Tiles’ or ‘Barn Doors’ Sell Faster & For More Money

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Turning an Ugly Lawn into the Best Grass on the Block

It’s an uncomfortable truth.  Everyone has “that house” on their block.  You know the one I’m talking about…their weeds infest other people’s lawns, it’s brown and gnarly looking, and it seems to be in a constant state of needing to be mowed.  When it is mowed, it’s often so short that it kicks up dust and debris, sending a cloud of dry soil and weed particles drifting down the street.

If I’ve just described your lawn, fear not!  There is a way to turn your problem lawn into the envy of the neighborhood.  Follow these simple tips, no matter what condition your lawn is in, and you’ll see improvement.

What Kind of Grass Do I Have in My Lawn?

First, let’s start with the basics.  Grasses in North America generally fall into one of two categories – warm-season grasses and cool-season grasses.  Warm-season grasses (Zoysia, Bermuda, St. Augustine, Centipede, etc.) grow best where the climate is warm, like in Florida, Mississippi, and Texas.

Cool-season grasses (Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, and Fescue) grow best in cooler climates, like we typically experience here in Central Pennsylvania, and in New England, Michigan, and Wisconsin for example.  These are the types that grow best here in Lancaster, York, Harrisburg, and Lebanon, PA. We’ll be dealing with cool-season grasses in this article.

Taking a Soil Test for Your Lawn

Your first step should be to have a soil test.  Any reputable lawn care service should offer this, or you can often pick one up from a local garden center.  Soil tests tell you exactly what is going on in your lawn.  Why is that important?  Every property is different.

No two lawns, even in the same neighborhood, are the same.  If your pH is too acidic or you are lacking in potassium, you will have difficulty gaining traction in your lawn’s progress toward a healthy, beautiful appearance.

Fixing Bare Areas in Your Lawn

Next, it’s impossible to improve lawns where there is no grass present.  You must have turfgrass to start with.  If your lawn lacks turf coverage (i.e. large bare areas, places where weeds have taken over, uneven appearance, etc.) you will likely need to introduce and establish grass.

Core aeration and over-seeding is a good method to slightly improve an existing lawn, but sometimes more aggressive measures, like slice-seeding, are required for extremely thin or bare areas.  Where topsoil is rocky or absent, topdressing might be the way to go. This is a process where a layer of new soil is introduced, so that turf has somewhere to properly root.

If you are unsure of what type of seeding is appropriate for your lawn, you should consult with a reputable lawn care company about the type of seeding necessary and the timing of your seeding job.  As an FYI, for Lancaster, Lebanon, Harrisburg, and York, PA, fall is the best time to seed your lawn.

Lawn Care Maintenance Programs

Once you have grass filled in, timely feeding and weed control becomes very important.  Both are equally important parts of a lawn care program – you want to feed your grass to encourage growth, but you don’t want the weeds competing for those nutrients.

Regular applications of fertilizer and weed control, both pre-emergent (before they grow) and post-emergent (after they’ve grown in your lawn) are vital.  This allows turf to thrive, while eliminating the undesired plant that would steal your lawn’s nutrition.  Again, consulting with a professional about the timing and number of applications for your area is highly recommended.

Proper Mowing Practices

Once you’ve established turf, and you have your fertilization and weed control schedule in place for the season, you have to start thinking about cultural practices like mowing. How often should I mow?  At what height should I mow? Should I bag my clippings or mulch them back into the lawn?

Your cool-season lawn should be mowed at no less than three inches AFTER it is mowed.  Sometimes you will need to mow your lawn more than once a week. You NEVER want to mow off more than one-third of a blade of grass at one time.  Doing so can put unneeded stress on your lawn.

Measure how high you are mowing. Having your mower’s height adjustment at setting “3” doesn’t mean it’s three inches, as these setting vary by manufacturer.   A good rule of thumb is to take your mower to a flat, level surface, like your garage floor, and make sure the bottom of the mower deck (the metal case that protects your feet from the turning blades) is up at least 2.5 inches.  That’s more likely to ensure proper mowing height than relying on your mower’s height adjustment settings.

Mowing frequency will depend on the time of year and the amount of water your lawn gets.  In the spring, when we have cooler temperatures, cool-season grasses will grow more rapidly.

In the summer, during that dormancy, they will grow less quickly, if at all. If grass is stressed during drought, delay mowing as this can stress out the lawn. When your lawn gets to be about four inches long is a good guiding principle.

Watering Your Lawn

What about watering my lawn? How much should I water?  When should I water the lawn?

In our area, watering about an inch and a half per week is recommended.  That’s easy enough to measure; put an empty tuna fish can a few yards away from your sprinkler, and turn it off when the can is full.  If you have the ability to do so, slightly increasing the amount in the summer won’t hurt anything at all.

If you cannot water, most lawns will survive a brief period (3-4 weeks) of drought, as cool-season grasses go into dormancy during the summer’s hot, dry stretches.  Most of it will bounce back in the fall.  However, if grass plants don’t have water past a few weeks, it can start to damage the plants to the point where significant thinning of the lawn will happen.

When watering, do so early in the day if possible.  That way, any excess moisture that isn’t absorbed has time to evaporate off of the grass blades.  If you water later in the day, and that moisture doesn’t evaporate, you’re inviting a disease issue into your carefully cultivated lawn!

Other Lawn Care Challenges

There are a number of other factors that factor into your turf’s health as well – sharpness of mower blades, environmental conditions, too much shade, and steep grade – the list can go on for a while.

If you’re following the above practices and are still struggling, or you simply have questions, we would be more than happy to discuss your lawn’s needs, and partner with you to improve it.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Let’s Talk About Your Lawn Care Needs!

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Why You Should Buy Your Retirement Home Before You Retire

Planning to leave the workplace sometime in the next five to 10 years? Buying your retirement home now can pay off big in the long term, particularly if you're going to get a mortgage.

By making your move ASAP, you'll be able to capitalize on today's record-low interest rates. Earlier this month, rates on 30-year fixed mortgages dropped to an average 3.41 percent - a hair above the historic low of 3.31 percent set in November 2012, according to a report by Freddie Mac. (You can thank Brexit for the dip.)

There are more financial benefits to purchasing your retirement home while you're still working full time. Here are five reasons why you should buy now rather than wait until you retire.

Easier to get approved for a mortgage

When mortgage lenders evaluate your loan application they look closely at your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) - your total monthly debt divided by your gross monthly income - which is going to be a lower, more favorable percentage while you're fully employed.

Therefore, it's easier to qualify for a home loan while you're still earning a steady paycheck, says Mary Erl, a certified financial planner at Nest Builder Financial Advisors in Gurnee, IL.

Moreover, "by waiting until you're retired to apply for a mortgage, you could be limiting what size loan you can qualify for," says Todd Sheinin, a mortgage lender and chief operating officer at New America Financial in Gaithersburg, MD.

More cash flow for renovations

Unless you're buying a newly remodeled home or building your home from scratch, you're probably going to want to make some changes to your new property.

While you can - and should - set a budget for the work you plan to do to the home, "it's nice to have a regular income when you're updating or modifying your home," Erl points out.

By working full-time during this period, you're also protected financially if you uncover a major problem with the home.

"I had a client who purchased a home before he retired,” recalls Joe Pitzl, a certified financial planner in Arden Hills, MN. “Shortly after he started doing renovations on the property, he found mold in the home. Suddenly the cost of doing the remodel increased significantly, but because he was still working he had an income stream to fall back on that he wouldn't have had if he was already retired."

It’s one cautionary tale to keep in mind.

A head start on paying off your mortgage

Ideally you want to be debt-free in retirement, which is why many retirees decide to rent rather than own, says Erl. But if you choose to become a homeowner, the earlier you purchase your retirement home, the sooner you can start paying off your mortgage.

Additionally, by starting to tackle your mortgage debt while you're still actively working, you're in a position to accelerate your payments - a move you may not be able to pull off when you're living on a fixed budget in retirement, explains Pitzl.

Plan better for the long term

Currently, one of the biggest challenges is predicting what your living expenses will be in retirement. It's tough, given that you don't know how much you need to budget for housing.

By buying your retirement home now, you'll get a better picture of what your monthly expenses will be in retirement - and that means you can create a more accurate budget.

"If you have a mortgage in retirement, it's probably going to be your largest monthly expense," says Erl. "Knowing what your [monthly] mortgage payment will be is extremely beneficial."

Expand your portfolio

If you're financially able to carry two mortgages at once, it may make sense to buy your retirement home now and rent it out for a few years until you're ready to move in.

Owning a rental property could also help you retire sooner, since you're adding an extra stream of income that you can put toward your nest egg.

There are also tax benefits to owning rental property. Depending on how you structure the loan, you may be able to deduct mortgage interest, property tax, operating expenses, depreciation, repairs, and other costs. (Check the IRS' guidelines for more information.)

Related:

• 4 Steps to Buying a Second Home
• Quiz: Are You a Savvy Mortgage Shopper?
• 4 Top U.S. Cities for Seniors

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

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Kelsey Grammer Lists Manhattan Apartment for $9.75 Million

It’s an apartment fit for a dapper TV therapist. Kelsey Grammer is asking $9.75 million for the West Chelsea home he bought in 2010, complete with 11-foot ceilings and views of the Hudson River that would satisfy even Frasier Crane’s fragile ego.

Measuring more than 3,000 square feet, the home includes a dining room with a gas fireplace and a living room wet bar with quartz countertops and a wine fridge.

The home offers three bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms, and the living room can also be converted into a bedroom. The master suite boasts a soaking tub and a walk-in closet.

The kitchen’s double oven and wall of windows are ideal for entertaining after a night of taking in — or, in Grammer’s case, performing in — a Broadway play.

Grammer's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, told The Wall Street Journal his client is selling the apartment because he and his family "have outgrown it." Amazon just green-lit the actor’s latest venture, “The Last Tycoon,” for a full season, so it sounds like a good time for an upgrade.

The listing agents are Emily Beare and Daniel Amell of Core.

Related:

• Kendall Jenner Buys Emily Blunt & John Krasinski’s Home
• Christie Brinkley Asks $29.5M for Hamptons Stunner
• Which Celeb Is Your Staycation Soulmate?

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How Do you Monetize Rentals to Better the Consumer Experience?

Sam’s right (read comments on this post). There’s little financial incentive for someone to really improve the consumer rental experience on the tenant side.

Rather than the tenant paying, perhaps the best incentive is agents/brokers building trusted relationships with future buyers by delivering real value by making the process of scheduling showings more efficient?

Many brokerages do have agents and assistants with down time. Why not have them spend some of that helping coordinate a better rental experience for tenants? Renters today are tomorrow’s buyers. Rentals seems like an effective way to acquire future clients. It’s either that, or you’re going to end up paying money to get in front of those people when they are ready to buy. I suppose the question is then how much time is required to serve renters today? Any brokers reading with a rental aspect to your business?

If you’re working on a rental startup and at Inman this week, shoot me a note – drew at horizonapp co.

The post How Do you Monetize Rentals to Better the Consumer Experience? appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

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The One Thing You Must Do Before Listing Your Home for Sale

When it comes time to sell your home, you know you’ll need to spend some time cleaning the carpets, decluttering, and landscaping for maximum curb appeal. But there’s another key task to add to your to-do list: checking in with your local government to be sure it has accurate information about your home.

No matter the type or size of your home or where it is, your local municipality has documentation on it. Both the building department and the town assessor will have a record about your home. But those records may not match your home's reality - and any issues you don’t resolve could hold up your sale or even kill the deal altogether.

What is the building department?

The town keeps records of every building constructed and every permit issued. It’s the job of the lead building inspector to be sure that any changes made to a home meet current codes, and that licensed contractors do the work.

Home health and safety issues are the primary concerns of the building department. Whenever someone applies for a permit, an inspector must be physically called out to approve and sign off on the work of the contractor, plumber or electrician.

Why should a seller care?

Once you make a deal with a buyer, they will go to the building department to do their due diligence. If there’s an open permit (meaning the permit was applied for, but the contractor never had the inspector sign off on the work to close the permit) or, worse, if there’s no record of your finished basement or newly renovated kitchen, they may not move ahead with the purchase.

Often, sellers find that somewhere along the line someone made a mistake - permits weren’t closed out properly when you assumed they were. These errors could have been the fault of a contractor, the previous owner, or even the building department directly.

Additionally, a homeowner may assume that the bathroom renovated by their Uncle Bob 15 years ago was up to code, but it may turn out that it’s not.

Both scenarios can pose a problem when selling. Once the home transfers, the new homeowner is on the hook for any illegal work, and no buyer wants to take on that liability.

What are assessor's records?

The town assessor keeps tabs on the local real estate market to be certain that the town's assessed value of your home (which affects property taxes) is in line with the market.

When the market slows down, she won't proactively lower your assessed value, and most assessors regularly scrape the building department permits.

Why? Because if you've recently made a major improvement to your home, she will want to raise your assessed value, which means higher taxes.

It’s also very possible that your home is over- or under-assessed. If it's the former, you want to attempt to grieve your assessment by providing the assessor some recent sale statistics and making sure that their records are accurate. Every municipality has a grieving process for homeowners.

Get ahead of any issues

Before listing, a seller should go to the town hall and check their property records. Most of the time, remedying issues like open permits or misinformation on a property is a quick fix. It's better to get ahead of it than to have to react to a buyer's concerns and jeopardize your deal.

If it’s a bigger issue, it's better to hold off on listing your home for sale until you have resolved it. Getting your assessment down can impact your taxes, and that will be great news to your potential buyers.

Related:

• How to Prepare Your Home for an Appraisal
• Listing Photos: Your Home’s First Showing
• How to Avoid Seller’s Remorse

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

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