Daily Archives: March 2, 2021

Best Places to Purchase a Vacation Home

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There are plenty of financial and even mental benefits to investing in a vacation home. For one, owning a vacation property can help build long-term wealth and be a great addition to your retirement plans. For another, it gives you and your family a place to retreat to when life gets to be too much. If you have enough funds to buy a vacation home in the U.S. but don’t know where to start looking, here are some excellent cities and towns to explore depending on the kind of scenery you love the most.

Mountains, forests, and lakes

Living near picturesque woods is more than just about taking Instagram-worthy pictures; forest-bathing also has many health benefits. If the sight of majestic mountains gives you a sense of peace and rest, here are some cities that are worth looking into.

Mammoth Lakes, California, is a favorite for outdoorsy types for its cross-country and Nordic skiing, signature skyline, high valleys, and fly fishing. If you and your family love beautiful wildlife and the great outdoors, buying a home in this region may give you what you love everywhere you look.

Another is Silverthorne, Colorado, which can give Aspen or Vail a run for their money. Known for the location’s exciting river rapids, giant peaks, trendy stores, and craft brew culture, it’s the perfect place that can help fulfill your mountain dreams and fantasies.

Another mountain town in Colorado that is a go-to place for people who love forest-bathing is Durango, known for its trendy steakhouses and old west structures. If you love mountain climbing, a famous trail has a peak that exceeds 14,000 feet in elevation. It’s a great way for you and your family to immerse yourself in nature when you want to get away from it all.

Across the pond is the Lake District in England, which is also known for its mountain forests, stunning lakes, and for being the place where England’s most famous poets retreated to. The most romantic old English castles also inundate the district, so you and your family will feel like you were transported into a fairy tale every time you visit.

Beaches

If you and your family love the ocean and want to live near it, here are some towns with beaches that you can explore some properties in.

Fort Bragg, California is a Pacific coast community that’s a few hours north of San Francisco. Glass Beach is an iconic tourist spot that features colored “stones” that are worn down old bottles, appliances, and headlights thrown off from nearby cliffs.

Keywest, Florida is a city known for its 19th-century wooden architecture, bustling nightlife, and various water sports. Ernest Hemingway also famously lived in the area, with his old home being a popular tourist attraction for literature lovers. It’s a great place to live for families who love the sunshine and high-energy towns.

Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, is perfect for people who love warmer weather. It offers longer and hotter summers that are made tolerable thanks to waters found in pretty much every direction. This town features almost 70 miles of picturesque beaches, and homeowners have enough space to mark their boundaries while enjoying the undisturbed ocean views.

Small town atmosphere

For those who love the look and atmosphere of a small town, Ellijay, Georgia, might be worth taking a closer inspection. It’s also known for its gorgeous mountains and woods since it’s located in the North Georgia mountains, but people who reside in the area can do so much more than hike and bike. This small town features iconic and family-friendly events like the Georgia Apple Blossom Festival.

Whittier, North Carolina, is also a location that is known for its forest and mountains since it provides views of the Nantahala National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains. Still, it is home to only 5,600 people as of August 2019.

It’s also a go-to place for hipster artsy types who need an escape from big cities because it’s only about an hour’s drive of Asheville, which is beloved for its historic architecture, vibrant arts scene, and the River Arts District. If you’re someone who loves being surrounded by good art and excellent music, this town may be for you.

Ask for Help

At the end of the day, you don’t need to do this house search alone. Enlist the help of a reputable real estate agent who can help you find the vacation home of your dreams.

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Clean, Repair, or Replace: Which Does Your Appliance Need?

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Your home appliances add so much convenience to your everyday living that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. However, like many of the items in your home, your home appliances are subject to the usual wear and tear that can affect their performance in the long run.

Have you ever experienced hearing clanking noises in your washing machine or your oven producing under-baked cookies? There will come a time when there will be something wrong with your beloved home appliances, and you will have to decide whether to clean, repair or replace them altogether.

According to an article by The Washington Post, there is hope for your broken home appliances. This is where warranties, handymen, and good old YouTube would come in handy at this point. These are all the valuable resources that you can turn to when things go awry.

However, there are times when an appliance is beyond repair, and the costs of purchasing a new one would be more cost-effective than subjecting it for repairs. Sometimes you have to make the hard decision on whether to clean, repair, or replace your appliances. Remember that the decisions that you make have to be sound decisions that are cost-efficient and energy-efficient, as well. This article will help you decide on when you should clean, repair, or replace your appliances.

1. Evaluate how much the cost of repairs will be

Royce Palmer, the president of Colombia Appliance, said in an article with Discover that you should consider replacing your appliance when the cost of repairs is 50 percent more than what it would cost to purchase a new one. Palmer says that there are times when you have no choice but to have your appliance replaced with a new one because the parts that you need for repair are no longer being produced.

Another factor that you will have to take into account is the cost and logistics of installing a new appliance. Appliance repair may be a good option if it is cheaper than buying a new one. However, when you find that your appliance would require a huge expenditure in parts and labour, you are better off buying a new one.

2. Consider the Age of Your Appliance

Some appliances have a relatively shorter lifespan. According to House Logic, when you are deciding on whether to repair or replace your appliance, you may apply the 50 percent rule to the age of your appliances, as well as the price of having them repaired.

As a rule of thumb, some appliances such as gas ranges are built for longer lifespans than others. Since gas ranges are made for heavy-duty cooking and baking, their average lifespan would come up to 13 years compared to that of a microwave with an average lifespan of nine years.

3. Are your appliances energy-efficient?

Another thing to be taken into consideration is whether your appliances are energy efficient or not. In the long run, you may be able to save yourself more money if you switch out your older model that for a more energy-efficient one. There is a yellow and black Energy Guide label attached to all appliances on the sales floor, and this is a helpful tool that will help you gauge how much the appliance costs to operate.

4. Try to see if good maintenance practices will extend the life of your appliances

Sometimes all your appliances need are good maintenance repairs for them to last longer and work efficiently. For example, your gas range could use a regular cleaning to avoid costly repairs. Periodically check the exhaust vents of your dryers to ensure that the air is flowing properly. You may also want to subject your ducts to a kitchen extract cleaning to free the ducts from grease. When you take the liberty of giving regular maintenance checks, your appliances may last longer.

5. Style is a personal preference

Another way to determine if you should replace your appliances or not is your sense of personal style. Now everyone’s style is relative, and you may want a unifying theme in your home. If you find that one of your appliances does not match the overall theme, it is better to change them all at once.

Deciding on when to replace your appliances is entirely a personal decision. However, this article merely serves as a guideline. Remember to spend your money wisely and choose where to splurge on what would benefit you in the long run.

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