Going the Distance for You

National Snapshot: How’s the Real Estate Market? The U.S. unemployment rate is at a 50-year low , and consumer confidence remains high. In fact, the University of Michigan’s latest Surveys of Consumers found that Americans have their most positive personal finance outlook since 2003. 1 However, if you follow national news, you’ve probably heard speculation that we could be headed toward a recession. Global trade tensions and a slow down in the GDP growth rate have sparked volatility in the stock market, leading to economic uncertainty. Given these differing signals, you may be wondering: How has the U.S. housing market been impacted? Where is it headed? And more importantly … what does it mean for me? MORTGAGE RATES ARE NEAR HISTORIC LOWS In August, Freddie Mac reported that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit its lowest level since November 2016, falling to 3.6%, down a full percentage point from a year earlier. 2 Variable mortgage r...

The 4 requirements for a room to be considered a bedroom. Is it a bedroom or not. Let's talk about what makes a bedroom a bedroom. Four things a room MUST have to be considered a bedroom: 1.  Entrance: A bedroom needs a least two methods of egress, so it should be accessible from the house (commonly through a door ), and then have one other exit (window or door) 2.  Ceiling Height: A bedroom ceiling needs to be at least 7 ft. tall. It's okay if some portions of the ceiling are below this level,  but at least 50% of the ceiling needs to be a minimum of 7 ft. in height. Most ceilings tend to be at least 8 ft. tall, so ceiling height is not usually an issue. (R305.1) 3.   Escape: A bedroom must have one other method of egress behond the entrance point. A door to the exterior works as an exit point, and so does a window. According to the International Residence Code, a bedroom window can be between 24 and 44 inches from the floor, it needs at least 5.7 squ...