Residential Homebuilding - Sposen Homes

Category: Residential Homebuilding (87)

Mar

10 Ways to Care for your Home this Spring

As the temperatures rise and the flowers bloom, spring is the perfect time to give your house some much-needed TLC. Here are 10 ways to care for your house this spring:

1. Clean Gutters and Downspouts: Your gutters and downspouts may have accumulated leaves, twigs, and other debris that can block the flow of water. This can lead to water damage, so it’s important to clean them out in the spring. Use a ladder to access the gutters and scoop out any debris by hand or with a gutter scoop. Then, use a garden hose to flush out any remaining debris, and check that the downspouts are flowing freely.

2. Check the Roof: Winter weather can take a toll on your roof, so it’s important to check for any damage in the spring. Look for loose or missing shingles and check for any signs of leaks or water damage. If you notice any problems, contact a professional roofer to address them before they become more serious.

Mar

Flooded to Freedom: How Culverts Protect Your Property

Culverts are a type of drainage structure commonly used in home construction to manage the flow of water around and beneath a property. They are typically installed in areas where water tends to accumulate, most commonly along the edges of driveways or roads.

The Role of Culverts in Home Construction

Culverts play a crucial role in managing the flow of water around and beneath homes. They are installed in areas prone to water accumulation, such as along driveways and roads. Culverts come in various shapes and sizes, and they’re constructed using durable materials like concrete to channel water from one area to another without causing soil erosion or damage to surrounding properties.

Feb

Make a big impact on your home’s look and feel with lighting!

Lighting can have a big impact on the design of your home. It can give a room a warm and inviting feel or create a dramatic atmosphere. Proper lighting can also make a room look larger or smaller than it is, depending on how you use it. When planning your home’s design, consider the type of lighting that will bring out the best features of the room. You can use task lighting for activities such as reading, accent lighting to highlight artwork or other special features, and general lighting to provide overall illumination. By carefully placing lights in strategic spots, you can create a powerful design statement that really brings out the beauty of your home.

Nov

What is Builder’s Risk Insurance?

Builder’s risk insurance helps protect buildings under construction. For a home builder, it minimizes the risk that they take for potential property damage that could occur during the construction on a property. A construction project is protected from property damage from fire, lightning, hail, explosions, theft, vandalism, and natural disasters.

Who needs it?

Builder’s risk insurance is needed by anyone that has a financial interest in the construction project. This includes the property owner, builder, general contractor, subcontractors, and any lender providing financial investment in the project. It is always a good idea to make sure you are covered so that you are not personally liable in case something happens. Continue reading ..

Oct

How to Avoid Being Taken Advantage of After a Natural Disaster

Scammers like to take advantage of anyone they can, especially after a natural disaster when you may be at your weakest. They may try to get money or steal your personal information. Be on alert for these potential threats.

Scammers posing as FEMA

Scammers will pose as someone from FEMA or a contractor to take advantage of you. They will try and steal your personal information and, in some cases, use it to apply for FEMA assistance in your name. If this happens and a FEMA official shows up at your door let them know you did not fill out the application. FEMA inspectors are also never allowed to collect your financial information.

Look out for fraudulent contractors

Contractors in times of need may be hard to come by, but do not settle for just anyone. Be wary of door-to-door solicitations as these are typically people posing as a licensed contractor. If they claim to have come from another area to help disaster victims or that they were just in the area and noticed that you need repairs these are also signs of fraud.

An unmarked vehicle is a telltale sign. They often try to pressure you into a sale as well. If they are advertising without a Florida license number and not willing to give you an itemized estimate for the cost of the labor, this is a red flag. Ask for a written contract and if they refuse, take that as another bad sign. Never pay in full or in cash for work or repairs to start a job, because they could leave you high and dry.

Conclusion

It is best to use trusted companies that have done work for family or friends you know. Ask for references you can reach out to that are local. Do the work upfront to protect yourself.

Another important tip! Always verify their license through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation before moving forward. A license can be verified here: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=1&SID=&brd=&typ=

Protect yourself, your assets, and your family by being an educated consumer or you could fall victim to scammers. Contact us directly here if you have any additional questions on this information.

Sep

Why an inventory home could be the right fit for you

If you are struggling to find your dream home, here is why one of our inventory homes might be right for you. Inventory homes are new construction homes that are built with the same standards and quality as our semi-custom-built homes.

These homes feature our most popular floor plans and premium design selections. With a faster move in timeline, popular layout, and designer selections pre-selected you may find an inventory home is perfect for your family.

Advantages of buying an inventory home

The price of an inventory home is set. This means you are not investing any more money in additional upgrades, the land and selecting the floor plan. It also takes away the headache of choosing the selections you want in your home since this is done by the builders’ design team.

Aug

Cape Coral Permitting Office Update

As of Friday, August 19, the Cape Coral permit desk at city hall will be closed on Fridays to allow the staff to catch up on their backlogged permits. There are over seven thousand permits in progress, and they’re working on training more staff to help get them processed.

They will still be open for emergency permits, returning phone calls and emails but will not be taking new permit submissions. The online portal will also be accessible for those to check on permit statuses. 

City hall believes that closing to the public on Fridays will help them to train more employees and catch up on the influx of permits they have. For more information please visit: https://nbc-2.com/news/2022/08/12/cape-coral-city-officials-working-through-permit-backlog/

Sposen is hopeful this will help in streamlining their process and allow for faster turnarounds, so we can get to building your home faster! To view the floor plans Sposen offers please check here.

If you have specific permitting questions, please inquire directly at 239-244-8886 to speak directly to our New Home Specialist team or email hello@sposenhomes.com.

Aug

What are Capital Gains on Real Estate Investments?

Investing in Real Estate is one of the best ways to grow your personal wealth. Being an educated investor when it comes to real estate transactions and the taxes you are subject to is important. To understand that we are going to discuss about Capital Gains and ways these monies are taxed when you sell a home.

After a successful real estate transaction, the capital experienced from the sale on your asset, is up for grabs to the IRS.

Capital gains are realized if you sell an asset (in this scenario your home) for more than what you paid for it. The difference between what you paid and what you sold it for may be subject to capital gains taxes.

How long did you own it?

The amount of taxes due on these gains, varies based on how long the asset was in your possession before selling. If the home was held for a year or less this is considered short-term capital gains, and if the home was held for longer than a year it’s considered a long-term capital gain.

Now, the IRS does allow homeowners an opportunity for tax relief on capital gains due to an Act passed in 1997 called the Tax Relief Act of 1997. This Act shifted the policy on how taxes are treated for capital gains realized when it comes to housing. Prior to 1997, homeowners paid capital gains taxes if they sold their house, unless they purchased a new home of equal or greater value.

EXEMPTIONS

Today, there are exemptions on capital gains for the sale of a person(s) primary residence of up to $500,000 for jointly filed married couples and $250,000 for singles if they lived in their home for at least two of the previous five years.

The Tax Relief Act of 1997 also lowered the top tier of taxes for long-term capital gains. The current 2021 long-term capital gains tax rate is 0%, 15% or 20% dependent on the income bracket of the taxpayer, while short-term gains are now taxed at the persons ordinary income tax level. This credit has been phased out for high-income families and is capped at usage to once every two years.

You may also qualify for an exception of these gains if the sale of your home was sold because of your employment, health or “an unforeseeable event, according to the IRS.

CONCLUSION

Always speak with a trusted financial professional for details on how this may affect YOUR own financial information. The IRS has an edibility test you can find here. Deferring capital gains tax on a sale with the use of a 1031 Exchange is something you will want to explore. To learn more about 1031 Exchange click here.

If you’re ready to invest in real estate, Sposen offers new construction homes at a great value. Contact us today!

May

5 Tips for Designing a New Construction Home

Tip 1: Horizontal surfaces should complement each other.

For example, your floors and countertop should have the same tonality and depth. This creates an “easy on the eye” appearance.

Tip 2: Keep paint selections light and neutral.

Choosing colors that are light will make your space feel larger while choosing neutral tones throughout will create a welcoming environment. Remember, you can always add pops of color on accent walls, treys, and niches once your home is complete.

Tip 3: Design with simplicity in mind.

When it comes to New Construction, we always remind homeowners that they’re creating a blank canvas to enhance later with furniture, paintings, décor, etc. Sometimes curbing the creativity is hard, but it is necessary to create a space that is easy to enhance after move in.

Tip 4: Splurge on tile selections.

Floor tile, shower wall tile, and accent tiles are the most time consuming and expensive materials to change. Make the selection that you love – you will not regret it.

Tip 5: Pay attention to what electrical options come standard.

Two words: floor outlets. If your builder allows you to add electrical features, you may want to consider upgrading a bit. Floor outlets are a great way to avoid exposed cords in living areas. Another great electrical addition is under cabinet or trey lighting.

Apr

UNDERSTANDING CREDIT SCORES

With many major financial decisions in life, there’s one number that keeps rearing its potentially ugly head – credit score. In fact, you have many credit scores, not just one. Use your credit card app to look up your credit score and you might get one number. Apply for a loan, and the lender might end up using a different credit score altogether. Whichever scoring system is used to determine your credit scores, you can expect it to fall somewhere within a range of 300 to 850. The higher your scores, the better your credit.

The most common scoring systems you’ll encounter are FICO, which is established credit by the Fair Isaac Corporation, or VantageScore, the system used by the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. These scoring systems measure your creditworthiness, or how much trust financial institutions should have in you as a borrower. To take charge of your credit scores, you must understand what exactly is being factored into them.