Jeff Howard's Las Vegas Area Real Estate blog | Real estate news, tips, ideas and more

Live Theatre (not streamed) – Love Letters by A. R. Gurney

The Las Vegas Little Theatre is reopening making theatre goers very happy. The first performance of this season is Love Letters by A.R. Gurney. Love Letters was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The first performance was in 1988 at the New York Public Library.

The play centers on two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd II who exchange letters, but not marriage vows, in a warm and complicated friendship lasting 50 years. Because they choose others as mates, and live to regret it.

Love Letters has a wistful tone: beneath the sparkle there is sadness and remorse. “This is a play about missed opportunity,” said John Tillinger, who staged it. “They keep missing each other but they’re bound to each other. He doesn’t really realize how much she means to him until she dies.” “She was at the heart of my life,” he laments to her mother.

This play is a unique and imaginative theatre piece which, in the words of the author, “needs no theatre, no lengthy rehearsal, no special set, no memorization of lines, and no commitment from its two actors beyond the night of performance.” The piece is comprised of letters exchanged over a lifetime between two people who grew up together, went their separate ways, but continued to share confidences. As the actors read the letters aloud, what is created is an evocative, touching, frequently funny but always telling pair of character studies in which what is implied is as revealing and meaningful as what is actually written down.

This show will feature a different pair of actors performing each weekend of the run!

Limited seating live performances :

Fridays, Jan 15, 22, 29 @ 8pm

Saturdays, Jan 16, 23, 30 @ 8pm and
Sundays, Jan 17, 24, 31 @ 2pm

Starring (First Weekend) – April Sauline & Michael Kaczurak

Starring (Second Weekend) – Monica Johns & Glenn Heath

Starting (Third Weekend) – Teresa Fullerton & Blake Boles

Directed by Walter Niejadlik

Tickets are $30.

The Las Vegas Little Theatre is following strict safety guidelines including reduced capacity, 6-foot distance with seating and mandatory masks. The theatre is located at 3920 Schiff Drive. For more information, please click here for LVLT’s reopening plan.

Do you have a need for commercial / industrial / retail buildings or land? Are you ready to buy or sell a home? We can help you with that, safely… just call us at 702 SELL NOW or click on this link to my website http://www.702SellNow.com

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

Using Paint to Change the Game

The way your home is decorated says a lot about you and your family. Choosing the right mix of colors can set the mood and having the right color on the wall can make it spectacular. Putting a contrasting color in the right spot can also dramatically change the features of a room.

Paint is a wonderful way to change the look of your home and the best part of it is easy to change if you do not like it. Plus it is not expensive to change a color. Many paint manufacturers make what I would call “a sampler size container” for you to purchase so you can get 3 different shades of a color and see which works best. Or you can get 3 or 4 different colors if you don’t have a color in mind. It’s important to see the color in the sunlight and in the lighting of your room.

The following are just a few ideas to enhance the details of the house you already have:

Pay close attention your front door. It is one of the best spots for setting the mood for your whole home. It says something that your windows never could, so paint it like it’s the most important part of your home. Matching the house trim is very passe’. Today’s front doors feature bold or fun colors that complement the rest of your outdoor color scheme. Some houses can also see a bump in interest when homeowners try the same trick on their garage doors.
Choose bold trim colors. Your trim color doesn’t always have to be white, though it shouldn’t be the same color as the wall. Instead, you can make a huge statement by highlighting some of the more decorative elements of your home with paint colors that have something to say for themselves. Pair light gray walls with black trim, or choose several different colors to accent ornate trim work in older homes. When picking your paint colors keep your furniture and their colors in mind – you might want to choose a trim color that ties in with your furniture.
Rethink built-in cabinets and shelving. Plenty of homes have built-in shelving or cabinets, but most homeowners opt to paint these the same color as the trim in their homes, effectively hiding a potentially eye-popping element. Instead of blending your built-ins into the background, choose colors to highlight them. Selecting a bold or bright color for the back wall of an open shelving unit can really make a statement. This can also work for the risers on wooden staircases, that really looks great and makes the stairs pop in a designer kind of way.
Why not white? A lot of people shy away from white walls because they feel like the color lends an institutional feel to a room, but white doesn’t have to be hospital-grade. There are a range of “barely there” colors within the white spectrum, and you can enhance them with color pops in the room itself. It’s your house; if you want a white, don’t let anyone tell you you’re wrong. Choosing a trim color that complements your white is also vital to success with all-white walls.
Color on the ceiling? Sure! There’s been a long tradition of ceilings being painted a flat white, but that wasn’t always the case. In the past, ceilings have been havens of color in rooms of various sizes and shapes. Depending on the effect you’re looking to create, you can use lighter or darker colors to visually raise or lower the ceiling, or accent decorative ceilings with color for added dimension. If you can paint a picture you can paint some clouds on the ceiling.
Try textured paint. Wall texture comes and goes as a trend, but it’s a great way to deal with older homes that may have irregular or downright rough walls. Today’s texture paint goes well beyond Venetian plasters, giving you a huge range of options in texture and more ways to get an end result you’ll absolutely adore. Use a heavy texture as an accent, or go a little lighter for interest throughout your living space.

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

Fireplaces Add Some Snap, Crackle, and Pop!!!

As the song goes “when the weather outside is frightful, a fire can be so delightful”. A major portion of homeowners tend to agree with the sentiment, so surely they can’t all be wrong. Adding a fireplace to your home can seem like a big undertaking, but there are several options for homeowners looking to add a little snap, crackle, and pop to their living spaces.

Fireplaces: Beyond the Chimney – A very long time ago, there was only one way to have a fire indoors: you had to have a brick chimney or metal stove to contain the flames and keep everybody safe. However today there are lots of options for adding fireplaces to your home without having to also add a new chimney or repair an old one that’s no longer in use. This is wonderful news, especially if you really want a fireplace for ambiance, rather than to be used as a primary heating or cooking source.

While wood burning masonry fireplaces have a sort of rustic, nostalgic appeal, today’s modern ventless options are much easier to install require a lot less maintenance, and are environmentally friendly. They are often extremely fuel efficient should you choose to use them to help fight back winter’s chill.

Chimney-Free Fireplace Options – If you have an existing chimney that’s in great shape, you have lots of options for units that can be installed into that space. For many homeowners it’s not that simple since either their home never had an open chimney, or the one they do have is in poor shape. This is where chimney-free fireplace options come in to play. They can be placed pretty much anywhere you want to put them since there’s no flue required.

When you go shopping, consider options like:

Ventless gas fireplaces have been in use for awhile now. Unlike some gas units, the ventless gas units don’t require any kind of vent, so they can be installed on an inside wall, between rooms, or in other tricky spots. Although they don’t need a vent, it is recommended that you put them in larger rooms. You can often use a ventless gas fireplace when the power is out, making them a great emergency backup in a house that’s otherwise heated with electricity.

Electric fireplaces – If you really like the look of a fireplace, but don’t want to deal with cleaning or maintaining anything, an electric fireplace is a great option. Most units have beautiful LED-based simulated fire and blowers that can put out a lot of heat. When in heating mode, they work a lot like large space heaters. But like an electric space heater, they need almost no care to keep running year after year. Many units can also have the LED turned on independently of the heating element for cool-to-the-touch flames all year round. The other great thing about this option is that it is easy to move them around if you decide to rearrange your furniture! I have one of these myself!

Ethanol. Looking for real fire without having to hook up gas lines? Ethanol may be the solution for you. Instead of piping in gas or tying into the electrical, an ethanol fireplace will produce a real flame with bottled alcohol-based fuel that you simply pour into the burner and light. They come in a huge range of sizes and designs, suitable for many indoor applications. You’ll get some heat from these, but not anything substantial. They’re similar to gel fireplaces, which have been losing popularity to ethanol fireplaces for years, but unlike gel fireplaces they use a liquid fuel instead of a gel-based one.

Water Vapor. If you only want the look of fire, but no actual fire to deal with, a water vapor fireplace can give you one of the most realistic experiences without limitations. These fireplaces can be incredibly large and long, limited largely by your imagination. They don’t produce any heat, since water vapor is used to reflect special lights that create the illusion of a flame. All you need is electricity and tap water to set the mood.

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

3 Trends Driving Hyperactivity in the Real Estate Market Nationally

Despite the economic uncertainties that surround the pandemic, one fact has become crystal clear: Americans are ready to buy a new home. We have low inventory, bidding wars, and record-low mortgage rates, all of which are giving consumers a new sense of FOMO—fear of missing out—and creating a red-hot housing market.

Ali Wolf, chief economist for real estate analytics company Zonda, said Thursday during the National Association of REALTORS®’ virtual Real Estate Forecast Summit,“ To our surprise, the housing market has not only recovered but roared past pre-pandemic levels,” added NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, who presented a consensus real estate forecast based on a survey of 30 leading economists. The numbers and facts in this post (until the last sentence) are National, not Southern Nevada.

For some Americans, soaring home equity and gains in the stock market are padding the financial impact of a pandemic-fueled recession. Pending home sales are up 20% from a year ago, buyer traffic is up 32%, and mortgage applications are up 27%—all indicators that this winter may be the best ever for the housing market, Yun said. Mortgage rates also remain at record lows. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.71% for the week ending Dec. 10, according to Freddie Mac.

Sellers, Builders May Ease Inventory Crunch

Inventory remains constrained as buyer demand surges. Potential sellers who are hesitant to list their home during a pandemic may not be aware of the housing market’s strength, said Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com®. Sellers are often buyers, too, and they may not want to face the challenge of finding a home amid low inventory. These realities have limited the number of homes on the market during the pandemic, panelists said.

Why can’t builders construct more housing to meet demand? Labor shortages and escalating prices for building materials maybe holding back many builders, with 80% saying they had to raise their new-home prices last month due to higher expenses, according to Zonda research. Further, most new-home construction in recent years has occurred near expensive urban cores.

Now that more buyers want to live farther from the city, builders are snatching up land in far suburbs and exurbs, said John Burns, CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Builder sentiment indexes are running at record highs, Burns said. “Builders have never been more optimistic, so we’ll see more construction—but it’s still going to take a while.”

Suburbs Grow, But Cities Aren’t Dead

While the suburbs are in a growth phase, not all buyers are giving up on city living. “The popularity of the suburbs is real, however [the housing market] is not reflecting a full-fledged urban flight either,” Hale said. “Real estate is booming everywhere. The suburbs have bounced back relatively quicker than the urban areas nationwide.”

The suburbs were growing before the pandemic as millennials started migrating away from cities to form households. That trend has only accelerated, Wolf said. “The work-from-home environment has really fueled the ability for more people to migrate,” she said. “Home has become a focal point” as people hunker down during the pandemic.

Demand from investors also is surging, panelists said. Build-for-rent subdivisions are popping up as investors see a growing appetite from renters for single-family homes. Investor groups also are crowdsourcing funds to buy properties together, and home flippers are reemerging to turn around fixer-uppers for a quick profit, Burns said.

Assistance Programs Boost Affordability

Low mortgage rates can help buyers offset higher home prices, but not when prices are soaring into double-digit annual increases like they are now. First-time buyers are particularly in danger of being priced out of the market. “Affordability is going to be a key challenge in 2021 for first-time buyers,” Hale said.

Wolf added that education on down payment assistance programs will help would-be buyers find a purchase path amid higher prices. One positive sign: 60% of millennials are saving more money this year than last year despite the economic downturn, according to Zonda research. Millennials also say part of their increased savings will go toward a down payment.

As for the Las Vegas Valley, inventory is pretty tight in most categories (except luxury, and high-rises) so, for most, it is an amazing time to be a seller!

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

Recycling Wrapping Paper

Is wrapping paper recyclable? Some is, however some isn’t. The following might be able to help you how to make greener gift wrap choices.

Wrapping paper may have “paper” in its name, but that doesn’t automatically mean it can be recycled. Some types of wrapping paper can be, but many cannot, due to additives such as glitter and metallic finishes. We’ll help you sort out what goes where and help you find greener and reusable holiday wrappings.

What Kind of Wrapping Paper Is Recyclable?

Wrapping paper can usually be recycled if it is plain and simple, non-laminated, made from recycled materials, and is not too thin. When the paper is very thin, it has only a few good quality fibers for recycling.

Wrapping paper cannot be recycled if it contains sparkles, glitter, sequins, foil, artificial texture, sticky gift labels, or plastic. It also cannot be recycled if it has been laminated or has loads of leftover tape, ribbons, or bows still attached.

Do a Scrunch Test

To confirm that wrapping paper is recyclable, you can do a “scrunch test” by squeezing it into a ball. If it keeps the ball shape, then it can be recycled. If it springs back to a flat form, then it cannot.

How to Recycle Wrapping Paper

Make sure that all ribbons, gift tags, tape, and other decorative or outside elements have been removed from the wrapping paper before you put it in the recycling bin. Having a mix of recyclable and non-recyclable papers is a real problem for recycling facilities, and they often end up tossing the entire lot because they cannot sort it out themselves. (This is known as wishcycling and it causes tremendous problems year-round with all sorts of materials, not just wrapping paper.)

(In case you missed it, here is a post I did about a year ago called “11 Things You Should Not Recycle”)

Try to find out if your town, city, or municipality accepts wrapping paper, because even if the paper is recyclable, whether it happens depends on each region’s regulations. If you live in Southern Nevada you should check with Republic Services website www.republicservices.com . I do have a couple of suggestions from their web site: When giving holiday gifts, commit to reusing laminated bags and recycling those made of paper.

Shipping gifts? Make shredded paper out of old newspapers and be sure to reuse last year’s bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts.

After opening gifts, remember to recycle the wrapping paper – but save and reuse the ribbons and bows.

How to Reduce Gift Wrap Waste

Try these suggestions for cutting down the amount of wrapping paper you throw away.

Reuse What You Have

Wrapping paper has such a brief life span that it can be reused many times, especially if care is taken to unwrap it without tearing. It’s estimated that the U.S. produces 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper annually, and 2.3 million pounds of that ends up in the trash. The remainder stays in people’s homes, awaiting reuse. I love this idea!

Use Different Material

Who says you have to choose glittery paper to decorate a present? Opt for basic brown Kraft paper that can be spruced up with a bow, ribbons, leaves, pinecones, or markers. Repurpose newspaper, old posters, and children’s school artwork as wrapping paper. Plus there are plenty of other eco-friendly alternatives to wrapping paper that are just delightful and celebratory.

Try Zero Waste

Use baskets, fabric, gift boxes or bags, tea towels, and more to conceal and reveal your presents. Use pretty knots to fasten colorful, reusable fabrics in attractive ways. This way, you’ll have no wrapping paper waste to contend with.

Ask for Better Paper

Retailers stock what customers want, and recyclability should be a top priority, so let that be known when you’re out shopping. As explained by Simon Ellin, CEO of the Recycling Association, a trade body that represents about 90 waste management companies and paper merchants in the United Kingdom, “It’s a crusade we’ve been on all year – do you really need to design a non-paper wrapping paper? Make paper with recycling in mind!” Shop with that in mind, too.

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

Twelve Dates of Christmas – Streaming!

If you’re like me, you wish we could go to the theatre… and since we still can’t, Super Summer Theatre is doing the next best thing this weekend, with a holiday theme. They will be presenting a virtual show streaming performances on

Friday, December 11 @ 7:30 PM PST

Saturday, December 12 @ 2:00 PM PST

Saturday, December 12 @ 7:30 PM PST

Sunday, December 13 @ 2:00 PM PST

The Play: How bad can the Holidays be? After seeing her fiancé kiss another woman at the televised Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mary’s life falls apart — just in time for the holidays. Over the next year, she stumbles back into the dating world, where “romance” ranges from weird and creepy to absurd and comical. It seems nothing can help Mary’s growing cynicism, until the charm and innocence of a five-year-old boy unexpectedly brings a new outlook on life and love. This heartwarming one-woman play offers a hilarious and modern alternative to the old standards of the holiday season.

This play was written by Ginna Hoben and directed by Joe Hynes and filmed by Doug Greig.

Tickets will only cost $18.95 per household and will be Streamed through Broadway On Demand (and by the way the Stream will open up 30 minutes before the performance)

To get tickets go to https://supersummertheatre.org/12dates/

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

$8,500 stolen from my friend – because he did not have 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)

A good amount of our lives happens on mobile devices and computers, so it’s no surprise that our digital accounts have become targets for criminals. These evil attacks against governments, companies, and you are more and more common than ever, with no sign that the hacks, data breaches, and other forms of cybercrime are slowing down! There are times that it is simple human error that has left them exposed. Like I said, this just happened to a good friend of mine.

A recent study revealed that in 2016 over $16 billion was taken from 15.4 million U.S. consumers. Even more incredible, identify thieves stole over $107 billion in the past six years alone. Scary isn’t it?

Luckily, it’s easy to add an extra level of protection to your most important accounts in the form of two-factor authentication, also commonly referred to as 2FA, which is used to make sure that people trying to gain access to an online account are who they say they are. First, a user will enter their username and a password. Then, instead of immediately gaining access, they will be required to provide another piece of information. This second factor could come from one of the following categories:

Something you know:This could be a personal identification number (PIN), a password, answers to “secret questions” or a specific keystroke pattern.

Something you have:Typically, a user would have something in their possession, like a credit card, a smartphone, or a small hardware token.

Something you are:This category is a little more advanced, and might include biometric pattern of a fingerprint, an iris scan, or a voice print.

Something only you (ideally) have access to: They can send a code via email, voice call or text message that you have to enter before it expires.

With 2FA, a potential compromise of just one of these factors won’t unlock the account. So, even if your password is stolen or your phone is lost, the chances of a someone else having your second-factor information is highly unlikely.

According to a recent report, stolen, reused, and weak passwords remain a leading cause of security breaches. Unfortunately, passwords are still the main (or only) way many companies protect their users. The good news is that cybercrime is in the news so much that 2FA awareness is quickly growing and users are demanding that the companies they do business with have improved security. Most likely, your bank and other truly sensitive web sites you visit have this ability, and if they don’t, you may want to move your accounts to one that does.

BE CAREFUL many criminals will trick you into giving them the 2FA information. Example: You receive a text message from someone claiming to be your bank and they tell you that for your security, you must text them the code you just received, but the code they want you to send them is the 2FA that allows them to take money from you. Never send your 2FA to anyone! If your bank contacts you, end that conversation, and call them at a trusted phone number.

If my friend had 2FA, when the criminals tried to make the transfer, it would have required another level of protection that they would not likely have had access to, and the theft would not have happened.

One last note: many people can’t tolerate the “hassle” of continually identifying themselves, so they opt out of 2FA, when they can… so I ask you, is it worth the extra time it takes to keep your accounts secure?

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

The Importance of Earnest Money

Why Do I Need Earnest Money?

When you are purchasing a home the amount of money for a loan application, a home inspection, actually anything and everything you have to pay for can feel very overwhelming. The days of low to no down payments are largely past and markets everywhere seem to be running thin on inventory, earnest money may well be the most important negotiating tool you’ve never heard of.

What Is Earnest Money?

When you make an offer on a home, part of that offer can include a little show of good faith on your part, in the form of cold, hard cash (well not actual dollar bills… you can write a check or send a wire). Generally, one to three percent of the offer price is pretty normal for an earnest money deposit. However this can vary widely based on market conditions. The more you put up, the more serious you appear to the seller. But what happens to that money?

Earnest money is literally just a show of faith. When you go to the closing, it is credited towards the cash you need to close, which is made up of line items like your down payment, your closing costs, and your prepaid items. It will simply be applied in full as a credit in your closing documents, reducing the amount of money you need to bring with you on the big day.

Here’s the one thing to be cautious of; if you were to default on the contract, the seller may be entitled to some or all of that earnest money. However, plenty of situations exist where you can cancel, and your earnest money will be refundable, such as:

An unacceptable home inspection. This all has to be stipulated in your contract; there are no givens in a real estate transaction, but there are things that are reasonably standard. Having an unacceptable home inspection, if the seller is not willing to make reasonable repairs, can be a cause for terminating the contract and getting your earnest money back.

Your financing falls through. Again, you’ll need a financing clause or addendum to ensure you’re covered in this event, however, because financing is so important to real estate transactions in general, they are pretty standard. If your financing falls through due to no fault of your own (you’ve been laid off, your bank closes, a co-borrower dies), you should generally be able to reclaim your earnest money. The specifics will be in your real estate sales contract, so pay close attention (and hire an agent who will pay closer attention).

The seller can’t close. There are a few rare situations where a seller can’t close the transaction. These are incredibly uncommon, but they do happen once in a while. For example, you might find out that the seller only believed they were the owners of the home. This can occur when a parent dies without a will, forcing the property into probate court even when it’s clear an only child will be the sole heir.

And in the case that the seller can close, but chooses not to for whatever reason, you would be entitled to get your money back or, in many cases, you can force the seller to honor the contract.

What Is an Earnest Money Note?

In some markets, you may have an additional option for earnest money, known as an earnest money promissory note. This is essentially an IOU that accompanies the offer. On the note, you’ll specify exactly when you’ll either turn the paper into actual cash or forfeit the offer entirely. Though these were once very common, they’re far less so today. If you choose to use an earnest money promissory note, be sure to describe in great detail why you’re not able to provide earnest money on the spot and how you will remedy this.

For example, if you have some stocks you were going to cash out for your down payment, but didn’t want to touch until you were really ready, you may need time to sell enough to cover the earnest money. In that case, specify this as the reason and say that you’ll initiate a sale on a certain day, then convert the note on that day. Make sure to leave yourself a little leeway, because if you fail to perform, you can suffer serious consequences.

Generally speaking, earnest money promissory notes can be considered a sign of a weak offer, so you should inquire before taking that leap.

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END with safe practice performances December 2020

After its successful online run, The Las Vegas Little Theatre is overjoyed to be able to welcome patrons back to the theatre for a Live in person performance of a hilarious one woman show ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END. Of course, due to safety and health regulations, things will be a bit different than all of us are used to. They plan to follow strict safety guidelines including reduced capacity, 6-foot distance with seating and mandatory masks.

They must maintain a 25-foot distance between the audience and the stage so the first row for seating with be the 6th row. There is NO SEATING in the first five rows which means patrons MUST be able to climb stairs in order to attend the performance. Seats will also be socially distanced so there will be a limited number of seats per row.

Wisecracking and charming, iconic humorist Erma Bombeck takes us through her journey from homemaker, to popular syndicated columnist, to feminist crusader and more. ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S ENDis directed by Vegas Valley Award Winner Walter Niejadlik and stars local actress Gillen Brey, this one-woman show is a hilarious, poignant look at Bombeck’s ambition to define herself beyond the roles of wife and mother—while still embracing how these “ordinary” things can bring extraordinary joy.

The play was written by sister-playwriting duo Allison Engel and Margaret Engel. This clever show pulls largely from Bombeck’s famed columns and best-selling books, chronicling her life as a suburban housewife and how she used her wit and wisdom to charm her way into the hearts of readers across the country.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.lvlt.org.

ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END will perform

Saturdays, 12/5 & 12 @8pm and

Sundays, 12/6 & 13 @ 2pm

For tickets and information, visit their website at www.LVLT.org or contact the Box Office at (702) 362-7996 during regular box office hours (Mondays 4pm – 8pm, Wednesdays and Fridays 10am – 1pm, and Saturdays 9am – 12pm).

Disclaimer – This is the information we have today – things change rapidly these days.

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff

Hot Flooring Trends for Homeowners

Installing new flooring in your home can make one of the biggest impacts on your home’s appearance. It reflects your style and personality, as well as your lifestyle. The right floor can make it easier to keep your home cleaner, and set the mood for a cozy living space. There are certain trends that have been a lot more popular than others. Here’s a brief list of options that should make your flooring search a little easier.

Hard Flooring Options

Hard floors are any kind of flooring with a solid, and generally non-porous, surface. Hard flooring offers many benefits. The materials are more resilient to regular use, so wear life is longer. And cleaning is easier because there’s no fibers to capture things like pet hair, loose skin cells, dirt, and microbes. Some of the most popular hard flooring options include:

Vinyl Plank is designed much like laminate flooring, with a tongue and groove locking system that creates a watertight seal when properly installed. The difference between vinyl plank and laminate flooring, however, is that vinyl plank is made from solid vinyl, rather than being several layers of different materials sandwiched together. It’s a great choice for wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms, and for households with pets and children. As a bonus, vinyl plank is available in a huge range of patterns, from synthetic marble to high variation wood-like floor patterns.

Wood-Look Porcelain Tile. If you want something that will last longer than vinyl plank, but still look like wood, wood-look porcelain tiles are a great option. They look like wood planks, but are made from extremely durable porcelain. It’s an option that’s very permanent and will last for many, many years to come. They can also be purchased in the high variation wood patterns, though the effect is less obvious than with vinyl plank since there is grout between the tiles.

Terrazzo. This might be the coolest flooring you’ve never heard of. Although its popular, many people don’t know the term for it. Terrazzo is that tile flooring that’s made from concrete with lots of inclusions like glass, shells, or other interesting bits mixed in. It looks great in mid-century modern homes, or those decorated in the style. And since concrete is extremely durable, it will last and last.

Reclaimed Wood is sometimes referred to as “architectural salvage.” When a building is being torn down, firms can sometimes acquire the materials, especially if the building is historic. It can be labor intensive to install reclaimed wood floors, but you’ll end up with a totally unique look and keep building materials out of the landfill, so it’s kind of a double win.

What About Carpet? Sometimes they’re in, sometimes they’re out. Usually there are some people who are still really into carpeting even when their popularity is waning. Right now the trend in carpets is to opt for carpeting in limited spots, like using carpet runners for stairs.

Carpet tiles are seeing some popularity, especially since they come in a ton of fun colors and tend to have a very low nap, making them easy to keep clean. If you want more carpet, look for large area rugs or keep your carpet in low-use rooms like bedrooms. “Maximalism” is making a big comeback, encouraging big patterns and colors with big personalities. Clashing is the new matching.

Once you know what kind of flooring you’d prefer, you may need to find someone to install it. Some flooring shops have an in-house flooring installer, but you can’t always rely on these experts to be as expert as you’d like. seem. Not every flooring installer installs every kind of flooring, so be sure to ask them about their areas of expertise before you make your final decision.

There are many companies that install flooring. Feel free to call me – Jeff “Vegas” Howard, your Realtor for life as I have a list of professional and reputable firms for you to consider.

Choose to have an amazing day…. Jeff