Home Safety for Seniors Made Easy: Check Out These 5 Simple Steps

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As we grow older in our homes, things that we once loved can become a challenge. That second floor might be hard to get to (all those stairs!), the soaking tub may seem unnaturally slippery and even threatening.

When a current home starts to present challenges to seniors, they often find their spaces need to be upgraded to suit their changing lifestyle. Luckily, there are all sorts of ways to make a home more comfortable and easier to navigate.

Whether it’s fall-proofing the home, improving the lighting, or even just rearranging the furniture, here are some of the most important changes seniors can make to their home in order to guarantee that it’s a safer space to live in.

1. Install nonslip mats

Falls are the No. 1 cause of injuries to seniors. So an easy way to start making a home safer is by making sure there aren’t any slippery spots in the kitchen or bathroom that might cause an accident.

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Rent keeps falling. Here are the cities where it’s falling fastest

Fourteen major metro areas reported year-over-year declines in the median cost to rent an apartment, according to Redfin. It's only the latest sign of widespread slowdown in rent.

Big names backing nesto’s bid to upend Canadian mortgage lending

"Oversubscribed" $80 million Series C round brings total funding raised by Montreal-based digital mortgage lending platform to $167.5 million.

Annual inflation drops to 7.1% even as housing woes persist

Housing remained a strain on family budgets last month, but declining prices of gas, used cars and medical insurance helped soften the blow.

Read All About It: Publisher McClatchy’s Former California Compound for $3.5M

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An expansive two-home property previously owned by top newspaper publisher William McClatchy has hit the market in Rancho Mirage, CA, for $3.5 million.

The homes sit on an unheard-of 3 parcels totaling 1.5 acres.

“The undeveloped lot could be purchased separately, but the other two have to be purchased together,” says listing agent Michael Bernal, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.

“There are two residences on the lot that were built in 1980 for Bernard Kaplan, ” Bernal adds. “It was later sold to William McClatchy, who was a newspaper publisher, who owned publications like the Miami Herald and the Sacramento Bee. He owned 12 to 15 papers nationally and was the equivalent of [William Randolph] Hearst in terms of the number of papers he owned.”







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The House Was in Bad Shape. But It Was On a Lake in Seattle.

Sure, the home still had its original knob-and-tube wiring. But for the lake view, they could overlook a few shortcomings.

Squabble in paradise: What’ll happen to $256M in FTX real estate?

The US and Bahamian governments are jockeying to oversee the bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX — and its trove of real estate holdings — following the arrest Monday of Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas.

What are you planning to do differently next year? Pulse

It's OK, you can tell us. What have you been hoping for, dreaming of and angling toward in your real estate business for 2023?

The pandemic party for short-term rental investors is ending

It may not be an "Airbnbust," but homeowners who rent their properties on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo stand to see occupancy rates rise and revenue slow in 2023, according to AirDNA.

Proptechs, polish your pitch decks: Fifth Wall closes record $866M fund

Venture capital firm Fifth Wall Ventures' fund, the largest ever to focus on real estate technology, will back early- and late-stage proptech companies, including some home renovation innovators.

The Property Brothers Reveal the Single Best Upgrade To Fend Off Nosy Guests

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It isn’t every day property brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott get to work with a fellow designer who has her own furniture line, so they’re doubly excited to meet model, designer, and entrepreneur Cindy Crawford on the latest “Celebrity IOU.”

In the episode “Cindy Crawford’s Super Remodel,” the Scott brothers drive to Woodland Hills in L.A. to help Crawford’s longtime personal trainer spruce up her very first house before she and her family move in.

“Sara and her husband have had a rough go of it,” explains Drew. “Her husband got cancer, and they were never able to buy a house because all the extra funds they had were going toward medical bills. So they scraped enough together, they found a great house, but they did not have enough money to renovate. So enter Cindy…”

Crawford wants to make sure the home is completely renovated and perfect before Sara moves in, and is ready to roll up her sleeves and help out in a big way. And it turns out she knows a thing or two about decor. So this time, we get decoration tips from Crawford as well as Jonathan and Drew. Take a look at the latest round of celeb-approved design tips that may be worth trying on your own abode, too.

Mid-light toned floors make a place feel more spacious.
New powder room
Arches can elevate a space.
Wood flooring addsflair to the ceiling.
Old door and window placement
New door and window placement
The Property Brothers will do almost anything for a piece of Cindy Crawford baked cake.
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Former LA home of ‘First Lady of Television’ Betty White demolished

Located in the Brentwood enclave of Los Angeles, the former home of the television-acting "Golden Girl" was razed in the past week, with only a fireplace and chimney remaining of the original structure.

Reduced refi fears could help ease pressure on mortgage rates

Mortgage investors have been demanding higher yields because of fears that borrowers will refinance if rates fall.

Flat-fee brokerage Houwzer acquires rival Trelora

The acquisition will expand the company's footprint to 14 states. The deal also comes amid a challenging time for the real estate technology sector.

Make It a Triple! A Collection of Waterfront Mansions Is New Jersey’s Priciest Listing at $25M

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If you’ve always wanted to own a family compound, this could be the one. A trio of waterfront estates has splashed onto the market in Brick, NJ, for a cool $25 million—the state’s most expensive listing.

The adjacent megamansions are situated on a stunning 2-acre lot, at the edge of the Metedeconk River.

“The properties are each being maintained by the same housekeepers and gardeners,” says listing agent Robert Cecchini, of Keller Williams Shore Properties. “You can access each home from inside the parklike grounds.”

417 Princeton Ave

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The Agency makes its way down the coast with move into Chesapeake

The office marks the luxury brokerage's first foray into the state of Virginia and the company's 67th office to date.

5 Common Reasons Why New Homeowners Call a Handyman

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Moving into a new home is supposed to be joyful. Before moving day, you may have pictured yourself spending the next several weeks painting walls, decorating, and breathing a sigh of relief after a grueling buying process. The t’s are crossed, the i’s are dotted, and you can finally chill. Congrats—you’re a homeowner!

But amid all of that excitement, many new homeowners have found unanticipated expenses due to a laundry list of items that need fixing. This is often the case with homes that were purchased as is. But even homes that went through a thorough inspection can be ticking time bombs for unexpected repairs.

We reached out to real estate pros and recent homebuyers to uncover the most common reasons why new owners call a handyman. Read on for what home inspectors might overlook, what kind of fixes they entail, and what to watch out for the next time you’re in the market for a new home.

1. Dryer vents

If a washer and dryer are blocking the vents, home inspectors often skip inspecting them.

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Where Does Dust Come From? And How Do You Battle It?

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You may be wondering how dust gets into your home after wiping a fine layer off the coffee table you swear you just cleaned the day before. It doesn’t matter if you live in the city or the burbs, dust will find its way into your home—and it’s not going away anytime soon.

What to know about dust

Dust is a combination of very fine, dry particles of matter found in the local environment. These particles are lighter than air and become visible only when they accumulate.

The vast majority of household dust is composed of the following:

Dead skin cells: Gross but true, we all naturally shed to generate new skin.Pet dander: Like humans, pets naturally shed their skin.Textile fibers: Your carpets, bedding, and clothing simply break down over time.Dust mites and insect droppings: OK, now we’re really grossed out. Microscopic arachnids feed on human skin cells and release droppings.

Dust found outdoors is primarily made up of elements carried by the wind, including the following:

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The Best Home Selling Advice of 2022: Our Top Tips for Sellers To Use in the New Year

Photo-Illustration by Realtor.com; Photos: Getty Images (5)

If you’re like a lot of sellers in the latter part of 2022, you decided not to put your house on the market this year. Sure, you knew about record-high home prices. But maybe you also heard how, at the end of the year, homes were lingering on the market and that sellers had to offer price reductions to unload their properties.

Or maybe your current home has a low mortgage rate that you don’t want to trade in for a higher one that will come with buying a new home.

Whatever the reason, 2022 was not the year for you to plant a “For Sale” sign in your front yard. But perhaps 2023 is.

So to help you fetch top dollar, in the shortest amount of time—with the least possible amount of headaches—we rounded up our top advice stories on home selling over the past 12 months. And we also highlight one top tip from each article as a holiday gift that will keep giving in 2023. Here’s to a healthy, happy, and profitable new year!







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Lesson Learned: Stop focusing on the one-hit wonders

For Miami real estate agent Joan Bruggink, your network is your most valuable asset. Stop playing to those one and done deals and start nurturing your sphere.

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