This simple DIY project is extremely resourceful!  All you need is a heavy duty trash can, a drill, a pair of pliers, and a few other basic tools. With this homemade rain barrel, you can collect rainwater directly from your gutter spouts, and use it to water your garden, lawn, and potted plants.

 

***NOTE: Harvesting rainwater is illegal in some states, so make sure you won’t get in any trouble before making this homemade rain barrel!***

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

I can remember having family gatherings at my grandparents’ house when I was young.  My grandfather always loved cooking a feast for our family, and one of his popular dishes was fried catfish.

 

 

 

And although my grandfather’s catfish was delicious, I must say that it doesn’t quite meet the caliber of the catfish cooked in Washington, Louisiana.  Each year, the small town of Washington hosts the annual Catfish Festival.  A typical Louisiana event, the festival celebrates good food, cooked by good people who love to have a good time.

 

 

 

The four-day festival will be held from Thursday, October 1 to Sunday, October 4 and will include carnival rides, a parade, arts and crafts booths, a catfish eating contest, a catfish cook-off, and, of course, live music!  

If you love some good catfish, the Washington Catfish Festival is the place to be!  Click here to learn more!

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

Home ownership should make you feel safe and secure, and that includes financially. Be sure you can afford your home by calculating how much of a mortgage you can safely fit into your budget.

Why not just take out the biggest mortgage a lender says you can have? Because your lender bases that number on a formula that doesn’t consider your current and future financial and personal goals.

Think ahead to major life events and consider how those might influence your budget. Do you want to return to school for an advanced degree? Will a new child add day care to your monthly expenses? Does a relative plan to eventually live with you and contribute to the mortgage?

Consider those lifestyle issues as you check out these four methods for estimating the amount of mortgage you can afford.

1.  Prepare a detailed budget.

The oldest rule of thumb says you can typically afford a home priced two to three times your gross income. So, if you earn $100,000, you can typically afford a home between $200,000 and $300,000.

But that’s not the best method because it doesn’t take into account your monthly expenses and debts. Those costs greatly influence how much you can afford. Let’s say you earn $100,000 a year but have $1,000 in monthly payments for student debt, car loans, and credit card minimum payments. You don’t have as much money to pay your mortgage as someone earning the same income with no debts.

Better option: Prepare a family budget that tallies your ongoing monthly bills for everything — credit cards, car and student loans, lunch at work, day care, date night, vacations, and savings. 

See what’s left over to spend on homeownership costs, like your mortgage, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, and community association fees, if applicable.

2.  Factor in your down payment.

How much money do you have for a down payment? The higher your down payment, the lower your monthly payments will be. If you put down at least 20% of the home’s cost, you may not have to get private mortgage insurance, which protects the lender if you default and costs hundreds each month. That leaves more money for your mortgage payment.

The lower your down payment, the higher the loan amount you’ll need to qualify for and the higher your monthly mortgage payment. 

But, if interest rates and/or home prices are rising and you wait to buy until you accumulate a bigger down payment, you may end up paying more for your home.

3.  Consider your overall debt.

Lenders generally follow the 43% rule. Your monthly mortgage payments covering your home loan principal, interest, taxes and insurance, plus all your other bills, like car loans, utilities, and credit cards, shouldn’t exceed 43% of your gross annual income.

Here’s an example of how the 43% calculation works for a home buyer making $100,000 a year before taxes:

1.    Your gross annual income is $100,000.

2.    Multiply $100,000 by 43% to get $43,000 in annual income.

3.    Divide $43,000 by 12 months to convert the annual 43% limit into a monthly upper limit of $3,583.

4.    All your monthly bills including your potential mortgage can’t go above $3,583 per month.

You might find a lender willing to give you a mortgage with a payment that goes above the 43% line, but consider carefully before you take it. Evidence from studies of mortgage loans suggest that borrowers who go over the limit are more likely to run into trouble making monthly payments, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns.

4.  Use your rent as a mortgage guide.

The tax benefits of homeownership generally allow you to afford a mortgage payment — including taxes and insurance — of about one-third more than your current rent payment without changing your lifestyle. So you can multiply your current rent by 1.33 to arrive at a rough estimate of a mortgage payment.

Here’s an example: If you currently pay $1,500 per month in rent, you should be able to comfortably afford a $2,000 monthly mortgage payment after factoring in the tax benefits of homeownership. 

However, if you’re struggling to keep up with your rent, buy a home that will give you the same payment rather than going up to a higher monthly payment. You’ll have additional costs for homeownership that your landlord now covers, like property taxes and repairs. If there’s no room in your budget for those extras, you could become financially stressed.

Also consider whether or not you’ll itemize your deductions. If you take the standard deduction, you can’t also deduct mortgage interest payments. Talking to a tax adviser, or using a tax software program to do a “what if” tax return, can help you see your tax situation more clearly.

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Originally posted at: REALTOR® Content Resource

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These pork chops are, hands down, the BEST and easiest pork chops you’ll ever make!  The sweet and sour balsamic glaze is to die for; you’ll want to guzzle it down on its own!  But trust me, you’ll want to save some for the pork chops. They go together seamlessly!  Pair it with a smoky syrah.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 (8-ounce) pork chops, bone-in, 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Season pork chops with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add pork chops and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 140 degrees F, about 8-10 minutes.*
5. To make the sweet and sour glaze, combine balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium heat; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
7. Serve pork chops immediately with sweet and sour glaze.

NOTES

Since Facebook was launched in 2004, billions of people–the whole world, essentially–have been enraptured.  We can now stay updated with all our friends and relatives, no matter where they are.  We can see their photos, talk to them through messages, and comment on their posts.  There’s even a special little button to show that we enjoy their content.

But as time goes by, it’s becoming more accepted that the “like” button is no longer sufficient. We’ve all stumbled across those particular posts that invoke sadness or even anger.  In such cases, wouldn’t “liking” these posts mean that we, in fact, enjoy seeing sadness and anger?  

For years now, Facebook’s users have been asking for a “dislike” button for this very reason.  Just last year, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was asked about adding a dislike button to Facebook, which he respectfully declined:

 

“Some people have asked for a dislike button because they want to be able to say ‘that thing isn’t good,’ and we’re not going to do that . . . I don’t think that’s socially very valuable, or great for the community.”

 

This makes at least some sense from a business perspective.  A feature such as a “dislike” button can easily be abused; instead of using it to show sympathy, some users may use it in a plethora of more harmful ways.  What company’s CEO would agree to implement a feature that would foster negativity?

However, Zuckerberg recently had a change of heart.  Now, the long awaited “dislike” button will become a reality. 

How will this turn out for Facebook?  Will the social media site now become a hub of anger, aggression, and bullying?  Not very likely.  Similar features, albeit for different purposes, have been a part of two very large media sites–YouTube and Reddit–since their conception.  Of course the feature is abused by some on both platforms, but generally it, along with the “like” feature, gives audiences/readers insight to the content quality of the post.  

So, like it or not (haha), this big change to Facebook will soon come into effect.  What are your thoughts on the new feature?  Do you think it can serve a good purpose, or will it just supersaturate Facebook’s already astounding level of drama?

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News