Make a Small Room Look Bigger Using Paint

As homeowners, we are always looking for ways to make our smallest spaces look bigger. Every homeowner dreams of a home with the elegant high ceilings that seem to stretch to the sky, but homes like this are hard to come by. Fortunately, there are ways to help elongate your smallest rooms using many different decorating tips and strategies, and perhaps the most noticeable way is to paint the room. It is not as simple as just choosing any color, though - here is a list of things to keep in mind when using paint to make a room look bigger.


1. Use light colors - In a smaller room, it is important to use light colors because they catch the light and make the space appear expanded. Colors such as cream, ice blue, pale green, and light yellow are perfect to use in smaller rooms.



2. Paint the trim white -  Or, at least a lighter color than your walls. A light-colored room with white trim makes the walls look further away from you, which helps to visually expand the room.



3. Paint the ceilings white - Just like the trim, painting a room one color while leaving the ceiling white helps to make the ceiling look further away and expands the room.



4. Add trim 3 feet above the floor - Consider adding trim 3 feet above the floor, painting the wall underneath the trim a medium shade, and painting the wall above the trim a lighter shade. This creates a gradient effect which helps to draw the eye upward. Keep the trim color light.







If you or someone you know has a question about real estate, please contact me using the information provided below.

Arthur Confait
Email: arthurconfait@gmail.com
Website: CLICK HERE

Why You'll Love Living in Sugar Land/Missouri City, TX

If it wasn't already impressive enough that Houston was named "America's Coolest City" by Forbes, Houston also has some pretty hot suburbs to boast about. Sugar Land has been named "Safest City", "Top 100 Places to Live Well", "Best Place to Live", and multiple other titles by several influential companies. The thing about the Sugar Land/Missouri City area is that people remember this area because it has the best of everything. What do I mean by the best of everything? For starters, here's a list:



1. Location - Sugar Land is conveniently centralized around the Highway 59/Highway 6 intersection, giving residents easy access to the freeway to take them straight into Houston quickly. Missouri City is located a little further Southeast but still centralized around Highway 6 with access to the Fort Bend Toll Road, which also takes residents into Houston. From Sugar Land, it is about a 15-minute drive into the Galleria area of Houston, which residents love.


2. Schools - Sugar Land and Missouri City schools are served by the Fort Bend Independent School District, which is recognized as an award-winning district in the state of Texas. FBISD strives for academic excellence and is one of the largest and most well-known districts in the area.


3. Retail - The Sugar Land/Missouri City area has everything you could ever want right at your fingertips. Sugar Land boasts shopping strips, department stores, malls, restaurants and the popular Town Square located just off of Highway 6 and 59. Whatever it is you're looking for can be found after a short trip up down the road or up the highway.

If you or someone you know has a question about real estate, please contact me using the information provided below.

Arthur Confait
Email: arthurconfait@gmail.com
Website: CLICK HERE

Houston: Should I Rent, Or Should I Buy?

In today's market, many people are left wondering whether they are choosing the smartest investment when it comes to either renting or buying a home. National averages show that it is cheaper to buy than to rent; however, this is not true for all major metro cities in the U.S. For example, it is 70% cheaper to buy than rent in Detroit, but only 28% cheaper to buy than rent in San Francisco. In Houston, we are looking at 51% in the buy-versus-rent ratio, which still leans heavily toward buying as opposed to renting.

If this is true, then why aren't more people buying? We are still recovering from the recession, and although Houston wasn't hit as hard as other cities, we are still not seeing the amount of buyers that we once were before the recession. People are afraid to buy because they think they cannot afford a mortgage. What's interesting about this statistic is that the cost to rent per month is significantly higher than a mortgage would be. For example, if you are renting a house for $1700 a month, you will likely pay around $1400 a month on a mortgage payment for the same house.

Another reason why people are afraid to buy is that the downpayment on a house is pricey and can take  few years to save up for. Younger buyers who are in debt from expenses such as students loans may not be able to save as easily for a downpayment on a house and may end up renting for many more years because of it. It is easier on the pockets to pay a few hundred dollars more a month on rent than come up with $5,000 for a downpayment on a house.

We are still recovering from an economic recession, where thousands of people are still out of work or are trying to pick themselves up off the ground from economic hardship, which makes it more difficult to save up to buy a house. Hopefully we will begin to see a turnaround in the next few years.





If you or someone you know has a question about real estate, please contact me using the information provided below.

Arthur Confait
Email: arthurconfait@gmail.com
Website: CLICK HERE

Spice Up Your Home for Fall

Summer is ending, folks are coming back from vacation, "Back to School" signs are posted across every retail store… We all know what that means! Fall is upon us. If you're anything like me, you love the sound of leaves crunching, all the warm autumn colors of the outdoors, and the smell of cinnamon. What better way to bring a little fall into your home than to jazz it up with some DIY fall decor? These tutorials are super easy and are sure to add a little spice to your home!

1. Fabric-wrapped pumpkins - These pumpkins are ridiculously simple to make. You'll need an 18x18in square of orange fabric, a roll of toilet paper, a stick, some jute, and a little bit of green fabric for leaves. First, wrap the toilet paper roll with the orange fabric and stuff the excess into the center of the roll, Shove the stick down into the center of the roll, tie the green fabric around it to look like leaves, and wrap the base of the stick with jute. How easy is that?

2. Fall candle tray - This colorful piece with look great resting on a coffee table, entry table, or even dining room table. For this tutorial, you'll need a wooden tray, candles, glass candle votives, and fall garland. all of which you can find at craft supply stores. Simply place the candles in the votives and arrange them along with the garland inside the tray. Such an easy centerpiece!

3. Fall wreath - I especially enjoy the idea of creating a wreath because it can be customized to include whichever decorations you want. Simply purchase a twig wreath from the craft store and go crazy with adornments! You can use ribbon, garland, pinecones, or anything else you can come up with. Attach the decorations with hot glue and you have an easy, beautiful wreath for your front door!








If you or someone you know has a question about real estate, please contact me using the information provided below.

Arthur Confait
Email: arthurconfait@gmail.com
Website: CLICK HERE

4 Reasons Why Your Home Won't Sell

When an owner is having trouble selling their home, many people are quick to blame the Realtor. Yes, the fact that a home may not be selling could certainly be due to a bad Realtor, but remember, the Realtor has been trained and taught to follow the wishes of his or her client. If you aren't giving your Realtor the adequate time and effort they need to turn around and sell your home, that very well might be the problem. Here are the top four reasons why your home may not be selling, and many of these could be avoided on the part of the seller.




1. Sub-par photography - You are selling your gorgeous, spacious $500,000 home, and you just know it will sell quick. Everyone who has seen it in person gushes about how beautiful it is, so why isn't it selling? Take a look at the photos of your home that are posted on the MLS - do the photos accurately portray or play up the beauty of your home? If not, your Realtor should be able to either retake the photos for you using the correct lighting and angles or refer you to a professional photographer who can do the same thing. The better your photos, the more traffic you will get on your listing.


2. Overpriced property - Just about every homeowner feels their property is worth more than it is. If you have purposefully raised the price of your home by a few thousands, chances are that could be the very reason why your home is not selling. If your Realtor has mentioned lowering the price of your home before, you probably need to give in and listen to them. Granted, your Realtor is there to help you sell your home at the price you want, but they also know they have to be realistic in order to get the home sold.


3. Unavailable to show - You've given your Realtor strict instructions to only show your home between the hours of 8-10 and 4-6. You are doing yourself and your Realtor a disservice because you have severely limited the number of hours in the day that your home is able to be looked at by potential buyers. If you want to attract buyers, you need to operate on their schedule - meaning, you need to be open for business as many hours as possible, especially on the weekends.


4. It shows badly - There are numerous factors that could play into the reason why your home doesn't "show" well. Your kitchen or master bathroom could be severely outdated, it could be messy, you have a loud and distracting dog, etc. Many of these reasons are quick fixes, such as redecorating using a neutral color palate or giving your carpet a fresh steam cleaning. Your Realtor can help you rearrange furniture to maximize space and give you tips on what items to keep out and what to lock up in the closet. Be open minded - you are trying to attract buyers, so your home must appeal to them!







If you or someone you know has a question about real estate, please contact me using the information provided below.

Arthur Confait
Email: arthurconfait@gmail.com
Website: CLICK HERE

Summer-ize Your Home Decor

It's summer, people - time to stow away your warm blankets, cozy accents, and dark colors. The key to summer-izing your home decor is to stick with light colors, sheer fabrics, and whimsical details. Anyone can make their home feel like a summer getaway, even if you are nowhere near the shore. Here's how to give your home a fresh update that is in harmony with the warmer weather.



1. Change your bedding - Have you ever noticed that the hotel bedding in tropical or beach-y locales is usually always white? This is because white feels light, fresh, and not too heavy. Investing in an all-white sheet set and a white down comforter is such an easy way to give your bedroom an update during the warm summer months. When cooler weather sets in, you can easily switch your comforter set back to normal.






2. Sheer panel curtains - Sheer curtains in a light, fresh color or pattern instantly bring in more light, and isn't a little sunlight what summer is all about? The great thing about curtains is that they are so versatile - if you like a little more privacy in the evenings, you could leave up your opaque curtains and draw them back in the daytime, allowing the sheer panels to be on display.






3. Fresh flowers - When you go out on your weekly grocery shopping trip, make it a point to purchase a bouquet of fresh flowers to put on display in your home. Go for a summery mix, such as daisies with baby's breath, sunflowers, or calla lilies. Be sure to place your flowers in a sunny spot , and try to make them a focal point in whatever room you choose to put them in. Nothing feels more summery than a little sprig of mother nature herself!










If you or someone you know has a question about real estate, please contact me using the information provided below.

Arthur Confait
Email: arthurconfait@gmail.com
Website: CLICK HERE

A Look at the Current Real Estate Market in Houston

It seems as if the topic of conversation lately has revolved around the health of the current real estate market. Some find the results to be shocking for a couple of reasons. First, the recent recession did a number on the economy and adversely greatly affected the real estate market; we weren't sure if we would see it bounce back any time soon, let alone a few years. Second, the Houston real estate market had been climbing steadily for several years before the recession while other major markets had skyrocketed. In Houston today, we are beginning to see a quickly-rising positive trend in our real estate market. Here are a few reasons why Houstonians can continue to see this positive trend in the years to come.

1. Increase in home prices - To put it simply, the supply of homes is low and the demand for homes is high. There are many more buyers than sellers, and we can expect to see as much as a 5% increase in home prices in the years to follow.

2. Food retail chains are expanding - Where food retail stores open, new home construction either precedes or follows. The Houston area can expect to see many food retail chain stores popping up everywhere, such as HEB, Krogers, and Whole Foods.

3. Rising mortgage rates - Due to the current home demand, we can also expect to see a slight increase in mortgage rates in the coming years. The current rate is around 3.5%, and is expected to average at about 4.6% by next year.

4. More apartments - New construction for apartment homes is spreading like wildfire throughout the Houston, area, especially in the heart of Houston. Job creation is fueling the need for more apartments, and this likely will increase new home construction as well. 

5. Less office space - Empty office space is as low as 5% in some areas, which makes renting office space more expensive. 

If you or someone you know has a question about real estate, please contact me using the information provided below.

Arthur Confait
Email: arthurconfait@gmail.com
Website: CLICK HERE