In light of the horrific fires that ravaged parts of California, it makes sense that all households should have a sound fire escape plan that can get all residents out of danger quickly and safely.

Once a fire escape plan has been drafted up, it should be practiced a few times and on a regular basis in order to make sure that everyone in the home knows exactly what to do in the event of an emergency.

It goes without saying that a fire escape plan is important, but how do you go about creating one? Follow this guide to help keep you and your family out of harm’s way.

Install Smoke Detectors

If your home doesn’t already have smoke detectors installed, now is the time to install them. Smoke detectors save lives. If you’re not alerted to smoke filling your home – particularly at night when everyone’s asleep – you lose valuable time that could have been used to escape.

If your home has smoke detectors installed, make sure to test them on a regular basis to make sure they’re working properly.

Place Ladders Near Second Story Windows

If possible, place escape ladders in or near windows to make escaping easier if accessing the main level is not possible. Make sure to go over the manufacturer’s instructions in great detail in order to use them safely.

Map Out Your Home’s Layout

Draw out a simple plan of your home’s layout, including all rooms, doorways, and windows. Be sure to include all floors, as well as the location of all smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. Try your best to draw the map to scale to ensure greater accuracy.

Choose a Meeting Place

Whether it’s a tree, the end of the driveway, or a street light, establishing a meeting place is crucial to help ensure that all family members are aware of each other’s whereabouts. Knowing where everyone is and quickly locating each other will inform everyone whether everyone is safe or whether someone is still inside and needs help.

The location you choose for your meeting spot should be far enough from the house so everyone is out of danger of the fire, yet close enough so that everyone can get to each other as fast as possible.

Establish and Highlight All Possible Escape Exits and Routes

With your map in hand, identify all exits from your home, as well as the routes to take to get out of the home and arrive at your family’s meeting spot. Doorways are ideal escape routes and should be made primary escape routes, but windows should also be used if doorways are blocked from fire.

Keep Exits Clear of Obstacles

Make sure that each exit can be easily accessed and not blocked by any obstacles that could impede the ability to get out quickly.

Review the Escape Plan With Everyone on a Regular Basis

Once you’ve established your escape plan, be sure to go over it in great detail with all members of your family. From there, be sure to revisit the escape plan every so often so it is fresh on everyone’s minds.

Be sure that all children understand the escape routes, as they may need a little more coaching. Further, instruct children never to hide in the event of a fire, and instead to find an adult nearby or get out as quickly as possible to find the meeting place.

Come Up With a Plan For Those With Disabilities

If anyone in the home has a disability, be sure to make arrangements so they are able to get out quickly and safely.

Practice Escaping the House

Ideally, you should all practice escaping your home a few times. Doing so can make it easier for everyone to be prepared and act on instinct in the event of a real emergency.

Assign Specific Duties to Each Family Member

With the exception of young children, everyone in the home should have a certain assigned task in the event of a fire. For instance, tasks can include calling the fire department, gathering up the children, waking those who are still asleep, ensuring any seniors or those with mobility issues are safe, collecting all pets, and accessing the fire extinguisher for smaller fires.

The Bottom Line

Taking the time to establish a fire escape plan and practicing the drills can seem like a nuisance. But doing so can literally mean the difference between life and death. Considering how devastating the recent fires in California have been, it’s worth every second to come up with a plan and make sure everyone in the family is on board.

City living comes with a certain level of excitement and convenience that you’d be hard-pressed to find outside of the downtown area. The bright lights, the close proximity to work and entertainment, and the vibrant community that usually characterizes urban living can’t be denied.

But sometimes the need for a little tranquility and space drives people to make a move from the city to the suburbs.

If you’re considering making a move, should you look for another unit in the city? Or is it time for a completely different change in scenery in the form of suburban living? Here are some things to consider before making your final decision.

Commute to Work

If you work in the city, then obviously the proximity from your home to your place of work will be a lot closer than it would be if you lived in the ‘burbs. Commuting is one of the more important factors to consider when moving.

Congestion and traffic can really extend the amount of time it takes to get to work if you’re coming from way outside the city, let alone the stress that comes along with commuting. And if there are no convenient and efficient public transportation options available, the commute can be even more daunting.

If you plan to keep your job in the city, you’ll want to seriously consider your commute. If you’re dedicated to moving out of the city, try to find a suburb that’s as close to the city as possible without compromising all the conveniences that come with suburban living.

Schools

If you’ve got school-aged children, then scoping out the school ratings in the area you plan to move to is important. You’ll want your kids to attend a school that’s safe, has a decent student body, and is rated well for academics. In fact, schools are one of the biggest driving factors for people with kids who are considering moving.

Even if you don’t have any kids, you might have some in the future. And even if children are not part of the plan, communities with highly-rated school districts tend to be valued higher compared to those with schools that are low on the list. If anything, choose an area with desirable schools simply to protect your investment.

Amenities

Urbanites tend to have a slew of amenities available to them at their fingertips. City centers are often filled with all the conveniences of daily life within a short distance from each other, which is one of the conveniences of living in the city.

Whether you need to pick up some groceries, want to hit up a yoga studio, or want to make grabbing your morning cup of joe from a local cafe much quicker, all of these amenities – and more – can usually be found within a short distance from each other in the city.

Generally speaking, amenities in the suburbs tend to be spread out a little more. That usually entails having to drive to do your groceries, meet up with friends, or go to the gym.

That said, there may be certain suburbs that take the urban lifestyle into consideration. City planners are increasingly trying to blend the conveniences of both suburban and city living in order to give residents the best of both worlds. If possible, try to find a suburb that has its own “downtown” that offers a myriad of amenities all within a short distance from one another.

Lifestyle

Perhaps the biggest difference between living in the city versus living in the suburbs is the lifestyle. Sure, the commute and the amenities are important considerations to make. But in addition to these, the lifestyle differences are worth noting.

Living in the city is often characterized by convenient and energetic. You can walk to amenities, places are typically open later than they are in the suburbs, and there are usually more options for entertainment. City life is usually more vibrant and exciting, offering a slew of opportunities, both for employment and entertainment. Further, the city is usually much more multicultural in nature.

But living in the suburbs has its own distinct lifestyle that may be more attractive to many buyers. Generally speaking, the suburbs offer a lot more space to enjoy. The neighborhoods are usually quieter without the constant noise of traffic, honking horns, and police sirens. The suburbs are usually considered safer, which is often why parents tend to move outside of the city. Further, the pollution is not as thick as it usually is downtown, giving residents fresher air to breathe in.

Depending on what you’re looking for in a lifestyle, this may sway your decision to make a move to the suburbs or stay put in the city.

Housing Types

City centers are usually characterized by condominiums, apartment buildings, and townhomes. Considering the density of housing and the cost per square foot to be close to all the action, square footage is usually on the skimpy side in downtown cores. As such, you’re usually stuck with living in no more than a few hundred square feet of space. If that’s OK with you, then perhaps staying in the city is not a bad idea.

But if you’re looking for more space to grow, then perhaps a move to the suburbs might be warranted. There are plenty of opportunities to buy a spacious home with a lot of outdoor space at an affordable price in the suburbs, which is typically not something you’ll be able to take advantage of in the city.

In fact, the opportunity to buy a larger home with a big yard for approximately the same price as a much smaller condo downtown is one of the biggest reasons why urban families end up moving outside of the city once they start having kids. If you’re looking for a lot more space, then suburban living might be the right way to go.

The Bottom Line

Everyone has different needs, wants, and aspirations for how they want to live their lives. Depending on exactly what you’re looking for, both the city and the suburbs each have their own set of unique traits for you to take advantage of. Carefully consider what you’re looking for in a lifestyle, both inside your home and in the community, before making the decision to either stay put in the city or make a move to the suburbs.

If you own a home and are in need of a loan, you might be able to use the equity that’s built up in your property to be put towards a large expense.

Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) allow homeowners with a certain amount of equity in their homes to use some of that equity as a loan. If you have some sort of pressing expense that requires a lump sum of money to cover, one of these two loan options may be able to help.

If you make regular mortgage payments or if your property increases in value over time, your home equity will increase. If you have a certain amount of home equity amount built up, you may qualify for a home equity loan or HELOC. In both of these situations, the amount of equity that you borrow will be added to the existing mortgage debt.

But while both of these loan products involve pulling out equity from your home to be used towards a large expense, they’re not exactly the same. Let’s go over what a home equity loan and a HELOC are and compare them to see how they’re similar to each other, as well as how they differ.

Home Equity Loans Explained

A home equity loan is similar to other types of loans in that you’re given a lump sum of money after your loan application is approved. You’ll be given a specific time frame within which to pay back the loan in full by making regular loan payments. Like other types of loans, you’ll also be charged an interest rate which will determine how much you’ll have to repay in total.

This type of loan allows the borrower to use the equity of the home as collateral. The funds borrowed will depend on the value of the home, which will be determined by an appraiser appointed by the lender. Since the loaned funds are secured by your home, a home equity loan can be easier to qualify for compared to other loan types.

Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs) Explained

A HELOC allows you to borrow against the equity in your home, as is the case with a home equity loan. But rather than serving as a traditional type of loan, this type of financing works similarly to a credit card.

The lender will allow a maximum amount to be borrowed within an agreed-upon time frame referred to as the “term.” Within this term, you can borrow as much or as little of that credit limit as you like – much like a credit card – as long as you don’t withdraw more than the maximum amount allotted.

You can make your principal payments any time you like and will only be charged interest on the amount withdrawn rather than the entire credit limit amount. If you don’t borrow anything against the credit limit, you won’t have any interest to pay. Only when funds are withdrawn will you be charged interest.

To repay the funds, you can choose to make regular monthly payments or transfer funds from your bank account whenever you have extra money to put towards your HELOC. You can either choose an “interest-only” draw period whereby you only pay interest on the funds withdrawn or a principal-and-interest draw period to help you pay your loan off faster.

When you pay back the amount that you withdrew, you’re free to use it over again as your credit revolves. When the end date of your line of credit hits, you then enter the repayment period that can last for years. Any outstanding balance borrowed will have to be repaid along with any interest owed. You can then renew your credit line if you need to, as long as your lender agrees.

How Can You Qualify For a Home Equity Loan or HELOC?

In order to qualify for a home equity loan or a HELOC, your lender will want to make sure you’re financially sound, similar to when applying for your first mortgage. But not only that, your lender will want to make sure that you’ve got enough equity built up in your home.

Generally speaking, homeowners must own at least 20% of the home – including after the additional equity has been withdrawn – before being eligible for either one of these two loan options. That means your mortgage can’t be any more than 80% of the value of your home.

The Bottom Line

Both a home equity loan and a HELOC can come in handy when you need money to cover any one of life’s big expenses. But which one is best for you?

If you need a lump sum of money for a one-time expense and have no plans to borrow any time in the near future after that, then a home equity loan might be best. But if you think you’ll need access to cash a few times over the next little while, then a HELOC might be more convenient for you. Just make sure you’ve got the finances needed to make payments in order to protect your collateral.

The quirky and unique features of a home might accurately showcase a homeowner’s personality, but they might not necessarily be very good at impressing buyers. Some features could actually throw buyers off and even confuse them to the point that making an offer is off the table.

Personalizing a home is great, as it can make family members more comfortable. But when it comes time to sell, such features can work against homeowners.

Here are a few odd features that could throw buyers off and potentially derail a sale.

Converted Garages

Some homeowners who find themselves short on space may turn to their garages to provide them with the extra room required. Whether it’s to house a fitness area or a man cave, the extra space of a garage can certainly come in handy.

But many buyers who actually want a garage that serves its original purpose might not appreciate garage conversions. One of the rules of home staging is to showcase every room in the home with its intended purpose.

A dining room should be outfitted as a dining room, for example. This will help show buyers what each space is supposed to be used for without any confusion.

Bidets

Not something you’ll see in the average home, bidets are typically located next to the toilet and are designed to wash certain private areas of the body. Buyers will definitely wonder what they are and might be confused as to what their purpose may be. And perhaps they might not want to know, after all.

Oversized Statues

Whether it’s in the middle of the front yard or the center of the foyer, a massive statue might be of significance to the homeowner but might be overwhelming for buyers. And if the statue has some sort of political or religious affiliation, that can be even more off-putting.

Getting rid of these statues can also be a major endeavor, so any buyers who may be interested in a particular home may wonder what type of effort and cost would be involved in removing them, which could add to the costs of making the purchase.

Pet Rooms

A rising trend among homeowners with pets is installing a mudroom specifically for furry friends. These include shower stalls that make it ultra convenient to wash messy pets that have just come from a frolick in the mud before they’re allowed to trot around inside the home. But for buyers who might not be pet lovers, these rooms might be considered a bit of a waste of space.

Strange Looking Plants in the Yard

Landscaping plays a huge role in the aesthetics of a home and is a key component to curb appeal. Sellers should certainly maximize their curb appeal in order to attract the masses of buyers. But certain types of plants could actually raise an eyebrow or two among buyers.

Some plants are not conducive to a healthy garden and can actually compromise the health of surrounding greenery. Other plants might even be dangerous, both to pets and humans. Others still might be so invasive that they can compromise the integrity of a home’s foundation if planted too close to the home.

Oddly Placed Bathrooms

Some homes have such strange layouts that really make buyers wonder what the original builder was thinking. One such layout incorporates bathrooms that are positioned adjacent to kitchens. If there are two rooms in a house that should never be mixed, it’s these two. After all, the thought of a bathroom being anywhere near where people would dine is certainly not a pleasant one.

Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly an easy fix and would require a bit of in-depth work to build a completely new bathroom in a more appropriate spot.

Inadequate Access to Rooms

Piggybacking off of the previous issue, some older homes may have layouts that require occupants to have to go through one room in order to access another. While that might be fine with living rooms or kitchens, it can be pretty awkward when the space being invaded is a bedroom. It’s pretty inconvenient to have to pass through a bedroom – which is supposed to be a private space – to access another room in the home.

Compartmentalized Rooms

The going trend over the past few years in home design is open concepts. More and more homeowners like the idea of having a wide open space where they can interact with others regardless of whether they’re in the kitchen or living room. Open concept layouts also make a home seem larger and brighter, which is why they’ve become so popular.

But some homeowners still like the idea of having separate rooms for separate purposes and intentionally compartmentalize their rooms in order to achieve that goal. While that may work for some homeowners, it’s not exactly a layout that buyers necessarily appreciate.

The Bottom Line

Selling a home is already a challenge, but trying to sell a home with awkward features like the ones just mentioned can make the job even harder. When dealing with odd features and layouts, it’s best to work with a home stager who will have sound suggestions about how to counteract the effects of such traits in order to attract buyers and end up with a quick sale.