The Cool Comforts of Home Insulation

As temperatures soar during sizzling California summers — and a recent autumn heatwave — your home's insulation becomes a crucial component in maintaining comfort and efficiency. In the face of extreme climates, insulation is the unsung hero, defending your right to relaxation.

CHIC (Pearl)

Your home should be an oasis — a luxurious sanctuary where you can escape relentless sun, frigid cold snaps, and other extreme weather. Proper insulation acts like a practical yet fashionable sun hat for your home, keeping scorching rays at bay during the dog days and trapping heat during frozen winters. Whether sipping iced tea in your designer kitchen or lounging in your elegantly decorated living room, effective insulation ensures that your indoor vibe remains refreshingly chill. And not only does insulation make for a more comfortable living space, it also helps reduce the need for air conditioning, which means lower energy bills and a smaller carbon footprint. It's the ultimate blend of style and sustainability, proving that sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too!

GEEK (Kevin)

The science of insulation is what makes it so effective. Insulation acts as a thermal barrier, preventing heat and cold from penetrating your home's interior while trapping the hot or cool air generated by your HVAC system. This in turn enhances its efficiency, creating climate consistency throughout the house, and letting Chic sip iced tea in the lap of luxury. And by minimizing the need for continuous air conditioning, proper insulation can create significant savings where we’re all feeling the heat these days: our utility bills. Depending on where you live, you may want to consider reflective insulation, which features a barrier that actually reflects heat away from your home. More than a sun hat, it’s like the shield around the Death Star in Return of the Jedi, repelling the rebel fleet.

New rules.

You may have heard about the court ruling that went into effect August 17th prohibiting brokers from cooperating to set their commission rates and providing more transparency and security for homebuyers as well as sellers. We take a look at what this means on the ground.

CHIC (Pearl)

Under the new rules, every National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) agent is required to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement formalizing the relationship between parties before touring a single property. Additionally, properties listed via a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) are no longer permitted to include an offer of compensation to the buyer’s agent in any form or fashion. Buyers can still accept concessions from the seller, such as offers to pay closing costs, and they can still negotiate with sellers to have them pay all or a portion of their agent’s compensation.

GEEK (Kevin)

Like Pearl mentioned, under the new rules, properties on an MLS can’t include an offer of compensation to the buyer’s broker. However, some services allow sellers to communicate to buyer agents that they are open to making concessions. Concessions are generally a credit to the buyer at closing to use for whatever they need — paying closing costs, paying their agent, or covering unexpected repairs. Sellers can also negotiate with the buyer over paying the listing broker’s compensation. This can be in addition to or in lieu of other requests for concessions.

A Century in the Making

The Olympics are returning to Paris for the first time in 100 years, which got us thinking about all the ways the world around us has changed in the past century, and how it’s stayed the same. Would you prefer to live in the 2020s or the “Roaring” Twenties?

CHIC (Pearl)

I’m intrigued by the fashion of the 1920s, from hats and flappers to rising hemlines and bob hairdos. Everyone was letting loose in the wake of Prohibition, and women were putting more skin on display in a show of liberation. And from all the photos and films of the era, it looks like everybody was having a lot of fun! If I had a time machine, this would be one of my first destinations.

GEEK (Kevin)

Tight suits, bowler hats, cigarette holders? A little too stodgy for me. Call me a big dumb guy, but I’m always happier lounging around in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans than getting dressed up for a cocktail party with people who couldn’t care less about the score of the ballgame. And there’s one thing that’s taken a big leap in the past 100 years that I couldn’t possibly live without: power tools!

The Longest Day

With the summer solstice arriving on Thursday, we’re gearing up for the longest day of the year and debating the best backyard traditions to enjoy with family and friends!

CHIC (Pearl)

If you read our posts regularly, you know I love to entertain. So this summer, you’ll find me setting up the string lights, popping a bottle of sparkling wine, and calling some friends for a backyard soiree. It’s my way of celebrating this place we call home, where you can sit outside at night in late June and not get cold!

GEEK (Kevin)

I’ll bet you thought I was going to go with barbecue. Okay, so I’m going with barbecue. I mean, what else is there to do when the sun is out until 8:30pm and you have a few pounds of meat in the fridge that somebody (not saying who) brought home from Costco? Clean your grill, fire up the coals, and let the sizzling commence!

Keep it or leave it?

They say you can’t take it with you, but that doesn’t apply to moving. Some things can come along on the ride, and some things are in it for the long haul with your current home. So what stays and what goes?

CHIC (Pearl)

A good rule of thumb is anything custom or built into the home is going to stay when you move, no matter how attached you are to it. The exception is large appliances like a fridge or a custom electric fireplace. Just be clear with the buyer about your intentions. The same goes for landscaping like trees, bushes, lawns, and garden structures. But you can probably take that potted succulent you’ve managed to keep alive since college!

GEEK (Kevin)

My rule of thumb is take everything that isn’t nailed down or unique to the home, because you never know if you’re going to miss it. So yes, commandeer all the major appliances, furniture, hardware, cabinets, tables, and TV wall mounts. And if you can’t decide on a certain item, just keep it. You can always sell it at a garage sale if you can’t use it in your new home. Just listen to Pearl and set ground rules up front with the buyer.