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 Home > Property Guide
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Property Guide
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 The Wall Wonder
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Ancient and most affordable alternative to cover walls of the room was to get them
painted. Slowly, new trends were discovered and wallpapers became an integral part
of dressing the walls. Next in the line, were different kinds of tiles but they
were much suited for kitchens and bathrooms. Even though there were few options
available in the market, but none was at the par to fight against dark patches or
damp walls. However, an innovative alternative for covering walls is by using wood.
Until now, we had known that wood was only used for doors, windows, furniture or
even floors, but the latest yet modern concept is wooden wall paneling. Wooden wall
paneling means covering walls with wooden panels, the way wooden flooring is done.
Dressing walls with wooden panels is not difficult because the initial step involves
getting two wooden panels installed by drilling nails in the wall. These panels
are 1 inch thick and are installed horizontally on the upper and the bottom end
of the area, which we propose to panel. Once these thick panels are installed, the
work becomes easy. Rest of the panels are installed on these wood panels using headless
nails or clips. The grooves in the wood panels help in interlocking and holding
them together.
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"Wall paneling is a nice concept which helps in highlighting a particular part or
a particular room. It’s practically not feasible to get the entire house paneled
in wood, therefore we often suggest our clients to get the most important room wall
paneled", says Seetu Kholi, architect and interior designer. Highlighting a single
room does not necessarily mean that all the four walls should be wood paneled. One
can opt for entire wall paneled with wood or some modular designs on the walls.
Variety in wood paneling is immense, which leaves one confused. Available in laminate
and hard wood veneer, these wood panels are available in various designs. The colour
pallet has tonnes of dark and light, which one cannot even imagine. But the choice
of wood panels depends upon the dimensions, layout and furnishing of the panel.
Last but not the least; you have to choose the panel, which suits well in your house
as well as your pocket.
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"Laminate wood panels are priced at Rs 250 per sq ft whereas real wood veneer will
somewhere start from Rs 600 per sq ft. As compared' to paints and wallpapers, wooden
wall paneling is expensive but on the other hand wooden paneling is long lasting
and is maintenance free", adds Sambhav Khandalwal. The one-inch wooden panel below
the wall paneling, bridges the gap between the wall and panels, which helps in increasing
the life of wooden panels. Wooden panel not only adds to the ambience of the room
but it acts as a complete solution for the wall because it easily hides visible
wires and wall imperfections. Even the rustic and natural look of wooden panels
adds a warm glow to a room. Selecting. shade from the colour pallet helps in defining
the character of the room. From designing point of view, wooden wall paneling goes
well with wooden flooring but the two should complement each other. If the wall
and floor both have wooden touch, than the furniture has to be selected carefully.
Even the use of special wood between the panels and the wall often creates a studio
kind of atmosphere by stopping unwanted sounds to enter the room. Primarily, there
are no drawbacks attached with wooden wall paneling but wood being a natural product
is damaged if exposed to high amount of moisture. The paneling's finish shields
the wood so that light moisture cannot damage the panel. The wooden panel covers
the imperfections but it is not advisable for the walls, which have access leakage
of water. Even cleaning panels is not a difficult task. Wooden wall panels can be
cleaned with dish detergents or mild cleansers with the help of rugs or sponge.
Whether you panel one wall or an entire room, wood wall paneling brings a level
of luxury; which is hard to duplicate. The latest trend is to get one wall wooden
paneled along with the ceiling or even if your bedroom furniture is of wood, than
you can complement the wall behind the bed with modular designs. Without compromising
with your budget and choice, you can just play around with designs.
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The Best Investment
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As a fairly general rule, homes appreciate about four or five per cent a year. Some
years will be more, some less. The figure will be more, some less, they vary from
neighborhood to neighborhood. Five percent may not seem like that much at first.
Stocks (at times) appreciate much, and you could easily earn over the same return
with a very safe investment in treasury bills or bounds. But take a second look.
Presumable, if you bought a Rs 20,00,000 home, you did not pay cash for the home.
You got a mortgage, too. Suppose you put as much as twenty percent down – that would
be an investment of Rs 400000. At an appreciation rate of 5% annually, an Rs 2000000
home would increase in value Rs 100000 during the first year. That means you earned
Rs 100000 with an investment of Rs 400000. Your annual return on investment would
be a whopping twenty-five percent. Of course, you are making mortgage payments and
paying property taxes, along with a couple of other costs. However, since the interest
on your mortgage and your property taxes are both tax deductibles, the governments
is essentially subsidizing your home purchase. Your rate of return when buying a
home is higher than allmost any other investment you could make.
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Income Tax Savings
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Because of income tax deductions, the government is subsidizing your purchase of
a home. All of the interest and property taxes you pay in a giving year can be deductible,
too. Whatever property taxes you pay in a given year may also be deducted from your
gross income, lowering your tax obligation.
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Stable Monthly
Housing Costs
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When you rent a place to live, you can certainly expect your rent to increase each
year – or even more often. If you get a fixed rate mortgage when you buy a home,
you have the same monthly payment aMoUnt for twenty – thirty years. Event if you
get an adjustable rate mortgage, your payment will stay within a certain range for
the entire life of the mortgage –and interest rates aren’t as volatile now as they
were in the late seventies and early eighties. Imaging how much rent might be ten,
fifteen, or even thirty years from now? Witch makes more sense?
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Forced Savings
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Some people are just lousy at saving money, and a house is an automatic savings
account. You accumulate savings in two ways. Every month, a portion of your payment
goes toward the principal. Admittedly, in the early years of the mortgage this is
not much. Over a time, however, it accelerates. Second, value of your home appreciates.
Average appreciation on a home is approximately five percent, though it varries
from year to year, and in some years may even depreciate. Over time, history has
shown that owning a home is one of the very best financial investments.
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Freedom & Individualism
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When you rent, you are normally limited on what you can do to improve your home.
You have to get permission to make certain types of improvements. Nor does it make
sense to spend thousands of dollars painting, putting in carpet, tile or window
coverings when the main person who benefits is the landlord and not you. Since your
landlord wants to keep his expenses to a minimum, he or she will probably not be
spending much to improve the place, either. When you own a home, however, you can
do pretty much whatever you want. You get the benefits of any improvements you make,
plus you get to live in an environment you have created, not some faceless landlord.
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Since your landlord and wants to keep his expenses to a minimum, he or she will
probably not be spending much to improve the place, either. When you own a home,
however, you can do pretty much whatever you want. You get the benefits of any improvements
you make, plus you get to live in an environment you have created, not some faceless
landlord.
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More Space
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Both indoors and outdoors, you will probably have more space if you own home. Even
moving to a condominium from an apartment, you are likely to find that you have
much more room available – your own laundry and storage area, and bigger rooms.
If you are moving to a home for the first time you are going to be very pleased
with all the new space you have available. You now have it all for yourself. So
indulge in your newfound paradise.
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