How to Stop Foreclosure Having an FHA Refinance

A home foreclosure can be financially devastating and ruinous to a credit score. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has plans that help troubled owners avoid foreclosure by assisting them refinance their houses using a better mortgage tool. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has established an application named HOPE for Homeowners (H4H) that allows owners and lenders to refinance a home that the FHA will guarantee to protect the lender from future deficits.

Figure out in case you qualify. The standards for eligibility for the HOPE for Homeowners program include utilizing the home as your main residence, having no additional real property (like a second house ), not having the ability to make the payments without assistance from others and having originated the loan on the home prior to March 1, 2008. The payments have to be greater than 31 percent of your gross monthly earnings.

Speak to your lender and apply for a new loan if the lender will work with you on the H4H program. Fill in the paperwork required. The lender will submit it to the FHA for approval.

Prepare your home. The first impression that the zoning will probably get will be of the front of the home. Groom the landscaping and be sure that the front of the residence is maintained. Inform the appraiser about any renovation projects you’ve undertaken in the home and the expenses you incurred doing this. Prove him any documentation that will back up your claims, like invoices from contractors. Be sure that the home is neat and clean. You might even give the appraiser with a list of current home sales in your area if you know that information. An appraisal consistently takes into account recent sales of comparable houses in the area, but it will help if you are educated about what’s happening with property in your area. The H4H program will fund just 90 percent of the present value of your property. The lender will write off the remainder of your existing mortgage, and the mortgage is going to be funded. Should you refinance with the H4H program you will need to pay mortgage insurance at the rate of 1.5 percent of the loan balance, as well as a one time 3% mortgage insurance premium on the mortgage balance.

Save for the prices. The FHA loan guarantee in the program does not incorporate any closing prices. The loan program also restricts the borrowers from taking out a second mortgage on the home, except for emergency repairs, for five years after the origination of this H4H mortgage.

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What Choices Do Homeowners Need to Stop Foreclosure?

It's traumatic to lose a house to foreclosure. Fortunately, homeowners that are trying hard to make their monthly mortgage payments do have choices. The crucial thing is to craft a plan that allows them avoid foreclosure. Waiting too long, until they#039;ve missed a few payments, will only make avoiding foreclosure a more complex procedure.

Refinance

Homeowners that are trying hard to make their mortgage payments on time may refinance to loans with lower interest rates. This will give homeowners a much lower monthly mortgage payment, one which they may have the ability to afford. To refinance, homeowners should call mortgage lenders to inquire about rates and fees. The target is to acquire the lowest interest rate possible, which will result in the cheapest monthly mortgage payment. Homeowners that drop only 1 point from their rate of interest can save yourself a significant amount of money. Homeowners using a 30-year fixed-rate $170,000 loan at 7% may save more than $112 monthly by assessing that rate to 6 percent.

Loan Modification

The federal government supplies a loan modification application –the Home Affordable Modification Program–which can give homeowners the lower monthly mortgage payments they will need to prevent foreclosure. The program gives banks and lenders financial rewards when they modify the house loans of fighting borrowers. Lenders can lower taxpayers ' monthly obligations by restructuring their loans from 15-year into 30-year fixed-rate loans. They can elect to reduce homeowners' interest rates, or they can forgive a chunk of their loans#039; principal balances. Homeowners that are having difficulty making their obligations, and who already have low rates of interest, have misplaced equity in their homes or otherwise wouldn't qualify for a refinance, should call their creditors and ask for a modification. It's important for homeowners to understand that creditors may still modify their loans even if they aren't engaging in the government's Home Affordable Modification Program.

Short Sale

Homeowners facing foreclosure can always sell their house to prevent losing it. This is sometimes a problem, however, when sellers can't find find buyers fast enough. A sale could be one alternative. Beneath a brief sale, the creditor agrees to allow the homeowners to sell their house for less than what they owe on their mortgage. The creditor then forgives the difference. This gives homeowners the chance to set a lower price, which could allow them to market their residence more quickly. The seller should get written permission from the creditor for a quick sale. If the lender won’t approve a brief sale, the operator will need to look for another choice to prevent foreclosure. Lenders are more likely to approve a brief sale if they think they#039;ll lose less money on it than they will without needing to take more and attempt to market a foreclosed house.

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Refinancing Options for Your Self-Employed

Reducing your mortgage interest levels with a refinance will lower your monthly payments and the general price of your loan. But should you're self-employed you will struggle over others to secure a mortgage and to refinance you. Lenders look for evidence that you are able to afford your mortgage obligations, and it is more difficult for the self-employed to provide this evidence. It’s possible, however. You can raise your chances of finding a lender to refinance your mortgage in case you're innovative in finding ways to demonstrate that you're a good investment.

Maintain good records of your business. Self-employed workers don't have pay stubs or W-2 forms, so you have to build a background in the own accounts. This may show you have a real business that is profitable enough for you to afford the monthly payments. Lenders will generally ask for at least two years' worth of tax returns, accounts data and profit and loss statements. Independent contractors get copies of 1099 tax forms for every payment over $600 they get, and can use these forms as evidence of earnings.

Apply for a low or no-documentation mortgage refinance. These mortgages don’t request assets and your income, and your occupation is not verified. The grab is your creditor will expect a high credit rating to consider you as a potential client. Once popular, low or no-documentation refinances are no more simple o come by, and typically have higher rates of interest, closing costs and insurance rates.

Prepare your paperwork. Learn what lenders typically request before checking your refinance program. Have the paperwork you need in a file. Visit several lenders, hand over your paperwork and request a good-faith quote. The quote will record the conditions of a mortgage and the expenses involved. Request quotations from as many lenders as possible; when possible, make them compete against one another to lower the price of your mortgage.

Improve your credit rating. Lenders use credit scores to assess the chance of your not repaying a mortgage. The greater the score, the safer an investment you are considered and also the more likely you are to qualify for a refinance at lower rates of interest. A credit score of 620 is considered a minimum for lenders to approve your mortgage refinance. In case you have a lower score, there are authorities and charitable organizations that can provide assist. As an example, the Federal Housing Administration provides refinances for borrowers with low credit scores.

Give yourself a boost. One of the advantages of self-employment is that you can be more creative–there's that word again–when deducting expenses from your earnings. The issue is, lenders look at taxable income. So put off in your deductions to boost your reportable income before applying for a refinance.

Maintain a healthy savings account. It will help when your creditor sees you have 12 months or more of mortgage obligations at a reserve account. It reveals your business has liquidity; an important factor for any business.

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Goal of a Warranty Deed

Like their name implies, warranty deeds offer guarantees about a house. There are two main sorts of warranty deed,”general” and”special.” Except they cover, they are alike in every way. In California, warranty deeds are called”grant actions” and differ slightly from warranty deeds in different nations.

Definitions

Deeds in real estate are files that transfer certain rights from a”grantor” (generally the seller of the property) into a”grantee” (generally the buyer of the property). There are two main sorts of warranty deeds:”general” and”special.” In both types, five things are guaranteed to the grantee: the right to possess the property (called”seisin”); the right to openly enjoy the house; the right to sell the house; the fact that there aren’t any claims against the property; and that the home’s title is clear. These five things are called”covenants.”

General Warranty Deed

A general warranty deed guarantees to the grantee that both covenants named above are accurate, and when any one or more of them ever turns out to not be accurate because of something that pre-dates the grantee’s ownership of the house, then the grantor will be completely responsible for any problem that arises.

Special Warranty Deed

A warranty deed ensures the same things except its duration of coverage is briefer, that the general warranty deed covers. Because of this, it’s sometimes called a”limited warranty deed.” It states it will guarantee the covenants, but just for problems that occur due to causes that date in the time once the property was owned by the grantor, but not until that moment.

California Grant Deeds

A California grant deed works just like a general warranty deed, but only includes the last two covenants: The property is free of any claims against it, along with the property’s title is clear.

Limitations of Warranty Deeds

If a challenge is made to the legitimacy of any of the covenants, then the grantor must show the challenge to become untrue. If the grantor can’t do that the grantor could have to pay a large amount of cash to make things right. In an worst-case scenario, the grantor might need to pay back into the grantee the original amount of cash the grantee compensated for the property, plus the cost of any improvements the grantee made while owning the property.

How to Submit A Warranty Deed

By legislation, warranty actions and grant actions don’t need to be filed (“recorded”). But, recording them is the only way the grantee can safeguard his rights, should one of the covenants in the deed be contested. Actions should be drawn up by real estate attorneys and recorded in the county where the property is situated. Go to the Office of the County Recorder. There will be a little recording fee. California grant actions are easy enough that a standard pre-made form (available online or at any of California’s 58 County Recorder’s Offices) may be used and filled from the Grantor.

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What Types of FHA Loans Are There?

Before 1934, the typical down payment on a U.S. home was 50 percent, and the bank expected that the remainder to be repaid in one to five years. In 1934, the government established housing conditions to improve . This is by insuring loans. In essence, the FHA guarantees mortgage lenders which when an FHA-backed loan goes into default, the FHA will cover the loss, giving banks more confidence to loan cash. The FHA backs a variety of loan types.

Traditional Fixed Rate

A traditional mortgage is set for a certain period of time at a particular interest rate that never changes. Having a fixed-rate mortgage, your payments stay the same throughout the life span of the loan, apart from any changes in the expense of homeowner's insurance and property taxes.

Conventional Adjustable Rate

A traditional adjustable-rate mortgage can also be set for a particular quantity of time, however, the rate of interest varies over the life span of the loan, shifting the monthly obligations with every fluctuation. The interest on this type of loan is generally fixed just for the first three to five years.

Jumbo Fixed Rate

Jumbo fixed-rate mortgages are intended for borrowers who want to get a large mortgage. Since the lender takes a larger risk by agreeing with those loans, the rate of interest is usually higher on a jumbo than a traditional fixed-rated loan.

Hybrid

A hybrid is similar to an adjustable-rate mortgage, but the fixed-rate period of time is generally more. While the fixed-rate portion of an adjustable loan often lasts three months to five years, the fixed-rate period of a hybrid may last 10 years.

Balloon

In order to get into a home they can't really manage, some homeowners choose a balloon mortgage which permits them to make smaller payments on the first day of the mortgage and pay the mortgage in full at a later date. For instance, if a homeowner knew that in 10 years he would have the ability to get a family , he would take a balloon mortgage loan, make the smaller payments until the trust is available, then pay the mortgage in full.

Bridge

The FHA insures bridge loans, which are loans which help buyers buy a new home before the sale of the existing home. The mortgage payment will be higher since the loan pays for both homes until the present home is sold.

Home Loan Guarantee Program

The mortgage guarantee program makes it possible for veterans to find a home loan with no down payment as well as take out enough cash to generate the new home energy-efficient.

Self-Employed

The FHA also backs loans that have been developed for self-employed home buyers who have difficultly revealing proof of a stable income.

Home Equity

A home equity loan allows homeowners to take out a loan according to the present equity in the property.

Relocation

Similar to a bridge loan, a relocation loan is targeted toward individuals who want a loan to relocate to another home while their existing property is on the market.

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12 Wonderfully Creative Coatracks

Here in Northern California’s Wine Country, fall is upon us. Crisp, chilly nights have been followed by hot, sun-drenched afternoons — we are often seeing 40-degree temperature shifts. Layering is the trick to dressing in this climate, so on most days I start with a jacket and muffler, and strip down to some T-shirt and shorts by noon.

This creates a coatrack a necessity for me. I wager it’s equally necessary for many of you — particularly if you still have kiddos at home. The big challenge is taking this lowly but essential entryway thing and which makes it a robust statement of personal style and history.

Jessica Risko Smith Interior Design

This exuberant coatrack offers a whole new interpretation of”hall tree.” Multiple stain colours and unique textures add to its interest, and the scale is ideal for this particular wall. You could get the exact same effect by painting the tree on the walls and then adding hooks into the branches.

Allison Lind Interiors + RE:LOCATE

An equally arresting style statement, this coatrack has a dark shade and unpretentious leaves and branches — combined with a constrained scale — that give it an”I’m modern, but I don’t take myself too badly” appeal.

What a superb take on the ubiquitous white beadboard hall built! The deep eggplant color warms and tantalizes, while just the bench’s and coatrack’s being constructed in keeps this very budget friendly. In case your own personal style is less daring, consider doing the identical thing but use a shade just a couple of ticks deeper than the surrounding walls.

Harper Design from HarperCollins Publishers

Eclectic, industrial, playful — that coatrack has it all. Everyday C-clamps grip a brightly colored painted shelf to shape hooks; the mixture of accessories makes it a feeling. I want to understand the story behind the squirrel!

Ira Lippke

This distressed and painted locker, with all of its amazing imperfections, would have been ideal for my sons, who never opened anything with their hands whenever they could use their toes. The simple fact that this is an old United Airlines locker bought off Craigslist gives it an instantaneous story.

If you like the Shabby Chic look, this older doorway will make you drool. The paint has been left as found: peeling and distressed. The glass panel has been taken away, saving rambunctious little hands from disaster. (As a grandma, I really love this.) The addition of hooks finishes the transformation from doorway to adorable.

Erich Ginder Ghost Antlers – $309

White antlers create a minimalist announcement, but the steel and wood dining table below completes the look by adding that vital dash of color and texture.

Scott Sanders LLC

Benches like this not only encourage you to sit down; they bring an awareness of history and connectedness to your house, while providing you a place to remove your shoes in comfort. The pièce de résistance in this entrance is the battered — but totally ideal — piece of wood that’s been made into a coatrack. I really like the way the dark wood of the pins relates to the seat and joins these disparate pieces together.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel

What do you do when you require a coatrack but don’t possess the depth for one on your entrance wall? Embed hooks into ornamental tile. There is almost no limitation to the fashions of tile available nowadays, so the outcome can be wholly private to you.

Consider how sophisticated this would be in black and white subway tile, or how rustic and charming in a countryside landscape with roosters.

Kelly Donovan

How about this magnificent solution into an awkward area under the stairs? The twisty branch, or perhaps it’s a piece of driftwood, placed along the slanted ceiling brings an organic feel to an otherwise dead space and creates a very functional coatrack.

Bob Greenspan Photography

Kudos to the homeowner for a very creative way to manage an entryless space. Not only does this étagère function as a pleasant area divider, in addition, it works great as a coatrack. This would be comparatively easy to custom build.

Becky Dietrich, Interior Designer

The very small bungalow I discuss with my husband, Mike, comes with three strikes against it. It has no guest cupboard, our landlord eschews any wall color but white, and the only spot for a coatrack is part of the living room.

In case you’ve got any of the very same issues, do not despair! We fashioned this coatrack out of a reproduction French butcher store sign and pine planks we painted a buttery lemon yellow. The classic Asian torso below not only functions as extra seating when we have a crowd, but hides shoes attractively. You can come across the hint at Gershwin & Gertie and those magnificent cast iron hooks at House of Antique Hardware.

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How to Conquer Your Toilet Right

The toilet is one of the only rooms in a multibodied household where we are expected and encouraged to lock ourselves inside. With that type of permission, it makes sense to use this private area as a luxurious sanctuary. Make the the majority of your haven by providing the proper lighting to it.

I talked with two lighting specialists about how best to change a bathroom into a relaxing, practical refuge with light. Here is their advice.

Randall Whitehead Lighting Solutions

The four kinds of light needed for the best toilet atmosphere are activity, accent, decorative and sparkle.

Task Lighting

Here is the light by which you can best see yourself. “Propertask lighting in the mirror is essential,” says lighting designer Randall Whitehead.

He recommends having a pair of sconces mounted at eye level on either side of the mirror to offer shadowless illumination. This creates the best scenario for makeup application, shaving, tooth care and so on.

Jennifer Gustafson Interior Design

Tip: Avoid adding a light over the mirror. That contains recessed lighting in the ceiling. “That would throw a strong light onto your forehead and cast deep shadows below your eyes, nose and chin,” Whitehead says. “Not only is this light ineffective for shaving or applying makeup, it can visually age you by a decade. Folks should look their best when they appear at their manifestation.”

Proper lighting in the bathroom will make you feel better about yourself and encourage confidence during your day.

Hughes Studio Architects

Wattage for task lighting. “In the master or guest bathrooms, use fixtures which offer 75 to 100 watts’ worth of lighting,” Whitehead recommends. “You can receive these wattage equivalents in a 24- to 26-watt compact fluorescent or 20- to 25-watt LED.”

Get the lowdown on energy-efficient LEDs

Tip: Placing task lighting on a dimmer will enable your eyes to correct first thing in the morning; it will also enable you to wind down during the night.

Urban Herriges & Sons, Inc..

Task light wattage in the powder room. Task lights in powder rooms can have much less wattage (think 45-watt range), as it is not a area where anybody will be performing the morning ritual. Lower wattage provides a milder, relaxing ambience for guests.

Find a color temperature which makes the room feel inviting and illuminates guests in the most attractive manner.

How light affects interior Colours

Juli Baier Interior Design

Accent Lighting

If you like art on your toilet, accent lighting will reveal it off best. Recessed directional lights deliver focused illumination for each piece of artwork — or, in this case, for an alcove dedicated to a sculptural bouquet of blossoms.

Besch Design, Ltd..

Decorative Lighting

This adds visual sparkle. Whitehead advises using one pendant in a square-shaped toilet for just the correct touch.

Jerry B Smith Photography

At a grand rectangular toilet, he recommends using two to three fittings installed across the ceiling airplane for sufficient lighting.

Xstyles Bath + More

Candles also offer wonderful sparkle and set a distinctly relaxing, intimate tone. Just make sure that you keep them well away from any flammable items, like towels and hair, and never leave them unattended.

Eduardo Hernandez Ch. Architect / CHK Arquitectura

Francesca Owings Interior Design

Ambient Light

This acts asfill light. “In bathrooms with taller ceilings, a cove or cantilever details, ambient lighting fittings can be installed along the outside of the space,” Whitehead says. “Architectural details like these can hide the fixture and create indirect illumination.”

A pendant fixture with a translucent shade can be a source of both decorative and ambient lighting.

Before Photo

Putting It All Together

Interior designer Katie Anderson altered the darkened toilet shown here in many ways, but one of the most significant — and many universally useful — has been bringing in light.

“Before, there weren’t enough light sources or proper fixtures to layer lighting,” Anderson says. “Additionally, there wasn’t any pure light.”

Her assignment: invent a lighting program which would light up the shower, tub and sink areas equally. Here is what she did.

Katie Anderson Interior Design Consultants

AFTER: Sconces on large mirrors in the sink vanities now offer practical task lighting. Recessed headphones on dimmers offer ambient lighting for any mood is desired. Dimmers are especially beneficial in the tub area, in which comfort and romance are priorities. Wall sconces offer additional ambient and ornamental lighting.

Katie Anderson Interior Design Consultants

Large mirrors, both in the dressing table and over the tub, effectively reflect each of these layered lighting sources for the best effect.

HOUSEworks Design/Build General Contractor

Whitehead suggests placing the fan and light on separate switches. “I don’t need the fan to continue automatically every time I go in to scrub my hands,” he states. Placing each light source — or even a logical combination of lighting sources — on various switches allows you to choose what you would like lit when.

Tip: Should you utilize recessed cans over the sink, then make certain they are on a different switch than your task lighting, as Anderson did.

How could your toilet use a light makeover?

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Designing for Delight: A Safe and Sound Perch

Thinking like a chipmunk is essential if you’re trying to create a place where individuals will feel safe and calm. Not used to maintain chipmunk mode? A little practice is all you’ll need.

Chipmunks are social animals who do not use brute strength and armor for protection, much like our human ancestors living on the savannah. If a chipmunk is out and around and something scary happens — a cat seems or a thunderstorm begins — there’s not much he could do but run and hide. So finding a secure place where to survey the nearby world can maintain a chipmunk’s unpleasant surprises to a minimum.

People had a comparable set of alternatives for keeping themselves safe eons before, and early responses to risks remain locked into our minds, where they still shape the sorts of areas where we thrive. Studies have revealed that when humans create spaces where their primitive selves could have felt safe — also called biophilic style — they live much better lives.

RYAN ASSOCIATES GENERAL CONTRACTORS

Humans feel really comfortable when they are in a place with what is known in the psych biz as prospect and refuge. That means that they are at a spot that’s somewhat darker than the local world, with a lower ceiling, overlooking a place that’s more brightly lit and has a higher ceiling. This means we feel comfortable in areas that remind our chipmunk brains of sitting at a cave overlooking a valley. We particularly like it when our hiding place is a little raised.

This child’s canopy bed is the form of refuge where any individual would feel safe — really safe. It is a great alternative for a child’s room because most kids are bemused by the world and require a retreat where matters could be sorted out.

Tracy Murdock Allied ASID

The safety they provide, along with canopy beds, are not only for children. The design of this adult bed would help any of us decompress after a tension-packed day.

David Ludwig – Architect

Window seats built in spaces with lowered ceilings are a great place where to survey the entire world inside and out. Another way to get prospect and refuge into our own lives.

Handcrafted Homes, Inc

It’s possible to change ceiling heights throughout a room to create areas that feel comfy and secure. When it’s not possible to build a lower part of ceiling, try draping cloth from the ceiling to create a canopy above a couple of seats.

Fivecat Studio | Architecture

One reason that front porches have such allure is that they provide a protected place (remember, think chipmunk) for surveying the entire world.

Shoberg Custom Homes

Humans relax when they are easily able to see what is happening around them and when their backs are protected. Think about a restaurant where individuals can seat themselves. Which areas are taken ? They’re the chairs in the high-backed booths where people can see the door. Chipmunk thinking prevails!

Paul Anater

People prefer to not sit in the center of areas, particularly when individuals are walking . But pushing all the furniture from the walls of a room doesn’t do the job for many reasons.

High-back furniture can save the day. Sitting in it makes people feel relaxed. Just take this public area for instance. Even when pedestrians walk behind, anyone on the couch will still feel sheltered and comfortable.

Chalet

When you can not use a sofa/chair with a high back, set a substantial object behind it to”protect” the people sitting there. A large, sturdy table does the trick.

More:
Designing for Pleasure: The Beauty of Movement
Grow With Intention: A Crash Course in Feng Shui

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Designing Your Own Kitchen: Deep Thoughts for Your Sink

I tend to think bigger is always better. Perhaps it’s because I reside in Texas. So when it comes to working in my own kitchen, I really do love having a fine, broad sink. It gives plenty of room for food preparation and cleanup, perfect for our two-cook household. However, what about bowl thickness? Sure an extra-deep sink is very good for hiding dirty dishes, but it can also do a number on your back, particularly if you are of a briefer persuasion.

Here are a few strategies for selecting the suitable sink thickness for you and the way you use your kitchen.

Arciform

Kitchen countertops are steadily growing in bowl thickness. Many sinks used to be just as shallow as 6 inches or less; the normal now is 8 to 10 inches, and they can go as deep as 12 inches. Should you repurpose a classic sink, like the one pictured here, it will likely be on the shallow side.

Kootut murut

When to Move Shallow

A shallow bowl thickness — say, less than 8 inches — is going to be the most comfortable bowl depth for people who are 5-foot-4 or briefer or who are extremely tall (6-foot two or taller). A shallower bowl thickness makes it possible for a shorter individual to work from the sink without having to lean into it to wash things in the bottom. Taller folks can work in a shallower sink without having to crouch down or hunch over.

Salvage Keys, Joanne Palmisano

Granite sinks additionally take up less room in the sink cabinet below them. Does this free up storage area, but in addition, it makes it easier to install and get the garbage disposal as well as the plumbing fittings. Shallow sinks also tend to cost a bit less than deeper versions.

J.A.S. Design-Build

When to Go Deep

For those who, like me, seem to dirty each dish in the house when making a meal, then a superdeep sink is ideal. You’ve got loads of space for prepping meals, and in a pinch you can conceal your dirty dishes in there till you can wash them. This is a wonderful sink for bakers or many others who are regularly washing big sheet pans and cutting boards, also. A sink thickness of at least 10 inches will give you the room you want to wash bigger dishes without splashing water all around the ground and surrounding countertops.

KellyBaron

Remember that if you’re going with an undermount sink, then you may gain the extra thickness of the countertop depth. You can offset this, however, by utilizing a raised sink grid, as shown.

Alinda Morris Interior Design LLC

Try One On for Size

When picking your own kitchen sink bowl thickness, it’s all about finding one that is perfect for your height and the way you utilize your sink. If you can, have a look at kitchen showrooms that have a variety of sink sizes on display –mounted at the conventional 36-inch countertop height — to find out what sink thickness feels most comfortable.

Inform us : What is your sink style?

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