These examples will make you a believer that small inexpensive changes can make a tremendous difference in the appearance of rooms in your home. This is a must see for sellers!
Professional Room Makeovers: Home & Design: REALTOR® Magazine
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Showing posts with label sellers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sellers. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Spring Cleaning & Repairs Money-Saving Tips from the Pros
Fresh rains in the early spring are symbolic of the season itself, offering a revitalizing cleansing of the outdoors. The warming weather also offers a reminder to homeowners that now is the ideal time to do a bit of spring cleaning.
After all, a bit of due diligence by homeowners not only freshens their living quarters, it also helps them save money and avoid more costly repairs down the road.
"Making a list of items to check around the home this season – and then actually following through with the tasks – can help reduce home maintenance and utility costs," says Angie Hicks, founder of Angie's List, the nation's leading provider of consumer ratings on local service providers.
It's important that homeowners schedule needed services as quickly as possible to avoid a backlog of busy service providers.
Angie's List went to its highly rated service providers to come up with a list sure to help those homeowners who don't know what to check and when, as well as those devoted annually to giving their homes a good once-over.
General Spring Cleaning
Experts recommend a professional carpet cleaning every 12 to 18 months – but this can vary depending on how many people live in your home, and if you have children or pets. A dirty carpet contains soil and other debris that will wear your carpet's fibers. Schedule an appointment with carpet cleaners now to cut down on your wait time.
Check your gutters. Professionals recommend gutter cleaning in the spring and the fall. Clogged gutters can lead to water damage in your home.
Use a garden hose on your siding and deck to remove the film left by dirty snow and rain. Attach a soft-bristled, long-handled car brush to the hose for some extra help. Use a mild cleanser to get those tough-to-clean spots.
Remove wet leaves and debris from your deck, front porch and around your house. Allowing the debris to accumulate can trap water, lead to staining or mold build-up, as well as create an ideal environment for termites.
Home Maintenance
Snow, ice and wind can wreak havoc on your home, so be sure to go over the structures in early spring. Finding damage early will increase your chances of getting an early repair, as many home improvement companies begin their busy season this time of year.
Scrutinize your crawl space for water accumulation or excessive moisture, and keep an eye out for water damage on the sub-floor and joists beneath the kitchen, bathroom and laundry areas.
Give your roof a "once-over" for damage inflicted during the winter. Depending on the style and pitch of your roof, you may want to use a ladder and a pair of binoculars to look for missing or broken shingles and other damage. If you don't feel comfortable on a ladder, call a professional before the busy season begins.
Check the weather stripping around doors and windows. The winter season may have caused some damage. Also, remove any storm windows and replace with screens.
Check the valve where water enters your house, outdoor faucets and valves to toilets, bathroom and kitchen sinks. Turn each off and on several times to identify any leaks.
Outdoor Maintenance
Talk with your landscaper or local garden center about the best way to enrich your soil for the types of plants in your yard. Proper fertilization can keep your soil and your plants in great shape throughout the year.
Bring in your mower for service in early spring. This will help avoid breakdowns and extend the life cycle. It also helps you beat the rush so your mower is in tip-top shape when you need it. Warning signs that your mower needs maintenance can include difficulty in starting, a smoking engine, and reduced horsepower. A service appointment should include a check of the oil, blade, spark plugs, filter, battery and belts. Always ask for an estimate and guarantee on the work. Be sure to sharpen the blade at least once a year. Cutting grass with a sharpened blade is important for lawn health, promoting better grass health.
If you've postponed tool care, now is a good time to get in the garage and take a closer look at your garden equipment. Garden service companies will get busy in the next couple of months, so make an appointment now to have those tools cleaned and sharpened.
Spring is a good time to examine your asphalt driveway's surface for damage. Water that seeps into your driveway can freeze, causing cracks and other damage. Regular resealing is the best way to protect the surface and keep it in good shape. If you're planning to hire a professional to seal the driveway, summer is peak time of year, so call now to get on their schedule.
Appliance Maintenance
Regular maintenance on major home appliances can help to ensure their efficiency and lifespan.
Get your air conditioner serviced. Technicians can test your air conditioner as long as the temperature is above 60 degrees. Call now to get on their schedule before the first warm days of spring.
Clean and lubricate hinges, rollers and tracks on garage doors with a greaseless lubricant. Avoid using petroleum-based lubricants. Lack of lubrication puts additional strain on the garage door. Don't attempt to service the opener mechanism yourself. Your garage door opener can be one of the most dangerous appliances around your house. Contact a professional for assistance.
Get your water heater serviced. Maintained properly, water heaters will last for years and deliver gallon after gallon of hot water. Left alone, they'll quickly lose efficiency, sucking dollars out of your wallet with every degree of heat.
Spring rains can be heavy, so if you have a sump pump be sure it works properly. To test, fill the sump pit with water and go outside to make sure the pump is actually discharging water. You can also eliminate any build-up in the system by pouring white vinegar through the unit.
Angie Hicks is the founder of Angie's List, a website where thousands of consumers share their ratings and reviews on local contractors and companies in more than 425 different categories. Currently, more than 750,000 consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie's List to help them find the right contractor or company for the job they need done. Members have unlimited access to the list via Internet or phone; receive the award-winning Angie's List magazine, which includes articles on home improvement and maintenance, consumer trends and scam alerts; and they can utilize the Angie's List complaint resolution service.
After all, a bit of due diligence by homeowners not only freshens their living quarters, it also helps them save money and avoid more costly repairs down the road.
"Making a list of items to check around the home this season – and then actually following through with the tasks – can help reduce home maintenance and utility costs," says Angie Hicks, founder of Angie's List, the nation's leading provider of consumer ratings on local service providers.
It's important that homeowners schedule needed services as quickly as possible to avoid a backlog of busy service providers.
Angie's List went to its highly rated service providers to come up with a list sure to help those homeowners who don't know what to check and when, as well as those devoted annually to giving their homes a good once-over.
General Spring Cleaning
Experts recommend a professional carpet cleaning every 12 to 18 months – but this can vary depending on how many people live in your home, and if you have children or pets. A dirty carpet contains soil and other debris that will wear your carpet's fibers. Schedule an appointment with carpet cleaners now to cut down on your wait time.
Check your gutters. Professionals recommend gutter cleaning in the spring and the fall. Clogged gutters can lead to water damage in your home.
Use a garden hose on your siding and deck to remove the film left by dirty snow and rain. Attach a soft-bristled, long-handled car brush to the hose for some extra help. Use a mild cleanser to get those tough-to-clean spots.
Remove wet leaves and debris from your deck, front porch and around your house. Allowing the debris to accumulate can trap water, lead to staining or mold build-up, as well as create an ideal environment for termites.
Home Maintenance
Snow, ice and wind can wreak havoc on your home, so be sure to go over the structures in early spring. Finding damage early will increase your chances of getting an early repair, as many home improvement companies begin their busy season this time of year.
Scrutinize your crawl space for water accumulation or excessive moisture, and keep an eye out for water damage on the sub-floor and joists beneath the kitchen, bathroom and laundry areas.
Give your roof a "once-over" for damage inflicted during the winter. Depending on the style and pitch of your roof, you may want to use a ladder and a pair of binoculars to look for missing or broken shingles and other damage. If you don't feel comfortable on a ladder, call a professional before the busy season begins.
Check the weather stripping around doors and windows. The winter season may have caused some damage. Also, remove any storm windows and replace with screens.
Check the valve where water enters your house, outdoor faucets and valves to toilets, bathroom and kitchen sinks. Turn each off and on several times to identify any leaks.
Outdoor Maintenance
Talk with your landscaper or local garden center about the best way to enrich your soil for the types of plants in your yard. Proper fertilization can keep your soil and your plants in great shape throughout the year.
Bring in your mower for service in early spring. This will help avoid breakdowns and extend the life cycle. It also helps you beat the rush so your mower is in tip-top shape when you need it. Warning signs that your mower needs maintenance can include difficulty in starting, a smoking engine, and reduced horsepower. A service appointment should include a check of the oil, blade, spark plugs, filter, battery and belts. Always ask for an estimate and guarantee on the work. Be sure to sharpen the blade at least once a year. Cutting grass with a sharpened blade is important for lawn health, promoting better grass health.
If you've postponed tool care, now is a good time to get in the garage and take a closer look at your garden equipment. Garden service companies will get busy in the next couple of months, so make an appointment now to have those tools cleaned and sharpened.
Spring is a good time to examine your asphalt driveway's surface for damage. Water that seeps into your driveway can freeze, causing cracks and other damage. Regular resealing is the best way to protect the surface and keep it in good shape. If you're planning to hire a professional to seal the driveway, summer is peak time of year, so call now to get on their schedule.
Appliance Maintenance
Regular maintenance on major home appliances can help to ensure their efficiency and lifespan.
Get your air conditioner serviced. Technicians can test your air conditioner as long as the temperature is above 60 degrees. Call now to get on their schedule before the first warm days of spring.
Clean and lubricate hinges, rollers and tracks on garage doors with a greaseless lubricant. Avoid using petroleum-based lubricants. Lack of lubrication puts additional strain on the garage door. Don't attempt to service the opener mechanism yourself. Your garage door opener can be one of the most dangerous appliances around your house. Contact a professional for assistance.
Get your water heater serviced. Maintained properly, water heaters will last for years and deliver gallon after gallon of hot water. Left alone, they'll quickly lose efficiency, sucking dollars out of your wallet with every degree of heat.
Spring rains can be heavy, so if you have a sump pump be sure it works properly. To test, fill the sump pit with water and go outside to make sure the pump is actually discharging water. You can also eliminate any build-up in the system by pouring white vinegar through the unit.
Angie Hicks is the founder of Angie's List, a website where thousands of consumers share their ratings and reviews on local contractors and companies in more than 425 different categories. Currently, more than 750,000 consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie's List to help them find the right contractor or company for the job they need done. Members have unlimited access to the list via Internet or phone; receive the award-winning Angie's List magazine, which includes articles on home improvement and maintenance, consumer trends and scam alerts; and they can utilize the Angie's List complaint resolution service.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Are You On The Fence? Now’s The Time to Jump Off
Intrepid first-time homebuyers jumped off the fence and made an important impact on the housing market this week. Pending home sales rose 3.2 percent in March, according to the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index. Closer to home the news is even better–pending home sales in St. Charles County rose 26 percent in March, says Karen Vennard, president of the St. Charles County Association of Realtors.
Investors liked the news too. Infused with a sense of optimism about the economy, the stock market responded with the Dow Jones Industrial gaining 214 points and the Nasdaq 44 points in one day.
First-timers evaluated the housing situation and decided that now is the time to buy. Interest rates are at an all time low, there is plenty of housing available, prices are affordable, and then there’s the 8 percent tax credit incentive for first-time buyers.
That tax credit expires December 1, 2009. The credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to $8,000. This has really moved people into the market instead of waiting to see what might happen down the line.
Because of the time limit on the tax credit, if you are a first-time buyer even remotely considering a home purchase this year, now is the time to get organized. This is excellent advice even if you don’t qualify for the tax credit.
Potential buyers should:
Sellers should:
While things are looking up right now, we still don’t know if the market has bottomed out and is on the way up to more robust times. Both buyers and sellers must make their own personal decisions about the housing market. Returning to a growing economy and housing market won’t be easy. But if we all get off the fence and show some confidence, we’ll get there sooner rather than later.
Investors liked the news too. Infused with a sense of optimism about the economy, the stock market responded with the Dow Jones Industrial gaining 214 points and the Nasdaq 44 points in one day.
First-timers evaluated the housing situation and decided that now is the time to buy. Interest rates are at an all time low, there is plenty of housing available, prices are affordable, and then there’s the 8 percent tax credit incentive for first-time buyers.
That tax credit expires December 1, 2009. The credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to $8,000. This has really moved people into the market instead of waiting to see what might happen down the line.
Because of the time limit on the tax credit, if you are a first-time buyer even remotely considering a home purchase this year, now is the time to get organized. This is excellent advice even if you don’t qualify for the tax credit.
Potential buyers should:
- Keep saving! Cash is king and the bigger the down payment, the better mortgage terms you’ll get.
- Investigate financing now and get pre-qualified for a loan.
- Be very honest with yourself and determine how much house you can really afford. Do research on how much your monthly payment would be and consider expenses like utilities and taxes.
- Check your credit report. You don’t want any surprises there.
- Work with a SCHNEIDER Real Estate Realtor who knows the neighborhoods, schools, social amenities and has your interest as a buyer as first priority.
Sellers should:
- Communicate with your Realtor. Pass along improvements you’ve made that would make a good selling point. Open communication is absolutely necessary for your Realtor to bring you the best qualified buyers and avoid misunderstandings.
- Speaking of communication, make sure everyone knows your home is for sale. Word-of-mouth is one of the best marketing tools. Welcome neighbors at your open house. They in turn may very well bring your buyer to you Realtor and clinch the sale.
- Keep your property neat, clean and inviting. Mow the grass, trim the shrubs, water those annuals and perennials. Nothing says you’re not welcome like dead flowers and overgrown grass. Potential buyers will find your listing on the Internet or in the newspaper and drive by to preview the property. You have about 45 seconds of curb appeal to convince a buyer that your home is well cared for and the right purchase.
- Green, green, green is the way to go. The current movement toward energy savings and sustainable resources is not a fad. Buyers are looking for ecological solutions in their purchases and sellers need to incorporate these features into the home’s selling points.
While things are looking up right now, we still don’t know if the market has bottomed out and is on the way up to more robust times. Both buyers and sellers must make their own personal decisions about the housing market. Returning to a growing economy and housing market won’t be easy. But if we all get off the fence and show some confidence, we’ll get there sooner rather than later.
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