 As the last winds of winter blow and the days become longer, it’s time to start thinking about the spring. In addition to cleaning up around the house, there are several landscaping activities that you generally want to do in the springtime. The question is, where do you start?
If you’re not sure how to tackle your spring to-do list, here are a few suggestions. These are some of the most common landscaping tasks that need doing once things start to warm up, and knocking them out early can make other landscaping tasks easier as the year goes on. Who knows, taking care of some of these items might even get you inspired to take on a larger landscaping project later in the year. Clean Up That Winter Refuse The winter can be rough on your lawn, with clumps of leaves that haven’t quite decayed, sticks and branches that fell in a winter storm, muddy spots where ice formed and thawed and formed again … it can all leave a bit of a mess behind. Spend some time cleaning up the mess left by winter before you get into any other tasks and you’ll find that the rest of your spring to-do list will be much easier. Prune the Trees and Shrubs Early spring is a great time to prune most of your trees and shrubs, since it’s before they get into a strong growth period. Early pruning allows you to shape them the way you want them to be and gives you a chance to eliminate unwanted overhangs and encroachment. If you wait until there’s new growth you can actually stunt some of that growth and make it harder to control how your trees and shrubs are forming. Prep Your Lawn If you want your lawn to look its best, you need to show it some love in the spring. Aerate the lawn to help break up soil packed by snow and ice in the winter, dethatch it to help it grow in thicker, and sow some seed to fill in bare spots once it’s warm enough. If your lawn has an uneven surface after the winter, bringing in a roller to go over the lawn wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Clean Up Your Flower Beds If you’ve got flower beds around your home, chances are they could use a bit of picking up after the winter. Get rid of any damaged plants, pull any weeds or grass that tried to get established during the winter, and tidy up any debris or other crud that might have found their way into your beds. You should also pull away the winter mulch surrounding your perennials and divide them to get your beds off to a good start. Feed and Protect While you’re working on your lawn and your flower beds, go ahead and take the time to prep them for spring growth. Add new mulch to your beds as needed, give your lawn a nice dose of fertilizer, and make sure that all your other plants are similarly fed and protected. Everything’s going to be doing a lot of growing in the coming months, so you want to make sure that they have everything they need. Plan Your Summer This is also a good time to prepare for late spring and summer projects as well. If you’re going to have a garden, take the time to start prepping it now by tilling the soil, working in compost and starting some of your spring seeds indoors. If you’re going to undertake a construction project or add new features to your lawn, go ahead and start clearing the area. The work you put in now will make things so much easier later in the year. Ready to Get to Work? Depending on what you have planned, you may need a bit of help to get your landscaping in tip-top shape. Luckily, I have several connections with landscaping pros who can help you design and implement the perfect landscaping plan for your lawn.
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 Keeping your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter is one of the big goals of most homeowners. There are a number of ways to do this, including upgrading the windows to more energy-efficient models and performing seasonal maintenance on heating and cooling systems to keep them operating at peak condition. One thing that’s often overlooked however is the influence that attic temperatures can have on the temperature of your whole house.
You may have seen suggestions about installing automatic attic vents to help regulate the temperature in your attic. Is there something behind this, or is it just another upgrade to your home that provides very little benefit? You might be surprised at how effective automatic attic vents can be. Hot Attic, Cold Attic It’s pretty common knowledge that hot air rises. The question is, where does all that hot air go? If your attic isn’t well vented, it can build up within the attic itself and increase the temperature of your attic space significantly. The problem with this is that future hot air won’t really have anywhere to go, causing it to linger in the house itself for longer. This is great if it’s the middle of winter and you’re trying to keep your house warm, but you can see how it might be a problem during the heat of summer. You can run into the opposite situation as well if you have open vents in the attic. Heat can escape more easily, but if it’s cold outside you’ll find all that heat escaping much faster than you would like. This in turn causes heat within your house to escape faster, making it harder to stay warm in the depth of winter’s chill. Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, the end result will be the same: higher energy costs to keep your house cool in the summer or warm in the winter. Proper Attic Venting Attic ventilation is part of the key to solving this issue, but there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. During the summer, you want open attic vents to expel heat and keep your attic as cool as possible. In winter, you want attic vents to be closed to hold heat in for as long as possible. You can open and close these vents manually as part of your seasonal preparations, of course, though this won’t be a perfect solution. The truth is, unless you open or close the vents to account for all the temperature fluctuations during the year, you’ll still be losing money to unnecessary heating and cooling. Automatic Attic Vents This is where automatic attic vents come into play. These vents are connected to thermostats (and sometimes even humidistats) to monitor the condition of your attic and open or close the vents as needed based on what things are actually like in the attic. If the temperature goes too high during the summer or if it becomes too humid, the vent opens and lets that unwanted heat and humidity escape. If temperatures drop, the vents close to prevent outside heat from coming in. The opposite happens during the winter, keeping the vents shut to keep warm air in your attic. Some automatic vents function as simple ventilation units, possessing little function beyond opening and closing. Others include connected fans to force air in or out of the attic to even greater effect. Regardless of the vent type you choose, however, adding one to your attic can make a notable difference in how warm or cool the attic air gets during the year. Installing New Vents If you want automatic attic vents but aren’t sure where to start, I have your back and can connect you with pros who can install the automatic vent unit that will be the best fit for your current attic setup. All you have to lose is all of that unwanted energy waste.  If you’re planning to sell your house, proper staging can make a huge difference. It’s important to keep in mind that tastes change over time, though, and the staging techniques that were popular when you bought the home might not impress buyers today. If you really want to get the most value out of your home when you sell, it helps to employ staging that will appeal to buyers in the current housing market. Fortunately, there are many ways you can stage your home so that it draws in modern buyers. The goal is to help them see your home as a place they could inhabit and fill with their own style, and these suggestions will help you to achieve this even if tastes have changed since you last decorated your home.
Maximize Your Lighting A lot of modern buyers are looking for function as well as form when they’re looking at houses. One example of this comes in the form of good lighting. Make sure that the windows are clean and that your window dressings allow natural light to come through. Check that you have sufficiently bright bulbs in your fixtures, and double check that none are burned out. You might also consider adding spotlights or other accent lights in places like the kitchen and bathroom where the potential buyers might want additional light. If you really want to wow people, you could even install smart bulbs that can be controlled from a smartphone or smart speaker. Keep It Earthy Color trends change over time. At the moment, warm colors are hot. When staging your home, work with accent colors such as chocolate, olive green, beige and wine to tie your various decorations together. This will add splashes of warm, earthy color that’s neither too bright nor too dark. As an added benefit, these shades go well with a wide range of wall and floor options, so you can add some nice earthy accents without having to completely redesign your home beforehand. Touch Up the Walls If your walls are too mild or too wild, consider adding a fresh coat of paint before you get ready to sell your home. There are several colors that are popular right now, including a number of shades of blue, gray and green. You can usually get away with some light pink and gold shades too, as well as the occasional off-white. You don’t want anything too bold in most rooms, just something that will give a bit of color to the room. But feel free to skew a little darker if you’re painting a bathroom or bedroom. De-Personalize the Place You may have heard that it’s a good idea to make your home look lived in, since that can help potential buyers see it as an actual living space instead of just a showcase. This isn’t bad advice; having some unique decorative items and other accents can really help buyers to picture their own stuff in the house. Just make sure that you take out anything that’s overly personal, like family photos, items with your family name and other keepsakes. Leave your decorations a little sparse, too. The goal is to inspire potential buyers and help them picture where they would put their belongings and their own pictures, and it’s hard to do that if there are pictures of your family everywhere or decorations filling every available space. Finding the Right Look If you’re not exactly sure how to stage your home, don’t be afraid to call me. I stage homes every time I list them. I can be a great resource for any questions you may have.  Home remodels offer an opportunity to change the look and feel of your home. This can be great if you live in an older home with outdated fixtures and other hardware. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t take the time to match their remodel to their house and end up with a look that’s a bit less than optimal. The remodel won’t necessarily look bad, but it may be unsatisfactory because it doesn’t quite match the architecture and style of the house itself.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you have to redo everything in its original style when remodeling your home. That would all be rather boring, wouldn’t it? You simply need to make sure that you fully take your home into account when designing your remodel. This is easier than you might think, once you know what to plan for. What Style Is Your Home? Before you can plan out a remodel based on the style of your home, you need to figure out exactly what that style is. There are a lot of possibilities out there, ranging from Victorian and Colonial designs to Craftsman homes, Ranch homes and other more modern styles. You may already know which architecture style your house was built in, either from existing architecture knowledge or discussions with your Realtor before buying the property. If you aren’t sure, though, there are a number of resources that can help you find out. You can research home styles online, talk to fans of different architectural styles or even look at the original listing for your home if you have a copy. Regardless of how you find out, learning about your home’s architectural style is the first step to accenting it with your remodel. Learning Your Style Once you know your home’s style, take the time to learn a bit about it. Learn the key points of the architecture, distinguishing features and everything else that makes it stand out from similar home designs. If there are fixtures, doors, windows or other home features that are commonly associated with your home style, you should learn what those are as well. This may seem like a lot of work, but the details about your home style that you learn now will go a long way toward helping you design a remodel plan that really accentuates the best things about your home. Adapting Your Style Once you have a good idea of what works with your home’s architectural style, it’s time to start planning your remodel to work with that idea. You can look for fixtures that are similar to more traditional offerings but that better match your personal taste, or for example select a traditional door but opt to paint it in a color that will go better with your new siding choices. Your goal should be to find a balance between more traditional offerings for your home style and your personal decorating preferences. That way, the choices you make will fit in beautifully with the overall design of your home and its existing accents. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean everything has to match perfectly, either. There is a lot of room for you to express yourself through choices that might otherwise clash with your home style, using that disparity to draw attention either to your choice or to the design of the home itself. There are many options available to you, and because you know what’s expected for homes like yours you are free to go with the traditional or to shake things up as you see fit. Perfecting Your Style If you want to find a style that’s a perfect match for your home but aren’t quite sure what works best, it may be time to call in a pro.  When a lot of people think of buying a home, they picture it as a part of settling down and building a family. There’s a pretty good reason for this; couples and families do make up a significant portion of the home-buying population. But there is a growing trend among buyers that bucks this tradition: Single people have become increasingly likely to shop for a home in recent years.
The Importance of Singles Buying Homes There are multiple reasons why the increase in singles buying homes is noteworthy. The uptick may be due in part to overall changes in society, with individuals marrying or starting families later in life, after trying to achieve stability. It also speaks to the increased economic power of the Millennial generation, with those in their 20s and 30s able to buy a home of their own even as they’re working on building a career. Of course, there is one other important thing about more singles buying homes that is easy to overlook. Those looking to sell their home may focus on making their property as appealing as possible to older buyers or those with families, missing out on this growing segment of homebuyers. Realizing that more singles are buying homes allows sellers to market their property to a wider range of buyers, increasing the likelihood of selling a home quickly and without having to compromise substantially on asking price. Women as Homebuyers One specific aspect of the increase in single homebuyers that is worth noting is the fact that single women are significantly more likely to buy homes than single men. In fact, as many as 1 in 5 potential buyers is likely to be a single woman according to recent trends. This is around twice as likely as a buyer being a single male. This difference is especially noteworthy when you consider that, on average, women typically earn only around 80 percent as much as men working in similar roles. This is another point that sellers should consider when putting their homes on the market. Not only is it increasingly likely that singles will be interested in the property, but when they are, they will probably be women shopping for a home. This really shakes up old mindsets that focus on married couples buying with the husband as a negotiator trying to get the best price on the home purchase. Attracting Single Buyers Single homebuyers may have different criteria when shopping for a house than couples or families. They may look for smaller properties, homes with large yards for gardening or other characteristics that might not be as important to couples or families. Location can be viewed differently by single buyers as well; they are less likely to be concerned with school districts and proximity to parks or other family destinations, and more likely to consider proximity to work or attractions that appeal to singles. Realizing how the priorities differ when it comes to buyers who are single versus couples and families can affect how you advertise the home you have for sale. Listings in areas that aren’t ideal for families can be targeted toward single buyers instead, focusing on those aspects that a single woman or man might find appealing. Even if you don’t target your sales specifically toward singles, being mindful of the differences can help you to create home listings that have a wider appeal across a range of potential buyers. Prepping Your Home If you’re putting your home on the market, it’s important to keep single buyers in mind. If you aren’t sure how to do this, you might consider bringing in a decorator or interior design expert that can help you to make your home as appealing as possible to a wider range of potential buyers.  When you think of wallpaper, you likely picture rolls of material that are plastered or glued in place. Once the wallpaper is up on the walls, that’s pretty much it; while wallpaper can be removed, the process usually isn’t very quick or easy. If you want the look of wallpaper without the hassle, however, there is another option: peel and stick wallpaper. If you weren’t aware that this was available, it might be worth looking into.
What Is Peel and Stick Wallpaper? Similar to some other wall decorations, peel and stick wallpaper is a vinyl applicant that has its own adhesive on one side. A protective paper backing covers the adhesive and is peeled off before application, allowing it to be placed without the need for glue or other messy adhesives. The adhesive on the back of peel and stick wallpaper is strong enough to hold the wallpaper in place, but not so strong that it can’t be removed with ease; when you’re ready to take it down you can simply peel it off without having to worry about the wallpaper tearing or causing any sort of damage to the wall surface beneath it. Peel, Stick and Adjust As with more traditional wallpaper options, peel and stick wallpapers typically feature repeating designs that are essentially seamless once everything has been installed. The self-adhesive nature of the wallpaper makes it easy to start a wallpaper installation since you can position the first piece more easily than you might with wallpapers that have separate adhesives. There is another advantage to using this self-stick adhesive as well. Because it’s designed to release easily, you can adjust the positioning of the wallpaper with ease during the installation process. This helps to ensure that none of the wallpaper is crooked or out of alignment, since you can correct any problems as they occur without having to reapply adhesive or worry about damaging the paper. Residue-Free Removal One big advantage that peel and stick wallpaper has over more traditional wall coverings is that you can remove it and replace it whenever you need to. The vinyl material that peel and stick wallpaper is made from is harder than paper, so not only is it less likely to be damaged in day-to-day life but it’s also much less likely to tear during removal. The adhesive on the wallpaper leaves no residue behind and isn’t going to peel off paint or other surface details. While peel and stick wallpaper typically isn’t designed for reuse after removal, you can remove one peel and stick design and replace it with a different design, or even more traditional wallpaper, without any issue. Multiple Surface Options Peel and stick wallpaper goes well on walls, but it can also be applied to other surfaces as well. The main requirement for application is a clean, dry surface without texture. Your walls should be painted with at least a base coat, but the paint shouldn’t have any texturing agents added. Surfaces with non-stick elements added (such as non-stick paint) or residues need to be cleaned or painted before application as well. Peel and stick wallpaper can be added to drywall, wood or any other surface that either meets its requirements or can be painted to provide the clean, smooth surface that the wallpaper needs for adhesion. The Perfect Install Even peel and stick wallpaper can be stressful if you’ve never installed your own wallpaper before. Whether you’re looking for someone to install it completely or you think your walls could use a touch up before the wallpaper goes up, it’s not a bad idea to find a painter in your area to get the job done right. I can help get you matched with the perfect painter to make your peel and stick plans succeed.  Insulation is an essential part of your home. Not only does it help keep the home warm during the winter, but it also plays an important part in keeping you cool during the summer. Once you start looking at the different insulation options that are available, though, the whole thing can get a bit confusing. To help you make sense of it all, here are some of the basics you need to know about home insulation.
How Insulation Works Insulation works by providing a physical barrier to the transfer of heat through parts of the home such as the walls, ceiling and roof. Depending on the type of insulating material used, it may simply provide a barrier to heat transfer, or it could actually reflect some of the heat back in the direction it came from. In the summer, this means that heat is prevented from entering from outside; in the winter, the insulation stops heat from moving out of the house. Understanding R-Values Insulation effectiveness is measured by R-Value. The higher a material’s R-Value is, the more resistant it is to heat penetration. Insulations that have a higher R-Value tend to be thicker or made of denser materials able to resist greater amounts of heat transfer than thinner insulations. Some forms of insulation may have a lower R-Value but are still effective; an example is aerosol can spray foam, which can’t be placed very thick, but seals out air. So keep in mind that R-Value isn’t the only measure of how effective insulation is. Types of Insulation Insulation isn’t exactly a one-size-fits-all product. There are different types of insulation available to meet different needs. Though the specifics of different insulation types may vary, these are the most common types of insulation you’ll see:
Air Sealing Even high-quality insulation can’t do much if there are cracks and gaps in your walls or foundation that let air flow in and out freely. Finding and filling cracks with a sealant is an important part of insulating your home. There are different sealants available for this purpose, though spray foam insulation works as both an insulator and an air sealant. Insulation Installation Making sense of different types of insulation and figuring out which is best for your needs isn’t always easy. Fortunately, I can help you find a professional installer who will match you to the best insulation for your home and seal up any air leaks as well.  As we kick off the new year, many families have made resolutions to enter the housing market in 2019. Whether you are thinking of finally ditching your landlord and buying your first home or selling your starter house to move into your forever home, there are two pieces of the real estate puzzle you need to watch carefully: interest rates & inventory. Interest Rates Mortgage interest rates had been on the rise for much of 2018, but they made a welcome reversal at the end of the year. According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, rates climbed to 4.94% in November before falling to 4.62% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage last week. Despite the recent drop, interest rates are projected to reach 5% in 2019. The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power. Purchasing power, simply put, is the amount of home you can afford to buy for the budget you have available to spend. As rates increase, the price of the house you can afford to buy will decrease if you plan to stay within a certain monthly housing budget. The chart below shows the impact that rising interest rates would have if you planned to purchase a $400,000 home while keeping your principal and interest payments between $2,020-$2,050 a month.  With each quarter of a percent increase in interest rate, the value of the home you can afford decreases by 2.5% (in this example, $10,000). Inventory A ‘normal’ real estate market requires there to be a 6-month supply of homes for sale in order for prices to increase only with inflation. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), listing inventory is currently at a 3.9-month supply (still well below the 6-months needed), which has put upward pressure on home prices. Home prices have increased year-over-year for the last 81 straight months. The inventory of homes for sale in the real estate market had been on a steady decline and experienced year-over-year drops for 36 straight months (from July 2015 to May 2018), but we are starting to see a shift in inventory over the last six months. The chart below shows the change in housing supply over the last 12 months compared to the previous 12 months. As you can see, since June, inventory levels have started to increase as compared to the same time last year.  This is a trend to watch as we move further into the new year. If we continue to see an increase in homes for sale, we could start moving further away from a seller’s market and closer to a normal market.
Bottom Line If you are planning to enter the housing market, either as a buyer or a seller, make sure that you have an experienced local agent who can help you navigate the changes in mortgage interest rates and inventory.  With home prices on the rise and buyer demand still strong, some sellers may be tempted to try and sell their homes on their own without using the services of a real estate professional.
Real estate agents are trained and experienced in negotiation and, in most cases, the seller is not. Sellers must realize that their ability to negotiate will determine whether or not they get the best deal for themselves and their families. Here is a list of just some of the people with whom the seller must be prepared to negotiate with if they decide to For Sale by Owner (FSBO):
Bottom Line: The percentage of sellers who have hired real estate agents to sell their homes has increased steadily over the last 20 years. Meet with a professional in your local market to see the difference that he or she can make in easing the selling process for you.  What exactly happens to plastic beverage bottles that you put in the recycling bin? They are collected, sorted and ground into plastic flakes. Different types of plastic flakes are separated before being washed and dried. Then the processed flakes are used t make things like, cups, trays, clothing, carpet fibers and so much more – including new beverage bottles. Recycling isn’t always convenient, but it’s worthwhile to do. When life is busy, it can be easy to forget to recycle. Consider these smart, easy-to-do tips that can help you make recycling part of your daily life.
There are many things that can be recycled, but bottled water containers are the most common drink item in curbside recycling programs, recycled at a rate of 53.9 percent, according to the “Put It In The Bins” website. With recycling, the possibilities are endless – but it all starts with one small personal choice to recycle. To learn more about how recycling makes a difference, visit putitinthebin.org |
Brooke Harrisis a full time Realtor/Dog Mom that loves the outdoors and helping people find their dream homes! Archives
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