Five Maintenance Jobs You Need to Do This Fall

via MBdevelopment.com

Some home improvement jobs are just too much for the summertime. Heavy lifting in heavy humidity isn't ideal and some projects just cannot get accomplished until it cools off. Check out Houselogic's top five maintenance jobs for cooler weather.

1. Improve attic insulation
Not only will working conditions be much more tolerable in cooler weather, but you'll be able to tell
what areas need insulation if there's a draft.

2. Seal the cracks
Another place you lose money through leaks is around windows and doors. With the colder weather
coming, you're going to want to keep warm air in and cool air out. Examine all windows, doors, and
siding and fill in leaks with waterproof silicone caulk.

3. Clean the gutters
Moisture can wreak havoc on a home's condition, so make sure your gutters are clear and your
downspouts are drawing water away from your foundation. Autumn's falling leaves can clog gutters
easily and it's important your gutters are clear before winter comes.

4. Plant a tree
Fall is a great time to plant a tree, advises Houselogic, since the tree's dormant state is easier on the root system. Check out our list of trees with the most beautiful fall colors before making your decision.

5. Clean your garage
Wouldn't it be nice to drive your car straight into your garage once winter rolls around? Most of us
don't have that luxury due to messy garages. Houselogic recommends taking a weekend this fall to sort through and organize everything in your garage and to get rid of the stuff you don't need. It's also a great opportunity to make sure all your snow equipment (snow blowers, shovels, etc.) is in good
working order before the first heavy snowfall.

5 Maintenance Jobs You Need to Do This Fall

via MBdevelopment.com

Some home improvement jobs are just too much for the summertime. Heavy lifting in heavy humidity isn't ideal and some projects just cannot get accomplished until it cools off. Check out Houselogic's top five maintenance jobs for cooler weather.
 
1. Improve attic insulation
Not only will working conditions be much more tolerable in cooler weather, but you'll be able to tell
what areas need insulation if there's a draft.

2. Seal the cracks
Another place you lose money through leaks is around windows and doors. With the colder weather
coming, you're going to want to keep warm air in and cool air out. Examine all windows, doors, and
siding and fill in leaks with waterproof silicone caulk.

3. Clean the gutters
Moisture can wreak havoc on a home's condition, so make sure your gutters are clear and your
downspouts are drawing water away from your foundation. Autumn's falling leaves can clog gutters
easily and it's important your gutters are clear before winter comes.
 
4. Plant a tree
Fall is a great time to plant a tree, advises Houselogic, since the tree's dormant state is easier on the root system. Check out our list of trees with the most beautiful fall colors before making your decision.

5. Clean your garage
Wouldn't it be nice to drive your car straight into your garage once winter rolls around? Most of us
don't have that luxury due to messy garages. Houselogic recommends taking a weekend this fall to sort through and organize everything in your garage and to get rid of the stuff you don't need. It's also a great opportunity to make sure all your snow equipment (snow blowers, shovels, etc.) is in good
working order before the first heavy snowfall.

Meet the 5 animals responsible for holes in your yard

Summertime is in full swing and with the warm weather, comes all manner of wildlife, making their presence known in your yard. According to a recent article in The Columbus Dispatch, homeowners can identify what types of animals have been making nightly visits based on the holes they leave behind.

 

Sources:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/home_and_garden/2015/06/28/01-how-can-you-tell-what-is-digging-in-the-yard.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog#/media/File:Marmota_monax_UL_04.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(animal)#/media/File:ScalopusAquaticus.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon#/media/File:Raccoon_(Procyon_lotor)_2.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk#/media/File:Striped_Skunk.jpg

Lists to Keep When Selling Your Home

Preparing your home to sell is no easy task, and prospective buyers often have many questions when viewing a home. One of your first tasks is to find a Realtor. Contact me if you are interested in buying or selling a home in Central Ohio! After you've secured a Realtor, help keep track of important information by using the following lists:

Basic information. This list should include facts such as square footage, year built, number of bedrooms & bathrooms, property taxes and school district. Most of this information will accompany your online listing; however, it's good to keep this information on hand. 

Best features. One good way to develop this list is to name what you will miss most about your old home and neighborhood, such as the nearby walking and bike paths, sun room, private backyard or eat-in kitchen. Best features go beyond basic information and really "sell" your home.

Updates and improvements. Not only are updates and improvements important to buyers, but also they affect your home's appraisal value. Make sure to keep track of home improvements and replacements, including when they occurred and how much they cost, for at least the previous three years. If you haven't made upgrades for a little while, considering revamping your kitchen and/or bathrooms. Other projects with a high ROI include replacing your front door and garage doors to enhance curb appeal and adding a back deck.

Things to do before you sell. This list is more for you than for prospective buyers. Have you been meaning to repaint a wall? Call a cleaning or landscape service? Research moving companies and change your address? Perhaps your biggest task will be de-cluttering and depersonalizing your home--both of which make your home more attractive to buyers. Whatever it is, right it down here before you forget! For a more comprehensive checklist to prepare your home to sell, see the image below:

Home Appraisals (& How To Avoid A Low One!)

A home appraisal is a professional estimate of your home’s value and the land it's on. It reflects the home’s location, size, condition, amenities, and resent sales of nearby, comparable properties (“comps”). Lenders require home appraisals when buyers apply for a mortgage. The appraisal figure determines the loan amount buyers can get to purchase the property. Sellers can get an appraisal before listing their homes, using the Appraiser Institute site. Use this to help set an asking price, and be sure to provide a copy to your buyer’s appraiser.

Lenders hire appraisers, who are third-party, certified and/or licensed contractors. Make sure your lender hires a certified appraiser who works with multiple lenders. You may also request that the appraiser be knowledgable on the area where you live. The buyer typically pays the appraisal fee (a few hundred dollars) upon closing as a part of mortgage costs. An appraisal takes a few hours, and the report is given to the lender in about a week. The lender is required to share the report with the buyer.

Things get more complicated when the appraised value is less than the home’s asking price. Buyers cannot finance the amount that they expected to. Sellers should obtain a copy of the report and make the repairs that they can before requesting a second appraisal. Low appraisals are more common in a poor housing market due to the lack of recent comparable area home sales.

How To Avoid a Low Appraisal

Before the appraisal, spruce up your home the best you can so that its overall condition improves. This includes repairing or replacing soiled carpeting, painting over marks on the walls, mowing the lawn and pulling weeds, and removing peeling paint (since loans insured by the government require peeling paint to be removed in homes before 1978). Fix leaky faucets, cracked windows, missing handrails and structural damage. Focus on updates that will earn a high ROI: paint, carpet, light and plumbing fixtures. You want the home’s effective age—the age an appraiser can assign to a home after considering its updates and condition—to be as low as possible. This affects what homes yours will be compared to. Finally, put any pets away before the appraiser arrives and make sure your home is clean and comfortable enough for the appraiser to do his/her work.

Inform your appraiser of recent short sales or foreclosures that may affect the comps. Let the appraiser know if a nearby home was sold by owner, since this is likely not reflected in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) from which appraisers draw their information. Also let the appraiser know of any improvements you’ve made to your home in the last 15 years. Keep a list of each update and its approximate cost (from a new roof or insulation to a bathtub that has been resealed). Additional useful information includes the property's best features and a sketch indicating square footages. If improvements have been made to the area where you live (a new playground or grocery store, for example), or if it has been declared a historic or landmark district, notify your appraiser. Click here for a sample appraisal form. 

Home Improvements with the Best ROI

If you'd like to renovate your home but don't know where to start, consider the five projects below--each with a phenomenal return on investment (ROI) according to the 2014 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report. Remember, you don't have to update your home all at once. In fact, tackling a few projects every so often will save you a lot of time and effort when you eventually go to sell your home. It will also keep you from spending a lot of money all at once on renovations expenses.

In order of approximate project cost:

1) Replace your garage door and/or front door. Both of these projects will increase your home's curb appeal, improve insulation, and strengthen security. 

• Cost: $1,162 for a steel entry door and $1,530 for a garage door. 
• ROI: 96.6% (entry door) and 83.7% (garage door). 

2) Add a deck. Deck additions now have the best ROI since 2007. Already have one? Add an outdoor fireplace or grill area to dress it up!

• Cost: $9,540 for a 16x20 foot deck
• ROI: 87.4%

3) Replace your windows. Buy energy-efficient models that will help you save money on heating and cooling bills while earning energy tax credit.

• Cost: For 10 standard windows: $9,980 (vinyl) to $10,900 (insulated wood)
• ROI: 78.7% (vinyl) and 79.3% (wood)

4) Update your kitchen. You don't have to tear down your kitchen in order to improve it. Leave cabinets in tact, but replace doors and drawers. Buy new, energy efficient appliances as well as a new sink. Touch up paint and cracked flooring. Finally, replace your countertop. 

• Cost: $18,856 
• ROI: 82.7%

5) Add a bedroom and bathroom to your attic. This is an expensive addition, and may not make sense in every home (for example, if you already have more bedrooms than most homes in your area). However, if you have an unfinished or  unused attic space and are serious about increasing the value of your home, this is a good option to consider. 

• Cost: $ $49,400 (15x15 bedroom with a 5x7 bathroom with a shower)
• ROI: 84%
  
  
  

Staging Your Home to Sell

According to a 2011 study, staged homes sold in 42 days, on average, while their non-staged counterparts remained on the market after 156 days (The SRES Professional). That's greater than three times as long. Cleary, staging is important to selling your home. Follow some basic tips, and sellers can improve their competitiveness in no time.

The simplest way to stage your home is to declutter. This is best done before you begin cleaning. Throw away what you don’t need, and store the rest so the buyer doesn’t see all of your belongings upon entering your home. This will optimize your space and make the home appear larger. Try to get your home to resemble a hotel room: spacious, clean, and welcoming. A crowded house may inhibit the buyer from picturing the house as his/her own. For similar reasons, minimize the amount of personal mementos (to one per room, if any). Make counter, bathroom, and dresser surfaces as clear and pristine as possible. Put away appliances and distracting decorations (such as toasters, knife sets, hair dryers, and refrigerator magnets). Like countertops, the floors should be spotless. A buyer should not be able to deduce that a pet lived in your home. Finally, make sure each room has a designated purpose (a study, reading room, etc.). In bedrooms, beds should be neatly made. Following these tips will help your home sell more quickly and thus avoid the stigma of an expired listing. The YouTube tutorial (below) illustrates how one couple's home was successfully staged. 

As a Realtor, I help my clients stage their homes before showings. If you'd like to know more, please feel free to contact me.  

Hilarious Clip from The Money Pit

Home improvement can be overwhelming. If you are a homeowner, you can probably sympathize with Tom Hanks' character in this scene of The Money Pit. Watch (or skip) to the end for his infectious, borderline-lunatic laugh!