Roxann and Your Home Team News
Spring Gardening Tips to Help Sell Your Real Estate
March 31st, 2011It is still wishful thinking across much of the country, but the lure of budding trees and blooming flowers has many green-thumbers pressing their noses against the window panes. However, this past weekend was a big surprise in O’Fallon with a couple of inches of snow??? Who would have guessed the last week of March! But I guess in the St. Louis Metro East area this happens!
The good news? It’s never too early to start planning your garden. In fact, I hear Seipp Lawncare of O’Fallon, IL outside my window this morning giving us our lawn its first haircut for the Spring!
When planning to plant, you first want to establish what “zone” you live in. Knowing your zone will tell you when to plant what. You can find out your zone by visiting garden.org. If the risk of freezing is over in your zone, you might be able to start getting your hands dirty!
Draw out plans and pick out colors. Many flower buffs prefer to group like colors together. I have found over the years, some beautiful gardens in our surrounds towns such as Belleville, Fairview Heights, Shiloh, Swansea and O’Fallon, IL. They will have a pink annual garden one year and a yellow the next!
Other gardeners focus attention on larger projects, such as decks, pathways, and patios. If this is your intent this year, start your research now. Garden books and magazines are full of inspiration and how-to books can even lead you down the do-it-yourself path. You can also get pricing estimates from local home improvement stores and lumber yards.
Spring is also a time to prepare your soil. This means checking the pH to see if it needs balancing, as well as prepping the soil with compost to ensure it is full of nutrients. Compost works especially well when you add it prior to planting, and it’s a natural organic way to make your garden just that much better.
You can also take this time to prune bushes and hedges, clean dirty bird feeders, and service your lawn equipment. If you hire a landscaping company to handle the heavy work for you each year, then now would be a great time to interview potential companies and decide upon a service plan. We have some great companies and garden shops in the O’Fallon, Swansea, Shiloh, Fairview Heights, Belleville and surrounding Scott AFB towns.
Above all else, be sure to enjoy the process of planning and caring for your garden. It really is a rewarding hobby that keeps on giving for years to come! And if you are considering resale of your home, it is also great for curb appeal!
Enjoy — Spring is just around the corner!
Avoid a Prepay Penalty in Real Estate Refi
February 3rd, 2011Are you thinking of refinancing your mortgage? Today’s low interest rates make it very enticing and refinancing continues to be a hot topic. Many homeowners who are planning to stay in their homes for the long term are trying to find ways to lock in record-low interest rates.
Some borrowers are running into qualification issues for the first time in their lives. They are discovering they do not have enough income to refinance the home they have occupied for the past several years — even though the new loan comes with a lower interest rate than their current loan.
Loan representatives are reporting that their biggest challenge in the past 15 months has been explaining to existing customers that they “can’t even qualify for a mortgage under 5 percent.”
Others are upset because they are facing prepayment penalties on existing mortgages even though they have a flawless payment history and a terrific credit score.
A different wrinkle surfaced recently when a reader brought up an issue that we have not explored for years. She had purchased a home with the proceeds from her previous home plus a small balance that was financed by the owner.
She had planned to pay the small balance off within three years and save some interest money but was shocked to discover the loan structure — “the rule of 78s” — did not allow any savings.
Preparing Your Home for the Market
December 16th, 2010As you prepare for the New Year and all of those resolutions, selling your home may be on the Top 10 list! We often set goals in December to prepare us for the upcoming year and with today’s rates, it may be a good time to sell your home and buy the home of your dreams.
When preparing your home for the market, below are some tips to help you stage your property:
- Define the Space — Confusion in a room confuses the buyer, so make the purpose of each room clear. Get rid of toys in the den. Roll the exercise bike out of the kitchen.
- Unblock the Sight Lines — Buyers need a clear path to maneuver. Make it easy to walk from the door to a window in the master suite or from the hallway to a living-room sofa.
- Highlight the Focal Points — Reds and yellows are “advancing” colors; blues and greens are “receding” ones. Remember that and you will be able to control the buyer’s gaze. Elegant granite countertop? Place a bowl of red peppers on top. Beautiful fireplace? Hang a yellow painting above it. Dreary corner? Put a plant there.
- Light to Flatter — Soft, southern light makes rooms look warmer and cheerier. Harsh, northern light makes people think dreary and cold. so replace stark daylight bulbs with warmer ones, especially near mirrors.
- Quiet the Set — Don’t distract your buyers with creaky doors or floors. A noisy room makes people question the integrity of what they are seeing.
So if the New Year is the time for you, be sure to contact me for all of your real estate needs. I serve all of the surrounding Scott AFB area, including O’Fallon, Shiloh, Swansea, Fairview Heights, Mascoutah, Belleville and Troy. Happy New Year!
In A Tough Market, Staging Can Make the Difference
December 2nd, 2010When it comes time to selling your home, the investment of preparing your home for the market may seem wasteful. However, the additional cost of staging your home may be the difference between sitting or selling! Consider these tried-and-true strategies to make your home Center Stage.
- Take’s a Buyer’s Point of View — stand at the doorway of each room and using that as a frame to what you want a buyer to see. Take steps to make sure each room looks clean, neat and spacious as possible. Remove excess furniture and keep floors free of any stacks or clutter
- DeClutter — Every surface, including countertops in kitchens and bathrooms, should be as clear as possible. Stow toiletries under the sink and pack up personal photographs so that buyers are not distracted.
- Get Rid of Ugly — If you have outdated furniture, fixtures and appliance colors, or window treatments, remove them or replace them with low-cost temporary fixes.
- Empty the Garage — If your garage is filled with boxes, tools and other items, it can make it look smaller. Purge the junk and move the rest to a borrowed or rented storage space.
- Clean — Make your home Q-tip clean! Make sure all the nooks and crannies are clear of dust and grim. Surface cleaning alone can leave a home looking dingy. Deep cleaning carpets, upholstery and window treatments is important to both improve appearance and remove lingering odors.
- Look for Curb Appeal — The outside of the home is just as important as the inside. Trim hedges and weed flower beds. Remove dead plants and repair cracks in cement or asphalt. Power wash driveways, sidewalks and siding. Edge your yard and be sure that the grass is trimmed or snow removed.
Most of the items take more effort than money and often make the difference between selling or sitting. If you are looking to market your home in the New Year, please be sure to contact me for additional staging tips. I serve the Scott AFB, IL surrounding area, including O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, Mascoutah, Shiloh, Swansea, Belleville and Troy.
Activities in Surrounding Scott AFB Area
November 25th, 2010His Rest Best and Breakfast in Freeburg IL is hosting another wonderful dinner to get you in the mood for Christmas! “Christmas Memories by Candlelight” dinner is being served on December 2 at 6:30 p.m. Only $30/person for a excellent evening of entertainment. Be sure to make your reservation!
Activities in Surrounding Scott AFB Area
November 18th, 2010There are so many wonderful activities that we can take advantage of in the Scott AFB surrounding area. In the Freeburg area from November 18 through November 27 “Foods of our Forefathers” will be served in period clothing at His Rest Bed & Breakfast. This entertaining dinner is to be served at 6:30. Reservations are required and cost is $35/person. Sounds like a lot of fun!
Pet Odor Can Chase Away Buyers & Roofing: Repair or Replace?
October 26th, 2010-
(New!)Pet Odor Can Chase Away Buyers
Don’t let pet odors derail your home sale. Read
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Roofing: Repair or Replace?
Deciding whether to repair or replace roofing is largely an exercise in timing—you don’t want to reroof too soon and waste money, but you don’t want to wait too long either. Read
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.
Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
