While we love the beautiful colors of fall and the family-friendly festivals here in Atlanta, we can’t help but think that winter is quickly approaching. As fall prepares us for the frigid winter temperatures to come, we often head to our closets and basements to pull out the boots and heavy coats. But it’s also time to prepare our homes to bear the weather, too. Winter can be very unpredictable and can wreak havoc on not only your home but your wallet, too. Here are 6 maintenance tips you can do this fall to prepare your home for winter:
Clean Gutters and Downspouts:
Once most of the leaves have fallen, clean out gutters and downspouts (hire a helper if you are not comfortable on a ladder). Clogged gutters during rainstorms can cause water to pool and damage your roof or siding.
Check Safety Devices:
At least once a year, do a top to bottom review of your home’s safety features. This is also a good time to gather the family together for a review of your fire evacuation plan.
Test smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors; replace batteries as needed.
Check the expiration date on your fire extinguisher and replace if needed
If you haven’t checked your home for radon, fall is a good time to do so — as the weather gets cooler and windows stay shut more often, radon is more likely to become trapped in your home.
Care for Trees and Shrubs:
While we admire the beautiful orange, red and yellow leaves, they won’t last long. When they do start to fall, they can quickly blanket your lawn. While you’re raking them away, inspect the trees close to your home or power lines and give them a good trim, if needed, to prevent falling limbs from causing a power outage. If you have trees near power lines, be careful! Call a professional if you are concerned.
Check the Exterior of Your Home:
While you are outside, take a walk around your home to look for any signs of damage to the roof, siding, and foundation. Spotting any damages early can help you plan financially and schedule repairs prior to winter. You should also check for any tiny gaps that little critters might be able to crawl through to keep warm. Fill those holes and cover large gapes securely to keep wildlife out.
Protect the Pipes:
While we may be in the south and freezing temperatures are few, we still need to protect our pipes when those frigid temperatures come. Protect your pipes from freezing temperatures (below 32°) by shutting off water to exterior faucets. Be sure to drain hoses and store them indoors.
Schedule a Chimney Cleaning and Heating System Maintenance:
If you have a fireplace in your home, make sure that it is cleaned, maintained and working properly now before you turn it on in the winter. And before turning the heat on in your home, make sure to change out the filter in your furnace. If you notice anything not working properly, connect with an HVAC professional prior to winter. Be sure to add a chimney cap if you don’t already have one — it will stop critters from crawling down your chimney!
Don’t get overwhelmed by these preventative maintenance tips. You have a few months to tackle everything on this list; take it one step at a time.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our clients know about homes coming on the market before anyone else. And our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about selling your home, or are interested in moving into Dunwoody, Sandy Springs or the North Atlanta area, call us at 770-352-9658.
When it comes to buying or selling a home, many people believe that they can do it on their own. However, the decision could be costly and cause a lot of headaches. Homebuyers and sellers need a professional agent on their side to be an advocate for them throughout the process and after closing. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that 87% of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent, and real estate agents represented 89% of sellers. And in a 2017 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, only eight percent of recent home sales were For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) sales. This is the lowest share recorded since the report started in 1981. FSBOs typically sell for less than the selling price of other homes listed with an agent.
There are many benefits to hiring a Realtor, both mentally and financially. Here are the top three benefits we hear about from buyers and sellers:
Local Market Expertise
Homeowners who decide to list without a real estate agent tend to struggle with setting the price. Often, homeowners put a high price tag on the house because of what they think their home should be worth. The danger here is the emotional attachment and bias a seller has towards their home. Realtors look beyond feelings and think through things objectively. They possess expert knowledge on current market conditions that helps them set a fair and objective price. This experience helps owners get the most for their home without scaring away buyers. An agent will also be able to ensure that buyers have an understanding of a home’s true value. Pricing a home correctly in this market will help you maximize the value vs. setting a price too high and having to lower it later on.
Professional Connections
Real estate agents can act as a resource during every step of the buying or selling process, and often have a list of preferred providers who they have worked with in the past that they can recommend. This can include mortgage brokers, appraisers, inspectors, lawyers, landscapers, contractors and many more. Hire the right agent and you’ll tap into a list of vendors to help you. It’s in the best interest of the agent to make sure that the home buying or selling process goes smoothly so that you are more likely to refer him or her to a friend.
Neighborhood Familiarity
Good agents know the ins and outs of the neighborhoods where they work. For buyers, an agent can guide you in finding the right home in a specific area. They are familiar with factors like the age of the homes, school ratings, traffic/commute details, and accessibility to shopping or public transportation. For sellers, agents will know which areas are selling well and which areas are not. Agents should know the values and have dates to price the home correctly. They will be able to realistically help you evaluate a home’s value. Also, good agents have local connections that can help you find homes before they come on the market, which is especially important in this low inventory market.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and North Atlanta. We live, work, and play here, and we hand-pick our agents for their connections in the community. Our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about buying or selling your home, call us at 770-352-9658 or email us info@KarenCannon.com
When you’re thinking about selling your home, there are many things that you may need to upgrade or repair. A home’s kitchen has a big impact on the price a buyer is willing to offer, so when it’s time to sell, your kitchen is the first place to look for improvements that could be made. The kitchen is the new family room, and a prospective homeowner is going to give the kitchen a thorough look. Often, it is the one room that will make a difference in whether an offer is made or not.
Use this guide to help determine whether your kitchen is due for an upgrade.
Reasons to Remodel or Upgrade Your Kitchen
You see a lot of damage or wear. No one expects the kitchen to look brand new, but if you have mold, water damage, peeling countertops or stains on the wall, you should be willing to make repairs. Prospective buyers will open cabinets and look at the countertops. Mold will be a turnoff, as will water damage. Consider new countertops or remediation if needed.
The counter space is small. Older homes tend to have less counter space. Today there are more appliances that tend to live on the counter, so buyers will want more space. If counter space is limited, consider adding an island.
Your appliances are old. Whether they were original to your home or just haven’t been replaced in several years, consider upgrading. New appliances are more attractive and may help to increase the value of your home.
Your kitchen is high maintenance. Do you spend time cleaning linoleum floors that still look grimy or does your kitchen have lots of tile with deep grout that must be maintained? These things will discourage a buyer who is looking at your home. You may want to replace them with lower maintenance materials.
Your décor is outdated. Older homes tend to have unique layouts that were deemed progressive and stylish at the time they were built. Not only can range islands be burdensome when working in the kitchen, but they can also be dangerous if your kitchen gets a lot of traffic. Sometimes a poor layout can also create a lack of cabinet space, which needs to be addressed.
Find a Good Contractor
If the results of your examination indicate that it’s time to make some changes, you may need to find a kitchen remodel contractor. Be sure to work with a licensed and experienced contractor to ensure that your upgrades go well and help increase the value of your home.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about selling your home, call us at 770-352-9658.
Most sellers mistakenly think that a home’s value is mainly determined by similar homes that have sold in the neighborhood. While that is certainly part of it, what really determines your home’s value is simply what a potential buyer is willing to pay for it. Home buying can be an emotional decision, and if you can get a buyer to fall in love with your property, they may be willing to make a higher offer.
Start on the Outside
First Impressions are crucial in the home buying process. Your home’s exterior is the first thing potential buyers see, allowing them to form opinions about what they might expect inside when they tour your home. In order to get the highest offers from buyers, you will need to up your ‘curb appeal.’ Make sure your house will wow any visitors from the moment they drive by.
Paint the Exterior
A fresh coat of paint is an easy way to give your home a newer appearance. Pick a color that’s considered classic and elegant, something that will appear both modern and timeless. Don’t pick anything bright or trendy, as you must appeal to a variety of buyers’ tastes and preferences.
Maintain the Siding
The elements can cause your home’s siding to appear dull and dirty over time. The average life expectancy of siding on a home is 60 to 100 years, but if you live in a harsh climate, extreme weather conditions can decrease the life of the siding. Pressure wash to clean your siding, removing stains, spider webs and dirt that have accumulated.
Refresh Garage Doors
New garage doors can give the home an instant update. If yours are in relatively good condition, a new coat of paint is all that they may need to look new. However, if your garage doors are aging and showing some wear and tear, consider replacing them. New garage doors are more energy efficient and better insulated than older models and this will add value for buyers.
Don’t Forget the Details
It pays to update the small details of your home’s exterior and help it to stand out in the neighborhood. Especially if there are several homes in the area on the market at the same time, attention to the details will help your home appear to be better maintained. Buyers may think it’s a better value for the money.
New Door Fixtures
Find new door fixtures that complement your home’s style. Updated fixtures can modernize an older house and make a slightly outdated house look more on-trend. When buyers walk through the front door, a new knob and kick plate will be noticed right away.
House Numbers
Adding house numbers to the exterior of your home, or driveway, will help potential buyers easily find your home. Not only does this look nice, but it also makes the process of visiting your home more pleasant and less stressful. Anything you can do to make the experience more enjoyable will help increase the offer a buyer will make. If you don’t want to add numbers to the house itself, make sure that your mailbox is in good condition and easily seen.
Paint Trim and Shutters
When you paint the exterior of your home, don’t forget the trim. Pick a complimentary color that creates an elegant look. If you have trouble choosing, ask the staff at your local design center for help. While you’re at it, consider adding shutters or other embellishments. They can help add charm and personality to the home.
Take Care of the Lawn
Well-landscaped homes sell for an average of 5.5% to12.7% more than other similar homes. Studies show that taking care of the yard may add as much as 28% to your home’s overall value. Researchers at Virginia Tech have found that landscape design can increase your home’s value by 42%, choosing the right plant size can increase it by 32% and a diversity of plants can increase it by 22%. These stats make an argument for hiring a landscape architect to advise you if you want to earn top dollar.
Driveway Details
Adding a nice border along your driveway or walkway with brick, stone or another hardscape element adds charm to an otherwise plain driveway. Paved driveways and walkways with grass growing between them is a popular look and may give the impression of a more intentional design, rather than a plain yard.
Ideal Green Space
Create a picturesque landscape by adding drought-tolerant vegetation that thrives in warm, dry climates like lavender, sage and wisteria. Landscaping incorporated with water-saving drip irrigation and mulch will cut down on cost, time and water usage. This can be a major selling point for buyers!
Trees and Shrubs
The most visually appealing lawns feature a variety of textures. Achieve this by planting a few different types of trees and shrubs that vary in height and flowering seasons. This will help boost your home’s curb appeal year-round.
Create an Inviting Feeling
Home staging doesn’t only apply to the interior. Appeal to the emotions of potential buyers by staging the outside of your home to look warm and inviting. You want visitors to feel comfortable from the time they step out of the car. If they can picture themselves in your home, your chances of a sale increase dramatically.
Dress the Porch
The porch should be considered an outdoor extension of your home. If you have a front porch, make it welcoming by including colorful potted plants, and adding seating and design touches like a loveseat, rug and a small table.
Keep Blooms Coming
Make your lawn appealing year round by planting flowers that bloom at different times of the year. Perennials, for example, flower for most of the year. A variety of types and sizes of plants will keep things interesting, no matter what the season. The last thing you want buyers to see is a yard that needs attention.
Boost Online Curb Appeal
The first step in getting a buyer to tour your home is to hook them during an online search. The better the impression your home gives online, the more likely it is that buyers will want to come visit. Once you’ve made improvements to the exterior of your home, get it ready for its close-up and put some thought into your online listing.
Staging
Whether you opt to work with a professional or do it yourself, staging should attempt to show your home in its best light and allow buyers to picture themselves living there. Remove any overly personal items and photographs from your home and declutter as much as possible. Give buyers breathing room to picture themselves and their possessions in the space. The most important part of staging is lighting, so give some thought to how you can maximize the feeling of warmth and sunlight throughout your home.
Professional Photos
Do not skimp in this area, or you may have a great home that no one comes to look at. Hire a professional photographer to take great photos of your home, and be sure to work with someone who has real estate experience and knows how to make your home look its best.
Video Tours
Videos are becoming a popular way to allow buyers a sneak peek into your home before they tour it. This can be a major factor in getting more potential buyers to come look at your listing, and volume is the surest way to get the highest offer. Demand is an important factor in determining the price you will get in an offer. At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we offer 3D Virtual Tours with all of our listings because we think it’s a crucial part of making sure our sellers get the most exposure.
Often, sellers don’t realize how much work goes into properly prepping a house for sale. But putting in the work now will ensure the outcome you want later. Once a house hits the market and starts being shown, it’s very hard to correct a negative first impression for buyers. If your house doesn’t show well, you won’t get a second chance at those buyers and your pool of potential buyers dwindles. Commitment and preparation up front can ensure a smooth transaction every step of the way.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about selling your home, call us at 770-352-9658.
If you are looking to sell your home, and are thinking about remodeling the kitchen, there are a few trends to be aware of. Buyers interested in your home will love these features, and they may even add value to your home.
You can add a few of these features with a small budget and without having to bring in a demolition crew.
Clean, Minimal Style
While shaker cabinets were once considered to be a clean look, buyers today prefer a more minimalistic look with flat-panel cabinets. The current trend is black cabinetry. Not interested in Black? Deep Navy is also a popular choice for kitchen cabinets. For a classy look on dark cabinets, consider brass accents.
Form Follows Function
Instead of a multi-featured kitchen, the trend is to have a more functional kitchen. Not every kitchen needs a grill. A focus on functionality means making sure lots of counter space is available. Wood is a top choice countertop and for bar areas, and many homeowners are using stone counters near the sink.
Neutral Colors
Earth tones have long been a top color choice for walls, and today’s kitchen trends keep the focus on neutrals. White, beige or light grey paint are all good choices.
Open Shelving
Open shelves have been on-trend for a few years, but they are more popular than ever. Perfect for displaying glassware or plates, this type of shelving helps the room feel more open, especially when shelves replace over-the-counter cabinets. This trend fits in well with the desire for a more minimal and functional kitchen.
Recessed Lighting
Do you have a kitchen island? If so, you likely have pendant lighting over it. The trend in today’s modern kitchens is a simpler style. Recessed lighting is finding its way back after being off-trend for a while.
Beverage Centers
With entertainment in mind, beverage centers are a growing trend. Creating one can be as simple as placing a mini-fridge in a cabinet or adding a wine refrigerator.
Eco-Friendly Design
If you are looking to bring your kitchen up-to-date, consider going green. More home buyers today are looking for energy-efficient appliances. You can also add LED lighting to reduce energy costs.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about selling your home, call us at 770-352-9658.
