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
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.
Purchasing a new home can be both an exciting and stressful moment. It’s a big decision, and one that you should enter into carefully. Unlike a car, you can’t test a new home – the current owners may not be happy about you spending the night in their home! But, you can make a sound decision if you know what to look for.
There are some issues that aren’t easy to spot, and could end up costing you more money down the road after you move in. Answering these 11 questions will help you get the information you need.
Questions to Answer –
How old is the roof? Does the home have a new roof? Does the crawl space have moisture? A home that needs a roof replacement will end up costing you several thousands of dollars. If you think that you may be able to wait a couple of years, you could be wrong. A roof leak will end up costing you more due to water damage.
How old are the appliances? Replacing the appliances, while not overly expensive, will add to the cost of maintaining the home. Also, check to see if the appliances have the features that you want or need. If they don’t, you may end up replacing them anyway.
Are there large tree limbs near the home? Not only can the limbs damage the home in a storm, but they can also offer squirrels and other rodents a pathway into the home. Dangerous limbs or trees will need to be removed.
Do you know where the sewer line is? If a tree’s roots grow into a line, you will have to pay to clean up the lawn or basement as well as to repair the sewer line.
Is it hot, cold or drafty in the home? If you feel a draft or if the home is unusually hot or cold (even individual rooms), then you may end up paying more for heating and cooling costs. If it is newer home, it may mean weather stripping along the doors or windows may be in need of replacement.
Do you see mold in the bathroom or kitchen? Don’t just look at walls or caulking. Open the cabinets and look under the sink. Do you see any leaks or mold? These repairs can be costly, and mold may be dangerous to your health.
Are the water pipes and attic well insulated? Poor attic insulation will affect your heating and cooling costs, while a poorly insulated pipe may burst in the winter.
What do you hear outside the home? Is it near a busy road? Do you hear the neighbor’s children playing? Do you hear any industrial noise? Think about the sounds and whether or not they will have an impact on your quality of life. Also, if there is a busy street nearby, consider your safety traveling to and from home.
Do all the lights and faucets work? Turn on all the faucets and lights to make sure they are in working order. Flush the toilets, too.
Do you see yourself in the home ten years from now? If you can’t see your family enjoying the home long term, it may not be the house for you. Still, some people only buy their home with a 3-5 year horizon, so consider the resale value of your home no matter how long you plan to live there.
How is the commute to work or to school? Being in the wrong location could lead you to wasting hours in your car to get to where you need to go.
These questions are not all-inclusive, but they do give you a good idea of whether the home will need additional work in the long run. Don’t neglect to get a thorough home inspection. This guide should not replace this step. Work with a real estate agent to find a licensed home inspector.
Contact An Agent Today
Let us help you find a house that you and your family will love. We’ll guide you through the purchasing process and work to protect your interests 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. We find out about homes coming on the market before anyone else, and our clients see them first.
If you are thinking moving into Dunwoody, Sandy Springs or the surrounding areas, call us at 770-352-9658.
Thinking of selling your home? Buyer demand is high while inventory is at an all-time low, so you want to make sure you take advantage of market conditions and get the most for your home. Before placing your house on the market, there are simple steps you can take to increase the value of your home – ranging from quick, affordable changes to small renovations.
Make the outside of your home look as good as you can. You don’t have to hire a professional landscaper. Instead, look for any areas where the landscaping is overgrown. Some simple pruning and trimming can go a long way. Remember, the outside of your home is the first thing that potential buyers and the appraiser will see. We also recommend fresh pine straw or mulch, pressure washing your walkway and driveway and adding some annual plants for color.
Enhance the lighting in your home. You can add things such as brighter light bulbs, removing heavy drapes that do not let in natural sunlight, and keeping your blinds open. To make a small room seem brighter, use a high wattage light.
Complete the maintenance that you may have neglected. Check the insulation levels in the attic; repair plumbing leaks; fix a rotted stair or rail on the porch; make sure that windows open, or replace broken screens. Buyers will notice these as detractors, and it may lower their bid.
Examine your front door. Is it welcoming? Does the doorbell work? An inviting entrance will make a great first impression. In fact, many buyers will decide on their interest level in the home within the first seven seconds.
Paint your walls a neutral color. Buyers want to imagine a blank slate. At the very least, touch up areas of the walls the have marks or chipping paint.
Spruce up your bathroom and kitchen. While you can add new fixtures, there are smaller changes that will resonate with buyers. Deep cleaning helps. Remove stains, clean any mold, mildew or soap stains. Replacing peeling or stained caulking can help the bathroom look cleaner and brighter.
Contact An Agent Today
When you’re ready to list your home, let us help you find ways to boost the value. We’ll guide you through the home selling process, working to protect your interests every step of the way.
