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Tamara Fisher

There’s no need to pity your condo-dwelling, green thumber friends – where there is even a tiny space, there are gardening possibilities.

Whether you call that spot a balcony, lanai, terrace or
veranda, it can be transformed into a spring garden showcase in just a few easy
steps.

Keep track of the light (and heat)

Take a few days to make note of where the sunlight falls on
your balcony, and the length of time each spot remains sunny. You may have wide
swaths that remain in complete shade all day, and that’s ok.

Many plants enjoy shady spots and we’ll introduce you to some of these later on. Remember, that the sunlight and shade of today won’t match that of other seasons.

It’s spring now but as summer approaches, the sun is positioned differently, as it also is in fall and winter.

Hartz CC BY-SA 3.0

You’ll also need to consider the heat generated by that
sunlight, especially if you live in the country’s desert southwest.

Experienced Arizona gardeners (Phoenix and Lake Havasu City
in particular), and those in Austin, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada, for instance,
have learned to ignore those little care tags that come with plants purchased
at the nursery.

“Plant in full sun” may be just what a plant needs in San
Francisco or Portland, but put it in full sun in Riverside, California and it
may just fry. If you live in a particularly hot-summer-weather region, plant
full-sun varieties in light shade, or areas where they will only receive
morning sun.

Accessories

Before you head out to the nursery to buy plants, draw out a
quick diagram of your space. Then, consider where you’ll put hardscape pieces
and accessories.

Items to consider include

  • Window boxes
  • Water feature
  • Plant stands
  • Table
  • Chairs
  • Bench
  • Settee
  • Oversized planting pots
  • Lights
  • Rug

Get more ideas on accessories for your balcony garden and see the items at work on Pinterest, BalconyGardenWeb.com and WooHome.com.

If you are fortunate enough to have a small patio, you’ll find inspiration here.

Lighting

Sometimes a
garden is even more charming when the sun goes down. Balcony or patio gardens
are ideal for al fresco dining, so let’s add some lighting to set the mood.

String lights
seem to be the current go-to for patios and balconies, and for good reason— they’re
inexpensive and come in a variety of shapes.

Whether you swag them at the ceiling or twirl them around patio cover supports, string lights may be the ideal solution. Check out some ideas on Pinterest.com.

The flickering of candlelight adds a romantic and even tropical ambiance and you can get it with LED candles. Wayfair sells a nice assortment and some of them have timers. Get inspiration on using lanterns and candles in your small garden at Pinterest.com and TheSpruce.com.

Let’s not forget plants!

The key to enjoying your condo balcony or patio garden
year-round is to include evergreen foliage plants. This way, when winter’s chill
puts the flowering plants to sleep, you’ll still have greenery.

Shady gardens

You might be surprised at the variety of plants that can
grow and even thrive in the shade. Even some plants you haven’t considered
growing as ornamental, such as cat grass or Japanese forest grass, which both
take well to container growing and shade.

Consider these shade-tolerant plants as well:

Get additional tips on what to grow in a shady container garden at HGTV.com, FineGardening.com and SouthernLiving.com.

Container plants for
full-sun balconies and patios

Plants to block
prying eyes (or wind)

Street-level condos, or those located downtown, surrounded
by others with big windows can still be private. The strategic use of tall
plants will help keep prying eyes or gusty winds at bay.

Tall and dense is key here. Or, use shorter plants on stands
to elevate them. Consider the following:

Find more privacy ideas on Pinterest.com.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

Marcy, a first-time homebuyer, was over-the-moon excited about finally moving into her new home.

The day arrived, the movers were actually on time and, for the first time since the final walk-through, she opened the door to her home.

Since she had a case of water bottles with her, she headed
straight for the refrigerator to ensure they were kept cool for her
hard-working crew.

But there was no
refrigerator – just an empty space where it stood just weeks earlier during the
walk-through. Marcy panicked. The stove was there and the built-in microwave above
it. The dishwasher was there.

She then ran to the laundry room, only to find empty spaces
where that gorgeous washer and dryer once stood. Marcy grabbed her phone to
call her real estate agent who told her that those appliances weren’t included
in the sale.

“If you wanted them, you should have said something and we
could’ve negotiated with the seller.”

Marcy was, again, a first-time homebuyer. She had no idea that appliances were something that needed to be “negotiated.” After all, as a tenant, they were always in the homes she rented.

The tragic fact is that Marcy, like many new homeowners,
spent all of her savings on the down payment and closing costs with nothing
left to pay for appliances. Thankfully, her parents stepped up with an offer of
a loan.

It’s the buyer’s agent’s job to educate his or her clients
about a process they may find completely foreign. To have neglected to do so,
and then blame Marcy for his shortcomings, is beyond belief.

Why aren’t appliances included in the
purchase price?

Sometimes they are. Many times, they are not, and here’s why: if they aren’t built-in, they are considered “personal property.”

When you buy a home, you are buying “real property,” which is the land, the home and anything else permanently affixed to both.

A rose bush planted in the backyard is considered a “fixture,” because it is affixed to the land.

A rose bush planted in a pot on the patio, on the other hand, isn’t a fixture, it is personal property and may or may not be included in the sale of the home.

Other examples of fixtures include:

  • Chandeliers that are attached to the ceiling
  • An outbuilding, such as a shed
  • Wall-to-wall carpeting (but not the Persian throw
    rug that isn’t glued to the floor)
  • Garage door opener

If the item is glued, nailed, bolted or otherwise attached
to the home, it is typically considered a fixture and must be included in the
sale of the home. But, there’s a “butt.”

The seller can exclude items from the sale by mentioning it
in the listing agreement or the purchase agreement. It turns out that the
washer, dryer and refrigerator in Marcy’s new home, were excluded in the
purchase agreement.

Marcy isn’t a lawyer and was depending on her real estate
agent to decipher what she was reading before she signed it.

Yes, you can ask that personal
property be included in the sale

Many a real estate agent get-together includes conversations
about the crazy things some homebuyers have asked sellers to leave behind.

From wanting the seller’s family dog to requesting that the
entire contents of a home (even soap and toilet paper) be included in the sale,
everything is negotiable.

The sellers are under no obligation to include any personal
property and, depending on the type of market and how motivated they are, they
may hold firm during negotiations. But, there’s no harm in asking, right?

Keep this in mind if you’re thinking of selling your home.
If you want to hang on to your great-grandmother’s chandelier (or anything
affixed to the home), remove it and replace it with something else before the
home goes on the market.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

The popularity of hardwood flooring has varied over the centuries. The replacement for the packed dirt flooring of the Colonial Era, hardwood floors were life-changers.

High-end homes had tongue-and-groove flooring while more modest homes’ hardwood floors were laid by nailing the planks directly to the joists.

Fast forward to the post World War II era, when the high cost of carpet could be financed with the home, and carpet soared in popularity. Hardwood flooring companies struggled.

Today’s homebuyers are back on the hardwood-flooring wheel, demanding it as a replacement for carpet.

Hardwood floors installed in the 1930s featured substantially narrower boards–2.25 feet in width as opposed to the common 3.5-foot width of today’s hardwood flooring boards.

Polyurethane was the finish of choice. Depending on the size of the 1930s floor, waxing may be a big job, but it pays off with a good-looking hardwood floor.

Types of wax for the vintage hardwood floor

There are two main types of hardwood flooring wax, liquid and paste. Liquid wax is easier to apply than paste wax but “it needs a couple of coats,” according to The Flooring Lady. Paste wax, on the other hand, “only requires one application.”

Although its application is time-consuming, paste wax brings out the rich wood-tones of the old hardwood floor and offers protection from liquid spills. It also provides a long-lasting finish that holds up well under heavy foot traffic.

A number of manufacturers produce paste wax commercially and it’s available at hardware and home improvement stores and some grocery stores. Several online retailers, such as Amazon.com and AceHardware.com carry paste wax as well.

Application

Removal of all dirt and dust particles before the wax application is critical to its success. Sweep first, then us a dust mop to ensure that the hardwood floor is completely dust-free.

Then, use a wood cleaner (Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner and Libman Hardwood Floor Cleaner are good choices and readily available) or mineral spirits to clean the floor.

You can even use ½ cup of white vinegar in a gallon of water to clean the floor, according to the pros at Better Homes & Gardens.

You may need to use a scrubbing pad to remove stubborn stains or excess wax. Dust mop again after the floor dries.

Use a piece of white terrycloth or a cheesecloth rag to apply the paste wax, rubbing it into the wood along the grain. Allow the paste wax to dry for an hour and then use a floor buffer to bring it to a high shine.

By the way, if you have one of the floors that was installed with nails, and the nails sink, fill the resulting holes with wood filler. Many large hardware stores sell fillers in different colors to match various hardwood floors.

After the wood filler dries, apply an additional coat of wax. If the hardwood floor is particularly old and scratched or damaged, you may want to sand it and apply a fresh coat of polyurethane or shellac before waxing.

Flooring experts recommend you repeat the process twice a year.

Maintenance

The key to keeping the shine on the 1930s hardwood floor is regular removal of dust and dirt. Small dirt particles grind into the wood, causing microscopic scratches that dull the surface.

Regular dust mopping or vacuuming keeps this from occurring. Use rugs at all the entryways to avoid having dirt tracked onto the floor and a hardwood floor cleaner to keep the surface clean between wax applications.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

More than half of today’s home sellers are selling a home for the first time, according to Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report for 2018.

That’s a whole lot of home sellers who may not understand the pitfalls that await them because they either don’t understand the process or have bought into myths they read on the internet.

If you hope to sell your home during your preferred timeline and for the most money possible, you need to:

  • Fully understand the selling process, from the paperwork to marketing methods
  • Choose the right real estate agent
  • Divorce yourself from your emotions
  • Don’t buy into the myths you’ll hear from others

You would be surprised how many first-time and even some repeat home sellers harbor certain myths. Let’s bust some of those right now.

1. Zillow’s “Zestimates” are accurate

Zillow.com, an online real estate aggregator, turns 13 years old this year. From the beginning, consumers have misunderstood the site’s limitations when it comes to home valuation.

In fact, too many buyers and sellers rely on the company’s “Zestimates” when deciding what a home is worth.

Big mistake

Zillow doesn’t employ an army of real estate agents who go through each home on the market, which is what is required to help pinpoint a home’s current market value.

Nor is Zillow able to seek out, via the MLS, valid and relevant comparables of each home, another requirement when determining market value.

Instead, it relies on an algorhythm – an automated valuation tool that uses public records and information from “users.”

Far from exact, Zillow’s Zestimates are frequently way off the mark. In fact, in 2016, former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff sold his Seattle, Washington home for 40 percent less than its Zestimate.

That particular Zestimate was off by $700,000

The discrepancy illustrates perfectly why a home must be evaluated in person to come up with an appropriate market value.

That Zestimates are accurate is a myth.

2. Real estate agents are all alike

This is the myth that leads real estate consumers to choose the first agent they speak with, a very common practice according to studies performed by the National Association of Realtors.

In an age when consumers over-research even which toothpaste to buy, this is amazing.

All licensed real estate agents attend real estate school which teaches them the legal aspects of selling real property. That’s it.

It doesn’t teach them how to effectively sell a home. It doesn’t teach them marketing techniques.

So, while an agent will walk away from those classes with an understanding of riparian rights, he or she may be clueless as to how to actually sell a home.

The differences among agents is astounding when you look into it. Some feel that a sign and a lockbox will do the trick. Others do a bit more. Then, there are listing agents who’ve studied and used various marketing methods and, through trial and error, have found one that is proven and effective.

The home seller is paying the same fee for the lazy or novice agent as he or she would for the powerhouse agent.

Not choosing the latter is like paying for a new Rolls-Royce Phantom and driving a 2011 Ford Fiesta off the lot.

Take your time when interviewing listing agents — we are definitely not all alike.

3. Videos are an important aspect of home marketing

While 88 percent of homebuyers use online websites when searching for homes, according to a National Association of Realtors survey, only 26 percent of them say they visited an online video site.

In fact, among the online tools that buyers find “very useful”, “video” didn’t even make the list:

  • Photos
  • Interactive maps
  • Virtual tours
  • Neighborhood information

Listing videos don’t offer the flexibility of virtual tours, which is most likely why homebuyers prefer the latter.

With a virtual tour (especially the 3-D tours), buyers are able to perform a virtual walkthrough of the home, viewing what is important to them, not the videographer.

Yes, you’ll no doubt run up against internet claims that all homes must have a listing video – a myth started by the video production industry, with no statistics to back up their claims.

4. I don’t need to replace the appliances, I’ll just give the buyer a credit so he can do it himself

If you plan on including your appliances in the sale of your home, and they need replacing, do so before the home goes on the market.

A recent survey of housing trends finds that nearly half of homebuyers find energy efficiency a desirable feature. Efficiency-rated windows are popular as well as energy-efficient appliances.

These features are strong selling points. So much so that 75 percent of millennial homebuyers place “updated appliances” at the top of their list of “must-haves,” according to a Bank of America survey.

5. I don’t need to clean and/or stage the garage

While you will hear a lot about how bathrooms and kitchens “sell homes,” it’s the garage that nearly half of homebuyers say is their hot button, according to research from Zolo.com

And, believe it or not, 10 percent more women than men name a garage among their must-haves in their new home.

Garages are extremely important to millennia homebuyers as well, according to that Bank of America survey, with 65 percent of them valuing a garage over an extra bedroom.

Yet far too many home sellers use the garage for their excess “stuff” when preparing the home for the market.

It makes more sense to shove all that junk into the master bedroom

In reality, the wisest choice is to rent a storage unit.

We’re happy to answer any questions you may have about the home selling process. Reach out to us anytime.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

The junk drawer. Love it or hate it, most of us have one and most of the time it’s in the kitchen. NPR’s Linton Weeks says they serve “as a Rorschachian reflection of your life.”

That’s rather distressing, isn’t it?

While the garage is the most cluttered room in the house, according to a
Moen® Consumer and Market Insights Group survey of homeowners, the kitchen comes in second, tied with the home office.

Surveyed homeowners complained of mail cluttering the countertops
and small electrical appliances hanging around, taking up space.

Weeks goes on to describe the kitchen junk drawer as “The drawer
of detritus. The has-been bin. That roll-out repository where you toss your
odds and ends.”

And, that’s ok, until the detritus, the odds and ends and the
has-been start cluttering the kitchen counters. Let’s look at some ways to
bring order to the kitchen.

Acceptable
clutter

According to the Moen® survey, some items are considered acceptable clutter. These include dish towels, cutting boards, dish soap, scrub brushes and those small electrical appliances that we often leave out on the counter.

These appliances, if not used daily, really should be put away, in
our opinion, especially if your home is on the market. Not only does doing so
make the room look less cluttered but it helps free up valuable counter space.

Many professional organizers say, however, that if you use
something every day, like the toaster, it deserves a spot on the counter or
you’ll drive yourself batty by having to drag it out every morning.

“If you make toast every morning for breakfast, it’ll take roughly 3 minutes to toast your bread. After that, the toaster will sit unused for the next 23 hours and 57 minutes. You use it far less than you think you do,” say others.

Where to put everything

Of course, you’re going to need to pull
everything out of every cupboard to get this project done right. Then, you’ll
need to figure out the most organized manner of putting everything back.

We love author and baking expert Alice Medrich’s description of how to allocate kitchen space—it’s so very real estate-ish.

She divides kitchen items among three
storage areas and calls them:

  • Prime real estate: which includes the
    counters, utensil crocks and cabinets that are within easy reach
  • Suburbs: a pantry or closet that is
    located close to the kitchen
  • Outlands: think of these as the rural
    areas and they include the garage, basement and those shelves or cupboards that
    you need a stepladder to reach.

She suggests starting with the prime real
estate first so you get some instant gratification going. Wherever you decide
to start, you’ll be putting things away according to how often they are used.

Seldom-used items should either be stored in another room or placed in the back of the cupboard. You might also want to install shelves to store some of the more decorative but lightly-used items.

Those appliances you use once a month
can go toward the middle of the cupboard and anything you use frequently should
go in the front.

Make your storage space work harder

A pantry in the kitchen is a major bonus
and most of our home-buying clients agree with us on that. The roomier the
better, but even a small pantry can be forced to work hard.

The broad “zones” used in the pantry may
be baking items, pasta and rice, breakfast items and snacks. Then, organize
each of these zones by placing seldom-used food items toward the back of the
zone and those used daily in the front.

Use baskets to hold like items, such as
plastic wrap, foil and sandwich bags, in one spot.

For additional pantry organizing tips, visit Woman’s Day, Better Homes & Gardens and HGTV online.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

One of the most common questions we hear from our listing clients is whether or not they should renovate or remodel their homes prior to putting them on the market.

Whether your goal is to make more money off the sale of the home or to help it to sell faster, part of our services to our clients is to help you figure out where to focus your time, energy and money.

Make repairs first

Concentrate first on making needed repairs. The buyer will most likely ask for these fixes, especially if they are for problems that show up on the home inspection report, so making them before listing the home helps avoid delays during the transaction.

Being proactive is always a smart move in real estate

Some of these tasks include fixing peeling paint, broken windows, torn screens, dripping faucets and loose or missing handrails.

Any problems that affect health and safety should be addressed first. Then, use what’s left of your budget to make the cosmetic fixes that are attractive to homebuyers in your home’s price range.

 Consider minor upgrades

“Don’t spend money that won’t yield a return on the investment. The best expenditures for most markets are paint, carpet, light and plumbing fixtures,” Matthew George, the chief appraiser of Eagle Appraisals Inc. in Denver, Colo. tells The Wall Street Journal.

Decide which room or rooms require the most updating and start with those. Minor upgrades, such as new appliances or kitchen and bathroom countertops will do more to change your sales price compared to redoing the kitchen or bathroom entirely.

In fact, a major kitchen or bathroom remodel is a money pit, according to Remodeling Magazine. The magazine’s 2019 Cost vs. Value Report warns that you’ll spend $ 66,196 on a kitchen remodel, on average, yet you’ll only recoup 62.1 percent of that when you sell the home.

You’ll do better on a minor kitchen remodel, spending $22,507 and realize an 80.5 percent return.

There is simply no way you will make back what you spend when it comes to remodeling or room additions.

In fact, the repair or renovation task that returns the most is a new garage door (97.5 percent). To get the details about the study, visit remodeling.hw.net.

Save money or time?

In a real estate transaction, time is most definitely money. The longer a home sits on the market, the better the chances that the homeowner will end up taking less than planned to get it sold.

The most common reason a home doesn’t sell is that it’s overpriced. Second to that, however, are homes that aren’t in decent condition.

Keep in mind that the first week that the house is on the market is known in the industry as “the honeymoon period.” This is when new listings receive the most attention and the more people that view the home, the quicker it will sell.

A recent study from a large real estate analytics firm finds that homes get four times as many visitors in the first week they’re on the market than they do one month after listing.

With repairs and cosmetic fixes out of the way, your home may be the belle of the real estate market during that first week.

We’re happy to meet with you and offer suggestions on which repairs to make first and on which tasks to focus on after that.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

The one thing we think most of us look forward to after a day out in the winter elements is a long, steamy-hot shower or luxurious soak in the tub.

Busy lives, however, put the thorough cleaning of tubs and showers on the back burner, making spending time in them less-than appealing.

We’ve rounded up 4 brilliant hacks to keep your tub and/or shower looking pristine and oh-so-beckoning.

1. Get rid of the grime on the shower floor

When you take a shower, the hot water and soap do a great job of removing oils and perspiration from your skin.

When you step out, feeling clean and refreshed, that soap you used is back in the shower, mixing with the oils from your body to create a mess on the shower floor.

Over time, especially in fiberglass showers, the soap scum/body oils build up, layer upon layer, until the grime is caked on.

Every professional house cleaner has his or her own special recipe to remove this black, greasy grime off the shower floor.

Some of these recipes work well, others not at all. Here is a surefire method to get off even the most caked on gunk.

  • Tide laundry detergent, original powdered formula
  • Sponge or rag
  • Water

Dampen your sponge using water from the sink. Wring it out very well so that it doesn’t drip water.

Pour a handful of Tide detergent onto the shower floor, in the corner. For some reason, Tide is the only detergent we’ve tried that works.

Scrub the pile of detergent in a circular motion. It will spread out as you scrub, so keep moving to a new area.

Add more detergent as you scrub your way around the bottom of the shower. Try not to add too much water as it will interfere with the mild abrasive action of the detergent.

When all of the grime has been removed, rinse the shower stall well.

Warning: It’s critical that you rinse the shower floor extremely well, as the detergent makes the shower floor slippery.

2. How to clean a cultured marble tub

Cultured marble is the result of mixing ground up marble dust with liquid polyester resin. This is then molded into various household surfaces including sinks, countertops and shower surrounds.

Unlike natural marble, which is porous, cultured marble resists stains, making it ideal for use in wet environments, such as the bathroom.

To avoid the build-up of mineral deposits on cultured marble, use a squeegee or soft towel to dry it after each shower.

After thoroughly drying it, spray the cultured marble surfaces with white vinegar. Allow the vinegar to remain on the surfaces for 45 minutes.

Wipe the vinegar from the cultured marble shower stall with a clean sponge dipped in clear water. If spots remain, repeat the procedure.

Never use abrasive products, such as cleanser, or abrasive scrubbing materials on cultured marble.

To restore the shine to cultured marble, the pros at centralmarbleproducts.com suggest using a product such as Gel-gloss, or wax. Follow the instructions on the package and repeat once a year.

3. Clean that grungy ceramic tile

Ceramic tile showers are lovely when they are gleaming clean. To get them that way takes diligence and a good deal of elbow grease, in some cases.

It takes time to train yourself and family members to perform the routine maintenance necessary. Once this becomes a habit, you will avoid having to do a major cleaning or renovation job on your tile shower.

Here’s what you’ll need to get that ceramic tile looking new again:

  • Towels
  • Commercial bathroom cleaner
  • Alkaline-based tile and grout cleaner
  • Ceramic tile and grout sealer

Wipe the ceramic tile dry after every shower. This helps avoid fungus build-up on the grout and mineral deposits on the tile.

Spray a commercial bathroom cleaner, labeled for use on ceramic tile (Bona and Black Diamond Stoneworks are good for ceramic tile), on the shower walls and floors if they have soap scum or body oil built up.

Allow the product to remain for 5 minutes and then wipe away with a sponge. Rinse the ceramic tiles with clear water until there is no trace of the cleaner and then use a soft cloth to dry them thoroughly.

Use an alkaline based tile and grout cleaner to remove mold or mildew from the ceramic tiles in the shower.

Follow the label instructions and apply it at the rate and in the manner suggested. Do not use vinegar as it can dissolve some ceramic tile finishes, according to Mark Donovan, CEO of Home Addition Plus.

Apply a ceramic tile and grout sealer at least every two years.

4. Acrylic tub woes?

Acrylic tubs are common household features with or without whirlpool attachments.

An acrylic finish is glossy and stain-resistant but it isn’t as tough as porcelain, so it requires frequent cleaning and extra care when doing so, to avoid the buildup of soap scum and body oils.

Wipe down the tub after each use with a soft, dry cloth. You can also use a squeegee.

Use non-aerosol cleaners to remove built-up grime. Kohler recommends Lysol Bathroom Cleaner or Tilex Bathroom Cleaner. Do not use an abrasive scrubber on the acrylic tub.

A rag or sponge is ideal. Use the products according to the label instructions, rinse and wipe dry after cleaning.

Maintain the acrylic finish by applying paste wax to the sides. Do not wax the floor of the tub.

Apply the wax as you would if you were waxing a car, in a circular motion. Wipe off the wax after the recommended amount of time and then buff with a soft cloth.

Happy showering!

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

We recently received an email from a former client. He’s considering selling his home and, like many home sellers do, he went online to see if he could figure out how much the home is worth.

“Zillow
values my home at $325,000,” he writes. “Yet, one of my neighbors recently sold
his home, which is almost identical to mine, for $365,000.”

He went on to say that he is quite confused about the home-pricing process and wondered if we could help him out.

First, the
online real estate portals offer only “estimates” of a home’s value. They have
never seen your home or any other home for which they determine an estimate, so
they are rarely correct.

It’s all about market value

One thing Mark got right is that he
understands that the price he sets for the home should reflect its current
market value.

The only way to know what that is – what a willing buyer will pay to a willing seller for a home like his – is by figuring out what they’ve paid for similar homes in the recent past.

This means we need to look at sales
prices of similar homes. And, there’s more that goes into determining if a home
is comparable to yours than meets the eye. We look at the same criteria that
professional appraisers do.

  • The age of the home:
    Sold homes that are within three years (either side) of the age of your home.
  • The size of the home:
    Yes, we look at the sold homes’ square footage, but the number of bedrooms and
    bathrooms also plays a role in determining market value.
  • The home’s location:
    We try to find sold homes in close proximity to the subject property, but will
    consider a wider range, if necessary. The location within your particular neighborhood
    may also impact its market value.
  • Upgrades, amenities and condition: We’ll compare your home to the sold homes with an eye
    toward any upgrades performed, whether similar amenities are offered and, most
    important, how the condition of the homes compare.

Next, we’ll do the number crunching
to determine if your home is worth more or less than the sold homes.

WWTAS?

What will the appraiser
say? He or she, after all, has the final say in how much your home is worth in
today’s market. No lender is going to approve a loan for more than a property
is worth.

This is why we are so
thorough in our determination of the appropriate price for your home. An inaccurate
evaluation on your agent’s part can lead to a failed real estate transaction,
just when you thought it was a done deal.

The appraiser will visit
your home to perform an inspection. He or she may or may not take photos while
in the home. The appraiser will certainly consider the home’s landscaping, “location,
structure and even appliances,” according to the pros at LexurAppraisal.com.

The inspection
process can take “anywhere from 20 minutes to 3 hours depending on the size and
details of the property,” according to Rachel Guthrie at GoHomeside.com.

If
you hire an experienced listing agent, the suggested list price should match or
come very close to the appraised value of the home. This is why it is so
important to interview more than one agent for the job of selling your home.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

After a few tries at indoor gardening, many people give up, assuming the thumb just isn’t green enough.

The problem usually boils down to having chosen a high-maintenance plant and giving it low-maintenance care.

We agree that having a plant in the house shouldn’t be like having another child around that you have to fuss over and take care of. Thankfully, there are many carefree, easy to grow indoor plants.

If you have children and pets in the home, ensure that whichever plants you choose are safe. You’ll find pet-safe houseplants listed at Gardenologist.org and those safe for children at Parents.com.

Heart-leaf Philodendron

The heart-leaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum) is a hardy, tropical vine that loves to climb the walls. You can put it in the sun or in the shade and it won’t matter, it will still thrive. However, it prefers a light area, out of full sun.

When you find the ideal location in the home, the plant will pay you back with deep green, heart-shaped foliage.

Moist soil is the only demand from this plant and, even with that, it can be quite forgiving. Some growers swear that theirs grow better when they allow the soil to dry to about halfway down the pot.

While it’s actively growing, fertilize the heart-leaf philodendron once a month with a houseplant fertilizer, but dilute the fertilizer to half the recommended strength.

When winter rolls around, cut back on watering (allow the soil to dry out more than you do in spring and summer) and stop fertilizing until spring. Then, when you notice new growth, resume fertilizing.

Peace lily

The peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii ‘Clevelandii’) is a very pretty plant that prefers a bit of light, but it’s one of the most popular houseplants for its ability to thrive in the darkest corners of the home.

Allow the soil to dry out before watering, make sure the room temperature doesn’t drop below 55 degrees and your peace lily will be healthy. The peace lily rarely requires fertilizer.

As an added bonus, the peace lily helps to clean the air of potentially harmful gases, according to NASA.

There is one major downside to growing the peace lily indoors: it is toxic if ingested. If you have children or pets that like to munch on houseplants, this isn’t the one for you unless you can keep it out of their reach.

Jade

Jade (Crassula ovata) is one of the most popular succulents grown indoors, most likely because it’s so very easy to grow.

It does like light, but it doesn’t have to be direct sunlight. Any somewhat- sunny window is fine.

If you plant the jade in the appropriate medium (commercial cactus mix is ideal), this is one of those plants you can put on the counter in the kitchen or bathroom and forget about it.

It needs good drainage, so if you don’t use commercial cactus mix, plant it in a mixture of  sand and peat moss. Take care not to overwater the plant. Watch the leaves and if they start to shrivel, it’s time to water again.

Palm trees

Yes, there are palms that are not only easy to care for, but do well indoors. The kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) likes direct light but will tolerate lower light.

This is a palm that doesn’t need too much moisture either, just water when the top inch or two of soil is dry. You will want to fertilize the kentia in spring and again in summer. Use a fertilizer labeled for palms, with an 8-2-12 analysis.

Ensure the fertilizer also contains minor nutrients such as magnesium, sulfur and iron. Follow the instructions on the fertilizer label and always apply fertilizer to moist soil.

As a rule of thumb, apply fertilizer granules at a rate of 1 tablespoon for a 6-inch pot, 3 tablespoons for a 10-inch pot and ½ cup for kentia in a 14-inch pot.

If you are looking for a palm tree that will thrive in a little less light than the kentia, the lady palm (Rhapis excelsa) might be worth considering. It has similar watering needs and does better without fertilizer, so it’s truly a low-maintenance plant.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com! 

Tamara Fisher

Unless you’re Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, your home purchase may be the biggest financial investment you make during your lifetime.

Scary thought, isn’t it? Not if you
approach this investment as the three wealthiest Americans would.

Buying a home is a business transaction
and, to avoid costly mistakes, it needs to be addressed as one. This means performing
careful research, absorbing knowledge and keeping your emotions at bay.

Let’s take a look at the five most common
mistakes that homebuyers tend to make.

Buyer Trap #1- Not Getting your Financing
in Order

Obtaining loan pre-approval is the most
important step to take during the home purchase process. It should be the first
step you take as well, and for several reasons.

First, the mortgage pre-approval process
lets you know how much you can realistically and comfortably pay for a home.

Just as you wouldn’t go car shopping
without a clue as to how much you can spend, don’t look at one house until you
know your limit.

Additionally, in a fast-moving seller’s market, most homeowners don’t even want a non-pre-approved homebuyer to look at their homes.

It’s not a stretch, then, to understand that they most likely won’t entertain an offer from one.

Without that preapproval letter, you may
just lose the home of your dreams to another, pre-approved buyer.

The process is relatively painless and not
overly involved. It’s free, too, so there is no reason not to make your first
home buying step one that leads you over the doorstep of a mortgage broker or
bank.

Buyer Trap #2- Not Understanding the Loan
Process

Ask the lender about any charges and fees
that you don’t understand. This way, there will be no surprises at the closing
table. If a fee or charge sneaks into the closing documents you’ll notice it
and can take action.

Standard fees include document preparation
fees, underwriting fees, loan disbursement charges and others.

By law, the lender is required to provide you with a form called the “Loan Estimate” that includes a listing of all fees in advance of closing.

Never hesitate to ask if you don’t understand
anything on this form and don’t assume that there won’t be additional fees at
closing.

Then, at closing, you’ll receive the “Closing Disclosure” form that you can use to compare to the Loan Estimate.

Buyer Trap #3 – Not Performing Due
Diligence

While the seller
has a duty to you to answer any questions you have about the home honestly, you
have a duty to protect yourself by performing various inspections before you
fully commit to purchase the home.

Hire a
professional home inspector to go over the home’s major systems. While these
inspections are visual (nope, the inspectors don’t open walls), a capable and
experienced inspector may notice problems that the untrained eye won’t.

Even if you
decide that you want to purchase the house no matter what, it’s much better to
know about these problems up front so that we can negotiate a lower price or
cash back at closing for repairs.

Buyer Trap #4- Judging the Book by its
Cover

It’s easy to fall in love with décor. This
is why new home developments feature model homes. These homes are carefully
staged to appeal to the consumer’s emotions.

By the same token, it’s easy to dislike a
house because it’s messy, dirty or has dated furnishings and features.

It’s so important to remove your pre-conceived
notions of what the perfect house will look like. Only then can you truly see a
home for what it offers – both the good and the bad.

Don’t allow the dazzling décor to make you
forget what it is you want in a home. Don’t let the mess cloud your vision of a
home’s possibilities. Carpet can be replaced, walls can be painted.

Focus on the layout of the house, and not
the cosmetics.

Buyer Trap #5- Not Considering Additional
Expenses

When you’re pre-approved for a home it’s
tempting to buy at the top of your limit. Don’t give in to the temptation.

When you purchase a home, you take on
expenses you didn’t have when you rented a home.

If the house is in a managed community you
will likely have monthly home owner’s association dues. If the home has a pool
you will pay for maintaining it.

Many renters don’t pay for water but
homeowners typically do. The ongoing maintenance of the home falls on your
shoulders, so it’s important to leave enough room in your housing budget to
take care of them.

I always counsel my clients to ask the
seller for copies of utility bills for the past year to get an idea of how much
they can expect to pay if they purchase the home.

While these are the most common mistakes
homebuyers make they are in no way indicative of all of them. I’d like to help
you develop a home purchase strategy that will avoid all of these mistakes and
more.

Call me for a free home buying
consultation and I’ll show you:

– How to get pre-approved for a mortgage

– How to buy the right home for your needs

– What to put on your wish list

– The entire home buying process, from
start to finish, in plain English.

Please visit my website at http://www.tamarafisher.com!