At Home With Valerie

Spring is upon us, and it's time to dust off the old mop and get ready to do some deep cleaning.   Don't worry-spring cleaning can be a fun and rewarding experience, if you approach it with the right mindset!   See for yourself-with this letter, I'm including a list of tips to help you get the most out of your spring cleaning experience.  I hope you find these special tips useful as you're settling into your new home!   Remember to call me with any real estate questions you may have, and remember to tell your friends about me!  You can reach me by email at: valerie@valeriemcconville.com  or visit my Web site at www.valeriemcconville.com . FIVE FUN AND EASY SPRING CLEANING TIPS Dance while you dust: This is the perfect time to fully indulge your musical interests; break out the iPod or turn up the CD player, and you'll be singing along to your favorite tunes and won't find cleaning to be a chore at all! Clear out the clutter: Ta

When you see a new home you like on the market, it's easy to get distracted by all the features you love – the wrap-around backyard deck or the spacious rec room with plenty of space for entertaining.  You just need to make sure that in all that excitement you don’t overlook any expensive maintenance issues that could be just around the corner. Nothing lasts forever. The major components of every home – from the furnace to the roof shingles – need to be replaced eventually. Knowing when such maintenance issues are likely to arise can help you make a smarter decision about the home you're considering. How do you do that? When viewing a property, ask for the age of the major components of the home, such as the roof shingles, furnace, air conditioner, water heater, and appliances. Roof shingles may look merely weathered in spots – and you might think they have years of service left – when, in fact, they're due to be replaced in a year. Also pay close att

In my Part 2 of my series "Winning the Clutter Wars," I defined clutter as anything that is out of place, broken, unused, or just something you really dislike.   By the way, if you would like to review any of these helpful hints you can find them here at my blog or on my website blog at www.valeriemcconville.com .   Today, in this final installment of my series, we are going to start in one small place (a closet or junk drawer will do nicely) and put things in order! First, you will need four cardboard boxes and a large trash can.  Label the boxes as follows: Put Away Fix Set Free Mementos Set an alarm clock to go off in one to two hours.  You don't want to overdo things!  Open the closet or junk drawer and select the first object.  Now we will use the four definitions of clutter to help us decide what goes in the trash can or which box to use for each item. The trash can.  You will find plenty of stuff that is absolutely unusable.  Be ruthl

Whether you claim Irish ancestry or not, it's time to break out the green! That's right, one of my favorite holidays of the year is rolling around, filled with shamrocks and leprechauns. While Lá Fhéile Pádraig (that's St Patrick's Day if you don't know your Gaelic!) started out as a religious holiday to commemorate the patron saint of Ireland, over the years it has morphed into a joyous international festival dedicated to Irish culture, and, well, parties.  It also arrives around the onset of spring in the northern hemisphere, marking the perfect time to toast an end to the long cold nights of winter and the beginning of longer, more hospitable days. To help get your celebration started, here's a great recipe for traditional Irish Soda Bread.  It's delish! Happy St Patrick's Day! Irish Soda Bread Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 pint

In Part 2 of my series "Winning the Clutter Wars," I will be give you my definition of clutter. The first step in winning the Clutter Wars is to de-bug your own mind!  Most of us don't recognize clutter when it falls out of the closet onto our heads, so how in the world will we conquer it?  Let's start by defining what clutter is.  Clutter is anything in your home: That is out of place That is broken That you have not used or worn in more than a year That you dislike Now don't panic.   I won't be telling you to throw away everything that falls within the above definition of clutter.   BUT once you get a clear picture in your head of what constitutes clutter you will be better able to deal with it!   In the next installment we still start in one small place to give you some practice in sorting through all that clutter.

If you have bought a home recently, I hope you have found some time for fun and relaxation now that you are settled in your new home.   As a longtime homeowner I have had to deal with my #1 enemy-the monster that lurks under every bed and in every closet-CLUTTER!   Nothing will interfere with your enjoyment of your home as much as disorganization and clutter. Since you have only been in your new home a short time, I imagine you were forced to deal with most of that clutter at moving time.  So, for the moment at least, your closets should be pretty orderly and your garage should actually have room for the cars.  But this blissful scenario won't last beyond the first year if you don't take a firm stand right now against the clutter monster!  And heaven help you if you committed the act of mindlessly boxing up your clutter and bringing it with you to the new house!!!! In this three part series: "Winning the Clutter Wars" I will be sharing some tips o

The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reports that the housing market in the Edmonton CMA1 remains active. Residential listing activity on the Edmonton Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) was up 7.3% as compared to January and sales increased by 24.4%. The all-residential price (includes single family detached, condominiums, duplexes and row-houses) rose 2.9% in a month. The average condo price was up just 1.6% from January to $238,854 with the median sale price at $224,750. Single family detached homes showed stronger gains rising 2.7%, (which could be contributed to the 8 properties that sold over one million dollars in February compared to 3 in February 2013) at an average price of $425,782 in February ($416,344 in January). Duplex and rowhouse prices were also up month-over-month at $335,625 on average with the median sale price at $338,250. The all-residential average price was $359,973 (up 5.3% from February 2013) and the median sale price was $338,250. “February turned o

As the old saying goes, real estate is all about location, location, location.  But, there is a lot more to it than just plain geography when it comes to finding your perfect home.  There are a lot of things to consider during the search because, for most, a home is the most significant purchase they will ever make. Choose A Good Area When searching for your perfect home, the obvious place to start is with the selection of a location.  If you have children, you may want to choose a home that is close to good schools and is also located in a family-oriented neighborhood.  Many people also look for a home that offers a short commute to and from work.  If you are shopping within a specific price range, you can also narrow the choices by finding an area that offers the best value for your dollar. Select A Style The perfect home for you is one that has all of the elements that you want.  Whether it's a garage, basement, extra bedroom or bath, a large kitchen, fire

Not all that strong in math? Looking to demystify the truth behind various financial arrangements, loans, offers, and situations? Check out this all-in-one financial calculator. Financial health and stability depends upon making informed decisions about loans, debt, taxes, savings, and more. Unfortunately, most people (including first-time homebuyers!) lack a true understanding of how to apply math to help them clearly understand these essential areas. While there are many specialized calculators out there for a particular area (say debt, or mortgage payments), there are few which consolidate all of the most popular financial calculators in one place. Not to mention, you can chalk up quite a bill paying $2 - $5 for each independent calculator you may need. Recently I discovered CalcMoolator , a handy online collection of calculators which also has easy-to-use apps for both iOS and Android devices. The most popular calculators include: •          Auto Lease vs. Buy

What does the future hold for the neighborhood you’re considering? How can you know if values will rise or fall? Here are five things to look out for as you’re evaluating neighborhoods. How do you predict the value of a neighborhood? While no one can say for sure how home values in a neighborhood will rise or decline over time, there are big-picture economic factors that you can look for to help get handle on where they may be going. 1. Major regional employers. If a community depends upon one or two large companies for a high percentage of local employment, you can bet that as the company fares, so will the neighborhoods. While “company towns” are hardly the norm these days, don’t overlook the possibility. 2. Number of properties currently for sale. Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with a neighborhood just because the inventory (i.e. number of homes on the market) is high. Other times, something may be amiss. If you’re seeing street-after-street of “FOR SALE” signs, as