At Home With Valerie

Do you get writer's block when you sit down to write holiday cards? If you’re like many people, writing holiday cards can be a nerve wracking experience. You want your message to be memorable, but you may become hung up on finding the perfect thing to say. Instead of focusing on perfection, remember the spirit of the season and channel generosity with these five tips. Start on a positive note. Beginning your note with “ Happy Holidays,” “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hanukkah,” etc. will set a bright, positive tone for the rest of the card. Example: Happy Holidays from the Jones family! Our year has been full of many blessings. Remember, it’s a note not a novel. Although it’s tempting to recount everything that happened during the year, try to stick to the highlights. Focus on one or two memorable things such as a job promotion, a fun family vacation or your son getting into his dream college. Example: We had a great time hiking thr...

You may love animals, but with the exception of your family pets, you don’t want them in your home. Here are some tips for keeping the wildlife around your property where it belongs: outside. Don’t place bird feeders too close to your windows. Doing so may cause birds to associate a window with food and therefore try to peck their way inside. Make sure window screens are secure. If you can push a screen loose with your hand, so can a bird or other animal. Check screens on dryer vents and chimneys. If they are damaged, fix or replace them. To determine how animals are entering your home, stuff wadded paper in the suspected entry point. If the paper is disturbed the next day, you’ll know where they got in. Never leave food outside, unattended. After a barbeque, for example, take all remaining food inside. Follow these simple steps and you will reduce the risk of having unexpected visitors to your home.

Preparing your home and property for cold weather conditions and responding to them effectively can reduce some of the effects caused by winter's weather challenges. Experts agree that the following measures can be effective in dealing with the effects of severe winter weather: Have your snow removal equipment serviced and ready for action. Have rock salt on hand to melt ice on walkways. Make sure your walls and attic are properly insulated. Caulk and weather strip doors and windows. Install storm windows or cover windows with plastic from the inside. Have an ample supply of wood if you have a fireplace. Have safe portable space heaters available. Wrap water pipes in insulation or layers of old newspapers to keep from freezing. Let faucets drip a little to avoid freezing. Know how to shut off water valves. In case the power goes out, have disaster supplies on hand suc...

As Fall gives way and Winter begins to make its present felt, this is the time of year when we approach the holiday season.  Many home owners thinking of selling typically wait during this period because of the mistaken belief that the market is slowing down and they may not be successful in selling their home this time of year. If you are considering selling your home but are hesitant to do so, here are 12 reasons why listing during the holiday season might be your best bet. Buyers who are looking in November and December are typically very serious home Buyers. Smaller supply for Buyers to choose from… better odds than at any other time of the year for a home Seller. Number of homes for sale in January and on will increase dramatically. A home that is decorated for the Holidays shows very well! Holiday emotionalism is also at a peak for home Buyers… more open to higher prices. Buyers looking durin...

If you need to decide whether you should renovate or move, start by reviewing your home and identifying what is currently lacking. Then determine what it would cost to improve it.  Consider overall upgrades, such as new windows, a new roof, or new HVAC and security systems.  Then examine each room and determine how improvements could benefit your family’s living environment, now and in the future. You might even consider the possibility of adding one or more rooms. With estimated renovation costs in hand, have a brief consultation with your REALTOR ® who will be able to add the estimated cost of affordable renovations to your home’s appraised market value. This will give you a rough idea of how much you might be willing to spend on your next home, provided it has all of your desired features. If such desirable homes are price over the cost of your current home after upgrades, you might be better off renovating. Your renovations may even add more selling valu...

The cold is coming, and in some places it is already here. If you haven’t done so yet, take advantage of some simple tune-ups you can make around the house to dramatically lower your heating bill. The laws of thermodynamics can be expensive. When the big winter weather arrives, the heat can leach from your home through a variety of obvious and unexpected ways, resulting in high heating bills. Wouldn’t you rather put that money into holiday shopping or upgrades for your house? The most obvious culprits are in plain sight: Doors and windows. The weatherstripping around doors shouldn’t admit any light, and when it comes to windows, you’ll want to look for holes in the caulking. You could even upgrade your windows to double-pane, or go with storm windows to improve insulation. But the less obvious and less dramatic options are available to you, too. Here are 5 tips you may not have thought of when it comes to heating leaks and your overall energy spend: 1. Cover up your wate...

In a seller’s market, multiple offers are not uncommon. But what does that really mean?  And how should you and your agent work together to generate the most interest in a multiple offer situation? Find out more in my post…  When inventory is tight and a market heats up, sellers often dream of finding themselves in a multiple offer situation. In a multiple offer situation, more than one potential buyer submits a written offer on the home. With multiple offers on a property, the listing agent can then try and “shop the top offer” in order to try and get the best deal possible for their client. If you live in a hot market, how do you structure your listing in such a way that you get the best possible offers in a multiple offer situation? One strategy for cultivating multiple offers is letting buyers know that the seller will only entertain offers on a certain date. Rather than deal with offers dribbling in one at a time, there’s a deadline for offers. When thi...

Even if you don’t have kids, the quality of a school district can have a direct impact on the value of your home.  If you’re buying and you want to make sure your home is in a good district, use these criteria to see if your the local district makes the grade. Given the way most communities work, the location of a home dictates the local school district. The quality of the school district can have a direct impact on the value of your home. Even if you don’t have kids or don’t have to plan kids, the quality of the local schools can positively or negatively effect your home’s value. Buyers tend to prefer homes in good school districts, either because they have school-aged children, or they are thinking of resale value down the line. So how do you know if your local schools make the grade? What signs point towards an improving or declining school district? Here are a five things you’ll want to consider: 1. Test scores. It’s a basic measurement of student performanc...

When would you talk to a car salesperson? Probably only once you’re ready to buy a new car. You would do some initial research (perhaps on the internet), get an idea of what you want, and then go to the dealership to meet a salesperson, test drive the car and make the purchase. Although that approach may work when you’re buying a car, it’s not the best approach when it comes to real estate. You see, successfully buying or selling a home requires a lot of planning and legwork. You want the process to go smoothly, the right decisions to be made, and the best possible deal to be negotiated.   After all, this is the purchase and/or sale of your home! So, the best time to talk to a REALTOR ® is as early in the process as possible. In fact, even if you’re just thinking of buying or selling — and simply want to explore the possibility of making a move sometime this year — you should have a conversation with a good REALTOR ® . A REALTOR ® will answer your quest...