WHAT IS AN ADU?

Do you have property big enough for a spare cottage? Is there a basement or garage-apartment you’ve been thinking of adding? 

Learn why these “Accessory Dwelling Units” (ADUs) are making a comeback.

Years ago, it wasn’t so uncommon to have multiple generations living in the same home. 

Sometimes these were aging parents moving back in with their kids, and other times they were college students getting their finances in order after graduation. 

Many homeowners utilized extra space in their home to create independent apartments or separate living spaces. Though they go by many common names (in-law unit, granny flat, garden cottage, basement apartment), these types of spaces are known as ADUs, or Accessory Dwelling Units.

If you have extra space such as an above-garage loft, or extra land where you could build a freestanding structure, you might be interested in adding an ADU to your home. Even if you don’t have a family member in need of the space, they can be great for hosting out-of-town visitors or earning extra income from short or long-term rental agreements.

While communities have different rules regarding ADUs and their permitted uses, there’s a high likelihood that you can find a pathway to adding one to your property if the idea appeals to you. According to AccessoryDwellings.org: 

“Flexibility in housing makes sense for environmental, lifestyle, and financial reasons. Though many people buy houses and live in them for decades, their actual needs change over time.  But the way that houses are currently built doesn’t reflect those changes, especially the way households may spend decades with just 1 or 2 members.  Many American houses are too big for 1- or 2-person households, which is too bad, because size is probably the biggest single factor in the environmental impact of a house."

If you have a reasonably sized house, and an even more reasonably sized ADU, you’ve likely got a pretty green combination with some social benefits as well.   You could have your best friend, your mother, or your grown kid, live with you.  This kind of flexibility and informal support could really help as the nation’s population ages.  Most people want to stay in their homes as they age, but finances and design can be problematic.   An ADU could help aging people meet their needs without moving.” 

(Source: https://accessorydwellings.org/what-adus-are-and-why-people-build-them/)

If you’re interested in exploring ADUs, be sure to check out AccessoryDwellings.org for an extensive library of resources on the topic.

If you’re looking for a home with an existing ADU, or want to find one with land or enough space to create an ADU, I’d be happy to help you find one ASAP. 

Just reach out to me today: valeriemcconville@gmail.com

RESETTING EXPECTATIONS IN REAL ESTATE

Sometimes things simply don’t go your way in a real estate deal, and bouncing back can feel exceptionally hard. 

If you’ve recently been disappointed buying or selling a home, here’s some advice to help you put things in perspective and prepare yourself for the next move.

Real estate deals are emotional roller coasters, often marred by unexpected setbacks. The dream house deal doesn’t come together. A closing fall through at the last minute. It happens. Sometimes the setback is so overwhelming we feel momentarily disoriented, unsure which direction to take next. We want to carry on, but we can't quite muster the will to make the next right move.

If you've felt this way lately, perhaps the following process will help you:

1. Grieve the loss. If you're feeling disappointment, loss, shock, or sadness, don't gloss over it. Give yourself time and space to feel it. There's nothing healthy in pretending the way you feel is wrong, shameful, or otherwise weak. Don't expect to "get over it." Rather, understand it is a loss you may carry forward with time.

2. Assess. What happened? What lead to this? What can you learn from the chain of events which lead to the setback? You might not have clear answers, but you will likely find something useful in reflection.

3. Recalibrate. Setbacks often redefine your reality, and change the conditions on the ground. The changes are often sudden and unpleasant, but it's best to gain some clarity on the new situation. A setback isn't the end unless you permit it to be the end. How does this new world require new strategies?

4. Look for opportunity and act. A setback does not negate your hopes or values. It may delay or redirect your path, but to let it annihilate your goals would be something far worse than a mere setback. There are still opportunities, and if you want to recover, you will need to direct your productive energy to recognizing and acting on those opportunities.

As the late singer, poet, and novelist Leonard Cohen sang, “There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.” Even at his darkest, he had a bias for the unerring trajectory of hope. Look for the light through the crack in everything, even if it was your pending dream of home ownership or your next move. Believe the dream can shine through again.

I can help you through every step of the real estate buying or listing process, and I have plenty of experience to help you avoid common setbacks. Looking to buy or sell soon? 

Let’s have a chat: valeriemcconville@gmail.com

HOW TO STOP ROBO CALLS

Have you been inundated with telemarketers, robo calls, and scammers on your home telephone line?

 

Use this free service to eliminate annoying calls.

 

We’ve all been there. You’re just sitting down to dinner or your favorite Netflix binge and the phone begins ringing. If you’re like most people, you’ve probably gotten used to screening a lot of calls because so many are robocalls. You know the kind and you know the drill: Political ads, solicitations, scams. You pick up saying “Hello? Hello?” and then comes that eerie pause which tells you you’re about to hear a pre-recorded message.

 

It’s a rude waste of your attention, and yet many of us can’t just get rid of our home phone line. While you can ignore the call, often they call multiple times a day or every day of the week at the same time. The problem is widespread.

 

In early 2013 the FTC held a contest to combat the scourge of robocalls. The winner of that contest was Nomorobo, a free service which can check incoming calls to your phone lines against a massive blacklist database of known robocall sources. If Nomorobo detects a robocall, it screens the call much like the way internet web forms use CAPTCHA graphics to make sure you’re human. If the caller is a bot, the call never makes it to your phone. (Nomorobo will ring your phone once to let you know a call has been blocked.) Bingo! Peace and focus are preserved.

 

The service is free, but your phone provider must be able to provide a feature known as “Simultaneous Calling.” The Nomorobo website provides a form which quickly allows you to determine if your carrier already provides this service. If not, you can request it be added.

 

You can learn more about Nomorobo here:

http://www.nomorobo.com/

 

I love to share tips and tricks to make our lives more hassle-free. If you’d like to keep up with tips like these as I find them, get in touch with me today:

 

 

UNDERSTANDING HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS

Are you thinking about looking at homes in a neighborhood with an HOA (Home Owner’s Association)?

Have you ever wondered what an HOA is or what you should know before you buy a property governed by one? This blog post is for you.

If you’re a first-time buyer and are confused about what a Home Owners Association is (or does), you should definitely ask the right questions before you consider buying.

Basically, an HOA is an organization which is designed to protect the quality of life and property values for owners within a neighborhood or shared building. How they do so, though, can vary widely. Typically when you purchase a residence subject to an HOA, you’ll be required to pay monthly dues which often contribute to major repairs or maintenance or the upkeep of common/shared resources.

But HOAs can also have a significant impact on what you can and can’t do with your own home. The HOA’s rules are detailed in what’s called covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). To understand how strict an HOA is (or isn’t) you’ll want to understand the details of its CC&Rs before you consider buying. These might have reasonable restrictions, such as keeping junk cars out of the front lawn, or they might extend all the way to what color you can paint your garage door.

HOAs are typically of greater concern to condo buyers than single-family home buyers, but they cannot be overlooked when searching for your next residence. Here are some questions you’ll want to ask yourself and the HOA before you make an offer:

1. How comfortable am I sharing decision making about my own home? Yes, you own your property, but if you agree to abide by the CC&Rs of an HOA, you’ll need to be willing to abide by its rules.

2. How much are the HOA fees, and how much have they increased over time? Your budget can be seriously impacted not only by current HOA fees, but anticipated increases. Sometimes HOAs can even require residents to chip in for major repairs or upgrades beyond HOA fees.

3. What are all of the CC&Rs? Get a copy of the CC&Rs and make sure you understand all of the rules. Furthermore, see if you can sit on on an HOA board meeting or obtain notes from past meetings. This will help you understand the temperament of the HOA as well as the type of past conflicts residents have had with the board.

4. Is the home (or unit) you’re considering in compliance with the HOA’s CC&Rs? If you’re considering an offer on a problematic property, understand a real hassle may follow.

If you like the idea of a group of neighbors who set community or building standards, a residence with an HOA may be for you. But if not, don’t worry! There are lots of other homes out there. Get in touch with a  REALTOR® today!

FIREPLACE SAFETY FOR FALL

Fireplaces are one of the coziest amenities in a home. But they can also bring on terrible disaster if they’re not maintained properly and used wisely. Here are some essential tips for fireplace safety.

Gathering the family around a crackling fire can be one of the joys of the coldest months… or it can be a nightmare.

It’s one thing to be seated cozily on the couch while the firewood glows, and quite another to be standing on the curb in the cold watching the fire department trying to save your home.
 

More than 14,000 fires begin each year in fireplaces, and fires are the cause of nearly $900 million dollars in property damage. Don’t be a victim because of shoddy maintenance or careless usage of your fireplace. This goes for both wood-burning and gas fireplaces.
 

Here are some tips to maintain your fireplace and protect your life:
 

1. Before the coldest months set in, get your fireplace inspected. Remember, most inspection companies will be very busy during the winter, so try and secure an inspection at least a month or so before you anticipate using your fireplace heavily.
 

2. Inspect your fireplace before you use it. Take a flashlight and look in the flue. Look for obstructions. Check for cracked bricks, missing mortar, or other signs of damage. Be sure to clean out any ashes and dispose of them in a metal-lid trash can.

3. Burn properly. This means using seasoned hardwood (which avoids creosote accumulation), and burning logs on an approved rack or elevated grate. Also, don’t burn trash, cardboard, or other debris in your home fireplace.
 

4. Keep the area around the fireplace clear. Don’t put your Christmas tree near the fireplace, or anything else which is liable to combust. If it’s flammable, keep it safely distant from those flames. 

5. Guard against sparks. Sparks may periodically leap from your fireplace, so use a screen to prevent them from landing on rugs or nearby furniture.
 

6. Don’t leave the house with a fire burning. Extinguishing a fire before you leave is common sense, so don’t leave those burning logs unattended!
 

Would you like a home with a fireplace? Talk to a local REALTOR® today!

 

IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY

There’s an old saying: What you can’t see won’t hurt you. But, that’s not true. Less than ideal air quality in your home can result in allergies, colds, languor, and even sleepless nights.

Here are some tips that can help:

Let in the fresh air. Weather permitting, open windows and doors to help circulate stale indoor air with fresher outdoor air.

Change the furnace filter. According to studies, most filters on forced air heating systems in homes do not get changed regularly. Tip: Change the filter when you change the batteries in your smoke detectors – at least twice a year.

Easy on the household cleaners. Cleaners that are tough on stains can also have the same effect on your health. So use them with care. After cleaning any surface, wipe the residue dry with a clean absorbent cloth.

Keep things dry. Mold spores thrive on moisture. So make sure bathroom fans adequately remove humidity. A fan should be strong enough so that a piece of paper clings to the intake.

FALL BACK REMINDER

Daylight savings time ends on Sunday at 2 a.m.

 

Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour Sunday night before heading off to bed!

 

Regards,

 

Valerie McConville

Homes and Gardens Real Estate Ltd.