Tips for a Healthy Home

Now that our weather is getting cooler, we are spending more time indoors and it’s more important than ever to have a healthy home. Therefore, I have a few simple tips to make your home a healthy environment for your family.

Toxins

Painting indoors is ideal in the fall. However, keep in mind when selecting your paint to purchase low or no volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). In many interior paints and finishes, VOCs are a big threat to your indoor air quality and they have a variety of chemicals that can be hazardous to your health with short and long term effects. Some houseplants such as gerbera daisies and ivy can help to reduce or remove VOCs.

Air

Millions of people suffer from allergies that seem to get worse in the fall from ragweed and pollen, but the worst triggers are often inside the home. Having a whole house air filtration system will help to remove indoor allergens, such as dust, mildew, pet dander and pollen. Your indoors can be crisp and clean with a good air filtration system.

Mold

In the winter months, people tend to seal up their homes to keep out cold air and this traps moisture and humidity inside the home. Both of these are contributors to indoor mold growth. To maintain a healthy level of humidity, you should vent bathrooms, clothes dryers and stove vents.

Carbon Monoxide

A carbon monoxide detector is a must for every home if you want to keep your family safe. Your home’s furnace, heat pump, vents and chimney should be inspected and serviced by a professional to insure your family’s safety on an annual basis. Before lighting the fireplace, open the damper to prevent build up of potentially poisonous gases inside the house.

Routines

Next on the tip list is the smoke alarm. Most homeowners know it’s important to test their alarms monthly and often they don’t change the batteries regularly. One way to keep track of maintenance is to change batteries when time changes in the fall and again in the spring. Every time you reset the clocks, change the batteries to your smoke alarm and your carbon monoxide detector.

By using these tips you will create a safer and healthier home.

Originally posted at: http://homesforsaleinhavasu.com/2011/09/29/tips-for-a-healthy-home.

Must Do Updates for Every Seller

When it comes to selling your home, there are some home updates that you will probably want to do to help your home stand out from the other homes in your area and sell fast. First, you need to know the standard real estate trend in your neighborhood. You want to keep up with the times trends, but you don’t want to overdo it either. And, you’ll want to recoup what you spend in your updates or possibly make money from the updates.

One of the toughest decisions homeowners face is what to do when it comes to home improvements. We all want to make the house more comfortable, more desirable, more marketable, and more valuable. Therefore, each year the National Association of REALTORS(R) publishes a report which demonstrates cost versus value to help sellers with those tough decisions. The report shows popular home remodeling projects and what one can expect to recoup. So, before you begin a remodeling or update project, it might be helpful to know what’s hot and what’s not.

If you have laminate countertops in the kitchen, then upgrade to granite. You won’t get your money back unless you are in a high end neighborhood. However, if you put in new laminate, chances are your house will sell for less than full value or stay on the market much longer.

We hear over and over again, a kitchen sells the house, but that’s not all that sells a home. Check out these top home update or remodeling projects and their value.

Home updates with the biggest bang for your buck:

Minor Kitchen Remodel

Cost of midrange minor kitchen remodel: $14,000+

Average resale value: $14,000+

Percentage of cost recovered: over 98%

Attic Bedroom

Cost of attic bedroom: $39,000+

Average resale value: $36,000+

Percentage of cost recovered: over 93%

Midrange Bathroom Remodel

Average cost: $10,000+

Average resale value: $10,000+

Percentage of cost recovered: over 100%

Siding Replacement

Vinyl siding job cost: $7,000+

Vinyl average resale value: $6,000+

Percentage of cost recovered: over 95%

 

Originally posted on Active Rain: http://activerain.com/blogsview/2497254/must-do-updates-for-every-seller.

Home Improvement Trends of 2010

With a slow recovery from the recession, most homeowners are unlikely to be building, decorating or remodeling.  However, if you are one of the few who does plan to update your home, there are some home improvement trends of 2010 to keep in mind.

2010 Home Improvement Trends:

Color: The key shades to go with include classic neutrals with highlights of exotic bright colors.  Check out these color palettes:

* Canvas – deep gray-browns and gray blues, chalky white and muted beige.

* Grace – pale butter, sea foam and bronze-gold.

* Zest – gray, white and black mixed with high energy yellows.

* Pink City – spicy oranges, pinks, grays and chocolate-brown.

Home Décor: The key look for many areas around the country include a sophisticated, sleek yet comfortable style, which is known as “soft contemporary”.  One or two eye-catching accents are what you want to move toward with home décor. 

Furniture: As the environmental movement gets stronger, more furniture is being built using recycled metals, sustainable woods and natural fiber fabrics.  Red is expected to be the trendiest accent color for furniture.

New home construction: The short-lived era of McMansions popping up everywhere is over.  Now, people building new homes are definitely being more budget conscious.  Most are going back to the basics, only splurging on the master suite.  Energy-efficiency is also more important these days.

Landscaping: A hot trend for 2010 is organic vegetable gardens.  Even community gardens are a growing trend.  Other trendy plants for your garden include any green foliage, perennial bulbine and gold mound duranta.

Remodeling: Minor home improvements are a continuing trend.  Minor home improvements have been giving homeowners the most bang for their buck for some time now.

When you are considering any home improvement project, keep some of these trends in mind.

Home Improvements That Still Get a Bang for Your Buck

Not too long ago, homeowners were adding onto their homes or doing complete remodels to add value to their home.  However, now those improvements have changed.  Homeowners are still doing home improvements to help improve the value of their home, just in different ways. 

Instead of adding a new room or completely remodeling a room, homeowners are now doing smaller upgrades, such as replacing countertops with granite, re-facing cabinets, adding hardwood floors, laying ceramic tile and up even upgrading their appliances.

Homeowners are not trying to go bigger and better anymore, but they are now trying to improve upon what they already have. 

Many reasons for these types of home improvements are because of tight budgets, strict lending standards and many people are “going green”.   

The most popular rooms for home improvements are the kitchen and bathrooms.  Improving these rooms really pays off.  Other popular home improvements to help increase the value of your home include upgrading the windows, replacing siding, adding decks, improving curb appeal and adding energy-efficient appliances.

Many homeowners have begun looking at adding solar panels to help cut the cost of energy bills.  This will also make the homeowner eligible for government tax credits. 

Although many home improvement projects are small in comparison to what they once were, some homeowners still find themselves splurging, which is okay to do as long as you know what you are doing.  Splurging on the right things that will add the most value to your home can make all the difference when it comes time to sell.

HGTV has some really great tips and advice for home improvement on their website.  Keep up with the latest trends and styles and learn how to do it all on a budget.

Realtor® Liz Miller  ~  Lake Havasu City Real Estate

More tips and advice for homeowners, buyers and sellers

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How to Wow Potential Buyers

Many of my clients ask me what they can do to spice up their home and wow potential buyers.  And it’s more important than ever in today’s market to make sure that your home stands out from the rest.  Therefore, enhancing your home’s appearance will increase your home’s chances for a successful sale.

Most buyers are attracted to the same things when it comes to taste in houses.  Typically, consumers are attracted to large kitchens with lots of storage, open floor plans and big bright rooms.

Here are some tips I give my clients to help catch a potential buyer’s eye and really wow them:

·         Clear the clutter – Pack up as much of your personal belongings as possible and put them in storage.  This includes taking down personal photos from the walls, also.

·         Apply fresh paint – Stick to neutral colors when repainting, no bright colors.

·         Go green – Install energy efficient products.  This is attractive to buyers and is very popular.  It also increases the value of the home.

·         Add crown molding and wider baseboards – Crown molding and wide baseboards are very popular in all styles and types of homes.  They are very attractive and very eye catching.

·         Upgrade the flooring – Improved flooring, such as hardwood, tile or new carpet, can be the center of attraction.  This will also help improve the value of your home.

·         Add a deck – Just by adding a deck to your home, you add value to it.  A deck is a nice feature to any home and yard.  Many buyers also consider this a big plus when considering the purchase of a home.

These simple additions will definitely have potential buyers saying “wow” when they walk in the door of your home.

Realtor® Liz Miller – Lake Havasu City Real Estate

Homes for Sale in Lake Havasu City