Happy Fall Y'all!

It's finally Fall!! Fall is without a doubt my favorite season of the entire year...not too hot, not too cold, tons of season specific foods and treats, halloween, Thanksgiving, I could go on and on. I will also admit that I do love a good Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks...but I don't always love paying $5 for something I'm going to guzzle down in about as many minutes. A couple of years ago, I decided to start trying out recipes for the drink at home, and while they were all pretty tasty, I didn't LOVE one until I tried THIS one recently; see below for the recipe, and ENJOY!! (And of course, I've got a real estate bit at the end.)

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Latte

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:
3 cups hot whole milk
4 teaspoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
6 ounces double strength brewed coffee
3 tablespoons sweetened whipped cream (optional in my opinion)
3 pinches pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (my suggestion!)

Directions:
Combine the hot milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice in a blender; blend until frothy. Pour the mixture into 3 coffee mugs to about 2/3 full. Pour 2 ounces coffee into each mug. Garnish each mug with whipped topping and pumpkin pie spice. (If you're making it my way, add the 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree in with the milk, sugar, extract and spice in the blender)

Now, enjoy the cozy yummy'ness.

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1. Less Competition to Sell
The common thinking is to get your house listed while the market is buzzing. This logic certainly has its merits, but the reverse can also be beneficial. If you list your home in September or October, you have less competition for buyer attention. This means you’re less likely compromise on your listing price.

2. Buyers Are Serious Because the market is so saturated in the summer, it’s easy for fluff buyers to sneak into your Open Houses and waste your (or your Realtor’s) time. These people like the idea of moving, but have no real intent to make it happen soon. In the fall, those kinds of buyers disappear. The people scoping your digs in September/October are serious about the prospect of moving in!

3. Existing Market is More Flexible Fall is the perfect time to enter the real estate market because while you’re coming in, confident that selling in the “off season” will work for you, everyone still left on the market from summer is desperate for a sale. Since selling a house usually means you’re looking for another, you’ll find the existing market is much more flexible in negotiations. If you find a bargain on your new autumn home, you’ll be more empowered to make strategic decisions in the selling process of your former house.

4. Prime Time for Curb Appeal Changing leaves add natural curb appeal to make your house look cozy and comfortable in time for winter. Curb appeal is hugely important in selling price. In a few months, you won’t have this factor on your side due to snow and barren trees.

5. More Attention from Realtor Regardless of the time of year you sell your home, the true key to success will be the marketing strategy by your real estate agent. By listing with an agent during his slow season, he is able to give you more attention. He can pour his entire budget into your goals. Your home will host more Open Houses and Broker Previews than it would any other time of the year!

6. No One Wants to Move When It’s Hot
Okay, so this one is kind of silly – but it’s true! Summertime moves have their merits, but that means carrying all those boxes in and out of trucks during the hottest time of the year. It’s much more appealing to get everything into your new home with a cool breeze at your backs and then enjoying a hot cocoa to celebrate the new digs!

With these reasons to sell your home this fall, now is the time for you to list your house if you want to maximize your profit and minimize the time you sit on the market. Get settled into your new home in time for the holidays!

10 Easy (and cheap) Ways to Increase Your Curb Appeal (and the saleability of your home)

Thankfully not all curb appeal projects need to bust your budget in order to provide a great return on your money.  In fact, current trends suggest that smaller projects can be a better investment than large scale remodels! Even simple projects can add value to your home, and make it a prettier place to live.

 

1.  Paint the Front Door
Giving your front door a fresh coat of paint is an incredibly easy way to up your home’s curb appeal.  AND its ROI (return on investment) is almost always worth the short time it takes to paint the door.  East Coast Creative has a great tutorial describing the right way to paint a front door. 

2.  Upgrade Your House Numbers
When people, especially potential buyers, come to your house for the first time, what are they going to be looking for?  The house number, of course!  It seems like such a small detail, but attractive house numbers can make your home stand out immediately.  You can find a wide variety of styles at your local hardware store, or you can be ambitious and make your own using this tutorial on Curbly.

3.  Install Landscape Lighting

Soft, accent lighting makes a home look welcoming, and it doesn’t have to be expensive to add some to your front yard.  Solar stake lights are available for a few dollars a piece, and just a few lights lining a walkway or flower bed make a difference.  For lights that will really impress, consider installing wired accent lighting.  Pretty Handy Girl explains how.

4.  Upgrade House Lighting
Replacing existing light fixtures like porch lights and garage lights can be pricy.  But even giving them a coat of spray paint can freshen them up and give them new life.

5.  Makeover Your Mailbox
There are so many ways to dress up a standard mailbox, from spray paint to magnetic decals, that it’s a crying shame for anyone to have a boring mailbox.  If you want to put your creativity to work and WOW your guests, you can create a mailbox that looks like your house!

6.  Add Hardscaping
Adding hardscaping to your front yard will require some elbow grease but pays off in curb appeal.  If you can find salvaged materials, you can save big bucks too!  Check out this tutorial for adding bricks to a flower bed.

7.  Stain your Driveway
Replacing a driveway is a big, expensive job – however, you can give a concrete driveway a facelift with stain.  Specially designed concrete stains can protect and beautify the driveway you already have.  Young House Love outlines the process of staining their concrete patio.





8.  Green Up your Lawn
Even if your home and driveway are perfectly maintained, your curb appeal can still be killed by a weedy, brown lawn.  Feed your grass, and up your curb appeal with these simple green lawn tips.

9.  Plant Some Color
Add some color to the face of your house with flowers, either in pots or in the ground.  Annuals are a cheap, but temporary, option.  Flowering shrubs and perennials will cost more out of pocket, but keep producing year after year.

10.  Keep It Clean
The easiest way to improve your home’s curb appeal is just to maintain what you already have.  Cut your grass, weed your flower beds, sweep your porch, wash your windows.  It won’t cost much more than a few hours of your weekend and can make a surprising difference.
In addition to being a great way to increase your home’s value, curb appeal tends to be contagious.  If your neighbors see you working hard in your front yard, they might get inspired to make new efforts on their own homes.  Before you know it, your whole block is prettier AND more valuable!

Do you have any tips or posts about upping a house’s curb appeal?  Leave your ideas in the comments!

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What's a Renovation Home Loan?

Thinking of buying a home that needs some work and turning it into the home you’ve always wanted after some much-needed repairs or remodeling? That’s a smart idea!

If you’re one of those homebuyers who can spot a residential diamond in the rough and envision everything that home could become, you may be surprised at the financial advantages of buying a home with a renovation home loan. This type of home loan enables you to roll the cost of repairs and/or upgrades into your mortgage for one loan and one monthly payment.

Here are some of the benefits of buying a home with a renovation home loan:

• You may get a bargain by paying less than market price
• Bargain prices can get you into a more expensive area than you could otherwise purchase
• You may be able to buy a larger home than you imagined
• Improvements you make can increase the fair market value of your home
• The renovated property will be done just the way you want it, reflecting your tastes and serving your needs

With a renovation home loan, you finance the home purchase price plus the cost of repairs and/or updates. You can also refinance your existing mortgage plus the cost of repairs. With both of these options, you only have one application, one approval process, one loan closing and one mortgage payment.

A renovation home loan enables you to make repairs and/or improvements right after closing, and the renovation costs are spread throughout the mortgage term. This type of financing is usually a better option than financing repairs and updates with a personal loan or credit card, which could feature higher interest rates.

Want to start looking for that "fixer" home? Contact me via phone, email or my website to get started!