Freshen Your Home’s Look

Does your home need its look updated?  Many do!  We get so used to our home surroundings, and sometimes we need to take a good look around and change a few things!  You don’t have to spend a fortune on decorating to accomplish this, however!  A few subtle, low-cost changes can make a huge difference in the look of a room.  RISMEDIA.com’s article, Easy Ways to Transform a Room, has some great suggestions for freshening up your decor!  And, don’t forget what a fresh coat of an updated paint color can do for a room!

To a little reasonably-priced decorating updating~                                         Rosemary, Atkinson-Thompson Group

Home Improvements: The Good and the Bad

If you are preparing your home for sale, or just know that day will eventually come, it is wise to know how much money and time to pour into your home.  What are your wisest investments of time and money?  What are your unwisest? For tips (good ones…I printed it out for myself),  take a peek at Stephane Fitch’s Best And Worst Home Improvements For The Buck for Forbes.com.   I really like this article, because it spells out lots of wise and unwise!  I plan to keep it handy when advising our seller clients, because sellers are usually inclined to fit into one of two categories, those that want to over-do and those that want to under-do when getting their home ready for market.  This article doesn’t replace a wise realtor who knows your market and your competition, but it does provide some great guidelines.

Best~  Rosemary

Five Home Improvements To Consider Avoiding

Yeah, I know, Betsy and I are always sending home improvement ideas your way, especially ones that can mean money in your pocket when it comes time to sell your home…return on investment.  I recently came across an article suggesting a few home improvements you might want to avoid due to lack of return on investment and marketability.  It is always a good idea to really think our whims though to the end!  Click here to read Kimbrough Gray’s Five Bad Home Improvement Ideas for BrokerAgentSocial.com.  Think it through!

Best~  Rosemary

Spring Spruce-Up

If you’re contemplating putting your home on the market come spring, now is the time to start getting your home ready.  Yes, I know there is still snow on the ground, but in the world of real estate, spring is upon us!  The experts are saying this could be a banner year (considering the last three!) for home sales.  Betsy and I have three listing appointments scheduled for just the next week!  Click here to read a very helpful article by Luke Mullins of USNews.com on 10 projects that you can undertake relatively cheaply to increase the appeal of your home, inside and out. 

Curb appeal, folks, is sooooooo important, and this article addresses that aspect in suggestions No. 1 and No. 2.  You want buyers to drive up to the front of your home and say, “Oh, I love it; I want to live here!”  You want to draw them inside!  The front of your home is a buyer’s first indication of how the home has been cared for; don’t let them just drive on by!  So, time to get a jump-start; don’t make yourself  crazy by trying to accomplish everything in a two-week time span! 

Best~  Rosemary 

4 Home Projects That Typically Won’t Improve The Value of Your Home

As a follow-up to my blog yesterday regarding updates/remodeling projects that will benefit sellers when it comes time to market their homes, I thought I had better find a little something that advises you on projects that most likely will provide you with absolutely no return on your investment and may, in fact, decrease the desirability of your home when it comes time to sell.  Click here to read another article I found via Yahoo Finance, 4 Home Upgrades That Don’t Pay.

Best~ Rosemary

10 Ways to Increase The Value of Your Home

Whether contemplating selling our home, or just deciding to make some changes, we all wonder what updates/remodeling projects will benefit us the most when it does come time to sell.  What will give us the best return on our investment?   I recently came across a very good article via Yahoo Finance on just that subject.  Betsy and I like to stay up-to-date on these matters, since clients often ask what updates or improvements they should make before listing their home.  Click here to get some advice on which home projects will benefit you the most come selling time.

Best~

Rosemary