Smart and Timely Home Repairs

From www.SearsAdvantage.ca
Smart and timely home repairs.


Lifestyle editor Ingrie Williams shares a few ideas for around-the-house upgrades this fall.



A full-fledged reno may not be within your budget, but now’s a good time to consider a few smaller projects. Here are four affordable fixes that will add value to your home and put money in your pocket.



1. Reface kitchen cabinets.

Look for: clean lines and eye-catching finishes, like brushed nickel hardware. If you want to cook up a new kitchen, tearing out the old one and starting from scratch isn’t your only option. You can also keep your existing cabinets and simply replace cabinet doors and drawer fronts, to effectively transform the look of your space.



2. Interior and exterior painting.

Look for: modern neutral colours that will refresh any surface, whether it’s dingy hallway walls or the sun-baked roof of a shed. A stellar paint job is as much about colour as it is about care. A precise application is a must, so consider hiring professionals if you’re not up to doing it yourself. If wallpaper removal is required, their expertise can be a huge help.



3. A tankless water heater.

Look for: an incredibly compact (think carry-on-luggage size) Energy Star -qualified model that will provide hot water only as needed. By shutting down when the taps are turned off, energy use is reduced—along with your hydro bill.



4. Replace entry doors.

Look for: steel doors, in classic, unembellished styles that complement the look of your home, adding to its value. They’ll also keep wind and rain out, protect against heat loss—and some newer models are warp-resistant.



Tip: Need another incentive? If you buy the goods and complete the work before Feb. 1, 2010, you could get a personal tax break. It’s called the Home Renovation Tax Credit. Spend anywhere between $1,000 and $10,000 on home improvements, and you could qualify for a 15-percent non-refundable tax credit of up to $1,350.





For a complete list of installed interior and exterior renovation products and services, visit Sears HomeCentral online or call 1-800-4MY-HOME.

The Three "R"s of Home Staging: Refreshing, Reducing and Rearranging

When selling your house you need to think about more than just tidying up and straightening out a few things if you want to sell your home quickly and get the most money from the sale. Hiring a Professional Home Stager to guide you through the process of “house sale preparation” is your best bet. Why? Because Home Stagers know what it is that will sell your home best, looking through the “buyer’s eye”. A Professional Home Stager, employing the Three “R”s of Home Staging: Refreshing, Reducing and Rearranging, will ensure that your house is “sale ready”.

Refreshing your house takes into consideration the total condition of your house. All the little repairs that you’ve been meaning to do for awhile, like repairing the dripping bathroom faucet or replacing the trim around the windows in the guest bedroom now need to be done. A Professional Home Stager will be able to tell you what repairs, or upgrades should be completed in order for your home to look renewed, refreshed and up-to-date and thus competitive in today’s real estate market. The most common upgrades include painting, replacing or shampooing carpeting and replacing/updating lighting. According to the 2007 HomeGain Survey, the ROI of these relatively easy upgrades yield between 150% to 355%.

Now that your home is refreshed from top to bottom and front to back, you need to look at all the things in your house that you have collected or acquired. Thinking about moving is a great time to seriously consider “reducing” stuff around. Do you need or want all the back issues of National Geographic from the past 15 years or the straggly plants on the living room window ledge? Cleaning out the closets and clearing off the bookshelves are soul-cleansing activities that may have far reaching consequences for your well-being as well as giving your house room to breathe. A Professional Home Stager will also tell you that “clearing the clutter” means that prospective buyers can actually see the “bones” of your house and not be distracted by all the “stuff”. Clear and simple!

The grand finale is part of the magic that comes with Professional Home Staging. This is the positioning or re-arranging of your furnishings and accessories in your house to create a lifestyle image that speaks to the prospective buyer, “Buy me!”. A Professional Home Stager knows how to highlight focal points in your house, be they a fireplace, a dramatic window or decorative mouldings. The positioning of furniture creates a flow throughout your house that leads the prospective buyer around noticing all that your house has to offer and encourages them to imagine themselves living in your house. Well placed accessories including artwork, lend to the ambiance that you want to create.

So if you follow the three “R”s of Home Staging, your house will be guaranteed to look it’s best for that special time when you decide to move on and let your house belong to someone else.

Selling your house in the fall - Curb Appeal

The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler. Your house is for sale or you are planning to put it on the market now. With the trend in this area, you likely will not have difficulty selling if your house if it is well presented and well priced. Still, there are necessary tasks to complete to keep up appearances as the seasons change when it comes to the outside look.

Take a good look at your garden. At this time of year, annuals start to look "tired" and often past their prime. Think of replacing them with icicle pansies that are somewhat frost resistant. These flowers are bright and fresh looking. Seasonal Mums as well will brighten up a drab looking garden. Perennials may need "dead-heading" and cutting back if you haven't been keeping up with them. Also, now is the time to do some light pruning of shrubs and bushes to tidy up overgrowth. Freshen up any outdoor planters too. These few suggestions will go a long way to inviting prospective buyers to view your house.

But don't forget about the lawn areas either. Keep your lawn well cut and manicured until it stops growing. A lush, weed-free lawn suggests a caring attitude that is very important when selling your house. This is definitely a message that you want to convey to prospective buyers. As the leaves start to fall, keep up with the raking (even if this is a seemingly thankless and endless task). Again, this will suggest a well cared for house.

Pay attention to the house itself as well. After a summer in the sun, is there any peeling paint on the trim, does the front door need repainting? Now may be the time to give your front door a new coat of paint - try a bold colour that is eye-catching to lead the eye up to the entrance! Also, don't forget about windows - after the summer season they need cleaning to sparkle and let in the Autumn light. If you follow all these few suggestions, then your home will have that curb appeal that says "Come on in to see what else this home has to offer". If not, you may miss your chance for a quick sale at your price.

And the Bride wore. . .

WE worked like "crazy" setting up the venue in the cloudy drizzle, with multi-coloured table cloths and vases of seasonal annuals. Place cards were carefully selected rocks painted with everyone's name. Friends of the bride and groom manned the kitchen area with all the amazing variety of "pot-luck" offerings.

The sun shone at the appointed hour and the wedding was so wonderful with the couple conducting the whole ceremony themselves (an officiate was present for the signing of the registrar). As you can see, the bride wore a stunning dress with a beaded red bustier and a full beaded tulle skirt. It came from a designer in Greece where the bride's family is from. So very elegant, but take alook at the footwear. Yes, sometimes comfort takes precedent!!

Staging the wedding

WE are about to have our first family wedding and couldn't be more excited. Our son is being married in the park in Waterloo this Saturday. The young couple are quite "laid back" and are having a very non-traditional wedding. It is an outdoor wedding and they have planned everything themselves. It is now though that bride is thinking about bringing all the details together so that the day goes off without a hitch for them and the 130 some guests coming. Yikes!! The tent will be set up and tables and chairs brought in, but what about the lighting, where will the bar be set up and the self-catered food table (it is pot-luck), the flowers. . . all the details. So enter the Stager, aka Step-mom/motherinlaw to be. I will be at the venue early Saturday morning to help bring sense and sensibility to the last minute details. After all, this is what staging is all about; presenting an image. Do you know that Home Stagers can help you with "staging" for your event? It could very well take away much of the anxiety and worry about the venue you will be using so that you can concentrate on the more important details like your presentation, the ceremony or what ever the reason for your get together. Think about it and call me next time! Kathryn Wilson, HomeReady Home Staging, www.homereadyhomestaging.ca . In the meantime, I will be busy this Saturday morning doing what I love to do; making the wedding venue magical for the happy couple.

Home Staging the Backyard

Home Staging the Backyard
As we enter the lazy, hazy days of summer, prospective buyers are more acutely focused on the backyard and outdoor living. As a seller, you need to pay particular attention to what lies beyond the backdoor. The following tips will help you set priorities to ensure that your backyard is inviting for buyers to come and sit awhile and enjoy the ambience.
· First of all, take a good look at your lawn. It should be well manicured and as weed free as possible. Take care of insect infestations such as ant hills or grub patches. Garden Centres have safe and eco-friendly products available. Re-sod if parts of the lawn are beyond resurrection. Remember to water well!
· Secondly, inspect your deck and/or patio. Power washing and re-staining a deck can do wonders at refreshing and revitalizing the main gathering area. On the patio, look for pavers that are cracked or heaved from winter frost. Replace or level. Weeds or grass growing up between patio stones gives the impression of not caring so get busy and start pulling (you might get the whole family involved here!).
· Thirdly, let’s look at the main landscape elements. Are the trees and shrubs/hedges in good shape? Some pruning might be in order to tame an overgrown jungle. If you are not into DIY activities call someone in who knows what to do. Badly pruned shrubs/hedges look worse than non pruned shrubs/hedges.
· Fourthly, pay attention to your gardens. If gardening is your thing then likely minor weeding and tidying up is all that is needed. Perennials and annuals help to brighten up the backyard. Applying mulch will cut down on the need to water and weed and will provide a neat and orderly look to the garden. This gives the illusion that the garden will take care of itself and is just there to enjoy!
· Fifthly, pools. This may not always be an asset when selling your home in this area. You need to have your pool in perfect working order with clear sparkling water and attractive surroundings that suggest maintenance free.
· Number six on your list might be playground equipment. Are you planning on taking the swing set and climber or trampoline with you? If so, dismantle and store off the property. If not, then it could be an asset if the equipment is in very good condition and you are selling in a very family oriented neighbourhood. Otherwise, again dismantle and sell or give away. Make sure you repair the ground and/or the lawn beneath any equipment that is removed.
· And last, but not least, you need to “dress” the deck and/or patio. Inspect your outdoor furnishings. If you are thinking about replacing your tired looking patio set or barbeque, now is the time. Accessories such as lighting (lanterns, candles, and solar lights), container plantings and garden “art” all add to the mood you want to portray. The idea here is to invite buyers outside to sit and relax and enjoy the view and ambience. Outdoor entertaining, barbecuing, dining and just lounging seem to be one of our favourite summer pastimes given our short season in Eastern Ontario. This is what many buyers are looking for this time of year. Play up this asset of your home’s backyard. You won’t be sorry!
For more Home Staging ideas, contact HomeReady Home Staging, Ottawa area, http://www.homereadyhomestaging.ca/, 613-894-4155

Hot and Hazy

We never seem to be satisfied with the weather in Eastern Ontario. It's too cool, rainy; now hot and humid. Question is "Do you leave the blinds shut or open when showing your house?" Generally it is recommended to leave blinds open, curtains pulled back to let lots of light in so that prospective buyers can see what they are looking at and have that light and airy feeling in your home. Also, you may have a great view that would be obstructed if blinds are closed. Another missed opportunity to show off! Well, the house might be filled with light and the view of the backyard is great, but it might be stinking hot in the house if no A/C and this may be a turnoff to potential buyers or the A/C will be running non-stop (mega bucks for you).

Well I still opt for openness. We bought our home mid-July one year and the view was great even though it was 86 degrees in the house. Yes, the following spring we invested in an air conditioner and haven't looked back!