Curb appeal can make or break a sale in today’s market.

If your sellers are willing to improve the outside of their homes, here are some low-cost ways to increase a home’s curb appeal.

• Clean up beds by weeding and pruning shrubs. Add mulch for a high-end look.
• Invest in pots. A couple of attractive ceramic (or ceramic look-alike) pots filled with attractive plants can really make an entrance look classier.
• Install landscape lighting on the path to the front door.
• Replace the mailbox with a newer one and put some nice plantings at its base to dress it up.

Source: Tribune Media Services, Cameron Huddleston (07/26/2009)

Summer has finally arrived and it is time to expand your living and entertaining space to the outdoors. 

When it comes to decorating your outdoor space just think of it as your great room.  Section your patio/deck into three different areas: eating, conversation and relaxation.

Once you have figured out how you are going to use each space, it is time to pick out furniture.  Before purchasing the furniture, do some measuring of the space so you know exactly what will and will not work in the space.  This will help keep you from over spending and buying furniture that will not fit. 

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Selling a home that is vacant can be harder than selling a lived-in home, experts say. Here are some ideas from Pam and Dave Pettigrew, certified residential specialists with Prudential Rocky Mountain in Fort Collins, Colo., on what practitioners and sellers should consider to protect an empty property and get it sold.

Source: Coloradoan, Pam and Dave Pettigrew (04/12/09)

1. Add splashes of color. With every changing season, a landscape should provide a new display of colors, textures, and fragrances. “It’s best to use one or two and repeat them,” Glassman says. Example: white iceberg roses that bloom in spring, summer, and fall as a backdrop; in front, a contrasting punch of purple salvia or lavender that will flower at the same time; and as an accent, a crape myrtle tree that provides changing leaf colors in fall and interesting branches come winter.

2. Size trees and shrubs to scale. These should be planted in the right scale for the house so that they don’t block windows, doors, and other architectural features on the home’s facade. A large two-story house can handle a redwood, Chinese pistache, sycamore, or scarlet oak, but a one-story cottage is better paired with a flowering cherry, crabapple, or eastern redbud. Too many trees cast too much shadow and cause potential buyers to worry about maintenance and costs.

3. Maintain a perfect lawn. A velvety green lawn demonstrates tender loving care, so be sure sellers’ homes don’t have brown spots. Some rocks, pebbles, boulders, drought-tolerant plants, and ornamental grasses will generate more kudos, especially in drought areas.

4. Light up the outside. Good illumination allows buyers to see a home at night and adds drama. Sellers should use low-voltage lamps to highlight branches of specimen trees, a front door, walk, and corners of the house. But less is better. The yard shouldn’t resemble an airport runway.

5. Let them hear the water. The sound of water appeals to buyers, and you shouldn’t just reserve this for your backyard. A small fountain accented with rocks provides a pleasant gurgling sound, blocks street noise, and is affordable.

6. Use decorative architectural elements. A new mailbox, planted window boxes, and a low fence wrapped in potato vines add cachet, particularly during winter months when fewer plants blossom. Colors should complement the landscape and home. Just don’t overdo it: Too much can seem like kitschy lawn ornaments.

By Barbara Ballinger | April 2009

You want the paint to glide on smoothly, so be sure the surface is clean before you start painting. Remove any handprints, dirt, or scuff marks. Lightly sand any glossy spots to avoid streaks.

2. Select a paint sheen and color.

Ah, the choices! Many paint stores are making it easier to narrow down your choices by offering small trial sizes so that you can test the color at home and look for any variations in daylight and night. Lighting has a big effect on the way color appears. Remember: Higher sheen paints tend to offer more durability than flat paints, so use them in high-traffic areas. Stain or low-lustre finishes offer more warmth and depth than a flat paint. Consider a high sheen paint on the ceiling, which offers good reflection in the room.

3. Don’t go cheap on the paint.

It’s always tempting to save a buck, but it might not be worth it on paint. Painting is a big job, so you want the expense and quality to show. The Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute, a national painting education group, recommends purchasing top-quality acrylic latex interior paint, which will go on smoothly and allow for easy soap and water cleanups.

4. Choose the right paint tools.

If you’re using a roller to paint, select the right length of roller nap cover for proper paint coverage. The smoother your painting surface, the shorter the nap should be. Use synthetic materials, which are made from nylon or polyester, when applying latex or water-based paints.

Source: The Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute

Staging a yard can give a home the all-important, buyer-pleasing curb appeal. Here are some suggestions that are both inexpensive and easy.

• Make it green. Balancing the pH level and feeding the lawn lots of nutrients will give it a lush and healthy look.
• Trim trees and shrubbery. Overgrown branches hide a home’s good looks.
• Mulch everything. Mulch gives flowerbeds visual appeal.
• Edge the beds. Edging makes everything look neat.
• Powerwash the siding, sidewalks and patios. Power washing gets rid of all the winter grunge.
• Plant annuals. Lots of geraniums, impatiens and petunias brighten up the look.
• Plant a garden. If the Obama’s can do it, so can everyone else.
• Hang a hammock. It suggests life is easy.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (04/03/2009)

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You want to remodel your bathroom, but you don’t want to break the bank, and that’s a distinct possibility with any home renovation project. Here’s the skinny on how fat your wallet needs to be to do the remodeling job that you want. And once you know what costs what, you can figure out which corners — or countertops — to cut.

According to Remodeling magazine’s 2005 Cost vs. Value Report, a mid-range bathroom remodel is approximately $10,499, higher or lower depending on where you live (and how you define mid-range). Redoing your bathroom will cost you less in the South and more in the West and Northeast. The report also estimates that such a job will recoup 102 percent of its cost at resale. So at least you know you’re not flushing money down the toilet. An upscale bathroom remodel is estimated to cost $26, 052 — a hefty jump in price — and to recoup about 93 percent of that on resale.

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Model homes are important tools for builders because they help buyers fall in love with a home.

Phyllis Ryan, president of the model-home division of Interior Concepts, a Maryland design firm that specializes in furnishing new homes, has some tips that might benefit anyone who is selling a home.

• A stylish kitchen appeals to many buyers.   If a sellers has upgraded cabinets and granite countertops, that’s good. If they don’t, it may help to display some stylish touches like an espresso machine, a retro toaster or just some luscious fruit.

• Lots of light makes spaces feel larger. Turn on all the lights even during the day and add a few extra lights if necessary.

• The master bedroom should seduce a Buyer. Play soft jazz, pile the bed high with a cushy comforter and pillows. Stack plush towels in the bathroom.

• Add drama to a bottleneck or a dead end space. Prop an oversize mirror against the wall. It visually ops a space and adds drama.

Source: Washington Post, Elizabeth Razzi (03/14/2009)