The 4 Most Worthwhile Investments You Can Make in Your Home

Home improvement doesn’t need to be expensive. Here are four ways to improve your home’s value on a budget.

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Whether you’re having a big event or party at your house or you’re just trying to maximize its value before you put it on the market, there are a number of things you can do to make your home better that are pretty inexpensive. Here are the top four indoor and outdoor improvements to make on your home that will give you the highest return on your investment:

1. Fresh interior wall colors. Update your walls with one of today’s trending colors for the main level living spaces, including the living room, stairway, and upstairs hallway.

2. Floor finishes. If you need new carpet, it’s time to replace it. If the carpet is pretty new already, get it cleaned. If you have hardwood flooring, it might be a good idea to have it refinished as well.

If you need new carpet, it’s time to replace it.

3. Professionally pruning your trees, shrubs, and landscape beds. This is the top improvement to make on the exterior of your home. It will make the outside of your home look fresh when buyers pull up.

4. Fresh coat of exterior paint. It costs a little bit more than the other improvements, but it will still add a lot of value to your home and make your curb appeal pop.


Hopefully these tips work for you. If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

Wow Homebuyers With These Two Things

Today I’m answering a question from one of my viewers, “What are the top things wowing buyers in the real estate marketplace?”

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What are the hottest things wowing buyers in the real estate market right now? I’ll go over the top two today. 

As far as the outside goes, a nice outdoor patio area really wows buyers. A decorative stone or newly paved concrete space accompanied by a fire pit gets buyers excited about the prospect of entertaining and really enjoying that space. 

A space that has cubbies, coat hooks, additional storage, or a craft area really makes a home pop for buyers.”

For the inside, great mud rooms or back halls are a huge plus. A space that has cubbies, coat hooks, additional storage, or a craft area really makes a home pop for buyers. 

If you have a question you’d like answered in a video, or if you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. If I answer your question in a video, I’ll send you a $25 gift card!

The Colors You Should Use to Upgrade Your Home

If you’re thinking about updating your home, whether you’re selling soon or not, it’s a good idea to update on trend to add some value. Today I’ll go over the hottest colors being used right now in real estate.

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I’m going over the hottest and trendiest colors being used in real estate today. 

Gray and grayish colors are very popular for interior walls right now. In fact, Sherwin-Williams reported that their hottest color for 2016 was called “Reposed Gray” with another hot color being “Amazing Gray.” 

For trim colors, doors, and cabinets, the hottest color is Sherwin-Williams “Pure White,” which is a big go-to color. If you’re looking for a great accent color, “Tricorn Black” has been a steady staple for awhile now. 

The hottest color for trim, doors, and cabinets is Sherwin-Williams “Pure White.”

As far your exterior goes, find a house in the area where you live that has a similar exterior style and pick a color scheme that you like. Find out from the current homeowner what colors they used for their exterior body color and the exterior trim. That’s going to be a much better approach than trying to pick out a color from the samples. 

Stay away from yellow, blue, and bold green colors and instead stick to gray and earth tone colors. In addition, if you are thinking about front door colors, one of the staples is that Tricorn Black, which is also great for shutters. 

If you have any other questions or if you’re looking to buy or sell a home, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! 

Should You Update Your Home Before You Sell?

When is the best time to make home improvements if you’re selling a home? I believe doing them before you put your home on the market always beats giving an allowance, and here’s why.

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If you’re thinking of selling your home, there are probably a few improvements that need to be made. However, how do you know if you should make the improvements yourself or give the buyer an allowance to make them afterward? 

In my personal experience, I have never taken a buyer through a home and had them stop to rave about an excellent allowance for home improvements. However, they will stop to comment on how amazing the kitchen looks, how nice the home smells, how beautiful the floors look, how excited they are to see granite countertops, and so on. Buyers are excited to see updates already completed.

Buyers get excited about updates, not allowances.

Even if you’re not thinking about selling right away, make the improvement anyway! Change out the light fixtures, countertops, or flooring. You’re not going to hurt those things while you are still living there, and if you decide to sell, you’ll reap the benefits of having those things done already. People don’t get charged up about allowances, and you’ll be able to enjoy the updates until you move. 

Replacing the carpet is the only thing I would wait to do until closer to when you are ready to sell so you avoid stains. Other than that, make the improvements now and enjoy them. 

If you need any names of resources to help you with those projects, are looking to buy or sell a home, or have any other questions, please give me a call or send me an email. I’m happy to help!

Can Home Sellers Succeed in the Winter Market?

This time of year, a lot of people ask me whether this season is a good time to sell a house. You might be surprised to hear why now might be the best time of year to sell.

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Is now a good time to sell your house?

My answer? The best time to sell your home is when you have the least amount of relative competition. While the summertime is busier than the wintertime in the real estate market, you want to look at the number of homes on the market you would compete against.

The best time to sell is when there's the least amount of relative competition.

For example, if two homes sell per month in January but there aren't any other homes on the market, now would be a great time to sell. On the other hand, if four homes sell per month in June, but there are nine homes on the market at the time, that market will be a lot more competitive. It always depends on the current market and the kind of situation that creates for you. It will show us how aggressive we can be in selling your house, given the competition that we're up against.

If you've been on the fence or you've had any thought of selling your home, give me a call or send me an email right away. I'd be happy to help you.