Smart Home Improvements

Should I update my kitchen or bathrooms? Or redo my floors?

It depends if you’re looking for a long term upgrade or planning on selling in the near future.  Although kitchens have become the most central room in the house the styling trends are changing about every 5 years, so if you’re planning on selling in the next 5 years then your kitchen will most likely still be in fashion when you decide to sell. 

When it comes to the biggest bang for your buck, nothing beats painting. Not far behind is redoing floors, but I would recommend waiting until shortly before you sell to do this unless you’re planning on staying put for a while and want to take advantage of a totally different floor stain.

Redoing bathrooms is a lot less costly than redoing a kitchen and the average buyer is less discerning when looking at bathrooms than a kitchen.  A new vanity, mirror and paint can transform a bathroom. Other easy upgrade options are changing vanity countertops to granite or marble if your vanities are still in good shape, and replacing vanity hardware.

Another great idea for freshening up your home is replacing the hardware on your doors, especially if they are worn.

Westport Adult Continuing

Education presents…

How to Avoid Costly Pitfalls When Selling Your Home

How can you best prepare for selling your home and avoid common mistakes in the process (and fetch the maximum return for your investment)?  Join Rob Grodman, a local Realtor for almost 20 years, and a variety of speakers, including professional stagers and a professional organizer, who will discuss what you should start doing

 

 

 

                            

to prepare for selling your home.  There will be a panel discusion which will also include a building inspector, real estate attorney,

accountant, financial planner, mortgage broker, appraiser, and family attorney to  answer various questions about the process.

2 Sessions: February 4^th & 11^th.  Staples High School Room 1036         Wednesday 7:00-9:00 p.m. $35

Registration Online at: www.westportcontinuinged.com,   or

203-341-1209

April 2013-a Hot Month

Not literally, but there was a sense in April that with low inventories prevailing it was time to act. The numbers continued to show strength. Closed sales in the month of April were up in every town, with Weston seeing a big jump relative to the previous year, though the numbers were solid everywhere. All towns are ahead of their 2012 numbers, though closed sales in Wilton for the month of April were exactly the same as in 2012, with 13 closed sales of single family homes. I always focus my attention on the sales going to contract in the month, the clearest indication of current activity. There again we see strong numbers everywhere. Weston and Wilton saw some big increases in April. Weston had 31 homes go to contract versus only 12 in April, 2012, and Wilton had 46 versus 24 the previous year. Westport had 52 properties vs. 45 in April 2012, and Fairfield 91 vs. 81 in '12. Stamford numbers continue to track along similar lines to Fairfield, with the lower end of the market seeing the majority of the sales. The 89 homes going to escrow in April compared to 63 in the previous year. Inventory in North Stamford continues to be relatively low, though movement has been slow as well. There continue to be situations with multiple offers for new inventory especially those that are seen as excellent value, and several new homes being sold before completion. Marketing times have been fairly steady, but Weston & Wilton have seen a marked increase in Marketing time, with April days on market in Weston going from 132 in April 2012 to 255 days in 2013, and Wilton seeing even longer marketing averages from 150 days in April 2012 to 282 days in April 2013. Sales in the beach areas along Long Island Sound are moving slowly, though typically these areas pick up activity in the warmer months. It is still premature to know whether they will be affected by the storm events of the previous year. Early indicators in May show a trickling of new inventory. I would expect to see this continuing through May and June.

Springtime & Yearly Lists

There are always a certain number of items that need attending to in a home on a yearly basis, or more regularly. We all overlook certain things that we need to do in our lives but in order to get everything done in our ever busier lives I’ve found that it is helpful to keep a list of those items both in a written form (as a reminder) as well as on my time-management program (which I also sync. with my phone). Here are some of the ones that I tend to overlook,but really should be done, and most of these items should be done about 6 weeks from now:

• Change the filters on your heating and air conditioning unit (if your have a forced air system), at least once every 3 months. I mark the filters with the date in case I forget when I last put them on). I like to do it on the first day of each quarter. Some heating folks will tell you to do it more often. Look at the filter itself to see how dirty it is . If it’s very dirty after 3 months try every 2 months.
• Have your heating and cooling inspected every year. This is kind of like rotating the tires on your car. The more often you do it the more likely that the system will last longer.
• Close the shut off valve in basement by October 15th to avoid frost issues, and potential water damage. They can be turned back on in April.
• Do a yearly visual inspection on the exterior of the house after the winter months to see if there has been any damaged sustained to the roof, gutters, and walkways. Start to schedule repairs in the early spring to avoid the summer rush when it is more difficult to find repair people.
• Schedule the annual service inspection of the heating system in late spring-the heating companies tend to be too busy in the winter to do servicing then. You can also take advantage of the time to call the A/C service providers to do their inspection a few weeks later, in late May usually works, do have everything in good working order before the providers get swamped in the summer months
• Spring is a good time to start fertilizing and seeding your lawn.
• If you tend to get bees or wasps late spring is also a good time to schedule the exterminator to come by. While he’s there have him check that there aren’t termites or other unwanted bugs or other creatures that might have infiltrated the house in the winter months
• If you’re on well water spring is also a good time to have the pump checked, and you might want to check out the water itself. Your water treatment specialist can do this for you, or you can also take a sample and have it checked at Brooks Labs in Norwalk.
• Open the covers of your heating ducts and take a vacuum hose to get out dust and other debris.
• Open your dryer exhaust at least once a year and clean out excess lint which could make drying your clothes more difficult and be a potential fire hazard
• If you make changes to your home, or buy new furniture or paintings take some digital photos and retain them somewhere online where they could be produced if there is a theft or damage to the house.