When I’m working with first-time buyers, I love reading the words “All appliances remain!” especially when they’re coming from apartments and have nothing but milk crates and mattresses with which to decorate.  It does take time to build up an income to replace appliances and to take on other house projects, so appliances remaining are a huge selling point.

Sometimes, however, the appliances that remain are old.  Functioning, yes.  Attractive, no.  The good news is you can make these appliances look a lot nicer with a little ingenuity and elbow grease.  Apartment Therapy offers some tips on how.  For example,

Many appliances can be fitted and updated by changing their fronts. A great option for renters who are stuck with built in appliances like dishwashers. Contact the manufacturer of the appliance who can provide you with a listing of face panels that will fit existing appliances, and face panels that will require customization.

By the way, my friend who just moved hasn’t yet brought over her fancy new washer and dryer, so she’s been using the landlord’s old-fashioned one that has the rotator.  She said the old one works MUCH BETTER!

Photo by Lara604 via flickr creative commons.

Staging a home can be done in degrees.   Some sellers go all out and remove, rearrange, or refinish furniture, walls, floors, light fixtures, cabinets, counters and everything in-between. Other sellers may simply pack away knick knacks and give the house a good, deep cleaning.

BOTH are good, but the latter is the top priority if you want to get a good price.  Frankly, no one wants to buy your dirt and crud, so to have a house clean and clutter-free is the MOST VITAL step you can take to finding a strong buyer.

I think when buyers come through they look up (fixtures), down (flooring), and all-around (fresh paint).  If these are in good condition, if the house looks and smells clean, and if the price isn’t outrageous, you may have a sale.

I have a seller who is enthusiastically preparing her house to list.  She had a pre-inspection done yesterday and there was a minor list of items that needed repaired or worked on.  For example, new caulking was required on one outside window and one pipe needed to be insulated.

Her husband won’t let her list the house until everything is done, which is normally a great attitude.  However my concern is that by delaying they may miss out on buyers who are looking to get the nice juicy federal tax credit.  It’s a magnificent house and none of the repairs should hinder any buyer.

In any case, I am of the school that it’s good to get a listing pre-inspected in order to have all repairs made and to eliminate any surprises from when the house sells.  Another agent in my office were discussing this and he has the opposite view … he believes that if you have it inspected and find something wrong, then the seller is liable for disclosing it in the future. My thought is that if something that major is wrong, they’ll have to repair it anyway.  If they don’t and the seller walks away, they’ll still have to disclose it.  I’d much rather find a problem and address it in advance.

What do you think?  Would you be more inclined to buy if a house had already been inspected?  If you were selling, would you want it pre-inspected?

I’m all about saving money wherever I can these days… it’s so scarce that I’d rather use my coins toward making my house payment than replacing everyday items when they could last longer.  That’s why I love this post about stretching the life of common household items.  My favorite tip,

If your sponge starts to look gross, simply wet it and put it in the microwave for one-two minutes to sterilize it and give it a new life. Once it has reached its end in your kitchen, make this sponge your new bathroom cleaning sponge to stretch its life even further.

At my house, I use every last drop of toothpaste I can.  My husband - and this is weird to me - doesn’t use toothpaste at all.  Instead, he brushes his teeth with his mouthwash thereby eliminating toothpaste completely.  I turn off power strips at night (every penny counts), use leftovers for soup (or dog food) (I know, dogs shouldn’t eat human food but I still give them some), and don’t return my red box movies the day they’re due unless I’m out already.  Why spend that money on gas when it only costs a dollar to keep one more night.

What money saving tips do you have?

Photo by Horia Varlan via flickr creative commons.

I don’t burn candles at home except when our power goes out which unfortunately about a once-a-month occurance since we’re on the tail end of the local power grid.  We have our fireplace serviced every couple of years to make sure a build-up of the flammable creosote is kept to a minimum … we should have it cleaned annually, but ince we don’t build regular fires we can get away with it.

When you do build fires, never use gasoline or other accelerants to fuel them, do not throw in paper or cardboard, and make sure nothing flammable is nearby that could burst into flame should a spark jump out.

If you have a gas furnace, it should also be inspected annually both for fire safety and to insure against carbon monoxide poisoning and other dangers.

Make sure you have a working smoke alarm in every room.

Never leave food cooking in the kitchen and have a fire extinguisher on hand in the event of a fire.

Keep lighters, matches, and other flame sources away from children.

And most importantly, always be cognizant of any open flame in the house.  That’s the reason for today’s post.  Because even I can have one careless moment like yesterday at the office.  I had a candle on my desk that I lit because it smells so nice.  A lovely vanilla flavor.  As I shuffled through some papers, I inadvertently put a certificate on top of my burning candle.  I was completely unaware of what I’d done until my friend (who was there working on her own project) said, “Um, Kathy?  You have a little fire there!”

I looked down and sure enough, a mini flame had erupted on my newly earned Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource certificate and congratulatory letter.  With my hands I batted out the little flame and thankfully had a bottle of water within easy reach.  I held it over my waste basket to extinguish the glowing embers.

Here’s what my nice, shiny certificate looks like now.

If it was THAT EASY for something of mine to catch fire, it could easily happen to anyone.  Always be aware of fire dangers in your home (and at your office).  Be careful, my friends.

I am so ashamed.  The grout between my bathroom tiles is just disgusting.  So my goal before Thanksgiving is to get them sparkling clean!  I am not a cleaning diva, but I do give it the good ol’ college try when needed. I get most of my cleaning tips from either Home Ec 101 or watching Kim and Aggie on How Clean is Your House - a BBC America favorite of mine.

I’ve learned the best way to clean grout is first try using soapy water (but not bleach if you have colored grout).  If this isn’t enough, use vinegar (equal parts vinegar and water) or baking soda.  Get an old sturdy toothbrush for the detailed scrubbing - which you’ll do in small circular strokes.  You can try regular household cleaners, too but whatever your choice make sure you thoroughly rinse.

If none of this works, according to Do It Yourself dot Com,

For heavy duty stains, use even stronger products such as oxygen bleach powder, hydrogen peroxide, or chlorine bleach. These products should be well diluted before use. You can also find heavy duty cleaners at hardware stores or janitorial supply outlets. If you go this route, however, you will need to read labels carefully and follow directions to the letter.

Good luck!

I love Fall just knowing I won’t have to mow the lawn for another five, six months.  Just because the grass is going into hibernation, however, it doesn’t mean yard work is done.  Take a nice, sunny autumn day to complete some chores around your yard to get it ready for winter.

The Greater Hartford Real Estate blog gives some pointers on what you can be doing right now for your yard.

- Taking in the hoses and turning off the water to the spigots.
- Cleaning out the pots and planters.
- Bringing in the outside furniture.
- Removing the grass from between the sidewalk slates.

One of my friends keeps saying he’s going home to aerate his yard … again this is a great time for that chore.  Given the beauty of today, I may be up for walking my acre to do this too!

Photo by doortoriver via Flickr Creative Commons.

Not too long ago I showed a house that was in pretty decent shape.  There were some minor repairs that needed to be done - mostly painting, maybe new fixtures to update the house.  It had good bones, though, and was going to be a great buy even in AS IS condition.

Until we walked around to the side of the house.  Someone had stolen the brand new heat/air unit.  All that remained was the concrete slab it had been sitting on and loose wires / pipes hanging out the side of the house.  Thieves are rampant in all parts of the country.  They are going for big ticket items like air conditioners and appliances …. this is why many builders won’t install appliances until the day of closing.  The sheer gall of people never ceases to amaze me.

Up in St. Paul, Minnesota, the opening of the new fire department headquarters has been delayed because of copper thieves, according to KSTP-TV.

… on Oct. 5, someone broke onto the construction site.  The St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said, “They cut and removed some of the copper feeder cable inside the building and that all has to be replaced and reinstalled.” To allow time for construction crews to repair the damage, the opening date has been pushed back to Dec. 14.

Many security companies are offering new lock boxes to protect copper wiring at homes.  Even state governments are feeling the fiscal pain caused by these thefts.  The Washington State Department of Transportation last year wrote about state action to prevent theft,

WSDOT is working hard to come up with solutions to make junction boxes harder for thieves to break into and Washington State Patrol are training troopers what to look for.  These thieves will steal wire in broad daylight. They have staged work zones, setting cones and wearing reflective vests.

Protect your home, watch your neighborhood, don’t be too trusting of what you see.

Photo from Pipe Problems.

Summer is here so the beach is calling some of you, mountains are the destination of others.  Personally, I prefer the cool shade of the mountains rather than the blistering sun of the shore, but humidity sometimes makes even shade unbearable!  Give me a healthy dose of air conditioner!

If you are making plans to travel, though, you should plan ahead to keep your home safe from would-be thieves in your absence.  Lynnae at BeingFrugal.net provides some great tips on what to think about before you leave:

Put your Lights on Timers – If you can’t line up a house sitter, make sure your lights are on timers.  Timers are not that expensive, and setting the lights to go on and off will make your home look lived in.