Home Maintenance is not only important when getting ready to sell your home, but is important to maintain our homes value and condition on a day to day basis.  Regular home maintenance will help you in the resale of your home of course, it can make a difference in how your buyer views the home, and how your appraisers treats the home in relation to the economic age.  But, resale isn't the first thing on everybody's mind today, right?

What it comes down to is really the age-old advice of Benjamin Franklin, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  If you take care of your home little by little all of the time, you will reap the prevention of many larger problems, whether it is future problems for YOU, or future problems for getting your home sold, still translating to future problems for YOU.

Protecting the value of your home, can help you in many different areas.

• curb appeal... your yard, landscaping, and exterior are the first things people notice as they drive up to your home.  Everyone knows that you only get one chance to make a first impression, so keep in mind the importance of those flower beds, a well manicured yard, and trimmed bushes.  
• Updating your lighting... New light fixtures are not really that costly and can make a world of difference in how your home looks and feels, it can give you a more updated appearance, and also can create more light, which can make a room appear bigger.
• Kitchen facelifts...The kitchen is often one of the most important features to the home for a Buyer, probably a kind of silly concept in a day and age when many people don't hardly even cook at home, but still a true story. Which also probably means it is an important room for guess who?  YOU!  Make it a room you can enjoy and be proud of WHILE YOU live in the home, not just another project for your Realtor to suggest if you put your home on the market.  For many a new kitchen is not an easy item to obtain, but what about, replacing old faucets, updated cabinet pull and handles, or just putting in matching appliances, all of these items are less costly than a new kitchen, yet help your room to feel more updated and unified.  If you have a little more time or money, I have seen some great jobs of cabinet refacing that made an amazing change, or the cost of new counter tops pays of  a ton in value and in appeal!  I have seen Sellers do a few of these updates and then wonder why they even wanted to sell!  :-)
• Bathrooms... another room that matters!  There are lots of less costly ways to make your bathroom seem more updated and of course the simple items like making sure you keep up on caulking since that can go from being a 30 minute project to being a total renovation due to procrastination.  You can easily update floors, shower surrounds, replace chipped tiles, or there are many "ugly" bathtub solutions.  Even something as simple as a new toilet seat and fresh paint can make a big difference!
• Carpets... maybe you dream of all new perfectly matching and stylish carpet, but in the real world, your children or pets will just mess it up anyway right?  You can always start with having your carpets professionally cleaned, a good professional can make a tremendous difference in how your carpets look and smell!  (If you are thinking of selling you should always remember, you can't sell it if you can smell it! )  If your carpet is a little worn, or you don't love the color sometimes you can use an area rug to give it a boost and make a room feel cleaner or create a more welcoming atmosphere.
• Your neighborhood... have you ever had a vacant house in your neighborhood and it looked awful every evening when you came home from work?  OR, even worse have you tried to sell your house with this same problem?  Vacant homes in your neighborhood can give you a poor outlook while living there, but can be even more of an issue for a potential Buyer.  So, help your outlook, and be a neighbor, see if you and some other neighbors can get together to at least keep up the part of the property everyone looks at, if everyone share the project it would make the neighborhood look better, and you could know you did something to help your neighbors as well!  

I have found several home maintenance checklists that remind you to check on little things that are easy to ignore, feel free to shoot me an Email or send me a Facebook message if you would like a copy!  I know I'm putting them in my to do list!  

Having an opportunity to help others, and maybe use my skills to help improve a situation for someone else is something I have always wanted to do!

If you have any questions, or just want to keep up on Real Estate, please catch the new Q and A in Tidbits!  Or send your questions to me, or tidbits@wyoming.com!

"When you come to the edge of all the light you have known, and are about to step out into darkness, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen - there will be something to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly."

- "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach

Lots of people consider selling their larger home to help reduce debt and monthly bills.  If this is something you are considering, now is a great time!  The interest rates are again at record lows and with our local shortage of inventory you may have better luck selling that larger more costly home!

Listen to the January edition of Real Estate Realty on our Facebook page for more information, or get in touch with one of your Hometown Realtors.  We would love to help you meet your goals!

Why am I sharing this?  Because this reminds me how it is so important to make sure that you have chosen a Realtor that has your best interests in mind.  They need to know what you want, and be knowledgable in the market place, knowing things such as the DOM, value, competition and other options, just to mention a few important things!  

Please take the time to search out a Realtor that you are confident has your best interests at heart.  A home purchase is exciting and large, and should be fun!   BUT it won't be fun if you don't have someone looking out for your best interests!

In the training we learned how to negotiate with lenders to help a Seller who may be underwater.  A short sale allows a cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property.  With the decline in property values, this can save many people from forclosure and even bankruptcy.  More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

This designation will be invaluable as I work with sellers and lenders on these complicated short sales, I am amazed at the extra work and time that goes into this type of a sale, but am in awe at how the training will give me the skill set to help so many people from going through the pain and frustration of a foreclosure. 

I am very excited to use this training to help anyone I can to keep their dignity, when times get tough!  I am also excited that currently Katie Franks, Ramsey Stepp, and myself, are the only real estate agents in our entire county with this type of training.  If you, or someone you know is struggling to make your house payment.  Call us, as we can help!  We are your Hometown Realtors, here to  make a difference!

For more information about the CDPE designation you can also check out the website www.cdpe.com

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.