Boosting your Home Value in the New Year

Time for the procrastination to be over - It's already mid January and I haven't even gotten back on my new year diet and exercise program yet!

Its been a long time since I posted.  Fun flies when you are having time, and I just didn't take the time to continue on my posts after about the middle of last year.  My weight loss program, some traveling and yes, even real estate took precedence over the blog and for that, dear readers,  I apologize.

Its the new year and this year will be even bigger and better than the last.  (The last was actually pretty good, and I am still about 16 pounds lighter than I was in 2012). I plan a better blog schedule to keep you informed on fun stuff, and real estate developments  around San Antonio, my weight loss ideas and encouragement, and of course how to improve your Texas home if you are thinking of selling, renting or just improving for your own enjoyment, 

As super bowl rapidly approaches, folks begin to think not only about football, but about moving.  Maybe they just need more wall space for a bigger screen TV or better entertainment areas or a major life change, but thoughts of a new living space for the new year just seem to happen, particularly in an improving economy.  Here from a recent HomeGain.com survey are 5 low cost ideas to improve your homes value without breaking the bank.

1. Clean and de-clutter     The average cost is $290. with a $1,990 increase for a 586%  ROI
2. Lightening and brightening The average cost is $375 with a $1,550 price increase for a $313% ROI
3. Home staging  The average cost is $550 with a $2,194 price increase for a 299% ROI
4. Landscaping  The average cost is $540 with a $1,932 price increase for a 258% ROI
5. Repairing electrical or plumbing  The average cost is $535 with a $1,505 price increase for a $181% ROI

If you are planning to sell, you should at a minimum do #1.  People don't want to buy other peoples dirt and all of that clutter makes it almost impossible to see the good features of a property.  Besides that, its just good feng shui to get rid of the junk and simply your life in the new year, even if you don't plan to sell.  It's the reason the container store runs the Elfa shelving system on sale every January. 


For more information, check out the homegain.com website or call me!  Real Estate is always local, and prices for improvements may vary.  Any repairs or improvements that you can do yourself will save you money in the long run, provided you can do those repairs in a safe environment and provided that the results are professional in their appearance.  Consult with you real estate professional before beginning any projects. 

I am Stephanie Kelley, Realtor® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions about San Antonio real estate or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call me at or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail me at swkrealtor@aol.com Our experienced Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs. Visit me at http://SanAntonioHomeQuest.com

Time Block Blues

I don't know about you, but I really, really, seriously hate it when I get the overly long drawn out message that sounds something like:  " Hello, your call is very important to me, blah, blah, blah, I am in meetings or in an appointment and I will be returning calls between 4 & 6 or after 9."Blah, Blah, Blah, if this is an emergency please call the receptionist, secretary or Uncle Charlie (choose one - none of them answer the phone)  Cheerio.  

If I sound frustrated, it is because I am.  It's really nice that the very important person that we are trying to contact has a booming business and busy life.  (Look up Girls Raised in the South for the meaning of "That's Nice", and if you don't get it, you don't really know any girls from the south).

The problem that I have is that my life is busy and sometimes hectic, too.  While it is nice to know what time the important person is planning to call back, I have an issue with the assumption that I am going to be available in the particular time block that works for him (or her).  Shoot, it might interfere with MY  time block.

Recently an agent told me that he couldn't possibly present an offer after 6:00 pm, that he had 2 kids to feed and bathe.  Now I understand about the feeding part, but any kid I know would gladly time block that bath until next week.  The feeding part could be handled with a chicken nuggets happy meal from the Mickey D drive through.  Be sure to block in 15 minutes for the wait time in line.  That leaves a couple hours to manage an appointment or even just a phone call, so that my clients don't have to miss their flight the next morning, pay for an extra day in a hotel, and can make a decision that will affect their families for at least (based on national averages) the next 5.5 years.  

My point is that Real Estate is a service business.  I really would like to have my own life and my own time and maybe I am just a poor scheduler, but when I have clients that are sitting in a hotel room waiting for a response from a very important person, I  wonder about the level of service that is being achieved.  The person who has so perfectly maintained his own schedule is wrecking and attempting to control the schedule of everyone else around him.  That is a disservice to the customer.  

I am Stephanie Kelley, Realtor® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions about San Antonio real estate or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call me at or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail me at swkrealtor@aol.com Our experienced Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs. Visit me athttp://SanAntonioHomeQuest.com

*For those of you following my weight loss and a little less of the home girl. . . I am down 31 pounds since the first of the year and sticking with it!  Join me at my fitness pal!

Best Clean Windows in San Antonio or Anywhere Else for that Matter

The home girl has cleaned up all the Halloween Decorations at the homestead. (with a bunch of help from the hubby)

Halloween has got to be one of my favorite holidays for many reasons.

1. Candy
2. Grown ups can play dress up.
3. You don't have to have a clean house for it to look absolutely marvelous!
4. Chocolate Candy
5. Dust and spider webs and windows you can't see through are appropriate.
6. Snickers, Butterfingers, Peanut M&M's
7. Everybody loves witches and its ok to act like like one.
8. More Candy

Alas, it's over. The pumpkins are melting, the bats and ghosts are back in a box, the left over candy is hidden so that I will forget where  I put it and all that is left are a few cobwebs, some dust and  thoughts of the next big event - Thanksgiving.  

It's time to clear away the dust and the cobwebs and get the home clean, sparkly and ready for the holidays.

The best way for a truly great outlook is to clean up what you are looking out.  (That's terrible grammar, but I hope you get the gist of what I am trying to say.)  Clean your windows!

The best recipe that I ever found for sparkly windows came from an article in the San Antonio Express News in December 2001 by Maribel Zimmerman. 

Please read the whole article and you will find the recipe for sparkly windows at the bottom of the page. 

***

San Antonio Express-News Sunday Real Estate  Sunday Dec 9, 2001
By Maribel Zimmerman

Some windows look like they were cleaned with a good amount of spit and an oily mechanics rag.  Sticky fingers and wet noses pressed to the glass can wreak havoc on your view, too.  But some windows look worse after they have been cleaned.  Why?  What could possibly have gone wrong?  Plenty.

Hastily pursuing the perfect view can mean forgetting the most important credos of crystal clear windows:  clean water and the right tools.  So, how do you get windows to sparkle the first time?  It's really not that hard. 

There are several ways to do the job right.  Commercial cleaning solutions can work well, but are not necessary for the job. Old fashioned household cleaners are plentiful in most homes - and expensive. 

Experts at Andersen-Windows suggest beginning with the right stuff:  rubber gloves; two buckets or one bucket with two wells; sudsy ammonia; white vinegar; rubbing alcohol; several clean, dry rags, a squeegee; and a ladder, if necessary. 

Now, follow these steps to the best view you've ever enjoyed:

1.  First, read and follow the manufacturer's instructions on each cleaning agent and all tools before beginning.  In addition, use extreme caution when using ladders around open windows to maintain safe operation and avoid injury.  If elevation devices are required, do not use furniture, only equipment intended for that purpose, including ladders, scaffolding, and step stools.  And follow all the manufacturers instructions for safe operation.
2.  Fill both buckets with 1 to 2 gallons of the hottest water your gloved hands can stand.  Use caution in handling hot water to avoid burns and scalding. 
3.  In one of the two buckets, add one cup each of ammonia and vinegar, plus two tablespoons of rubbing alcohol and stir.  The latter will help the water evaporate and add that "twinkle" factor.
4.  Begin at the top of the house at the top of the window.
5.  Wipe the entire surface with the solution.  If necessary, bugs, stickers, and stubborn marks can be removed with a new straight-edge blade, being careful to avoid personal injury or damage to the wndow.  Once the dirt is removed, wipe the window a second time with the clear water.
6.  Immediately squeegee the window, using a rag to wipe the squeegee dry after each swipe.  This will limit the streaks caused by wet lines of water at the squeegee's edge and eliminate dripping onto your sparkling windows with wet tools. 
7.  Use a clean cloth to wipe only the wet corners and the sill.
Some extra tips

• Again, use extreme caution when working around open window openings.  Never leave a window unattended, especially when children are present.  Falls may result in serious injury or death. 
• Try swiping in only one direction - horizontal or vertical on the inside of the house, and the other direction on the outside.  If you do find streaks, you'll know which side needs to be redone. 
• Change the water often to eliminate streaks.
• Tie a rope to the squeegee and secure it to the ladder or your belt in case you drop it.  Letting the solution dry onto the window while you climb down to retrieve your tools could be the difference between sparkle and debacle.
• Try cleaning windows on sunny, but dry days. Sunlight dries the solution too fast and makes streaks more likely. 
• Really dirty windows may need to be rinsed first with the garden hose, but be prepared to clean them immediately.  Hard water stains can be stubborn. 

For more information about windows, including maintenance, repair and replacement, contact the Greater San Antonio Builders Association at (210) 696-3800 for a free copy of the Remodelors Directory. 

The Greater San Antonio Builders Association is a local trade association that offers opportunities to its members to display their products and services. 
It makes no representations expressed or implied , regarding the qualifications of its members or the quality of their products and services, but invites you to examine them for yourself at www.sabuilders.com

Maribel Zimmerman is an architecutral representatve for Black Millwork Co. Inc., a member of the Greater San Antonio Builders Association Remodelors Council

***

This is the recipe for sparkly windows

Solution:
1 cup ammonia
1 cup vinegar
2 Tablespoons Rubbing Alcohol
plus
1 to 2 gallons of HOT water (stir it all together)

After removing the dirt, wipe with clear water only, then squegee.

 ***

*Home Girl Note

This article was written almost 10 years ago. The website for The Greater San Antonio Builders Association is still good, but I'm not sure about the phone number or if they still have copies of the Remodelors Council Directory. 

I do know this recipe for cleaning windows works.  It did 10 years ago, and it still does.  I have had many clients and other agents ask for my secret, and it's really no secret!  I found this article last week when I was cleaning out a file, and thought this would be a great time to share it.

Sparkly windows just make us feel better.  They make a home look better and may be just the missing piece to help somebody's home sell.  If nothing else, clean windows give us  a better outlook.  :-)  


I am Stephanie Kelley, Realtor® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas. If you have questions about San Antonio real estate or just want to chat a bit about our wonderful Alamo City, please call me at or (210) 867-8743, or E-mail me at swkrealtor@aol.com Our experienced Realty Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs. Visit me at http://SanAntonioHomeQuest.com

Texas Home Buyer Two Steps Around Her Agent

A friend stopped by the Home Girl's office yesterday. She was terribly upset because a client that she had worked with for over a decade was terminating their agency agreement.

It's painful to be fired. Ask any number of the currently unemployed who have been terminated or laid off due to downsizing and the lousy economy. Sometimes the termination is justifiable because of the employee's actions or non-actions, and sometimes not so much.

But no matter the cause, the sick feeling in the pit of the stomach is right there, a tight, nauseating knot that lasts for days. Even when the the termination makes sense, it hurts.

In the private sector, employees are paid for their services. In fact, if an employee is not paid for work performed, then a complaint can be filed for theft of services. Governor Perry signed SB 1024 eliminating a loophole that previously existed for a criminal theft of service charge. Under prior law, a party obtaining services from another under a promise to pay could avoid a criminal charge of theft of service so long as the party was making minimal payments. Read more here: http://bit.ly/qYuWSJ

My colleague did not have such recourse. The buyer felt that she had "found" her home without assistance.

• She failed to take into consideration the hours that were spent setting up searches using specific criteria requested by the buyer.
•  She did not take into consideration the number of homes that had already been shown to her.
• There was no accounting for time spent researching property values in communities in which she had expressed an interest.
• No mention was made for reimbursement of travel or gas expenses.

This is just a partial list. This buyer just didn't understand or care what her friend and agent was doing on her behalf, spending considerable time (and time is money) and concentrated effort.

This agent is sharp. Had the buyer mentioned that she was not finding her desired home, that her needs had changed, then the search would have been tweaked and more homes may have been available. There was a signed buyer agency agreement and an established relationship of many years.

Instead of communicating her wishes to her agent, the buyer called ANOTHER agent to show her a property. Kind of like a first date with somebody when you are married to somebody else. I guess the showing agent didn't ask the right questions (are you working with an agent?), had no ethics, or the buyer answered, "not really".

When I receive a sign call and ask "are you working with an agent" and the potential buyer answers "not really" , I usually cringe and then proceed to lose the lead by saying something intelligent like,
 " Seriously?, What does that mean? Not really. Do you or do you not have an agent?".

These questions are not an effort to be lazy, to not show my own listings, but are used as an effort to be ethical, to respect the efforts that another agent has invested into his or her client, and to avoid the confusion caused by an existing buyer's agency agreement versus the procuring cause argument that will probably be offered by the agent that showed the one property that my friends client "found".

As Realtors, we have an obligation to be ethical. Customers are under no obligation to share in that responsibility, but clients have signed an agreement to be loyal. It just seems to me that you got to dance with who brung ya, and if you don't want that, then break up before the dance begins.



Post script.  I was able to visit with my colleague today to see how things were going.  It turns out that she did have a conversation with the "new" buyers' agent.  The agent did ask the questions, but the answer was the usual - not really, not a signed agreement. ( I guess the buyer forgot  - hmmm)   The new agent has offered to pay a referral to my colleague.  I don't really think this is a win-win.  I am happy that my friend is getting a little compensation.  My opinion of her former client is not so great, slightly better of the other agent, but now I am the one with a sick feeling in my stomach and I don't feel like dancing with anybody.