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

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

Home Preparation Tips Inspired by HGTV's House Hunters

The home girl loves HGTV's House Hunter! I don't really consider it to be entertainment.  At least for me, the show is more like "home" work. I try to guess which home the buyer is going to select, using the keen skills that I have developed over the years, watching their reactions, their body language, what they say and more importantly, what they don't say about each property.

JUST KIDDING.

This show is so staged that it's fairly predictable, and let's face it, most buyers are not professionally trained actors.

This episode that I watched this morning was focused on a soon to be married couple buying in the Richmond, Va. area in the $200,000 ish price range. The real estate agent did a great job of finding suitable properties close to the price range for this couple, although I don't think the editors/producers/writers of the show encouraged or allowed her to offer very much advice to the buyers.

What I loved about this particular show was the predictability of the choice the buyers were going to make. The buyers' final choice was to exceed their budget and buy a newly constructed home. Seller's should watch this to see what they are up against when trying to sell a home in a buyer's market.

One buyer remarked in both resale homes that the carpet was nasty, and that she couldn't stand nasty carpet. My TV is HD and it really didn't look THAT bad, but I must admit you could see a few dirty spots, so it probably wasn't in pristine condition. It's just hard to compete with new. 

She made a comment in one home about a cheap plastic door. It appeared to be a type of sliding door between a hall and living area,  probably set up for temporary privacy for an office or other purpose. It could have been easily replaced. It's just hard for weird and temporary appearing to compete with new. 

You can follow the show here:  Richmond Mom

The outcome of the buyers' decision could have been so different if the sellers in either of the previously owned homes had taken the initiative to properly prepare their homes for sale.  There were missing or burned out light bulbs, missing chandeliers, dirty and stained carpet, outdated countertops in addition to non-curable problems such as dangerous dogs next door and a three story drop from the deck. 

The non curables can be cured with the difference in price, but the real objection coming from the buyer seemed to be the dirty carpet, the cheap door and the missing tub in the master suite.  All of the previously mentioned items,  even a remodel for the tub and the cost of a new refrigerator would probably be less expensive after negotiations than the cost of new construction. 

In a buyers market, or really in any market, sellers should stage their homes to compete with new consruction, price to deal with non curables and prep their homes to show at their absolute best. 

There are plenty of ideas on how to stage your home to sell.  I can't find any that are as detailed as I would like for them to be, so I am writing a detailed check list on how to prep your home for sale.  You can get all the information by following this blog.  Just watch for it!

FIRST TIME BUYERS

Don't miss out on an opportunity to be on HGTV.  They are coming to San Antonio!  Learn more by reading Randy's blog:  http://sanantoniorealestate.blogspot.com/  We are giving an additional bonus if they select one of our buyers.  Check it out!  Hurry!

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 please call me at or (210) 867-8743, Visit me at http://sanantoniohomequest.com or follow my blog at TexasHomeGirl.blogspot.com