Let's Talk Real Estate

There’s a basic rule of thumb to follow when choosing paint sheens: The higher the sheen, the higher the shine — and the higher the shine, the more durable it will be. Flat paint has no shine; high-gloss is all shine. In between are eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss, each with its own practical and decorative job to do.  Here’s how to choose the right paint sheen for your painting job: High Gloss The most durable and easiest to clean of all paint sheens, high-gloss paint is hard, ultra-shiny, and light-reflecting. Think appliance-paint tough. High gloss is a good choice for area that sticky fingers touch — cabinets, trim, and doors. High-gloss, however, is too much shine for interior walls. And like a Spandex dress, high gloss shows every bump and roll, so don’t skimp on prep work. Practical application:  kitchens, door, and window trim Durability:  very high Semi-Gloss Good for rooms where moisture, drips, and grease stains challenge walls. Also great for trim work that takes a lot of a

Stand in your kitchen and take a deep breath. Smell that? From last night’s fish to your son’s nasty lacrosse pads that he left on the table.  If you can’t detect any of your home’s rankest odors... you’ve got nose blindness. You actually adapt to the smells around you.  On a sensory level, your processing mechanism becomes less sensitive to the continuous stimuli. On a cognitive level, you can become habituated to the smells and basically learn to ignore them.  Here are some of the most common nose blindness culprits and how to ban them from your home. #1 Pet Funk There’s one easy way to tell if your home smells like pets: Do you have them? Then, yeah, unless you’re an obsessive cleaner and groomer, your abode has at least some Fido funk.  It could be pee, but more likely it’s just hair, gunky ears, and weeks-old slobber.  The first step to cleaning up pet smells is — sorry, pets — cleaning the pets themselves. Bathe and groom them regularly.  Then, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. If they hav

When painting the exterior of your home, you want to get the most from your investment. Done right, an exterior paint job can last 10 years; stain needs to be reapplied more often, anywhere from two to 10 years, depending on the type of stain. One key to how long an exterior finish lasts is how well the surface is prepared. But equally important is the choice of the paint or stain itself. Using high-quality materials, matching them to your house and climate, and conducting regular maintenance will extend the time between recoatings. Expect to pay $35 to $45 per gallon for conventional premium paint or stain. "Green," or zero-VOC, products run $45 to $55 per gallon. A gallon covers 350 to 400 square feet, so figure on about 8 gallons to cover an average two-story, 30-by-40-foot house. Most paint jobs require a primer and two topcoats. Acrylic Latex Paints Acrylic latex is the favored choice, both of pros and do-it-yourselfers. These water-based paints come in an endless range

You may be selling a home in a competitive market — for example, with low inventory and high demand. And you may be thinking “Yay!” or at least “Whew.” You know you’re likely to have more interested buyers, better offers, and a quicker trip to contract than you’d have otherwise. But along with that good news comes the need to manage your expectations by understanding what determines house prices and home sales. Factors include the right real estate agent, local market conditions, buyer preferences, seasonality, and mortgage rates versus inventory. Work with the Right Real Estate Agent to Sell Your Home What is going on in the U.S. as a whole is different than what’s going on in Austin, Texas.  And both are different than what’s going on in your neighborhood.  You might hear that it’s a strong seller’s market, but your home may be in a micro buyer’s market. Research your market on your own, then interview real estate professionals to find the best person to work with. Sellers should ap

Staging Your Home: How to Make Buyers Fall in Love With these tips and tricks, your house will be swoon-worthy in no time. Read Copyright 2019 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

It’s a rare buyer who can see past the clutter, peeling paint, and stinky pet odors. Here, professional home stagers unlock the secrets to staging your own home. Follow them then schedule that open house—and watch the offers come in! First impressions “These days, it’s all about  curb appeal  so don’t forget your front door,” says Jerry West Sanders,  an interior designer and home stager at Sanders-West Consulting and Design LLC of  Olympia Washington and Phoenix, Arizona. Keep up on lawn maintenance and give the shrubs a shear if necessary. If your door is showing its age, consider giving it a fresh coat of paint. Update the house numbers and paint the mailbox if it’s near the front door. In addition, Sanders says a potted plant on either side of the entrance is very welcoming to a prospective buyer. Watch for falling stuff Buyers want big and deep closets or at least ones that can be organized; a pile of hats and a soccer ball falling out on their head isn’t a good impress

Make your home warm and inviting to boost your home’s value and speed up the sale process. The first step to getting buyers to make an offer on your home is to impress them with its appearance so they begin to envision themselves living there. Here are seven tips for making your home look bigger, brighter, and more desirable. 1.  Start with a Clean Slate Before you can worry about where to place furniture and which wall hanging should go where, each thorough cleaning right down to the nitpicky details like wiping down light switch covers. Deep clean and deodorize carpets and window coverings. room in your home must be spotless. Do a 2.   Stow Away Your Clutter It’s harder for buyers to picture themselves in your home when they’re looking at your family photos, collectibles, and knickknacks. Pack up all your personal decorations. However, don’t make spaces like mantles and coffee and end tables barren. Leave three items of varying heights on each surface, suggests Barb Schwa