Curb Appeal: Top Five Things for Spring

Better Homes and Gardens recently put out a list of 20 things you can do to improve upon the curb appeal of your home:
http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/exteriors/curb-appeal/ways-to-add-curb-appeal/

Some of the tips were interesting, but not everyone has a natural eye for architectural symmetry, a budget for major renovations, or a green thumb. An awful lot of the tips in this particular article revolved around adding foliage...lots and lots of foliage, definitely a shout out to the "gardens" part of their name. It got me to thinking about the type of things I often recommend to my sellers, and how they compare to the BHG list. The enhancements I recommend are relatively inexpensive, short-term in scope/time spent, and something that can most often be done yourself versus outsourcing.

Here are my personal top five "curb appeal" improvements for our local area:

1. Harness the Power of Water - Rent or buy a powerwasher and go to work on your siding, your deck, your driveway/walkways or any other areas that need attention. The look of a well-maintained (read: clean) home instantly conveys that the home was well-loved and taken care of by the owners for the duration. Conversely, a home marred by patches of funky algae or other unsightly residue plants the seed of doubt from the first look. Never used a power washer before? Take care! If your PSI (pressure) is set too high, you can cause damage, including removing layers of paint, splintering wood, and breaking glass. You might want to leave it to the professionals... not the honey-do list.  



A clean, neat exterior helps sell a home.  

2. Get a Grip... On Some Weeds - While the BHG article centered around adding foliage (including climbing vines, which, IMO, can be more nuisance than enhancement--they can really damage your home exterior over time) I often prefer that my sellers harness the power of what they already have in place versus spending more money in a selling situation. Now that Spring-like weather has sprung (ready for it or not!) we see every day what the phrase "growing like a weed" really means, and starting your lawn maintenance early will go a long way to controlling the jungle and nuisance insects. Give attention to your flower beds/planting beds by adding dark mulch right before you list (before the pictures are taken), and commit to pulling weeds at least once every two weeks as needed. Trimming the bushes (but not overdoing it) and edging the borders every so often will also give a freshly maintained look. If your landscaping is lacking, you can certainly add some additional plantings, but focus more on quality (and scale of the plants to fit the space) rather than sheer quantity. Since most showings happen on the weekends, I recommend having your weekly lawn work (be it DIY or outsourced) take pace on a thursday or at latest, on a friday morning. 
3. Mail it in - Is your mailbox standing straight and wobble-free? Does the door stay closed when you shut it? Is your mailbox post and cap fresh and new-looking, not yellowed with age or dingy with weathering? Does it have a clear, fresh looking house number on it? If any of these answers were NO, you just might be in need of a mailbox intervention. For single family homes, mailboxes are most often at the base of your driveway, and the first thing people just might see when they pull into your drive. It is a good idea to have the look of your mailbox match your home. Clear, aesthetically pleasing house numbers that are in the same finish of the numbers found your home exterior/front door are winners, and a post painted/selected to match the color of your house trim is a nice tie in. If you have stone or brick borders on your flower beds, consider trimming out a smaller, matching version at the base of your mailbox. However, if you live in a neighborhood, be sure to check for any HOA restrictions prior to planning a mailbox project. Many local HOAs do include type and color of mailbox in their rules. 
4. Welcome Home to a Great Front Door - In most cases, you don't have to replace the door, just give it some love! Installing a kickplate (if it compliments/matches the home style), adding a traditional knocker, replacing old hardware and giving your door a fresh coat of paint will do wonders. Adding or updating your house numbers and lighting fixtures (consider fixtures with photocells to capture energy-savings) will also go a long way, and you will see a bright return on that particular investment. Note: Be sure the finish type of all of these improvements matches--you do not want black house numbers, brushed nickel hardware, and a brass kick plate. And if the door sticks or is hard to open, fix it. While you are thinking hardware, consider freshening up your kitchen cabinet pulls (don't forget the bathroom cabinets) and outlet cover plates. This can be a pretty inexpensive boost to the interior appeal of your home at a low cost. 
5. DIY Paint, Inside and Out - When you are taking care of the front door, check for any peeling paint, or areas of door/window trim that need to be refreshed. Consider caulking around window and siding/brick seams if you find areas that need attention. Inside of your home, odds are good that many of the rooms just might need a little freshening on the walls and trim. Conventional wisdom was that you paint everything whatever you wanted... as long as it was in a subtle neutral off white. However, these days you can experiment with those same neutrals by selecting those with toned hues to accent the mood of the room or the decor you will be using for the listing period. Just be sure to avoid anything too bright/deep, or anything that would be difficult for a buyer to cover with their own choices after the sale. The end goal of any painting project you take on to prepare for a sale is to convey a well-maintained, fresh, and clean space.

When making choices about home improvements -- even if you are not selling for many months or even years -- you should feel comfortable asking for your Realtor's advice. They should be seeing hundreds of "market ready" (and perhaps not so ready...) homes a year, and hear feedback from their own buyers every day. As such, they should be able to give you some pretty sage advice on what freshening choices make the most sense to enhance curb appeal and get the deal done in your area.

And if you don't have a Realtor to call upon, or are shopping for one, I know one that would be happy to take a look at your home. ;) www.frederickareahomes.com

Open Houses: To Hold or Not to Hold– That is the Question…

For as long as I have been around the real estate block, there have been open houses. Whether the property you were trying to sell was new construction or a regular resale, the expectation was that you would hold an open house (or several) over the life of the listing. Open houses were traditionally seen as a marquis way to give an opportunity to check out the home in person, ask questions about it, and hopefully, experience love at first sight and make an offer for purchase. However, during a great majority of that time, there wasn’t the wealth of rich, robust visual property information online like we have today. With over 90% of homebuyers in recent years reporting they get their home-of-choice information from the internet or directly from their Realtor (who also uses other cloud-hosted technology vs. old school on-person visits to obtain info to pass on to clients), it seems like open houses are quickly going the way of the dodo bird.  

Today's homebuyers do a ton of upfront comparison shopping and research online, way before ever putting their key into the ignition and putting the address of your home-sweet-home for sale into their GPS. The ability for a tech-savvy listing agent to upload galleries of high-quality photos and full color flyers has made it easy (and desirable) for buyers to skip time/gas wasting open houses, and stick to virtual shopping combined with one-on-one personal showings with Realtors. If you have been a part of the housing market lately or have every toyed with the idea of buying or selling, you know that an amazing buffet of available property information is only a click away. Even people who aren’t actively on the market do their fair share of window shopping for houses... And why not? It’s fun and free!

Open houses definitely do still happen these days (I do occasionally hold them!), but the reasons why they are held are no longer a part of conventional wisdom nor expected best practices. I use open houses on a case-by-case basis but no longer insist upon them as a standard part of my marketing plan--it has to make sense for the property to schedule one. Though in theory they sound powerful, open houses tend to most often benefit the agents (potential for walk-in buyer clients), they allow for neighbors to buzz by and compare their apples to yours (allowing open house agents to chat it up and possibly get additional listings), and often serve as entertainment for folks who bounce from open house to open house on the weekends looking for decorating ideas and free coffee (yes, that never fails to happen!). In my opinion, entering an open house in the listing system and using it as a fresh reason to promote the property publicly is where the remaining value stil exists - not in the event itself. And in the reality of a modern market, most often the solution to a stale listing problem is the price of the home, or something else material to the property that is the obstacle to selling the home quickly – not the absence of fresh-baked cookie smell in the air and balloons in the yard on weekend mornings. 

I do still believe there is still some room for open houses in a marketing arsenal given specific circumstances (for example, holding a Broker’s open house when a large price reduction has been made, or when something new and special about the property is announced, like a renovation or improvement), but the application of open houses is much less weighty than it once was. Open houses will continue to trend in that declining direction as virtual technology in home marketing continues to amaze us. So perhaps in the future, we might be putting open houses in the same nostalgic "back in my day" bin as things like records and 8 track tapes. 

What do you think? Have you ever used open houses as an actual targeted buying tool? Have you had success with selling your home using an open house? Or have you ever run the weekend open house looky-loo circuit “just for kicks?” (It’s ok – you can admit it--I won't judge!)

2012=Change In The Air... And On My Real Estate License

As I took time recently to critically look back and evaluate all of the real estate business I have closed through the 2011 calendar year, I found myself with a great opportunity to really take a step back and think about where I want to be and what experience I want to offer my Buyers and Sellers in the future. Long story short, after careful consideration over the past month, today I ended my affiliation with Keller Williams. I am excited to share that I am affiliating with a new Broker as I enter my 14th year of licensure.

Over that important month of time, I thoroughly investigated several brokerage options in the Frederick County area, both local and national models, and one particular office really stood out above the crowd--Turning Point Real Estate, located just south of Frederick in Urbana (in, appropriately, the old Turning Point Inn that many of us who attended Linganore chose for special occasion fine dining like Homecoming and Prom). Turning Point is a relatively new player compared to most other area real estate firms, but they are truly at the front of the pack with an impressive array of cutting-edge technological tools, professional staff support members who are at the top of their game, and a wealth of diverse experience on the Executive team. Not only are they residential specialists, but they also have ample resources in-house to serve my clients who have needs in commercial real estate, new construction, and property management. At the end of the day, they possess a dynamic forward-thinking brand that I think fits myfrederickareahomes.com personal brand quite well.

So after closing out a successful 2011, I will be starting fresh in 2012 with my new Turning Point family. Now you know where to find me, and as always, I humbly welcome your gracious referrals and recommendations. 

Happy New Year to all!!!

Movember - Men's Cancer Awareness Month

Much like last week, I am taking pause to deviate from the usual real estate/household blog topics. This one is far more important than delicious gluten-free mac and cheese, however. Please consider joining in! 

• Ever heard of Movember? (AKA No-Shave November)
• Like mustaches?
• Want to grow one (or "faux" one) and help support men's cancer research and awareness?

Check out this blog and contest announcement:

http://info.5amsolutions.com/bid/105986/Cancer-Awareness-Ladies-First

Calling all folks to grow (or if that is not possible, "faux-semble") a winning 'stache to show public support for Movember -- The men's cancer awareness movement. Visit the website above for details on a mustache contest run by local life science software firm 5AM Solutions, and make a difference by joining in on the fun with your very own mustache.  

While cool for dudes, 'Mos are pretty sweet accessories for ladies and children too. In fact, 5AM is offering several recognition categories to encourage participation by men, women AND children, so get super creative! Then just snap a pic and follow the instructions at the blog above. 

If I could grow a real 'stache to show my support, I probably would (and I would also make it even sweeter by having a part-time job in the circus). But since I can't, what I CAN do is pledge a few minutes of my time over the next few weeks to find mustache-worthy material (lots of Halloween clearance sales online!), slap it on my upper lip, and document it with a flash and a smile. 

Perhaps I will color mine, maybe even braid it... hmmm... possibilities are endless. In fact, I think I might just get my Sunday soccer team to play an actual game with mustachios on. Oh yes, it shall be done! And you know how it works... if there is no picture, it didn't happen... So stay tuned for pictures!!! And of course my little one--ham that he is--will surely enjoy designing and sporting his very own 'Mo. 

But the real question is, what should Sean do with his 'Mo? He already has a coarse, thick black canvas of 'stache and beard hair just waiting to be carefully shaped and shown <excitedly wrings hands in anticipation>... Weigh in! Comment below and tell us what style he should go with: Handlebar, freestyle, fu manchu, imperial? So many choices... So speak your 'Mo and help us decide! :) Need inspiration? http://www.americanmustacheinstitute.org/mustache-information/styles/

Had to Share: Crawfish Mac & Cheese (Shhh... It's Gluten Free!)

I usually reserve my blog for household related themes or real estate specific posts, but tonight, I just had to share something. As most of you know, this lady likes food. A lot. I like planning it. I like shopping for it. I like cooking it. I like sharing it (...most of the time!). And most of all, I sure do like eating it (well, DUH! And hey, it's almost "stretchy pants" season...YAY!).

It's my birthday, and a few hours ago, I had my family over for a low-key "night before birthday" dinner. I like to cook when I have time, and am a raging control freak (yes, it's true...), so instead of going out for dinner or having someone else cook for me, I came up with a menu of things I liked and a few things I wanted to experiment with:

• Spiced brie and brandy fondue with an assortment of cubed apples (grannys, honeycrisp, and braeburn) and pears (Asian and bosc),
• Filet mignon with herb butter (my "go-to" birthday meat of choice since I was a teen), 
• French green beans with crimini mushrooms (plus garlic, shallots and cream,)
• Crawfish mac and cheese (with Gruyere, fresh shaved Parmesan, sharp cheddar and more...)

Everything was delish... but the crawfish mac and cheese--the side dish I crossed my fingers while making--was a STANDOUT. I had wanted to come up with an at-home hearty mac and cheese featuring a shellfish for quite some time, especially after watching some friends enjoy a fancy-pants version of a lobster mac and cheese during a girls' night out. And originally I absolutely had intended on using lobster, but after assessing the $38.50/lb price tag at the store and the questionable output of the recipe swirling around in my head, it was a no-brainer for lobster to take a backseat. I decided upon crawfish for my side dish gamble.

Not only was the finished product delicious, super rich in texture, and visually appealing, but you could not tell at ALL that it was also GLUTEN FREE. Now that might not mean much to most people, but for the growing number of people discovering they have Celiac disease or another life-changing wheat intolerance, it is difficult at best to find comfort foods - let alone classic pasta dishes - that allow you to REALLY forget nutritional limitations, even for a moment. Why gluten free for my dinner menu? My mom is on the permanent gluten free train (Celiac), and I wanted to make sure most everything I made for the dinner was suitable for everyone. But the good news is that the recipe can quite easily be modified for the non-gluten free set but using regular pasta and regular breadcrumbs. Easy! 

Bottom line: This was DELICIOUS, and I don't think I would change a thing from this original go. If you like mac and cheese, and you like shellfish, you need to check it out, and give it a try! Disclaimers: This version of the recipe makes a good 10 or so servings, maybe more...? Was hard to tell how much it REALLY made since most people at my house tonight took seconds or thirds. And I just started throwing things into pans and adjusting as I went, writing things down--I think I got everything recorded correctly! I am NOT a chef, and I do NOT write recipes like the professionals do, so my ingredients are in the order of when I used them :) ...Oh and please do NOT ask about nutritional content. I am sure none of us want to know!!!!

Ingredients

16 ounces gluten free elbow macaroni (I prefer brown rice pasta for this -- it holds up best)

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 shallots, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½  lb crawfish meat, shelled and chopped into ½" sections (OK to use precooked or frozen if fresh isn’t available, but be sure to drain off excess liquid)

1/4 stick salted butter

8 ounces whipped cream cheese, preferably chive flavor (sub regular/non-whipped if necessary)

8 ounces fresh grated Parmesan cheese

8 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese

24 ounces heavy cream

32 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese (reserve 2 cups for topping)

salt/pepper to taste

1 t. cayenne pepper

1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs - use as much as you like! (or substitute gluten free cornflakes, crushed)

2 T. fresh oregano, finely chopped

Cook macaroni as directed on package, but do NOT overcook – keep pasta on the al dente side for sure as it will cook in the oven as well. Drain and set aside. In a large, deep sauté pan on medium heat, add olive oil, shallots and garlic, and cook 3-5 minutes or until shallots are opaque. Add crawfish meat to pan and cook until no longer opaque. (Note: If you are using already cooked meat, be sure to drain it well and skip to the next step). Turn heat down to low and fold in the cream cheese and the butter. Be sure to stir frequently, scraping the bottom clean, to keep heat even and prevent any scalding--a sturdy silicone whisk works GREAT for this purpose. After 10 or so minutes simmering on low, slowly add in the cheddar cheese (be sure to reserve 2 cups for later!), Parmesan, and Gruyere. Keep on low heat, continuing to stir frequently until well blended and cheeses are smoothly incorporated. Gradually add cream, cayenne, and salt/pepper to taste, stirring until smooth. Turn cooked/drained macaroni into a large glass casserole pan, then carefully pour crawfish and cheese mixture on top. Carefully turn over with spatula, fully incorporating all of the ingredients. Sprinkle reserved cheddar cheese on top, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs and top with oregano. Cover with foil (I tent it to keep cheese where it belongs and not wasted on the foil!), and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes until breadcrumbs are just a little toasty and cheese is a light golden brown.

If you try it, let me know! But for now, my food coma awaits...

My Thermostat Can Beat Up Your Thermostat...

Check this out:
http://www.nest.com/living-with-nest/index.html

The Nest^TM Learning Thermostat^TM

If you decided not to go peep the link, the Nest is a new self-regulating thermostat that learns your temperature preferences, and decides for you how to keep your home comfy customized to you. How cool (or warm) it that?

No more programming, no more constantly changing the temperature. The Nest^TM Learning Thermostat^TM programs itself in a week to keep you comfortable and save energy...  

That really seems like an excellent idea! Hope it works as well in practice as it seems to in theory--the energy savings alone per house installation should be amazing. According to the site, "10% of all U.S. energy is controlled by thermostats." And we often forget to set them! Major kudos to the inventors of the Nest.

But since we are in an ever-advancing age of spookily intelligent machines and inventions, wouldn't it be nice if other things in and around the home were self-regulating/capable of learning the routine YOUR routine? Here are my dream picks for improvements specific to my household/lifestyle:

1. Cable boxes--especially DVR boxes--that turn themselves off after non-use (did you know they draw some SERIOUS energy? Surprisingly major energy hogs...)
2. Power strips that stop drawing current after a certain period of non-use (these may exist already...)
3. Toilet seats that learn to put themselves down 
4. Toilets that flush themselves when the water is ... unclean (since some people in my household obviously strongly believe in the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" theory!)
5. Laundry that changes itself over from the washer to the dryer (not forgetting to add dryer sheets of course, and doesn't smell funky if you wait too long to change the laundry over: see my previous rant about the evils of front-loaders -- gah!!!)
6. Window and door locks that "automagically" lock themselves after a certain time of night
7. Dog food and water bowls that fill themselves (I know they have some versions of these)
8. Lawn sprinklers that sense water saturation levels and turn on/off accordingly (timers are a waste--Hate it when I see a lawn sprinkler going during a rainshower because of a timer)
9. Pool pump that senses when the water needs to be cleaned (instead of using a timer)
10. Mail that brings itself inside
11. Free papers that magically self-destruct!

Oh, the possibilities are endless! Now certainly some of these above things already exist, but the challenge is likely in making the intelligence affordable for and available to us regular folks. :)

What would your best picks for smart house features be? Share your ideas!!!

Email/Text/Post Trumps Old-School Cup and String--Or Does It?

Image Credit: Master Isolated Images

I have been thinking lately about how much communication has really changed over my 13 years in Real Estate with the commonplace usage of email and texting for business, and even more recently, social media site incorporation. I recently took a day trip up to Hershey Park with my better half and my little one, and was basically incommunicado for a good day and a half stretch - I did not check Facebook (...though I DID make a quick post when my son boarded the Sooper Doper Looper!). I did not tweet. I did not respond to emails. I did not approve LinkedIn nor Google+ requests. Incoming calls (ok...ALMOST all of them!) went to my voicemail, and I read incoming texts to be sure nothing critical was missed, but did not respond to all -- THE HORROR! And this was incredibly hard for me. I am proud of my response times, be it with clients, friends or family. Basically, you send up the bat signal, and this girl will answer. And if I don't have the answer, I find it and get it to you. It is just how I have always defined my business (and personal) communication standards.

That said, everyone has a different "normal" for communicating, and sometimes, people can read too much into the disconnect between their personal style and that of someone else. Emotions, even unintended ones, are also conveyed (whether you know it or not) based upon the way you choose to communicate using the typed word, both in the personal and business realms. Some examples of differences you have likely experienced:

• Typing/texting/posting with or without caps, punctuation, and caring less for proper spelling and/or grammar: Rude, or busy?
• Sending a text or email late at night: Insensitive to others' home life, or burning the midnight oil?
• Using emoticons, or creating pictures using characters for effect? Juvenile, or going the extra mile to convey emotion?
• Wordsmithing traditionally nonsensical terms: Ok for 2011, or ridiculous?
• Is good ol' please and/or thank you necessary anymore in type? Texting? Wall posting? 
• "Liking" posts and wishing happy birthday to hundreds of "friends" every day? Necessary, or does it appear desperate? And if you miss a birthday wish, are you sending an inadvertent signal that you could care less?
• Posting, commenting, and "liking" frequently: Are you an interested, engaged friend? Does the frequency make you appear to have WAY too much free time when you should be working (think: Business associates who are also Facebook friends)? Or have you reached the dreaded "stalker" status?

Over time I have even heard people complain that Facebook well-wishes are impersonal, and an easy way out when it comes to sharing in someones special occasions (similar to breaking up via sticky note!), while others appear to be genuinely thrilled to have a wall full of acknowledgement feeling the love Facebookers are sending their way. Without facial expressions, body language, and vocal intonation to help convey additional meaning, many things can be lost in translation when communicating via the printed word, further expanding the potential gap between what one may intend to convey and what is understood. But that said, the convenience of electronic communication, and the sheer ability of such to stay connected with exponentially more contacts is often worth the gamble.

When it comes to a professional real estate relationship or transaction, problems certainly may arise if a disconnect between the communication styles of the individuals involved occurs. It is the responsibility of those driving the transactions (the Realtors involved, IMHO) to set expectations for communication early, understand the individual styles, and pay respect to them. The odds are high that the Realtors involved in a sale do not know each other, and therefore do not know how the other person conducts their business/what they find to be normal business communication parameters. Add in a lender (often two or more individuals in the lending process), an inspector, plus some title company folks, and the risk increases. With all of these individuals, communication frequency, preferred method, delivery tone and more are all important to recognize.  Contact must be made early and maintained often, with the end goal of a successful transaction as the end that commands the means. If any of the professionals involved check out (physically or mentally) or neglect their piece of the pie during the sales cycle, "bad things" can happen. There must be at least one person in the pool willing to grab a Baywatch-style flotation device and make the save, even when it "might not be their job" to do so.

With the many players involved in a residential sale or purchase, one great advantage of working with a Realtor rests in their ability to proactively coordinate all of the moving parts, to bridge any interaction gaps early (troubleshooting any that form once underway), and to make sure that things move along as needed--Clear, frequent communication using the best form possible for the intended audience is the critical cornerstone for success. 

How about you? Weigh in - Take this short four question survey and share what you believe to be your "ideal" communication style for personal affairs and in your business dealings. I would love to hear about your normal. :)