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Deciding to sell – Home Resolutions
Choosing to put your house on the market is rarely easy, but if you must sell to move onto the next phase of your life, then you want to make sure your house is purchase-ready to get the most out of your investment. If you aren’t sure if you are ready to sell, you can always consider becoming a landlord or finding a property manager to handle tenants. But if you have decided to put your house on the market, it is time to let go of sentimentality and start thinking of it as a house again–not your home. Here are some tips for getting your house ready to sell and placing it on the market:
Do an audit: Go through the house, making notes of any projects that need to be completed, and anything that needs to be replaced, repainted or repaired. Here is a good checklist to get you started. If you are unsure about any major problems, you may want to hire an inspector to look at your home prior to putting it on the market so you can fix all issues and avoid getting stuck in heavy negotiations.
Start with a blank canvas: Look at your home from the perspective of a potential buyer. You will want to neutralize your space so anyone interested in the house can see its full potential. Keep in mind that you may love your red wall, wall-to-wall carpet or lavish art, but others may find it hard to see beyond the decorations to imagine their own taste in the house. Neutralizing the space can be as easy as painting the walls a soft white, paring down possessions or scaling back on updates. Once your home is turn-key with the basics, start to think about the updates that will make the most difference in your return on investment.
Get the most bang for your buck: If you are considering upgrades to increase the value of your home, stick to projects that will make the most sense, such as increasing the curb appeal by re-painting or replacing an outdated front door and upgrading the landscaping with easy-to-maintain plants and pathways. The first impression your home makes on a buyer is key to selling your home quickly. If your appliances are out-of-date, you may want to consider upgrading to energy-efficient models, which will appeal to a wider set of buyers. Avoid laying down new carpet; if the carpet needs replacing, consider wood flooring, as more people are replacing carpets with hardwood these days. Also keep in mind that your aesthetic will likely be different than those looking at your home, so avoid updates to the kitchen and bathroom that may offend the next homeowner. They will consider the need to replace these as a part of their offer. For more ideas on projects that bring a return, go here.
Find a listing agent: Once you are ready to put your home on the market, find a listing agent you trust will promote your home and bring the most return. Interview a number of agents to learn about their methods of marketing your home to other agents and potential buyers. They should be knowledgeable about the area, the market, comparable listings, staging and marketing techniques that will work best for you. Look at potential agents’ past listings to see the techniques they employ, the photographs and language they use to market the homes, how long homes have been on market and what their listings look like.
Price your home to sell: Pricing your house right the first time will help it sell faster. The great news is there are plenty of buyers looking to purchase homes right now, and this trend should continue. The concern for many homeowners ready to sell is that their expectations for the selling price of the home will not necessarily be met. Increase your chances of getting your home off the market fast by working with your listing agent to price your home right. Your listing agent will factor in a number of considerations when helping you determine the best price for your home, including comparable homes that have sold in the area or similar locations, the type of home, neighborhood, condition, etc.
Staging: Now that you have gotten through most of the process for putting your home on the market, look at your home through fresh eyes. Staging your home is a fine balance between making your home inviting and setting a canvas for the next homeowner to envision the space with their stuff and to fit their life. Your home should look inhabited but clean, uncluttered but not sterile. Whether you work with a stager or do most of the set up yourself, you will have to get rid of the clutter and pare down all your belongings to the essential.
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- Thin out your closets; full closets look small.
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- Remove all personal items, photographs, trophies and excessive collections so prospective buyers can envision the home as theirs.
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- Pare down all your belongings to keep your home efficient and cleaning easy.
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- Pay attention to the details; you want your home to be welcoming in every way.
Putting your home on the market can be stressful, but you can minimize stress by following these tips and other ideas for getting your home ready to sell. The better prepared you are prior to listing your home, the easier it will be to sell to prospective buyers. In the end, realistic expectations about how long it will take to prepare your home to go to market, what renovations will get you the best return, and what is the right price to motivate buyers will help your home sell quickly, saving you money in the long run.
What are your home-related resolutions for 2018? How are you doing on reaching your goals?
Investing in home: building a foundation for memories
“Of course, thanks to the house, a great many of our memories are housed, and if the house is a bit elaborate, if it has a cellar and a garret, nooks and corridors, our memories have refuges that are all the more clearly delineated. All our lives we come back to them in our daydreams.”
Gaston Bachelard, the Poetics of Space
I have been following the news about the housing market pretty closely and am pretty disappointed with some of the articles declaring a case against homeownership. I couldn’t disagree more. If anything, I see the value of homeownership: responsible financial investment, social stability and community connection as more important than ever.
I was particularly moved by the story in the Seattle Times yesterday about the Lutz family in Ballard, a family with seven adopted siblings that are helping their parents move from their family home to a smaller condo now that their children have left the nest. Though their story is far from typical, it really resonates how home is the center of family life, a place where memories are created and how houses tell the stories of the lives we build while in their shelter.
Homes do that for people. They are the places where some of our most intimate stories unfold.
Finding and creating a home is an emotional, psychological, social and financial investment. There is a lot of energy involved in finding the place to envision the future, raise a family, and perhaps retire. There is no other investment as enjoyable as your own home. Investments in gold or stocks cannot compare to the feelings about a place where you collect memories, create spaces that reflect your ideals and develop to fit your needs over time.
Beyond the emotional ties to home, a number of studies have shown that home ownership has a great impact on feelings of personal autonomy, life satisfaction and increased investment in the community. The sense of satisfaction goes beyond the ability to paint walls whatever color we want, or make improvements to our homes on our own terms. It goes deeper by improving our sense of well being. Furthermore, when we have a stake in the community we live in, we participate more, making our neighborhoods safer and healthier for all members.
Not all the news about the housing market is negative, actually there are many great articles: “in defense of home ownership”, “ten reasons to buy a home “and “a dream house after all” to name a few. But regardless of where you stand on the housing market right now, we can all likely agree that there is no place like a home.
All of our experiences of home are unique. Please share your best memories of home.
For more information on Windermere Evergreen please contact us here.
Does the Home of Your Dreams Really Exist?
Agent: “So, what kind of a house are you looking for?”
Client: “Anything with 3 bedrooms and a couple baths. Oh, and a big yard would be cool, too.”
Agent: “I know of several that we can show you.”
Client: “Just pick three that you think I’ll like, and I’ll buy one of them.”
If only it were that easy. When you ask yourself to visualize the home of your dreams, what comes to mind? Certainly not a nondescript 3 bedroom, two bath home. It’s much more likely that your vision could include features like maple flooring, granite countertops, 6-panel doors, built-in speakers, or access to 220-electricity in the garage for a workshop. Everyone has their own custom needs and desires.
You’re allowed to be picky. Realistic is imperative, but picky is fine, too. If you’re holding out for diamond insets in the shower tile grout or solid gold door knobs, I’m afraid disappoint awaits you. Think about the most important things a home will represent to you. Do you work from home? Do you entertain large groups regularly? Do you enjoy yard work or do-it-yourself projects? Each family has their own needs, so your definition of the perfect home will be very different from even your closest friends or family members.
Not only does each family have their own needs, but each family member might have their own needs. Pets come into the picture, too. Is high-enough speed internet readily available? Is there a wall that will fit your 60” High-Def 3D TV? Will the family room have enough space that you can compete at Wii™ or Kinect™ without breaking lamps? Will the huge trees that are cooling in summer make the home darker than you like in the winter? Can you bike or run the neighborhood streets? Are you concerned about how your energy consumption will affect the environment? You’re encouraged to list all the things that are important to you.
Once you’ve made your list, prioritize it according to what is important. Figure out what’s a must-have and what would be nice, but not necessary. It might take looking at a few homes to figure out what you want versus what you need. You may love the idea of having Spanish copper sinks throughout the house, but if there were no houses on the market that had them, would you resign yourself to renting indefinitely? On the other hand, you may be working from home and need fantastic data transmission capability. You probably wouldn’t want to look in a rural area that still uses dial up, but promises to have high speed internet cables in the future.
Your agent will learn from your prioritized list, and they should be able to help you find that perfect house. Be brutally honest with yourself, think 10 years into the future, and share your desires freely with those that can help you. You may not find the house that’s 100% of what you wanted, but something very close to the home of your dreams is probably out there.
What are the “deal killers”? What are the most important features on your list?
For more information on Windermere Real Estate please contact us here.
Preparing to buy – Home resolutions
If you are ready to make the move towards purchasing your first home or upgrading to a new home, there are some considerations you should keep in mind to make the process easier. The housing inventory is up in most markets with the start of the new year, giving you more options. Whether you are just starting to save for your future home or you are ready to start searching, here are some tips you may find useful:
Assess your financial situation: If you have just started thinking about purchasing a home, now is a good time to do some research to see how close you are to accomplishing this dream. Check your credit score, assess your debt, and make a plan for paying down your credit cards and loans. Look at homes in your area of interest to gauge the general market value of those with features you want, and use a mortgage calculator to estimate what the down payment, monthly mortgage payment and property taxes will be. Now that you know where you are starting from, you can begin (or continue) the process.
Ready, set, save: With your estimated home costs in hand, you can determine what amount you need to save before you can make a purchase. There are some great online and mobile tools to help you create and track your monthly budget so you can maximize your savings every month; mint.com is a great option. If you already have enough savings for a down payment, make sure your monthly income can support your future mortgage payments by saving the difference in expenses for a period of time.
Create a plan: Before you start shopping for your home, be sure to have a plan. You probably already have an idea of what you are looking for, but you can make your search easier by creating a list of what features are necessary and desired for your home. We all have priorities for our homes, be it location, size, style, number of rooms, amenities or countless other features, so make sure you know what you are looking for and what you can’t live without. If you have a deadline for moving, keep it front-of-mind as you go through the process.
Find an agent: Once you (and your partner and your children) know what you are looking for in your home, find a real estate agent that can help you find the right place for you. Selecting an agent is a personal process, as well as financial relationship. If you have friends or family that have worked with an agent for their own real estate needs, ask for referrals. If you don’t know an agent yet, you can find an office local to the area where you are interested in buying, and interview brokers. Keep in mind you will be spending a lot of time with your agent, so you need to feel confident he or she understands your needs; the deal-breakers, wish list, budget and timeline. A good agent will work with you in refining these to reflect the reality of the market, and guide you through the entire process from pre-approval, home searching, closing and resources, to get you into your new home.
Pre-approval: If you already have a real estate agent, they can help you find a lending officer. You can also work with your bank of choice to find a loan that works for your financial situation and start the approval process. The amount the bank is willing to loan you will determine the top-cost of the home you can purchase.
Purchasing Process: Your agent will be able to guide you through the purchasing process, from pre-approval, to purchase and sale agreement, to inspection, financing and closing. If this is your first home, keep in mind there are some factors that affect the purchase of your home. If you are looking at a short sale, a foreclosure or bank owned home, the process will take longer than a traditional home sale from the owner or developer of the property. Be prepared to work with your broker heavily during closing, as the negotiating process is a critical aspect of getting the home you want for the best price. Your agent can also offer you tips to avoid hiccups during your financing process, such as avoiding any major purchases until after your home has closed; even furniture purchases for your new home can create financing issues. To learn more information about the home-purchasing process, go here.
Setting up a home: Once you have closed on your home purchase and are ready to start making your new home yours, create another checklist to make your transition as easy as possible. Your agent will likely have some useful resources for you, from moving companies, to local utilities and near-by amenities, that can help make the process smooth and efficient. If you are moving with small children, here are some tips to help you through the process and give your kids the best transition possible. Once you are moved and settled, you can start the process of creating the dwelling of your dreams.
For more information on Windermere Real Estate please contact us here.
How an Investment in Green Technology Can Pay off for Today’s Homeowner
Studies continue to show that real estate buyers are willing to pay a substantial premium for homes that feature highly efficient, environmentally friendly “green energy” technology.
While the added value depends on the location of the home, its age, and whether it’s certified or not, three separate studies all found that newly constructed, Energy Star- or LEED-certified homes typically sell for about nine percent more than comparable, non-certified new homes. Plus, one of those studies discovered that existing homes retrofitted with green technologies, and certified as such, can command a whopping 30-percent sales-price boost.
Options include technologies that you may already be very familiar with, as well as some new breakthroughs that may surprise you:
Fuel cells
Fuel cells may soon offer an all-new source of electricity that would allow you to completely disconnect your home from all other sources of electricity. About the size of a dishwasher, a fuel cell connects to your home’s natural gas line and electrochemically converts methane to electricity. One unit would pack more than enough energy to power your whole home.
Past fuel cells have been far too expensive and unreliable. But Redbox Power Systems, a company that’s planning to launch its first fuel cell later this year, is using new materials, claims they’ll be able to cut the purchase price by 90 percent, and predicts the associated electricity-bill savings will allow homeowners to pay off that purchase price in just two years’ time.
Wind turbine
A wind turbine (essentially a propeller spinning atop an 80- to 100-foot pole) collects kinetic energy from the wind and converts it to electricity for your home. And according to the Department of Energy, a small version can slash your electrical bill by 50 to 90 percent.
But before you get too excited, you need to know that the zoning laws in most urban areas don’t allow wind turbines. They’re too tall. The best prospects for this technology are homes located on at least an acre of land, well outside the city limits.
Cool roof
Cool roofs keep the houses they’re covering as much as 50 to 60 degrees cooler by reflecting the heat of the sun away from the interior, allowing the occupants to stay cooler and save on air-conditioning costs. The most common form is metal roofing. Other options include roof membranes and reflective asphalt shingles.
Green roof
Another way to keep the interior of your house cooler—and save on air-conditioning costs—is to replace your traditional roof with a layer of vegetation (typically hardy groundcovers). This is more expensive than a cool roof and requires regular maintenance, but young, environmentally conscious home owners are very attracted to the concept.
Hybrid heating
Combining a heat pump with a standard furnace to create what’s known as a “hybrid heating system” can save you somewhere between 15 and 35 percent on your heating and cooling bills.
Unlike a gas or oil furnace, a heat pump doesn’t use any fuel. Instead, the coils inside the unit absorb whatever heat exists naturally in the outside air, and distributes it via the same ductwork used by your furnace. When the outside air temperature gets too cold for the heat pump to work, the system switches over to your traditional furnace.
Geothermal heating
Geothermal heating units are like heat pumps, except instead of absorbing heat from the outside air, they absorb the heat in the soil next to your house via coils buried in the ground. The coils can be buried horizontally or, if you don’t have a wide enough yard, they can be buried vertically. While the installation price of a geothermal system can be several times that of a hybrid, air-sourced system, the cost savings on your energy bills can cover the installation costs in five to 10 years.
Solar power
Solar panels capture light energy from the sun and convert it directly into electricity. For decades, you may have seen these panels sitting on sunny rooftops all across America. But it’s only recently that this energy-saving option has become truly affordable.
In 2010, installing a solar system on a typical mid-sized house would have set the homeowner back $30,000. But today, that price has been slashed to an average of just $19,000. Plus, some companies are now offering to rent solar panels to homeowners (the company retains ownership of the panels and sells the homeowner access to the power at roughly 10 to 15 percent less than they would pay their local utility).
Solar water heaters
Rooftop solar panels can also be used to heat your home’s water. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average homeowner who makes this switch should see their water bills shrink by 50 to 80 percent.
Tax credits/rebates
Many of the innovative solutions summarized above come with big price tags attached. However, federal, state and local rebates/tax credits can often slash those expenses by as much as 50 percent. So before ruling any of these ideas out, take some time to see which incentives you may qualify for at dsireusa.org and the “tax incentives” pages at Energy.gov.
Regardless of which option you choose, these technologies will not only help to conserve valuable resources and reduce your monthly utility expenses, but also add resale value that you can leverage whenever you decide it’s time to sell and move on to a new home.
For more information on Windermere Evergreen please contact us here.
Moving on up!
Moving is stressful, whether it is across town or cross-country. Once you have closed on your house, the reality of packing, moving, and setting up a new home can become overwhelming. While no list can make a move “stress-free”, planning ahead and staying organized can help make your move a little smoother. Here is our list of tips:
Getting started:
· Once you know your prospective move date set up a quick timeline to make sure you can get all the important tasks done and ready in time for your move.
· Consider how much stuff you have by doing a home inventory. This can help you decide whether you need to hire movers to help you or if you will be managing your move on your own. Many moving companies supply inventory lists to help you assess the size of truck you will need. You can use your list as double duty for insurance purposes later.
· As soon as you decide how you will be moving, make your reservations. In general, moving companies and truck rental services are over-booked at the beginning and very end of the month. If you are planning on hiring a moving company, contact a few in your area for a price quote. To find companies ask your real estate agent, family, or friends, and consult online reviews. It is also a good idea to request a quote and compare companies.
Preparing for your move:
· Moving is a great opportunity to get rid of clutter, junk, or outdated items. Set aside some time to sort through your closets, storage spaces, files, drawers, and more. Go through cluttered areas and organize items by “keepers”, “give-aways” and “garbage”. You will have less to pack and an opportunity to update after you move. Contact a local nonprofit organization for your donations; some will arrange to pick up larger donations like furniture. If you have items of value, eBay or craigslist are good options.
· Changing your address is one of the more tedious tasks in the moving process. You will need to change your address with the United States Post Office. You can find the online form here: https://moversguide.usps.com/icoa/icoa-main-flow.do?execution=e1s1.
· You will also need to change your address with each account you have. Here is a list to get your started:
· Employers
· Bank(s)
· Utilities (Electric, Water/Sewage, Oil/Gas)
· Cable/ Telephone
· Cell phone service
· Credit Cards
· Magazine subscriptions
· Insurance companies (auto, home/renters, health, dental, vision, etc.)
· Pharmacy
· Other personal services
Let the packing begin:
· Before you start packing, it may help to visualize where everything you have will go. Perhaps furniture will fit better in a different room? Consider the floor plan of your new home and figure out what will go where. This will aid in packing and labeling as you box everything up.
· Use a tool like floorplanner.com to plan where furniture and items will go.
· When it comes to packing you have some options. You can work with a service that provides reusable boxes for moving or you can reuse or purchase cardboard boxes. Make sure you have enough boxes, packing tape, dark markers, and packing paper.
· Pack rooms according to your floor plan. Label boxes with contents and room. This will make it easier to unpack your home, knowing where everything is going.
· Real Simple magazine has some great tips on packing for your move.
· If you have to disassemble any of your furniture, make sure you keep all the parts and directions together.
· Make sure you set aside your necessities for the day you move. Being tired and unable to take a shower or make your bed can be hard at the end of a long moving day. Here are some ideas of what you may like to pack in your “day-of-move” boxes.
· Clean linens for the beds, pillows and blankets
· Clean towels
· Shower curtain, liner and hooks
· Toiletries, hand soap, tooth brush, etc.
· Disposable utensils, cups, napkins, etc
· Rolls of toilet paper
· Snacks and water
· Change of clothes
· Tools for reassembling furniture, installing hardware, and hanging photos
Making your move
· Come up with a game plan with your family, so everyone has a role and a part to play
· Once the house is empty, do a once over on your old place to make sure it is clean for the next owners/occupants. Here is a useful checklist for cleaning.
Warming your new home
· Once you have settled into your new home, warm it up by inviting friends and family over to celebrate. Here is a great infographic about housewarming traditions and symbolism.
· Announce your move to far-away friends and family through moving announcements to make sure you stay on the holiday card mailing list.
Do you have any other tips or advice for achieving a smooth move?
For more information on the Windermere Evergreen team please contact us here.
13 Appliance Tips & Hacks for Household Chores
Modern home appliances make our lives so much easier: They tackle dreaded household chores, saving us time and effort. There are lots of ways to use them, however, that you may not have thought of before. From cleaning your ceiling fixtures in the dishwasher to vacuuming your pet, here are 13 little-known tricks for getting more than your money’s worth from your appliances.
- Sanitize small toys and more. Use your dishwasher to wash and sanitize teething rings, small plastic toys, mouth guards, and even baseball caps. Place items on the top rack and run the dishwasher as usual with detergent (without any dirty dishes). Put smaller items in a small mesh laundry bag so that they don’t move around.
- Clean ceiling fixtures. At least once or twice a year, remove and clean your glass ceiling fixtures and light covers in an empty dishwasher. Run the machine on the normal cycle.
- Eliminate wrinkles from clothing. To smooth out wrinkled clothes or linens left too long in the dryer, toss a damp, lint-free cloth in with them. Run the load on the lowest setting for 10 to 15 minutes. Newer dryers also feature a steam setting that removes wrinkles and refreshes clothing between wears.
- Disinfect sponges and dishcloths. Kitchen sponges and dishcloths contain billions of germs. Clean and disinfect them daily by zapping them on high in the microwave for 2 minutes to kill germs.
- Freshen up your curtains. Vacuum heavy drapes with the upholstery attachment. Use the dusting brush attachment for lighter drapes. Wash sheer curtains in the washing machine on the delicate cycle, then hang them up while they’re damp to prevent wrinkles.
- Remove wax from fabric or carpet. To get rid of wax on a tablecloth, place it in your freezer until the wax is hard. Then put a flat paper bag over the wax and another under the fabric. Iron the top bag with a medium-hot iron until all the wax transfers to the bag. To remove wax from a carpet or rug, place an ice pack on the spot until the wax hardens. Shatter the wax and vacuum up the chips.
- Clean baseboards. Dusting baseboards can be a backbreaking chore. Use your vacuum cleaner and the dusting brush attachment to avoid having to bend down. Do the same to clean chair and table legs.
- Organize your fridge. Use the built-in features of your refrigerator to organize food by category. Designate certain shelves or areas for leftovers, preferably front and center, so you don’t forget they’re in there. Use special-purpose bins for their intended use: crispers for vegetables, deli trays for deli meats and cheeses, cold storage trays for meats. Newer models also feature convertible cooling zones to keep food fresh.
- Dust blinds. Extend the blinds fully and turn the slats to the closed position. Use the dusting brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner to clean the slats from top to bottom. Then open and reclose the slats in the opposite direction and repeat the process.
- Clean your microwave. The best time to clean your microwave is immediately after using it. Thanks to residual steam, all you have to do is wipe it out with a paper towel or damp sponge. To clean old messes, microwave 2 cups of water on high for 5 minutes. The steam will soften cooked-on spills, which you can wipe off with a paper towel or cloth.
- Exterminate dust mites. Dust mites live off human and animal dander and other household dust particles. They thrive in sofas, carpets, and bedding. Use the upholstery attachment to vacuum your mattress and upholstered furniture regularly to minimize dust mites. Be sure to empty the canister in an outdoor trashcan.
- Groom your pet. If your dog or cat doesn’t hide when you get out your vacuum cleaner, try using the dusting brush attachment to brush your pet. It’s a gentle way to collect shedding fur.
- Remove grime from shower liners. Wash plastic shower curtain liners in the washing machine with hot water and detergent on the regular cycle. Throw in a small bath towel to help “scrub” mildew and soap scum off the liner. Then rehang the liner and let it air-dry.
Have you found any unusual cleaning hacks for your appliances? Share in the comments below!
Organizing and cleaning expert Donna Smallin Kuper writes for The Home Depot about easy organization hacks, including the best ways to use your appliances. To view The Home Depot’s selection of appliances, click here.
This article is editorial content that has been contributed to our site at our request and is published for the benefit of our readers. We have not been compensated for its placement.
For more information on our team here at Windermere Real Estate in Evergreen please contact us here.
What Millennials are Looking for in an Apartment or Condo
LinkedIn recently told us that 4,279 new apartments were added to Seattle’s local inventory last year, and based on the number of cranes you constantly see around the city, we believe them. With so many choices, Millennials are getting really specific about what they want in a living space and the lifestyle it provides them. Here are some of the amenities we’re told that Millennials have come to want, and in some cases, expect:
1. Parking & Electric Car Charging Stations
2. High Speed Internet and WIFI (around the entire building). Preferably free WIFI on the first floor
3. State of the Art Fitness Center – Fitness centers not only act as a place for exercise, but now a place to casually socialize and build friendships. For instance, when a developer integrates fitness classes into the gym, they are creating a space where tenants can connect with their building community.
4. Dog Grooming/Washing Facility & Outdoor Pet Run: As many millennials are postponing starting a family to focus more on their career, their pets are like their children. With that said, an apartment building that doesn’t allow their fury friends will ultimately be losing out on a big portion of the millennial pie.
5. High- Tech Control Automation: Using smart technology to control your thermostat, lights, switches, sensors, and locks while you are away.
6. Business Center/ Work From Home Space: With remote work becoming an increasing popular trend, the potential ways of catering to work-at-home tenants are limitless.
7. Laundry Facility/Service and Dry-Cleaning Drop Off/Pick Up- Laundry is a hassle, and most renters want the burden of doing laundry to be, well, less burdensome. Programs like “Laundry View” are used in some apartment buildings to view how many washers and dryers are in use. It will also send you text alerts when your laundry is done.
Read the full article on LinkedIn.
For more information on Windermere Evergreen please contact us here.
3 Garden Alternatives for a Patchy Lawn
I’ve met with more than one client while standing on a struggling lawn. “I keep trying,” they tell me, “but the grass won’t grow.” I tell them that maybe this means there’s another option, something even better than a lawn. Maybe it’s time for a garden. And it’s as if I’d just told them the secret to eternal happiness and long life.
Still Have Hope for Greener Grass? Ask a Lawn Professional
Don’t keep tossing grass seed on your bare lawn. Instead, put a garden there, or at least plant something that has a better chance of surviving. Here are three situations where a languishing lawn may call for a new vision — a self-supporting garden that wildlife will love to call home.
BE Landscape Design, original photo on Houzz
1. Blazing sun. Whether it’s out in the open on a flat grade, on a slope or atop a hill, lawn just never does well in hot sunshine. It burns away each August, opening up holes for advantageous weeds to move in.
You could seed or plant drought-tolerant native grasses like sideoats grama and blue grama (Bouteloua curtipendula and B. gracilis) and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). Or try sedges like shortbeak and Bicknell’s (Carex brevior and C. bicknellii). And while you’re at it, get some flowers. If it’s a larger area, think self-sowers like upright prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and skyblue aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense). For smaller areas, ‘October Skies’ aromatic aster (S. oblongifolium ‘October Skies’) works well, along with pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida), purple and white prairie clover (Dalea purpurea and D. candida), many species of Baptisia, and more.
Try to create a base layer of sedges and grasses that will work to mulch and cool the soil, adding clumps or drifts of flowers among them for seasonal interest and pollinator action.
Attract Pollinators for a Productive Edible Garden
2. Ponding water. After a heavy — or even moderate — rain, water may collect in an area of your lawn, drowning grass for days or even weeks. When that water finally vanishes, you’re left with barren soil that’s both unsightly and open to weed invasion.
This sounds like an area where rain garden plants may work. These are the plants that thrive in the boom-bust cycle of spring and fall flooding with dry summers. Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), muskingum sedge and fox sedge (Carex muskingumensis and C. vulpinoidea), New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra), white turtlehead (Chelone glabra), and Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum) are all good options.
If it’s a large area and you want privacy, a shrub hedgerow is an option. Plant redtwig dogwood (Cornus sericea), red or black chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia and A. melanocarpa), or elderberry (Sambuca sp.) — they will slowly sucker to form a massive bird and native bee habitat.
3. Dark or dappled shade beneath a tree. Trees are great: They cool homes, clean the air and provide for so much wildlife. Oaks (Quercus spp.), maples (Acer spp.), elms (Ulmus spp.) and willows (Salix spp.) are near the top in serving a diversity of pollinators and other insects, specifically, that use the leaves and blooms at different life stages. But grass doesn’t often grow underneath these tall trees — mostly because they cast dense shade.
If you have rich, moist to medium soil, there are many spring ephemerals to choose from: Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), trillium (Trillium spp.), shooting star (Dodecatheon meadia), yellow trout-lily (Erythronium rostratum) and Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica).
For gardeners with dry clay soil, early meadow-rue (Thalictrum dioicum), zigzag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum) and wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) are solid choices. Sprengel’s sedge (Carex sprengelii) is a grass-like option.
If you don’t want a large bed of strictly plants, weave a path of mulch or stepping stones through. Place a chair or two, a hammock, or a potting bench.
It’s always important to carefully research the plants before you buy them to make sure that they suit your conditions. Clay soil is different from sand or rocky loam, and while some plants may do well in several kinds of soil and light conditions, others won’t. You may also prefer plants that create short drifts rather than tall ones, or vice versa, or clumping plants instead of aggressive spreaders.
When you take the time to carefully match the plant to the site and your region, you’re setting yourself up for more success and beauty with less maintenance — unlike sowing grass seed over the same area year after year.
By Benjamin Vogt, Houzz
For more information on Windermere Evergreen please contact us here.
Refinancing: What you need to know
Thanks to all-time-low interest rates, the number of homeowners refinancing their mortgages is at an all-time high. Of course, no one should refinance just because everyone else is doing it. But, for many homeowners, the benefits are simply too hard to ignore any longer.
Save money each month. According to Freddie Mac (The country’s largest purchaser of home mortgages), the average homeowner who refinances is able to cut their monthly payment by $108 (almost $1,300 per year) for a $200,000 loan.
Save even more in the long run. If you currently have a 30-year mortgage, refinancing with a 15-year version can save you thousands of dollars in interests over the life of the loan, plus allow you to build equity in your home faster than ever.
Switch to a fixed-rate mortgage. Refinancing with a fixed-rate mortgage gives you the security of knowing that your monthly payment will remain steady, regardless of whether lending rates rise or fall in the years ahead.
Access emergency funds. Something the mortgage industry calls “cash-out refinancing” allows you to take out a new mortgage for more than your current principal balance and use the additional money for other expenses (remodeling, college, a major medical procedure, etc.). Of course, this option should only be considered if you have a real need for the money and a solid plan for paying it back.
Consolidate debt. While consolidating credit card debt under a home loan may not be wise (unless you have a plan for controlling any additional spending), refinancing to consolidate two mortgages at these record-low rates can provide significant savings in both cases.
Things to consider beforehand:
Before moving ahead with a refinance of your own, a number of factors need to be considered (and numbers crunched) before you can determine how much you’ll actually benefit and if you can qualify for the best rates:
Closing costs. The fees associated with refinancing your mortgage are called “closing costs” and generally add up to somewhere between three and six percent of your loan amount (between $7,500 and $15,000 for a $250,000 mortgage refinancing). While there are ways to lower some of those costs, you’ll still want to weigh those expenses against how much you stand to gain.
For example, let’s say you figure you’ll be able to save $100 per month by refinancing, and you’ve calculated the closing costs at about $10,000. That means you’ll need to continue living in the house for at least eight more years before the savings surpass the closing costs. In the mortgage industry, this is referred to as the break-even point; and the longer you continue living in the house beyond the break-even point, the more money you’ll save.
Your credit score. It depends on the circumstances, but most borrowers will need a credit score of 700 or higher to get access to the best rates and closing costs. To determine your score, get a copy of your credit report from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. (Why all three? Because, if there’s any difference, most banks will use the lowest score.)
Your current level of home equity. To qualify for refinancing, your current level of “equity” (the difference between the market value of your home and the balance of your current mortgage) typically must be 20 percent or more. That means, if the market value of your home is $250,000, the remaining balance on your loan would have to be $200,000 or less.
Pre-payment penalty. Check to see if your current mortgage includes a pre-payment penalty for refinancing. That would likely make refinancing too expensive even at these record-low rates.
The importance of timing
Mortgage rates have sustained record lows over the last few years, and they will likely stay relatively low for the next few years. However, even a small increase can make a drastic change in the amount of money you will pay over the duration of your loan. Getting the lowest rate you can, will benefit your finances over the long-term.
Getting the process started is easy. Begin by checking your equity and credit score, then crunch the numbers using one of the many online mortgage calculators.
If the initial results look promising, ask your Windermere Real Estate agent for a recommendation on a reputable lender (or mortgage broker) who can provide you with an actual quote.
