Popular Home Renovations

There are certain home improvement projects that can really launch your home into a higher bracket.  Before you call a contractor or pick up that sledge hammer for some DIY demo you may want to consider the Return on Investment (ROI) for your time and efforts.

The most popular and most expensive remodels/ updates are kitchens and bathrooms.  The average kitchen or bath remodel can fetch you 75%-90% of your initial investment.  Usually you can get a great return on appliance upgrades.

Other good options for remodeling and boosting equity are landscaping, adding a room, adding a bedroom, and adding a garage.

If funds are tight, spend your money on rooms that people value and use the most – like kitchens and baths – instead of adding more niche items like wine cellars, game rooms, and home theatres.  Spaces like this are much more personal and not all buyers will find value in them.

Of course, you should do remodeling that makes sense for you.  Ultimately, you will be living in the home at least for a while and should enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

Finally, take care to do improvements that can be supported by your neighborhood.  If you go overboard it can slow down the selling process.  For example, putting a high end chef’s kitchen in a starter home will drive up your price to the point that first time home buyers may not be able to afford it and the buyers that could afford it may not consider looking in a starter home neighborhood.

Tuesday Tool Day/ Compound Miter Saw

You may or may not know, but I have 30 years of experience in residential construction, remodeling, and real estate.  Based on this experience, I know a thing or two about tools and how they can make your home improvememt jobs easier and more efficient.  So if you are updating your home for your own pleasure or getting it ready to put on the market, make sure to check in every Tuesday for the tool-of-the-week.  Keep in mind that most of the tools that I will post on are items that you can easily and affordably rent at most home improvement centers.

  

This is my Sliding Compound Miter Saw.  It has a large cutting capacity so I can take on really big projects. The saw has a rotating vertical pivot allowing the cutter head & blade to be tilted sideways in addition to the horizontally rotating table.  It is great for framing and cutting molding.   The stand is a separate purchase from the saw but worth every penny.  It folds for easy storage and has a ton of features that let me tailor it to my task at hand.

Table saw stand. Sold seperately.

Use Pictures to Help Sell Your House

How Pictures Can Help to Sell Your House

In a perfect world, we could list our house for sale during the peak months that show off all the homes best assets.  But the reality is that we have to move when life dictates it; new job, graduate school, family necessity – you name it!

I suggest starting a “House Pictures” file on your computer.  As the seasons come and go, remember to take a few snapshots of highlights around your home.  Keep the file updated from year to year.   Things like your landscaping and/or garden during spring, summer, and fall, even winter.  Do you dress your house up for parties?  Take a few photos of entertaining spaces all decked out prior to your guests arriving.  Don’t forget pets…if you have an asset that a pet would like, show them using that space too.  Think of things like a cat perched in a window or a dog napping in a sunny spot on the deck. Do you live close to a Lakeshore?  Pictures of water create strong emotion.  As people tour your home with their Realtor, they try to imagine themselves in your space.  Pictures can help buyers by expanding what they already see with visions of what the future in the home will hold. 

Edit your images to a dozen or less of your best photos.  If you have too many pictures it can be overwhelming.  You may choose to have them laying out on your kitchen countertop for buyers to browse, load images into a digital picture frame, or create a simple pamphlet on your computer for anyone interested in taking one. 

Strong images can be great persuaders.  Make sure you have some on hand to entice buyers in putting an offer on your property. 

Messy Closets Turn Off Potential buyers

Small Things That Make a Big Difference in Selling Your Home/ Closets & Storage Spaces

Every buyer wants lots of closet and storage space in their new home.  You can just never have enough!   Whether you have small, average, or loads of closet and storage space there are a few things you can do to maximize your space and make it look bigger and really organized.

Closets:  Do you have piles of clutter, shoes ,and clothes hiding in your closet?  Care your clothes jammed onto the rods?  It may work just fine for your day-to-day living but a potential buyer sees a big mess.  In addition, they may have a hard time imagining how much space the closet really has to offer.   Try these simple steps to make your closet clean and clutter free:

·         If your rods are packed with clothes, edit them.  Pack away out of season clothes and clothes you have not worn in over a year. (side note: did you know we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time??)  Less is more for creating an impact in your closet.

·         If your budget allows, consider buying hangers that are all the same.  You can find plastic or wood hangers fairly inexpensively at big box stores.  The continuity looks really polished.

·         Organize remaining clothes by sleeve length and color (example: short sleeved white, long sleeved white, short sleeved brown, long sleeved brown, short sleeved red, long sleeved red…you get the picture)  While this is something you may never dream of doing for yourself, to a buyers critical.

·         Consider some kind of shoe rack – either floor style, over the door style, or hanging style.  Looks very tidy.

·         Keep items that need to be folded very neat and tidy.

·         Small closets can get a big boost by adding a drop down rod extender which doubles hanging space for tops.

·         This rule applies to front closets as well.  Consider using boxes or baskets in a theme color to hold things like mittens, sports items, and other do-dads.  Organize shoes with some sort of a rack.

Popular home renovations

There are certain home improvement projects that can really launch your home into a higher bracket.  Before you call a contractor or pick up that sledge hammer for some DIY demo you may want to consider the Return on Investment (ROI) for your time and efforts.

The most popular and most expensive remodels/ updates are kitchens and bathrooms.  The average kitchen or bath remodel can fetch you 75%-90% of your initial investment.  Usually you can get a great return on appliance upgrades.

Other good options for remodeling and boosting equity are landscaping, adding a room, adding a bedroom, and adding a garage.

If funds are tight, spend your money on rooms that people value and use the most – like kitchens and baths – instead of adding more niche items like wine cellars, game rooms, and home theatres.  Spaces like this are much more personal and not all buyers will find value in them.

Of course, you should do remodeling that makes sense for you.  Ultimately, you will be living in the home at least for a while and should enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

Finally, take care to do improvements that can be supported by your neighborhood.  If you go overboard it can slow down the selling process.  For example, putting a high end chef’s kitchen in a starter home will drive up your price to the point that first time home buyers may not be able to afford it and the buyers that could afford it may not consider looking in a starter home neighborhood.

What's there to do this weekend?

Wayzata is one of the Metro area’s most desired and beautiful communities.  It is located on the shores of beautiful Lake Minnetonka with close and easy access to 394.  You get all the benefits of lake living and a small, close knit  community but  it is just a short and straight 15 minute drive to downtown Minneapolis.   

This weekend is the perfect time to visit the city at it ushers in the 37^th Annual James J Hill Days.  The weather looks to be sunny and beautiful for the 2 day event which features an Arts Bazaar, Coaster Cart Derby, lots of kids activities, Dachshund Races, Car Show, a Parade, and more.  The fun gets started Saturday at 9:00 and goes until 6:00.   Spend the day taking in the sights and sounds of the event and finish it off dining and relaxing lakeside at Sunsets, Blue Point, Sakana, or Gianni’s Steakhouse.   Then stick around for the Fireman’s Dance from 6:00-9:00.  Sunday’s activities begin at 9:00 and last until 4:00.  If you are a Yoga fan be sure to come for the Free Yoga Class on the Grass which starts at 8:00 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday.  Yoga will be held at the Wayzata Depot Park. 

Directions from Minneapolis/St. Paul:

394W / Hwy 12

Take 101N / Central Avenue Exit

At the stop of the ramp turn LEFT at the stoplight onto Central Ave

At the second stoplight turn RIGHT onto Wayzata Blvd.

At the next stoplight take a slight LEFT onto Superior Blvd.

Drive down the hill and at the “T” turn RIGHT onto Lake Street

This will bring you right down to the action. Street parking is available on

side streets (perpendicular to Lake Street) as well as the Park & Ride,

Middle School and Church Lots on Wayzata Blvd

First time home buyer. How much can I afford?

You are ready to take the plunge and buy a house.  You may find yourself wondering how much you can afford for your mortgage.  In general, it is recommended that you pay no more than 1/3 of your income each month towards housing.  This will include not only the mortgage, but also things like taxes, association fees (if applicable), and homeowners insurance.  To figure out taxes, you must find out the property tax rate for the areas that you are looking to buy.

A lot of websites offer handy calculators which can make this process much easier.  I like the one by Bank Rate.  You can find it at www.mortgage101.com

  Remember, just because you can get approved for a specific amount does not necessarily mean you should spend that amount.  The calculator will give you the highest amount you can borrow.  You may want to consider paring back a bit so you have some wiggle room in case you need to make repairs, would like to buy some furniture, or do some remodeling.

***you may want to consider reading my post about being pre approved for your mortgage prior to shopping for a home.