5 DIY Improvements to Make Your Home Classier

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Updating your home to be more chic – without looking cheap – is completely doable on a budget.

If you’re looking to add more class to your home, taking on a DIY project can give your house that extra sense of style while saving you money. No need to cringe at those three little words: “do it yourself.” There really are fast, easy and affordable projects you can do on your own. Here are five relatively easy ways to enhance your home.

1. Replace Your Light Fixtures
Switching out an old or basic light fixture for a more elegant one is an easy way to shift the ambiance of a room. By adding a sophisticated light fixture, you can control the intensity of the light and character of your room. And you don’t need to pay a pretty penny for expensive new fixtures – you can buy used fixtures online.

2. Add Floating Shelves
Installing floating shelves in your home combines the functionality of extra storage space with a bit of style and personal flair. Floating shelves can be mounted on walls in many different patterns, and they come in various materials to give your rooms a unique touch. For a small room choose shallow shelves to display framed photos; for a larger room you can afford to use deeper shelves to hold vases, books and unique trinkets.

3. Paint an Accent Wall
Painting an accent wall can add a pop of color and showcase your personality. Usually a low-risk project, a homeowner of any skill level can tackle this project in a day. You just need some painter’s tape, a brush and the color that suits you! Just make sure the color you choose is complementary with the other colors in the room. Stay consistent between warm and cool tones.

4. Install Decorative Molding
Adding decorative molding around your home can add an extra touch of elegance. Install molding to the ceiling by capping walls, columns and cabinets, or add chair molding lower to the ground. With detailed molding you can add character to your rooms while also making them feel taller and more finished.

5. Build a Stone Fire Pit

Take your sophisticated style outside by building a stone fire pit in your backyard. Completed in only a few hours, take uniquely shaped rocks or large stones and put them together to create a functional and stylish fire pit. Before starting the project, be sure to check your local fire codes or homeowners association to ensure you are safe and allowed to start building.

Adding a touch of class to your home doesn’t have to break the bank! Just be sure to start with one project at a time, allowing yourself to complete one before starting the next. Otherwise, you’ll fall victim to chronic project incompleteness syndrome – not a good look!

Now that you know about these five inexpensive DIY projects, which will you try? Or let us know what your favorite home improvement project is on our Team JWA page!

6 Ways to Stage Your Home in the Greater Athens Area

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Expertly staging your house could be the difference between whether or not a buyer is captivated by your house.

Here are six ways to make sure that your house makes an outstanding impression and is staged for success (information and photo via Keller Williams):

1. Store Personal Items: As your real estate team, our goal is to make sure your house appeals to the largest segment of likely buyers in order to secure the best possible price. In order to do this, it’s important to make sure the buyer can picture themselves in your house, so that means safely storing any personal items.
2. Minimize Furniture: Rearranging and even storing furniture will allow your house to appear more spacious as well as show off its charm and unique details.
3. Go Easy on Scents: One buyer might love the smell of a candle or freshly baked cookies, another might not. It’s best to keep scents neutral and minimal in order to boost appeal.
4. Show off Storage: Clearing out closets and other storage areas will show off their size and capacity.
5. Create a Hotel-like Space: Some of the best hotels invite guests to feel at home – and that is precisely what a buyer should feel when viewing your house.
6. Curb Appeal: The first impression is often the most important. We will help you identify landscaping that complements your house’s distinctive style.

 

Interested in learning more about what Team JWA can do to help market and sell your home? Submit a request for contact today, or give us a call for more information!

SOLD U SO!! 145 Woodberry Court, Athens, Georgia

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Located in east Athens’ popular Brookstone subdivision!

This great brick ranch features a large great room with fireplace, eat in kitchen with all appliances, dining room, plus three bedrooms and two full baths. The home also offers a large, private rear yard.

LISTED AT: $145,000 SOLD

SOLD U SO!! 783 Mitchell Bridge Road, Athens, Georgia

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NEW CONSTRUCTION!

This adorable craftsman style home features the Westwood Plan, offering beautiful wood floors, a great room with fireplace, plus granite counter tops and custom cabinetry in the kitchen. The three bedrooms and two full baths are located upstairs and a half bath is on the main level.

Conveniently located off of Mitchell Bridge Road– close to shopping and dining– this craftsman style home is perfect for anyone looking to call Athens home.

$2,000 seller paid closing costs with preferred lender only.
Closing with sellers preferred attorney.

LISTED AT: $214,900 SOLD

4 Questions For Home Buyers In Athens

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Ask Jennifer… What should home buyers be thinking about?

4 Questions To Ask Yourself As You Begin the Process!

Owning a home may be your dream, but in order for the purchase to be the happy and satisfying experience it was meant to be, you need to ensure that you are financially and mentally prepared for the responsibilities that come with it.

Some people have a notion that home ownership is like renting, but with the power to have pets and paint the walls whatever color you like. However, while these privileges are available to homeowners in most municipalities, they come with the responsibilities of a mortgage, taxes and home maintenance. Preparing for home ownership requires you to take critical stock of your finances and your expectations. Here are 4 common questions to consider when beginning your home purchase process in our Greater Athens area!

1. Are you ready to buy?

Owning your own home is about more than just being able to decorate any way you like; it’s about being prepared to maintain your home over the years, realizing that part of your income and time will go towards repairs and maintenance. It’s about being willing to take the risks of home ownership with a realistic expectation of the rewards.

2. How much can you afford?

It can be discouraging to find that your salary won’t stretch as far as the home you want to own. However, sacrificing a huge part of your income just to pay the mortgage can very quickly make home ownership a burden rather than a point of pride. It’s better to buy a modest home now and look at purchasing your “dream home” in a few years.

3. What is your debt-to-income ratio?

This is something that lenders take very seriously. Your overall debt should not be more than 40% of your income, and your housing debt should not be more than 32%. What 32% of your income will buy depends on where you want to live. In rural or downtrodden areas for example, it can buy a very comfortable residence and ample acreage. In highly sought-after urban areas however, it may not even buy a 400 square foot bachelor suite.

4. What do you want?

Do you like the idea of cleaning your own gutters? Do you shudder at the thought of lawn care? Would you rather just pay a fee every month and have everything done for you? Would obeying rules about when you can have your garbage cans out bother you, or do you want to live in a neighborhood where everything is ‘just so’? The answers to these questions can help you narrow down the search for the right type of property for you.

Interested in help with some of these questions, or ready to start the buying or selling process? Send us a request for contact for more customized information specifically researched for your needs today!

September Gardening in the Greater Athens Area

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Reminders to help get your garden cleaned up

Information and photo via Keller Williams

September may be the end of the outdoor gardening season for most, but it’s also the time to prepare everything for next spring. Here are a few reminders on what you need to do to get your garden cleaned up and ready for next year!

Harvest and Transplant:

  • Pick your tomatoes, even the ones that are still green, and ripen these indoors.
  • Transplant your outdoor herbs into pots and bring these indoors for winter growth.
  • Tender bulbs should be dug up and moved indoors to a cool and dark area.

Plant for Spring:

  • When the weather cools down, you can start to plant spring flowering bulbs and peony roots.
  • Divide and replant perennials that have overgrown their current space.

Clean and Compost:

  • Remove and compost your annual plants that are spent.
  • Rake and remove leaves.

We wish you and your family a happy Fall. Please keep us in mind if you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell real estate soon.

 

Copyright 2017 Keller Williams® Realty, Inc. If you have a brokerage relationship with another agency, this is not intended as a solicitation. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Equal Opportunity Housing Provider. Each office is independently owned and operated. 

Tired of the Online Home Search in Athens?

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Tired of the Online Home Search in Athens?

Learn How Team Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates Can Help!

(Article and information via Hannah Harris with Team JWA)

Tired of seeing houses when performing your own online searches at various websites that are already UNDER CONTRACT but say FOR SALE?

We can help!

From the time a new listing is listed on our local Multiple Listing Service (that real estate agents use), it can sometimes take anywhere from 24-48 hours to show up on general real estate websites. More times than not, once you see a popular new listing pop up in the neighborhood you’ve been looking for, it will have multiple offers or even be under contract already! How frustrating!?

But there is hope! Contact Hannah at hannah@thejwa.com, submit a request for contact, or simply give us a call and we can set you up to receive listings that meet your criteria directly from our Multiple Listing Service within the HOUR of it being listed! We have access to the newest homes, often before they are even available online! Looking for something specific like houses under $250,000, a house with a basement or  minimum number of bathrooms, or in a certain neighborhood? We can provide a custom list, plus provide you with each new listing that fits your customized needs as they come on the market. This is just one of the ways that Team JWA’s clients can stay ahead of the game to be one of the first to make an offer when the perfect home is available.

We have a dedicated buyer’s team focused on you, including our lead buyer’s agent Brandon McEachern. Interested in being one of the first to learn of the new listing that fits your needs in a home? Contact us today and we’ll create your custom home purchase plan.

SOLD U SO!! 1110 Manor Ridge Drive, Bishop, Georgia

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Enjoy the best that Oconee has to offer in this updated 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom craftsman style home!

Enter the home’s two story foyer and be greeted by hardwood floors and heavy moulding. Relax in the open concept floor plan with a formal dining room, and warm up by the fireplace in the two story great room. The eat-in kitchen features granite counter tops, custom cabinetry and stainless steel appliances. Right off the kitchen, the home features a keeping room with a 2nd fireplace. The owner’s suite is on the main level and offers access the over-sized deck  overlooking the large, flat, grassy backyard. Upstairs there is one bedroom with an  on-suite bath, an open loft– perfect for an office or play area– plus 2 additional bedrooms joined by a Jack-and-Jill bathroom.

LISTED AT: $355,000 SOLD

SOLD U SO!! 787 Mitchell Bridge Road, Athens, Georgia

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NEW CONSTRUCTION!!

This craftsman inspired home features the Hartwell plan, offering a great room with fireplace, kitchen with granite countertops and custom cabinets. The owner’s suite is on the main level, along with a half bath off of the kitchen. 2 additional bedrooms and a full bath are located upstairs.
There is also a detached, 2 car garage.

The Village at Kay Place is conveniently located in the heart of Athens, just minutes from the best shopping and restaurants on the Westside.

$2,000 seller paid closing costs with preferred lender only.
Closing with sellers preferred attorney.

LISTED AT: $224,900 SOLD

Winterize Your Home in the Greater Athens Area

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Help Winterize Your Home in the Greater Athens Area

9 Hints To Help Protect Your Home as Temperatures Drop

Information and photo via Keller Williams

…Start Saving!

  1. Inspect your roof and replace any damaged or missing roof shingles.
  2. Make sure gutters and downspouts are free of leaves and debris.
  3. Consider a fresh coat of paint or sealer on your deck.
  4. On a windy day, close your windows and feel for air leaks.
  5. Seal any leaks with rope caulk.
  6. Install weather stripping on the sides or bottoms of any leaky doors.
  7. Insulate exposed plumbing.
  8. Remove leaves or debris from your air conditioner’s condensing unit, cover for winter.
  9. If you haven’t had your fireplace chimney cleaned in a few years, hire a professional chimney sweep.
If you need a recommendation for local professionals who can perform this or any other work around your home, I can help! Contact us today, or visit our home resources page!

And as always, if you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, you can count on me for the utmost professionalism, expertise and results! Submit a request for contact, or give us a call today for your custom plan.