Tag Archive for: buying a house

4 Home Staging Ideas To Stand Out From The Competition

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4 Home Staging Ideas in the Greater Athens Area

60 percent of homes sell during the summer months, making now the peak season for home showings. When you’re serious about selling your home for top dollar, these staging tips will help your home to stand out against the competition:

(information via Keller Williams)

1. Install an Air-Conditioning Timer – Regulate the temperature to be an optimal 70 degrees Fahrenheit when buyers arrive.
2. Clean Up Outdoor Areas – Rent a pressure washer to clean a patio, deck or driveway, and sweep up debris around the pool.
3. Show Off Built-In Features – Arrange neutral items in small clusters on built-in bookcases, shelves and wall cutouts to show off attractive architectural elements of your home.
4. Stage the Unexpected – Show buyers how livable the home is by staging something fun and inviting. Arrange some rolled up towels by the pool or place a novel next to the rocking chair on the front porch.

 

Interested in learning more about home staging? Visit our professional home staging page. We’d also be happy to provide a custom review of your home in getting it ready to sell! Submit a request for contact today, or give us a call.

8 Home Care Hints for April 2018

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You can keep your home in top shape with simple tasks throughout the year

(Information and photo via Keller Williams)

Here are 8 helpful home care hints for your house in the greater Athens area. This month, be sure to:

  1. Test your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms.
  2. Drain approximately 2 gallons from your water heater to eliminate sediment.
  3. Clean your clothes dryer vent duct.
  4. Vacuum your bathroom vent covers.
  5. Replace or clean your furnace filter.
  6. Clean out your basement window wells.
  7. Clean your refrigerator’s condenser coils to keep it operating efficiently.
  8. Clean around your air conditioning compressor and make sure that it gets sufficient air flow.

As always, we appreciate referrals from my friends and past clients. If you know of anyone who is looking to buy or sell real estate, please send them our way! Give us a call or submit a request for contact.

Love Your Dog and Your Beautiful Back Yard

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Two Tips For Landscaping and Your Dog in the Greater Athens Area

Here are two tips to help you keep your landscape looking top shape for you and your best friend (information and photo via Keller Williams)

1. Set Some Boundaries: Even the smartest pooch in the pack can have a hard time telling which areas of the yard are off limits. Your flower bed or vegetable garden can easily look like fair game, so adding permanent or temporary barriers to these areas may be the best way to keep the peace between you and your pet.

2. Hate those Brown Spots? Watering regularly and keeping your grass a little longer than is typical can help reduce the appearance of brown spots in your grass, but it won’t solve the problem entirely. If you can’t live with the burn marks that come from the nitrogen found in your dog’s urine, consider creating a new special place for your dog to eliminate. A fenced off area or a section of the yard with some gravel that can be easily sprayed down from time to time are great options.

As always, we appreciate referrals from our friends and past clients. If you know of anyone who is looking to buy or sell real estate, please send them our way! Give us a call or send us a request for contact today.

Get Ready for Spring Cleaning in the Greater Athens Area

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6 Helpful Hints to Prepare for Spring Cleaning

(Information and photo via Keller Williams)

 

Are you ready to dive in and do a deep clean of your house this spring? Here are 6 great tips on how you can tackle your cleanup list as quickly as possible.

1. Wear comfortable, old clothes that you won’t mind staining or getting dirty.

2.Take stock of your cleaning needs and supplies. Don’t want until you’re about to clean the oven to find out that you don’t have any oven cleaner left. Have everything on hand and ready to go for a smooth time.

3. Turn off the TV and phone! The quickest cleaning is accomplished without any distractions.

4. Get organized. Make a list of the rooms you want to tackle, and then clean each room fully before moving to the next.

5. Prepare one bucket of supplies to bring with you to every room. All you really need are a few rags, some paper towels, furniture polish, and one good all-purpose glass and counter cleaner. These items will do the trick for most cleaning jobs. Also, grab two empty garbage bags: one to carry garbage you find along the way, and the other to fill with things you no longer want but are still useful. You can give these items away or sell them at a later date.

6. Let the sun shine in! Open the windows and let the clean, green aroma of spring’s new flower and plant life enter your home. Not only will the mustiness of winter be removed, but you’ll also protect yourself from inhaling dust and dangerous fumes from cleaning products.

If you or anyone you know needs professional real estate advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Real Estate on the River JWA and Northwest Exterminating

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Team JWA’s Brandon Talks with Northwest Exterminating

On this week’s episode of Jennifer Westmoreland & Associates’ Real Estate on the River, Team JWA’s Brandon talks with Scott Jones of Northwest Exterminating. Looking to buy your next home or sell your current home in the greater Athens GA area? Contact us today! Looking for past episodes or other recent JWA videos? Visit our Youtube channel!

Jennifer Talks Real Estate with the Oconee Chamber

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Team JWA’s Jennifer Westmoreland Sits Down with Clint Watson of the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce

Thanks to the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce for the opportunity to talk about real estate, current market trends and more! Watch this video and you can even learn if Jennifer prefers ice cream or potato chips!

How to Reduce Allergens in Your Home

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Help keep your home allergy-free with these 4 simple tips.

Allergies are often associated with the arrival of spring, but indoor allergy sufferers will often find themselves sniffing and sneezing year-round. The culprit? Indoor allergens such as dust, dust mites and pet hair and dander. So how do you make sure your home is a respite from both seasonal and interior allergens and create a healthy environment for you and your family? Here are 4 ideas via Keller Williams for your real estate in the greater Athens GA area.

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, there are several best practices you can adopt to manage allergens in your home:
1. Keep it clean. Regularly cleaning your home will go far in reducing allergens such as dust, dust mites and pet dander.
2. Redo your floors. Replacing rugs and carpets with wood or vinyl floorings will help minimize dust and other allergens that become embedded in fabric fibers.
3. Groom your furry friends. Regularly bathing and brushing your pets will help reduce the amount of dander and pet hair in your home.
4. Go on mold patrol. Be on the lookout for any leaks or moisture in your home as this can cause mold to thrive.

Simple tips like these can create a happier, healthier and more valuable home. Thank you for thinking of us for all of your real estate needs, and be sure to share our contact information with anyone you know of looking to buy, sell or invest in a home. Interested buying or selling your next home? Give us a call today!

This Month in Real Estate March 2018 Greater Athens GA

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Interested in What’s Happening in Your Neighborhood? Contact us today

(Information and photos via Keller Williams)

Below is information for March 2018. Submit a request for contact or give us a call today to learn more about your greater Athens area neighborhood market.

March 2018 Market Update decorative image Monthly VideoAccording to the National Association of REALTORS®, existing home sales slid in January due primarily to a significant shortage of available homes on the market. Inventory constraints coupled with a healthy buyer demand put upward pressure on home prices, which can diminish overall sales activity.
   Interest Rates decorative image   Interest RatesAccording to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed rates rose from 4.15 percent to 4.40 percent. This rate remains well below the historical average of 8.90 percent.
   Home Sales decorative image   Home Sales Graph   The National Association of REALTORS® reported home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of approximately 5.4 million homes during the month of January. This was a decrease of 3.2 percent from December and a decrease of 4.8 percent from January of last year.
   Home Prices decorative image   Home Price Graph   The median home price decreased to $240,500 in January, which was down 2.4 percent from December and up 5.8 percent from January of last year. The median home price has increased by approximately $13,200 in the past year alone.
   Inventory decorative image   Inventory Graph   There was a 3.4-month supply of housing inventory in January, which was a 6.2 percent increase from December. The total number of available homes for sale has decreased by 2.9 percent compared to January of last year.
 decorative image   Brought to you by KW Research. For additional graphs and details, please see the This Month in Real Estate PowerPoint Report.The opinions expressed in This Month in Real Estate are intended to supplement opinions on real estate expressed by local and national media, local real estate agents and other expert sources. You should not treat any opinion expressed on This Month in Real Estate as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of opinion. Keller Williams Realty, Inc., does not guarantee and is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of information, and provides said information without warranties of any kind. All information presented herein is intended and should be used for educational purposes only. Nothing herein should be construed as investment advice. You should always conduct your own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice before making any investment decision. All investments involve some degree of risk. Keller Williams Realty, Inc., will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in This Month in Real Estate.

The Importance of Home Listing Photos in the Greater Athens Area

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Selecting the best photos to highlight your home

When preparing to sell your home, it can be important to capture the best of your home via the listing photos! There are several details that shouldn’t be overlooked when planning on showing your home as best it can be seen. Hannah and our team at the JWA are specialists at staging and photography of your home! Give us a call today or submit a request for contact for your custom home or sale plan.

4 Ways To Help Make Your Home As Pet Friendly As You Are

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Adding pet friendly features to your home in the greater Athens area

(information and photo via Keller Williams)

Keller Williams
Is Your Home as Pet Friendly as You Are?Pet ownership is at an all-time high, with 65 percent of U.S. households owning a pet. That shakes out to more than 79 million homes. Whether you own a pet (which you likely do!) or if you’re thinking of selling your home in the future, adding these 4 pet friendly features to your home will boost its value – both with potential home buyers and your four-legged friends!

1. Sturdy fence. Pets need a secure, sturdy fence to keep them, well, fenced in. Look for solid materials and a height of at least six feet, and make sure the end structure is escape-proof.

2. Safe plants. Certain plant varieties are toxic to cats and dogs, so look up the names of all plants – whether for indoors or out – before you purchase them to determine their toxicity rating.

3. Easily cleaned flooring. A durable, easily cleaned floor will make any potential pet accidents less of a problem. Carpet may be soft, but it tends to trap hair, allergens and stains.

4. Mudrooms. With pet ownership on the rise, dedicated pet owners are in the market for special features like mudrooms that include handheld pet showers or utility sinks.

Looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate? Let’s talk about it. Call us today to send us a request for contact to arrange a personalized consultation.