Stage Your Outdoor Space This Winter

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energy audit, energy bill, energy efficient, home improvement, homes for sale, homes for sale in Jacksonville FL, protect your home in the winter, staging, staging your home, staging your patio, winterization, winterizing

Colder weather ahead doesn’t mean you have to forfeit your precious outdoor space. This year especially, you’ll want to enjoy your backyard or balcony as long as possible. Here are some tips to make the most of your space this fall and winter.  Clean up ahead of winter Spruce up your yard to create an outdoor environment you’ll be motivated to enjoy. Take time to clean up and dispose of leaves and fallen branches. For your flower beds, pull out the dead annuals, add compost, then plant cover crops or add mulch.  Warm it up Electric or propane outdoor heaters can help extend the outdoor mingling season. With free-standing, tabletop, and umbrella-style versions available in a variety of sizes, there are options available to fit your needs. (If you live in a condo, check regulations first.)  Use what you have Instead of putting it all in storage, leave your patio furniture outside. Add some machine-washable covers to give your cushions a fresh look. Circle your furniture around a fire pit and you’ll be roasting (and burning) s’mores in no time.  Look on the bright side Garden lighting at ground level will illuminate your landscape, and string lights with clear white LED bulbs can create an inviting ambiance. Solar powered, weather-resistant lights are more affordable than ever and make for hassle-free installation and upkeep.  Food for thought Keep the barbecue in working order and your propane tank filled. Grill up some goodies, then enjoy them outside. It’ll be just like a winter tailgate, only cheaper and without a line for the bathroom.

Last Minute Tips for WinterizationIt’s not too late to address a few home maintenance musts before winter fully sets in. Here’s a list of last-minute tasks to knock out before you go into hibernation mode.  1. Check and clean the gutters one last time. As the last leaves have fallen, take time now to make sure your gutters are completely cleared out. Blockages can create ice dams, which will damage your gutters and prevent proper drainage of water away from your foundation.   2. Check your furnace. If you have a furnace, replace your filter if you haven’t already, and commit to changing it once a month. A dirty filter will increase your heating costs and reduce the life of your equipment. Home heating systems that aren’t properly maintained may be less than 50 percent efficient. If you can spring for it this year, an inspection done by a licensed professional is always recommended.   3. Maintain your home’s exterior. Trim back trees and branches that are hanging too close to your home. Seal driveways, brick patios, and wood decks. Look for cracks and gaps around doors, windows, and eaves, and seal them.   4. Test smoke/carbon monoxide detectors This one is easy to overlook, but takes only a couple seconds: hit the “test” button on your smoke/carbon monoxide detector. If the alarm sounds — you’re good to go. If not, replace the batteries and test again. Replace your smoke detector if fresh batteries don’t result in a proper test.   5. Consider an energy audit An energy audit can show you how and where your home is using energy, so you can make simple updates to increase your home’s efficiency – saving you money. Home energy audits typically range in cost from $200-$400, and many energy companies offer rebates that make them even more affordable (or sometimes free).  Perform your own quick energy audit by following some of these tips from Energy.gov. Taking these steps will not only lower your utility costs, but they will protect your largest investment, your home, from the unexpected weather conditions ahead. If you have questions about professional services for home energy audits, give us call before Spring is already here! Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners Southside 904-515-2479 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com

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Home Flipping Hits 14-Year High

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buying a flip, flip, flipped homes, flipping homes, Hanley Home Team, real estate, real estate advice, real estate investing, Real Estate Team, The best real estate agent in Jacksonville, the time to buy is now

 

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While the real estate market in general is adapting to new challenges and market conditions, one segment of the market is going strong. Home flipping is boasting its best numbers in 14 years.

The newly released first-quarter 2020 U.S. Home Flipping Report from ATTOM Data Solutions shows that “53,705 single-family homes and condominiums in the United States were flipped in the first quarter. That number represented 7.5 percent of all home sales in the nation during the quarter, up from 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 and from 7.3 percent in the first quarter of last year.” Those are the highest numbers since the second quarter of 2006.

The gross profit for home flips across the country also rose over the same time period, to $62,300. “That was up slightly from $62,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019 and from $60,675 in the first quarter of last year,” the report said.

If you’re looking to get in on the flipping trend, here are a few insights:

• You don’t need to buy a million-dollar fixer. “Homes flipped in the first quarter of 2020 were sold for a median price of $232,000.”
• Profits will be larger where the home prices are higher. “The highest first-quarter 2020 profits, measured in dollars, were concentrated in the West and Northeast. Among metro areas with enough data to analyze, 13 of the top 15 were in the those regions, led by San Francisco, CA (gross profit of $171,000); San Jose, CA ($165,000); Los Angeles, CA ($145,000); New York, NY ($141,899) and Honolulu, HI ($140,190).”
• The lowest profits were generally in southern metro areas, such as “Springfield, MO ($20,203); Daphne, AL ($20,650); Raleigh, NC ($21,250) and Durham, NC ($25,000).”
• Don’t think you have to turn the home around and sell it in 30 days. “The average time to flip nationwide is 174 days.”
• You don’t need to pay cash upfront for the home, as the percentage of flipped homes purchased with financing in the first quarter of 2020 was 40.5 percent.

Need some advice on investing and flipping? Get in touch today!  Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS – The Hanley Home Team of Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners Southside – 904-515-2479 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com Team@HanleyHomeTeam.com

Boost Your Home’s Value Ahead of Your Appraisal

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appraisal, DIY, property appraisal, real estate, real estate tips, seller tips, Selling a home, selling your home, The best real estate agent in Jacksonville

 

 

Whether you’re planning to sell or refinance, a home appraisal is a necessary step in determining the true value of your home. This means your home should be in the best possible condition, so it will be appraised at the highest potential value. While it may be tempting to swing for the fences with big-ticket renovations, there are smaller things you can do to efficiently raise the market value of your home.

Start Small with a Little Spackle
If you’ve lived in your home for any length of time, you’ve probably hung things on the walls, put up shelves, or simply had accidents that resulted in minor damage. Now is the time to repair those blemishes. Filling these holes and crevices with a little spackle and painting over the area will leave your walls looking like new. While this may not boost the value of your home, it will keep the appraiser from deducting for the damage.

As Long as You’re Painting…
After you’ve touched up your walls, you might want to consider freshening up the paint. Repainting worn trim and moldings around the home can give it a fresh look. Venture outside and touch up the trim around the windows and doors too. This will boost curb appeal and help you add value to the home. Any area where the paint is peeling, chipping, or simply has lost its luster should be retouched with a fresh coat.

Update Your Crawl Spaces
An upgrade that’s growing in popularity (and will grow your home value) is crawl space encapsulation. Crawl spaces are essential for providing homeowners and contractors with access to important systems of the home. However, these spaces are vulnerable to moisture and water damage caused by humidity and harsh weather conditions. In drier climates, dust and insects can interfere with HVAC systems. To protect crawl spaces, homeowners have started sealing these spaces with polyethylene barriers to keep out moisture, dust, and pests.

Do a Deep Clean
This is also the time to really clean your home from top to bottom. If you have young children and pets, there may be odors and damage that might not be noticeable to you, but strong odors and scuffed hardwood floors will be the first things your appraiser notices. Consider hiring professionals to wax the floors, shampoo the carpets, and conduct an intensive cleaning of the entire home.

Conduct Other Repairs
At some point, you should tour your home with the mindset of a home buyer. This will help you identify problems that you live with every day but just don’t notice anymore. Look for things that need to be repaired, such as a loose handrail, a leaky faucet, or a shorted electrical outlet. Repairing these problems ahead of time will ensure you won’t lose money on the appraisal.

By taking the time to spruce up the home ahead of the appraisal, you may be able to increase the value by thousands of dollars. The suggestions offered here should give you a head start, but if you have additional questions on how to add more value to your home, please don’t hesitate to reach out us – Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS, The Hanley Home Team of Keller Williams Realty http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com 904-515-2479

Easy Landscaping DIY Projects

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home improvement, home ownership, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Real Estate, lazy summer, selling your home in the summer. summer real est

Photo by Jonas Ferlin on Pexels.com

Ever get the itch to do a DIY project? Whenever we do, our favorites involve getting outdoors and mixing up our landscaping features.

Whether it’s as simple as installing some lighting or a little more time-consuming like re-plotting plants, a fresh look for the lawn always gives your home a fresh look as well. Here are our top five easy landscaping projects!

Create a pathway.

To guide you and visitors throughout your yard and link different areas together, install a pathway. You can use materials from a variety of materials, including reclaimed pallet wood, flagstones, gravel, and more to add texture and color.

Add a wall or border.

Installing a flagstone, rock, or brick wall around flower beds or trees adds a sleek, clean look to your landscaping and helps separate different sections of your yard.

Install a water feature.

Nothing says zen quite like the sound of trickling water as you relax in your backyard. You can start simple with by purchasing and installing a small feature powered by a solar panel or create a larger focal point in your yard by installing a waterfall wall or small pond.

Light your way.

An easy way to transform your yard is to strategically use lighting. Place cool-colored lights high in trees to recreate a moonlight feel, use pathway lights to naturally guide the eye, or highlight objects or plants.

Plant upwards.

Expand your yard space by drawing the eye to the sky with a trellis fence or screen made of wood or metal. Once you install your trellis, select your climbing plants and vines and get to planting.

Source: Easy Landscaping DIY Projects