Cheap Ways to Increase Your Home's Curb Appeal

With real estate season fast approaching, here are a few quick, cheap ways to increase your home's curb appeal, according to Kiplinger:

Regardless of your budget--

1) Make a plan! Your goal is to do things that will complement and enhance the appearance of your house, not clash with it.

2) Take some time to do your research! If you're doing landscaping, make sure that the kind of plants, flowers, etc., make sense in your yard. A cactus is probably not a good choice in Wisconsin. Similarly, if your yard is shaded most of the day, don't choose plants that require lots of sunlight. Doing some research will require some time up front, but it can definitely save you money!

For $100 or less--

1) Create a welcoming entrance with a couple of large potted plants.
2) Plant a few trees.
3) Plant some wildflowers.

Remember to keep it simple--a few well-thought additions can make a big difference when you're trying to sell your house!

Spend a Little Now, Save a Lot Later--Routine Home Maintenance Tips

As healthcare costs rise, more and more people are talking about the benefits of preventative health care—exercise, healthy diet, etc. The same applies to your home; the better you maintain it, the less likely you are to have a surprise catastrophic event.  Here’s a list of things in your home that should be checked at least twice a year (unless otherwise noted) to keep things working the way they should:

 1.     Inspect water hoses on washing machine, dishwasher, and refrigerator icemaker for cracks. 

 2.     Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and replace batteries when necessary. Have working fire extinguishers accessible.

 3.     Have furnace, water heater, and air conditioning serviced yearly.

 4.     Drain water heater. This helps to clear any build up that may impede your water heater from functioning as it should—it should also extend its life!

 5.     Clear any debris from gutters and drainpipes. This is especially important in areas with freezing winter temperatures. You don't want an expensive repair and water (or ice!) damage to your home.

 6.     Clean humidifier and dehumidifier.

 7.     Clean fireplace and chimney. Have chimney inspected every few years or if you notice loose mortar or missing bricks.

 8.     Clean air filters and vents in your air conditioner, dryer, heating system, and fans.

 9.     Check foundation and basement for dampness or cracking.

 10.  Clean refrigerator/freezer coils, and make sure both seal properly.

 11. In addition to regularly clearing lint from your dryer’s lint catcher, scrub the lint catcher with warm soap and water a few times a year. Fabric softener makes your clothes feel soft and smell nice, but it builds up over time. An easy way to test this is to run water over your lint catcher—if it doesn’t drain through quickly, you’ve got buildup.

 12.  Clean your home regularly. Not only will this make things run more smoothly and make it a more pleasant place to live, you're more likely to notice things that need some attention.

    While this is far from an exhaustive list, here's a start. I'll add things as I think of them, and please feel  free to comment and add your own!

How to Stage Your Home for a Successful Sale

With such a glut of listings in the housing market, as a home seller, you need to do anything you can to set your home apart so it will be noticed. One big thing you can do is to stage your home well.  Here are some tips from HGTV.com on staging your home:

1.     Say goodbye to clutter: While you may be proud of your shot glass collection, to a potential homebuyer, it just makes your home look cluttered. Put away most of your collections, so your home doesn’t appear busy and cluttered. Furniture can also contribute to a cluttered look. This doesn't mean you need to strip your house to unusable bare bones, but even removing that one extra chair from your living room can make a difference.

2.     Pull the furniture away from the walls a bit. It makes the room look bigger. Use good judgment when doing this though—if pulling furniture away from the wall a bit means that you can’t comfortably walk through a room, don’t do it.

3.     Rearrange furniture: just because a piece of furniture was purchased for a specific room doesn't mean that it has to stay there. Experiment.

4.     Make spaces valuable: if there ‘s a room or area in your house that just gathers junk, turn it into a reading nook or small office space. Turn an unfinished basement into an exercise area with the addition of some padding on the floor. Use your imagination to figure out the wasted spaces in your home, and how you can utilize them to increase your homes’ value.

5.     Lighting: good lighting is hugely important in staging your home. If rooms are dim, add lamps or other accent lighting, and increase wattage in lamps and fixtures. As an added bonus, use compact fluorescent bulbs, which last much longer than traditional light bulbs, and are no longer much more expensive.

6.     Décor: a general rule to keep in mind is that groupings of décor look best in odd numbers.

7.     Flowers: If you have flowers or other plants in your yard that cut well, be sure to regularly stock your house with one or more arrangements. Something living adds a lot to a room.

8.     Bathroom: polish tile in the bathroom. Set out coordinating towels and candles to give a spa-like feel.

If you follow these tips, there’s no guarantee your home will sell but it will have a better chance. And if nothing else, your home will be more pleasant while you live there! 

Sinking Funds For Peace of Mind...and Wallet!

If you’re a homeowner, (or want to be!) you probably know that along with home ownership come some big expenses, both foreseen and unforeseen.  You can plan for both types of expenses using one or more sinking funds. 

For instance, you know that in five years your roof will need to be replaced. If you plan to have this professionally done, that can easily cost $10,000. For most people, that’s a large amount of money. If you don’t plan ahead, you’ll likely need to take a loan or tap into savings or retirement funds. But let’s look at the same scenario with a sinking fund. Ok, so five years out, you start saving for a new roof. You get paid bi-weekly. So how much would you have to set aside from each paycheck to save $10,000 in 5 years (interest aside)? $10,000/5=$2,000 per year. $2,000/26=$76.92 per paycheck, or $38.46 per week. If you eat fast food or drink expensive coffee regularly, you could easily pay for a new roof just by cutting back on those things.

Another instance where a sinking fund can be useful is to make up for varying utility costs. You can call your utility company and find out the average monthly utility cost for your home. Or better yet, find out the exact amount billed each month over the past twelve months. Divide that number by twelve and set aside that amount each month. If you can, deposit some extra money at the beginning of the year. You should accumulate enough extra during lower than average months to cover your expenses during higher than average months.  If you have a budget (which is an absolute necessity, in my opinion!) this will help to keep things smooth.

Some other examples where a sinking fund would be useful are homeowners insurance, car insurance, home remodel, and purchase of a new car. Really though, sinking funds can be used for just about anything. Whether they’re for  larger purchases, or small routine expenses, sinking funds can help to temper financial extremes, and give you some financial peace of mind.