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Nearly everyone is at risk for flooding in your home despite your location. A couple of inches of water is all it takes to do major damage to your home and its contents. Whether you are located on or near the coast, a river, creek, stream, pond, wetland, marsh, retainer pond or even have a crawl space, having flood insurance is a must. Floods can happen nearly anywhere at any time. From November to April, the western United States is more inclined to flooding because under heavy rain, burned land from wildfires can become mudslides. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, over 20% of the claims do not actually come from the high risk areas, but outside them. There is usually a 30 day wait before flood insurance takes effect so don’t wait until the bad weather arrives to obtain it!
There are a couple of great events going on at the Pasco Trac this week. If you are looking for some great home décor or some neat crafting ideas head on over to the 14th Annual Spring Arts & Craft Show, or you can take the kids to the Jordan’s Circus on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
Custer’s 14th Annual Spring Arts & Crafts Show
March 22nd-24th, 2013
Custer’s 14th Annual Spring Arts & Crafts Show features over 150 of the finest Artists and Crafters from across the U.S. filling the TRAC with unique hand crafted items! All artists represent their own work. Join usin this holiday shopping tradition!
Hand Blown Glass, Beaded Jewelry, Watercolors, Quilted Wall Hangings, Hand Thrown Pottery, Whimsical Painted Furniture, Metal Sculpture, Fabric Santas, Photography, Woodworking, Candles, Felted Hats and much, much more!
Specialty and gourmet foods including huckleberry products, vinegars and mustards, wheat berry chili, jams and fudge. Many of these items will be available to sample!
A festive atmosphere with many artists and crafters decorating their displays with a holiday theme and selling arts and crafts for gifts and home decor.
Date & Time:
Friday, March 22nd * 10am – 8pm
Saturday, March 23rd * 10am – 6pm
Sunday, March 24th * 10am – 4pm
Admission:
Adults $6.00 – Good all Weekend!
Children 12/U Free
Jordan World Circus
March 26th & 27th, 2013
Event Days & Times:
Tuesday, March 26th 4pm & 7:30pm
Wednesday, March 27th 4pm & 7:30pm
Admission
Adults = $16.00
Children = $12.00
**Look for your free kids tickets at your Area Merchants
For more information on these events go to http://www.traconline.com/
The front door is always a great place to start sprucing up. Often times, new paint can do wonders for the face of the house. By painting the front door or trim you can really make your house stand out. Also you may want to take a look at things like your house numbers, mailbox or porch railings. Do they need any repairs or perhaps a fresh coat of paint? The light fixtures on the front of the house are often overlooked when giving your home a facelift. Take a look at them. Replacing out of date fixtures with more modern ones is a wonderful way to make your porch look great and they are available at affordable prices in places such as Lowes or Home Depot. If they aren’t out of date you may want to make sure they don’t need a coat of paint to make them stand out a little more.
Seasonal décor is also a great way to spruce up your curb appeal. If you are ambitious enough, a flower garden is a great eye catcher. For those more inclined to less fuss, potted plants are a simple and easy way to draw attention. A few of these containers can really make your home stand out and a bit of color on an ordinary wreath or a ribbon on your door can add to the appeal.
Outdoor furniture is also a great addition and will give potential buyers an idea of what can be done with the porch space. If you have a covered porch, indoor furniture such as a nice table, cute desk or shelves to hold plants is a creative way to showcase your space. Just remember to have fun and be creative.
As a seller, one can feel the pressure to improve your home to suit the buyer’ market. You don’t have to perform miracles to change the look or appeal of your home. Most of us are well aware of the costly need to upgrade counters and cabinets in our kitchens and often times we cannot justify the cost of doing so. Here is a list of home improvements you can make, that even though they can be costly, will pay you back in the long run.
Landscaping – Sprucing up your curb appeal can determine whether or not a buyer actually enters your home. An overgrown lawn and garden can turn buyers away, so plant some trees or flowers to catch their attention.
Add A Bedroom – If you have an unfinished basement or attic space, give your home one more bedroom. By doing so, you will definitely raise the price of your home.
Build A Deck – Putting a second story slider and deck in is one of the least expensive ways to expand your living space.
Bathroom – By converting a half bath into a full, or a closet into a bath, you are improving one of the most important rooms in the house, second to the kitchen. Buyers like the extra space a full bath offers.
Kitchen – The kitchen is a make or break room for buyers, so replacing appliances and counters is a great idea to catch a buyer, even if the layout isn’t exactly what they were looking for.
Finished Basement – If yours is unfinished, finish it. Buyers may not want to have to finish it themselves and the extra space will appeal to them.
Windows – New energy efficient windows in an older home can attract buyers, as it saves on energy and is also one less improvement the buyers may have to make on their own.
Source : http://www.lakeviewtitle.com/blog.details.php?id=86
Fiserv Case Shiller’s most recent forecast for the housing market predicts, over the next 5 years, home prices will rise 3.3% annually. It was also stated that in 2012, for the first time since 1997, the housing market resembled the norm. Until the housing market peaked in 2006, prices grew by 5% or more a year since 1998. However, since 2006, the prices decreased a total of 30.5% until September of 2012. It is expected that by the end of 2013, prices will be on the rise in nearly every metro area, Medford, Oregon being the highest to gain with an expected 9.7%. The housing sector is predicted to make another positive impact on the economy this year.
Pets are almost always loved by everyone; however, they can make a potential buyer nervous. This may shock or surprise you, and you may wonder why your cute, adorable Fluffy or Buddy would make anyone nervous because they could never hurt anyone. But the thing you should keep in mind is the buyer does not know this. Sure, you could leave a note telling them the pet is super friendly, but that is just not enough to alleviate some people’s fear of our four legged family members. Buyer’s nervousness about your pets could very well affect their decision to purchase your home.
The best and most effective solution is to temporarily relocate you favorite furry buddy while your home is for sale. Boarding them at a kennel or having a friend or relative care for them is a good idea, but if you absolutely cannot bear to part with your pet, then here are a few suggestions to help reduce the impact they may have on the sale of your home.
1. Clean up the doo – Keeping the smell and sight of a pet’s bathroom area clean is essential. Make sure the cat box is clean and out of sight if you have a feline friend. If you happen to have a dog, make sure its potty area is clean too. No one likes to go check out the backyard only to discover it is littered with doggie bombs.
2. Stains – Have your carpets or floors professionally cleaned so as to get rid of any stains your critters may have left behind. If it can’t be cleaned, it should be replaced.
3. Odors – Having the floors cleaned will help get rid of any lingering smells left behind by your pets. Air freshener should not be used as many people are allergic and could react to it.
4. Evidence – If you can, clean up any evidence of your pet. Photos of your listing should not show any pets; seal up any doggie doors as not everyone likes or uses these; food and water dishes should be put away; use your vacuum a lot. Remember to put all pet toys, beds, cages or carriers away!
5. Showing – When showing your home, if possible, take your furry friends with you. If you have to leave them in your home, put them in a carrier with a “Do Not Disturb” note. Caged animals can be unpredictable, and you don’t want any buyer or agent getting bit or scratched by your pet.
This January, permits for construction to build new homes reached a new high in 4 1/2 years, despite the fact that groundbreaking for new homes fell. The Commerce Department stated the groundbreaking on new home sites has fallen by 8.5 percent to a new annual unit rate of 890,000. This was caused by a drastic decrease of 24.1% in the multi family unit category. Good news is future home permits rose to a 925,000 unit rate and the starts for single family units rose up by .8%, both being the highest seen since 2008.
Although the data for these housing starts can be volatile and sometimes has large revisions, the U.S. revised statement shows the fastest pace since 2008 with the estimated unit rate rising to 973,000 since December. This shows the housing market gaining a foothold after the largest recession seen since the Great Depression. Last year, for the first time since 2005, the home building actually added to the nation’s economic growth. It is also anticipated to add to the growth again this year.
Source:http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/homebuilding-stalled-january-may-pick-again-1C8447778
A good first impression is always the best way to go when
selling your home, so here are a few ideas to help with obtaining that great
impression.
Adding a bit of color: Although you don’t want to overwhelm
your house with a ton of plants, a splash of color here and there can help you
home get noticed. Annuals are a cheaper yet effective way to do this.
New mulch: There are many benefits to laying a new layer of
mulch down, ranging from helping plants retain moisture to the more important
benefit of increasing your lawns appeal. Using mulch made from bark or wood is
a great idea as it is slower to decay and if you add a layer right before
listing your home you may not have to add another layer before you sell your
home.
Pruning: Taking care of your trees and shrubs is possibly
one of the easiest ways to increase the appeal of your yard. For buyers, seeing
overgrown trees and bushes give them the impression the home and land was
poorly maintained, and can cause them to wonder what underlying, unseen
problems there might be.
Yard features: Any water features can be a plus for buyer as
they add to the aesthetic appeal of the yard, so making sure these are free of
algae, debris, the filter is clean, and the feature is in working order. Also if
it is the right season, having any water feature running is a great bonus and
eye catcher.
Power washer: Investing in a power washer can also be a
bonus and an effective way to clean any deep down grime on the exterior of a
house, driveway, sidewalk, or even planter pots.
Not too big: If you plan to replace trees or just plant new
ones, don’t go too big as the buyer may not appreciate obstructed sight lines.
Weeds: In short, get rid of them all. Pull, spray, lay mulch
or other weed blocking material to reduce and prevent the growth or regrowth.