Treehouse

Today's quote of the day comes from my younger daughter, Julia. I was telling her about how my clients often call me when something happens at their house to see how I can help, with advice, resources, and general support. One example I gave her was a client who had a tree limb fall through their roof during a storm. She said, "Was it just through the top of the roof or actually into the house?" I said in this particular case, the large branch had come through the ceiling inside the house so it required more repairs than just to the roof. Without missing a beat, she said, "Awesome! Make yourself a treehouse."

In this particular case, on the same day they had called, one of my contractors sent her roofer over for a consultation and quote and they received help quickly. I guess in hindsight, someone might find that humorous. Not as they can see daylight through their ceiling, however.

Contemplating Space

Although I live in a detached, single family home, one of my favorite books about home is "Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure" by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, a New York City-based stylist.

From this book, here is a thought for the day, a suggestion rather than a quote per se.

Sit for ten minutes in a part of your home that you never sit in.

Meditate if you will. Contemplate your home with a new perspective. Consider unused corners. Minor tweaks can freshen up your day or week.

Here is one of my bookmarks, some fun simple ideas for "5 Ways to Freshen Up Your Daily Life". If you would like an actual paper copy, drop me an email.

Enjoy this wonderful day.

Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is more than the color of your shutters and the architectural features of your home. For a relatively small cash investment, you can spruce up the curb appeal of your home, whether you are staying or selling.

I work regularly with landscapers who will plan within a client's budget to spruce up the garden and general appeal of a property. For the outside of your home, remember this analogy.

Decluttering is to the inside what weeding and trimming is to your home's exterior.

Weed, trim, rake, edge, mulch (but not too much!), then fill in with some plants. Perennials which will add to the beauty of the yard for years to come are the best, even if you plan to sell. Your future homebuyers will appreciate your efforts. And even quick fill-ins with seasonal annuals: think pansies and tulips in spring, petunias and geraniums in the summer, mums in the fall, and holly and greenery with berries in the winter.

If I am customizing the house preparation checklist for a seller client, landscaping is always part of the input.

Backyards

There are grassy flat backyards, postage stamp sized neat tidy urban garden backyards, narrow corner lot backyards, picket fence with a gate to your neighbors' backyards, private fenced oasis backyards, and expansive impressive backyards. Any that accommodates a hammock between two old trees is ideal to me. What is the best feature of your backyard or other outdoor space?

Staying

A phrase I use to describe my real estate business is:

Organized, creative, intelligent real estate solutions

whether you are buying, selling or staying.

So one may wonder, "Why staying?" Well, I believe I can help people with any type of real estate decision and sometimes the best decision for them is to remain in their current home for the next 6 months or 5 years, or more. And to make that decision, they may need data on the real estate market or insights from a real estate professional who keeps tabs on real estate trends including typical buyer needs.

Let me give you a few examples. A couple months ago, my friend Anne emailed me asking about a planned addition to their home in Kensington, Maryland, an area I know well, professionally and personally. She described their second floor plans as adding two bedrooms and a hallway bathroom with just a shower and not a tub. The other full baths are one in the master bedroom on that same level, with a tub, and another on the main level of the home, also with a tub. Normally I'd say 2 tubs in a house are adequate. However, knowing this market so well, I've heard many buyers lament not having a designated kids' bathtub on the same level as their bedrooms, so I suggested if she had money and space to add the tub and shower combo. She appreciated the perspective and their addition is underway with the tub.

Mid-summer, my friend Cindy asked if I had input on how much of an addition and what features would be wise investments in their neighborhood in Bethesda, Maryland. I scheduled a time to go to her house and walk through with her as she discussed their needs and wants in a renovation including an addition. I gave her detailed input and suggestions to add to her current thinking and brought comparable sales in her neighborhood that supported the addition of square footage and the allocation of more kitchen and casual dining space.

As a last example, a client who recently bought a home wants to reconfigure and renovate the existing basement and to do so, would like to take out a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) loan to finance the project. Before paying the $450 for the appraisal through their lender, they wanted my Comparable Market Analysis (CMA), similar to but not officially an appraisal, with analysis of likely range of values. The good news was that with recent sales in their Kensington neighborhood, they already had built equity above their purchase price by my analysis. Of course that is not always possible nor should it be expected, but in this case, they already had data to support their purchase investment and thus the loan to add value to their home.

Contact me today with your real estate questions, even if you plan to stay in your current home for the foreseeable future.

Sunny Outlook

A sunny front door leads to a sunny outlook after a long, cold, snowy winter.

Something as simple as painting your front door can make all the difference in curb appeal, not to mention how you feel when you walk into your home every day.

Black Toilets

When renovating your home, please resist the urge to install anything but a white toilet. Thank you.

QOTD: Opening Doors

I spotted today's Quote of the Day stenciled on a window of a restaurant along Wisconsin Avenue NW in DC.

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
--Milton Berle

What a great concept for real estate, in many ways. For example, if my buyers are having a difficult time getting a new home due to multiple offers with escalations and no contingencies by other bidders, we might need to be more creative with our search strategy: look for properties on the market for longer periods due to overpricing or property condition; actively communicate with other agents in my brokerage for upcoming listings so we can be first in when it hits the market; or even broaden our search to other areas where inventory might be higher.

Another way to ponder this quote is for people who might decide to stay in their current home and improve it rather than making a move. While it might seem contradictory for a Realtor to talk about a situation that does not result in a home sale, I believe in providing organized, creative, intelligent real estate solutions for clients whether they are buying, selling or staying.  Give me a call to discuss how I can help you find your best solution.

The Much Anticipated Living Room Sconces

I have been on a quest for living room sconces for over a year and a half.  I share my story to "Keep It Real" about improvements to your home. Not all projects are a weekend success or an instant fix. I struggle with decisions just like you. And taking the time to make the right choice for your home and your family can be so rewarding that it is worth the time and effort. Well, mostly.  Effort yes; time... not so much.

It all began when we bought our Bethesda home almost two years ago. We loved everything about it, except the wood thing over our massive living room fireplace. I am sure it was treasured over the years by previous owners and I respected its unique nature. It just was not for my family. So yes, we removed it. To be more accurate, at the end of September 2011, I paid my friend Pieter to take it all down including the mantel. Much to our surprise, behind that wooden facade was an archeological find of fireplace embellishments over the decades. We found a slip of paper dated 1951 back there, plus dubious wiring faintly visible on the photo on the right. And yes, those little metal electrical covers that promised of lighting to come.

Jump ahead to late January 2012 to discover minor progress on the lighting front. We hired an electrician to confirm and modernize the connection between the wires behind those plates and a switch on the wall by the front door.  As a temporary solution, they crudely though safely attached two mismatched light bulbs to the wires, to validate electrical success. Running in parallel to our sconce quest was the restoration of the plaster. We'll call this phase the retro industrial look. Visitors politely tried to ignore it.  But by mid-spring 2012, our plaster guy had applied 13 layers over 6 or 7 visits to reach the point where we were ready for sconce selection and painting.

I created a Pinterest board for living room sconce ideas. Friends weighed in. I vacillated between much bling, subtle oil rubbed bronze, antiqued but new fixtures, custom-made from New York City, and many in between. I narrowed in on a vintage look, to keep with the style of our 1938 Tudor. A random postcard from Artisan Lamp Company in Cleveland Park, Washington, DC, led me to dropping by their shop one evening in February 2013; yes that much time had passed. I found some I liked. I mentioned them to my loving spouse. He wondered why I had not bought them. Next time I could get there was April 4, 2013. I found an American vintage pair from the 1920s or 1930s with crystal and brass. And it only took me 8 days to get an electrician here to install them on a dimmer switch. Tah dah!  I present to you the final product. Now we just need a mantel.

Nesting and Investing

Buying a new home is a pricey proposition. Not only do you obviously pay and borrow for the sales price you negotiate with the seller, but there are closing costs like transfer and recordation taxes, escrow funding charges, and other loan fees and deed costs. Then you need to move your belongings, and even if you move yourself, there are costs for trucks, setting up utilities, packing materials and the like.

Once you move in, there may be features of the house you want to improve right away. You want to make this house your home, to nest. Maybe your son wants his room painted orange. And you want to remove the old carpet from the den. Perhaps you want to enhance the storage capabilities of the house (more on closet extenders in another post). And you might be like one of my recent buyer clients, who wanted to invest in increasing the energy efficiency and reliability of her home's systems. 

This particular home, built in 1940, came with a creaky old oil boiler which provided both heat and hot water to the house. Basically the furnace was running year round to provide hot showers and the like; not particularly energy efficient. My buyer client, now the new homeowner, invested in a new natural gas boiler for heating and a separate gas hot water heater.

The happy homeowner anticipates her energy bills to be drastically reduced. Of course there were upfront costs to invest in future savings and energy efficiency. She shared the numbers with me:
$9,800 to remove the oil tank from the utility room, leaving more space for storage too, plus the equipment and installation of the two pieces shown on the right.
$2,125 to install a new stainless steel flue liner into the chimney stack for safe ventilation of the new gas boiler.

She also gains peace of mind with new systems, a dedicated water heater, no need for oil delivery to the house, freed up a corner in the utility room with the removal of the oil tank to provide more storage space, easier future maintenance for the modern systems, and immediate monthly savings.  

She nested (the dining room in particular looks great in its lovely new shade of blue) and invested (it is a beautiful new boiler).

Taking Our Good Natured Time

There is an interior designer somewhere who is going to see this photo and think, "Bare light bulbs hanging from a sconce electrical connection, brilliant!"  Well, this presupposes that any interior designers actually read my little blog and that they have a unique perspective on design.

Sadly, we have had bare bulbs hanging over our non-existent mantel for longer than I care to admit (think last winter).  The light they emit does produce an almost blinding amount of light (dimmer to follow).  We just have not had the time, or funds, or decision-making capacity to select actual sconces, buy them, and install them.

When we bought our house in Woodhaven, it included an imposing wooden mantel piece which extended to the ceiling and about 12 inches out from the stone surround.  We removed it (well, my friend Pieter did) and discovered a plaster disaster plus two outlet covers.  Whoo hoo - possible light!

The electricians connected the sockets to a light switch by the front door.  To test the wiring, they "installed" these bulbs; everything is safe with no exposed wires.  They don't even match: one, as shown, in its modern efficient glory, and the other, old-fashioned and pear-shaped.

Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what you want to do in your home.  As I real estate agent, I care about these "staying" decisions as much as what you should do to prep your house for sale and how to choose the best home to buy.  I thought I'd share a personal example of how I can appreciate that these types of home renovation decisions are not always easy.

I'll post later once we get the sconces, and paint, and add a mantel.

Herb Gardening and Household Maintenance

"Mom, I think the marigolds sacrificed themselves for the herbs," volunteered my younger daughter, Julia, as we reviewed our recently planted herb patch.  We had added 18 marigolds to provide a natural pest repellent to the only sunny corner of our yard capable of supporting herbs.  The marigolds are decimated, eaten to the stems; the basil, rosemary, cilantro and thyme are thriving.

Her observation got me thinking about home maintenance (oddly).  We plant marigolds to distract pests from the tasty herbs.  So, too, does our hot water heater contain a sacrificial anode rod of magnesium or aluminum so the rust particles attack it before the sides of the tank.  The rod will fail before the tank does, thus saving us a flooded basement.  Of course we have to inspect the tank and rod occasionally to make sure we replace the appliance before we experience that bigger flooding issue.

Even long-time homeowners can become remiss about completing basic preventive home maintenance tasks.  These chores are boring yet typically inexpensive ways to preserve the quality and functioning of your home systems and features.  Let's face it - it is not fun to change the air filter in our air-conditioning or furnace air handler and it is easy to forget.  Out of sight, out of mind.  The disposable filters range from $10 to $20 and though you should change them monthly, at least once a season try to switch them out.  Buy in bulk so you have them on hand instead of buying them individually when you need them.  I find the box of them in the utility room is a great reminder.

Bigger problems could stem from an old or wind-damaged roof.  In addition to the roof shingles themselves, even more critical to water deflection is the flashing at joints, changes in angles, edges, etc.  If you are not comfortable or capable on a ladder, it is not expensive to find a roofer or gutter expert to provide you with a brief visual inspection of the roof and flashing to determine if they need repair.  Better a couple hundred dollars on roof or flashing repair than thousands fixing water-damaged drywall, insulation and flooring.  Note in the photo: that extra edge of material just under the shingles as seen on my roof is the flashing, wrapping protectively around the wood trim.

As a real estate agent, I believe in helping people with real estate decisions whether they are buying, selling or staying, because maintaining your home while it is yours is just as important as the condition of a house during a sale.

Manageable Laundry Room Reno, Adding Value and Personal Style

Without much introduction to my new blog, I want to share a small renovation project I recently completed in my home.  With a manageable scope and timeline, and about $4,500, I added my personal style as well as value to my home by transforming my basement laundry room into a pleasant place. Of course I had help from my contractor, Mike, and his team.  I did select and purchase all finish materials myself, though Mike supplied the behind the scenes items like the drywall, rough in plumbing and electrical, 2x4s, and so forth.  My supportive husband Brian gave me the nod and the planning began.

Let me step back.  We bought our now 74 year old Tudor house in the Woodhaven neighborhood of Bethesda, Maryland 20817 on April 29, 2011, so we just celebrated our one year anniversary.  Though the house had undergone considerable and gorgeous renovations by the previous owners, the laundry room had been improved only by the addition of new front-load washer and dryer in 2008 and maybe the toilet was relatively new too.  Oh yes, there is a toilet in our basement laundry room.  But I strongly disliked the color and being in the basement without any windows, it was not the most cheerful place to make my laundry clean.

The washer and dryer were on pedestals, all the rage in laundry appliances, but being only 5'3" tall, rounding up, the tops aligned just below my shoulder and even if there had been a nice surface, folding would have been at eye level.  The old wash tub with drain pipe from the washer and the leaky old faucet, exposed pipes and wires and all, contributed to the overall mood.  I dreamed about shiny, happy laundry rooms.  I created a Laundress Pinterest board.  I coveted a new laundry room.  I set a budget, scheduled the work once I got an estimate from my contractor Mike, and went shopping.

A few more notes on my blog before the debrief and the reveal.  Although I am reasonably handy, this is not a Do-It-Yourself blog.  Certainly not an interior designer, I care about and plan to discuss room and house layout and design.  This is not an "on-a-dime" super budget conscious blog, though I find bargains where I can.  Tying it all together is my interest in real estate, homes and projects.  More on real estate in future posts.

Welcome to our perfect new laundry room!  Pretty pale yellow walls (Duron SW7123 "Yellow Beam") in eggshell finish, gorgeous "White Ice" granite counter (a remnant from Granite Works in Rockville) at comfortable folding height, bronze cabinet knobs, plenty of extra, always-appreciated storage, crisp white porcelain farm sink with stainless gooseneck pull-out faucet, all with a fresh and clean perspective!

Other details....

- New wall behind the washer, dryer, sink and toilet, hiding all electrical, outlets for w&d, pipes, etc., plus a backdrop for cabinets 

- New flush mount electronic ballast fluorescent ceiling light fixture from Home Depot, no flicker or delay so voila, instant light!
- Under-cabinet LED light strip with switch on wall above counter plus extra outlet, say for ironing (ha)
- White painted wood cabinets from Ikea, some with glass panels and others above and below the sink with solid doors

- Crown molding to tidily conceal the wires and some pipes
- Direct drainage for washer into behind-the-wall sewer stack
- Repair the broken dryer handle, switch order of washer and dryer and side of dryer hinge for easier transfer of wet clean clothes to dryer.

For the finishing touches, I need a towel bar and a toilet paper holder, to reinforce the combo powder room and laundry room functionality.  We kept the existing tile floor and just rerouted existing plumbing and electrical.  I spent a little more than I probably needed to on the cabinets because I wanted the nicer wood finish with glass and the bronze cabinet knobs from Union Hardware in Bethesda were an extravagance (I'd buy online for much less in the future).  

I did this project to make an everyday chore more pleasant for myself, to add some of my own personal style to my home, and to improve the value of my home, in that order.

But I am one cheerful laundress now.  I'll have a smile on my face for years to come.