Color Affects Mood and the Re-Sale Value of Your Home - Choose Wisely

6 Questions To Help You Choose The Right Paint

 Choosing a Color Scheme

Most paint retailers sell a dizzying array of coatings, and that can make it difficult for anyone to pick the right paint.

Even so, there is a way to streamline your paint selection. Answer these six questions from the Paint Quality Institute. They’ll help guide you through the maze and make clear which interior paint is best for you.

1. How sensitive are you to paint smell?

If you dislike the smell of paint, you should focus on water-based latex paints, which have little or no odor compared to oil-based coatings.

Latex paints also make cleanup easy and they perform well on all interior surfaces. These advantages help explain why latex paints are overwhelmingly favored by do-it-yourselfers and professional painters alike.

2. Will there be much activity in the space you are painting?

Walls and woodwork can easily become soiled if there is a lot of activity in a room. In that case, it’s best to use a high gloss or semi-gloss paint, which will resist stains and be much easier to clean.

However, if your room will see little activity, you should feel free to use any level of sheen – from flat paint to a high gloss finish.

3. What atmosphere do you want to create in the room?

If your hope is to make the space cozy, then consider using a “warm” hue, like yellow, orange or red; if you want the room to have a cool feel, then choose a blue or green paint.

4. Do you wish the dimensions of the room were bigger or smaller?

If you think the space seems cramped, you can alter the perception by selecting the right color of paint. Light paint colors make a room seem larger; darker colors make it feel more intimate.

5. How often do you typically repaint?

If you paint only infrequently, you’ll want to be sure to apply a very durable paint that will continue to look good over time. In that respect, the best option is to use a top quality 100% acrylic latex interior paint.

6. How much time do you want to spend on this project?

If you have limited time, or simply want to complete the painting quickly, then consider using a “paint and primer” product that works like two coatings in one. You’ll very likely need to apply fewer coats, which will greatly speed up the job.

Want to repaint your home but have no time to do it yourself? Contact me and I’ll refer you to some great home improvement folks who will do it for you.

Coastal Association of Realtors

Scrub-A-Dubba - clean those decks but be careful of power washer damage

Careful With That Power Washer!

A power washer, also called a pressure washer, is a powerful tool. So powerful, in fact, that it can cause damage quickly before you even realize what you’re doing isn't washing at all. How can you make sure that you’re not causing unnecessary damage to your home, drive or deck?

Here are some ways a power washer can damage your property and what you can do to avoid it.

• Concrete erosion. According to the experts it doesn't take much pressure to begin the concrete eroding process. Concrete isn't entirely solid. The porous surface allows water to seep into the minute structure and expand it, causing cracks and worse.
• Extreme damage to decking. Similarly, high pressure water can also damage the wood on decks causing it to expand, splinter and crack. It's recommended to wash and seal the deck with the right product for your climate to prevent any unnecessary damage.
• Damage to siding. Whether or not pressure washing your house will damage your siding will largely depend on what kind of material is used on the exterior of you home. Pressure washing can damage vinyl siding, wood siding and stone for many of the same reasons listed above.

To avoid any issues you should use the right power washer. Many have attachments that are designed for different materials. If you’re concerned about your ability to use the pressure washer correctly contact a local professional pressure washing business to help you out

Image source: jariceiii via Flickr

Coastal Association of Realtors

A Summer Place - Join a Healthy Housing Market by purchasing your family vacation home in OCMD

Housing Market is Healthiest in Years!

Posted: 08 Apr 2015 04:00 AM PDT

 According to Nationwide’s recently unveiled, Health of Housing Market (HoHM) Report, the US housing market is at it’s healthiest levels since the index’s creation in 2001. The index analyzes the health of the housing market across the country and in 373 metro areas every quarter. Using the data that they have collected over the past 15 years, Nationwide will look to give a “data-driven view of the near-term performance of housing markets based upon current health indicators.” The fourth quarter of 2014 ended with the highest indicator score in over 15 years of data analyzed by the study at 109.8. The report explains:

“An index value over 100 suggests that the national housing market is healthy, with lower chances of a housing downturn over the next year as the index moves increasingly above the 100 breakeven value.”

Employment, demographics, the mortgage market, and housing prices are all used to evaluate the health of each market. The top 10 healthiest housing markets according to the index are:

1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Cleveland-Elyria, OH
3. Philadelphia, PA
4. Rockford, Ill.
5. Burlington, NC
6. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
7. Fayetteville-Springdale, AK-MO
8. Idaho Falls, ID
9. Tulsa, OK
10. Kennewick-Richland, WA

The two ‘least healthy’ markets were Bismark, ND and Atlantic City, NJ who received “just slightly negative performance rankings”. David Berson, Nationwide’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, says “the quarterly report should serve as a resource to gauge how healthy housing markets are today but, perhaps more important, what to expect in the future and why.”

Bottom Line

The housing market continues to recover and surpass recent history. Meet with an agent in your local market to determine if you are able to take advantage of the opportunities available in real estate today.

Summer Vacation and Ocean City MD Beach Homes are Ready to Purchase

Why Waiting To Buy Might Not Make Sense

by The KCM Crew on March 31, 2015 in First Time Homebuyers, For Buyers, Interest Rates, Move-Up Buyers, Pricing

Whether you are a first time or a move-up buyer, there are two factors that will impact the amount of house you can afford in your price range: home prices & mortgage rates.

Let’s look at what the experts are predicting over the next twelve months for these two areas:

PRICES

Over 100 economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists were recentlypolled as a part of the Home Price Expectation Survey. They were asked to project where home prices are headed. The average value appreciation projected over the next twelve-month period is approximately 4.4%.

MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES

In the latest Economic & Housing Market Outlook from Freddie Mac, they predict that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will be 4.7% by this time next year. As of last week, the Freddie Mac rate was 3.69%.

What does this mean to you?

If you are a first-time buyer currently looking at a home priced at $250,000, this is what it could cost you on a monthly basis if you wait until next year to buy:

If you are a move-up buyer currently looking at a home priced at $500,000, this is what it could cost you on a monthly basis if you wait a year to buy:

Bottom Line

With both home prices & interest rates projected to increase, waiting to buy could put a serious dent in your family’s wealth.

The Price is Right ... if you want to sell your home quickly !

Selling Your House? Price it Right Up Front

by The KCM Crew on April 2, 2015 in    

In today’s market, where demand is outpacing supply in many regions of the country, pricing a house is one of the biggest challenges real estate professionals face. Sellers often want to price their home higher than recommended, and many agents go along with the idea to keep their clients happy. However, the best agents realize that telling the homeowner the truth is more important than getting the seller to like them.

There is no “later.”

Sellers sometimes think, “If the home doesn’t sell for this price, I can always lower it later.” However, research proves that homes that experience a listing price reduction sit on the market longer, ultimately selling for less than similar homes.

John Knight, recipient of the University Distinguished Faculty Award from the Eberhardt School of Business at the University of the Pacific, actually did research on the cost (in both time and money) to a seller who priced high at the beginning and then lowered the their price. In his article, Listing Price, Time on Market and Ultimate Selling Price published in Real Estate Economics revealed:

“Homes that underwent a price revision sold for less, and the greater the revision, the lower the selling price. Also, the longer the home remains on the market, the lower its ultimate selling price.”

Additionally, the “I’ll lower the price later” approach can paint a negative image in buyers’ minds. Each time a price reduction occurs, buyers can naturally think, “Something must be wrong with that house.” Then when a buyer does make an offer, they low-ball the price because they see the seller as “highly motivated.” Pricing it right from the start eliminates these challenges.

Don’t build “negotiation room” into the price.

Many sellers say that they want to price their home high in order to have “negotiation room.” But, what this actually does is lower the number of potential buyers that see the house. And we know that limiting demand like this will negatively impact the sales price of the house.

Not sure about this? Think of it this way: when a buyer is looking for a home online (as they are doing more and more often), they put in their desired price range. If your seller is looking to sell their house for $400,000, but lists it at $425,000 to build in “negotiation room,” any potential buyers that search in the $350k-$400k range won’t even know your listing is available, let alone come see it!

A better strategy would be to price it properly from the beginning and bring in multiple offers. This forces these buyers to compete against each other for the “right” to purchase your house.

Look at it this way: if you only receive one offer, you are set up in an adversarial position against the prospective buyer. If, however, you have multiple offers, you have two or more buyers fighting to please you. Which will result in a better selling situation?

The Price is Right

Great pricing comes down to truly understanding the real estate dynamics in your neighborhood. Look for an agent that will take the time to simply and effectively explain what is happening in the housing market and how it applies to your home. You need an agent that will tell you what you need to know rather than what you want to hear. This will put you in the best possible position.

50 Things To Do in Ocean City MD this summer

http://www.ocbound.com/ocean-city-md/50-things-to-do

Summer Vacation - 50-things-to-do in Ocean City MD

6 Ridiculously Easy Spring-Cleaning Shortcuts

Wish you had more time for the fun stuff? These clever cleaning hacks yield sparkling results in minutes

(By Michelle Hainer Trulia | March 9, 2015)


Spring is almost here, and you know what that means: Flowers are beginning to bloom, temperatures are warming up, and it’s time to give your space a good scrubbing.

Yes, after the long, cold (did I mention long?) winter, it’s time to break out the big guns and ready your home for warmer weather.

But spring cleaning needn’t take up your entire weekend, especially if you incorporate these clever hacks into your routine.

“Cleaning is not the kind of thing you want to learn on the job,” says expert Melissa Maker, founder of Clean My Space, an upscale housekeeping service in Toronto, Ontario. “You’ll save a ton of time if you do your research, get your tools ready, and then go in.”

Consider this your primer.

1. Soak your oven racks in the tub

Forget the self-clean option on your oven, which often takes several stinky hours to complete.

Instead, line your bathtub with a towel and place the oven racks on top. Let the hot water run until the racks are covered, then add one cup of powdered laundry or dishwasher detergent. Swish it around until the soap dissolves, then let the racks sit overnight.

Your racks will emerge grease-free without much, er, elbow grease.

2. Clean your bed with booze

We knew vodka was good for a buzz, but it turns out that it can also kill odor-causing bacteria and disinfect, according to Jolie Kerr, author of My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag and Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha.

Simply fill a spray bottle with the cheap stuff (save the Grey Goose for your own swilling), add a few drops of your favorite essential oil (try lavender oil, which also has antifungal and antibacterial properties), and lightly spritz evenly across your mattress.

Let it air-dry before making your bed.

3. Dust your ceiling fans with pillowcases

Not only are ceiling fans hard to reach, but in wiping them clean, you often inadvertently cause all of that dust to mushroom up into a cloud and fall onto the floor or furniture below it.

To avoid this, slip an old pillowcase over the fan blade and slowly pull it toward you. The dust will collect inside the case, leaving the fan — and your floor — ready for the white-glove treatment.

4. Say sayonara to soap scum

If you’re mortified by the scum that rings your tub, simply rub a thin layer of baby oil along the grime lines on the sides of your tub, says Julie Edelman, author of The Accidental Housewife.

Doing so causes future dirt and soap residue to bead up and run down the drain rather than sticking to the tub walls.

5. Give your pillows the fold-over test

While it may be perfectly broken in, your pillow needs to be replaced every couple of years.

To find out if yours is ready for a replacement, Melissa Maker suggests this simple test: try folding the pillow in half. If it springs back, it will live to see another slumber. If it stays in the folded position, it’s time to swap it for a new model.

6. Get streak-free windows, finally

Forget balled-up newspaper. The easiest, most effective way to clean your windows is to fill a bucket with hot water, a teaspoon of dish soap, and one cup of white vinegar.

Using a double-sided squeegee, clean sponge, or cloth, apply the mixture to the windows; use a blade squeegee to remove excess water. “No streaks, tons of time saved,” says Maker.

That’s our kind of cleaning.

- See more at: http://www.trulia.com/blog/6-ridiculously-easy-spring-cleaning-shortcuts/?ecampaign=cnews&eurl=www.trulia.com%2Fblog%2F6-ridiculously-easy-spring-cleaning-shortcuts%2F#sthash.iPff7Lk8.dpuf