Anchorage Alaska Real Estate Video Blog with Dar Walden

Showing posts with label Expert Advice. Show all posts

What Are the Do’s and Don'ts of Home Renovation?

If you’re planning on renovating your house before selling it, there are certain things you should do and certain things you shouldn’t do.

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Here’s a rundown of some of the do’s and don'ts of home renovation if you’re getting ready to sell your home.

Don’t: Wait until you’re ready to sell to start renovating. This is one of the biggest mistakes sellers can make. Do yourself a favor and do your renovations while you live in the property so you can enjoy them. You’ll never be able to get a dollar-for-dollar return for them, so the best way to compensate for that is to use those renovations for your own personal enjoyment.

Do: Work on curb appeal. People tend to overlook this here in Alaska because it’s hard to manage curb appeal in February, but curb appeal is the No. 1 thing that draws people into a home. If they don’t like what they see when they drive up, you’ll probably lose them before they ever step foot into the home. Just make sure to use common sense and avoid doing something like building a $10,000 decorative retaining wall because you definitely won’t get your money back. Just clean everything up and make your exterior look nice and neat and it will carry you further than you can imagine.

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Do your renovations while you live in the property so you can enjoy them.

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Don’t: Expect to get a dollar-for-dollar return on invisible repairs. Repairing or improving things like heaters, septic tanks, and roofs is necessary for your sale, but buyers will already expect them to be done, so you won’t be able to raise your list price $15,000 just because you put $15,000 into repairing your septic tank. That’s not how the market works.

Do: Make sure the upgrades you make are appropriate for your home. You don’t want to tear apart a kitchen in a million-dollar home and replace it with $10,000 worth of upgraded kitchen cabinets. The reverse is also true—you don’t want to put $150,000 into a kitchen in a home that’s only worth $250,000. It’s OK to go high on a renovation, just make sure you’ll be living in that home for the next three to 10 years. The longer, the better.

Don’t: Overspend on a deck upgrade. Everybody loves decks, and in the lower 48 the return on investment is very good for an upgraded deck, but that’s not the case in Alaska. We typically don’t spend a lot of time on our decks—our winters are too harsh.

Do: Make sure your upgrades are appropriate for the subdivision. If you put $150,000 into a home that’s worth $250,000 and you wanted to get $400,000 out of the home, you should know that the subdivision would never support that $400,000 pricing.

If you have any questions about home renovation or you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.

Avoid Major Expenses With These Home Maintenance Tips

Winter is here, which means it’s time to take care of some basic home maintenance items in order to avoid major damages and expenses down the line.

There are many great Anchorage area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (907) 240-2804 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Winter is here, and we’ve had our first official snowfall. As a homeowner, there are a few things you need to do to protect your home from damage and avoid major expenses.

First of all, you need to remove your hoses from the hose bib. If you have the older kind of hose bib, you’ll need to put a cover on it. Newer hose bibs do not require a cover.

Secondly, although icicles may look really cool, they are not good for your roof at all. Find out why those icicles are forming and get someone out there to remove them. Do not try to remove them yourself. Hire a professional. Icicles can cause roof damage and cost you thousands and thousands of dollars.

Finally, caulk your windows and make sure that your doors are sealed. Caulk the baseboards and walk around the outside of your house to check for any other gaps. Get everything caulked and sealed up. If you were to add all of the cracks and crevices together, the average house has a 3x3 foot window of air coming into the home.

If you have any questions or need referrals to any professionals to help you with these maintenance items, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How to Make Your Home More Energy-Efficient Over the Winter

If you want to stay warm during the winter and lower your energy costs, there are a few things you must do around the house.

How can you make your home more energy-efficient now that winter is here? There are several things you can do.

One of the things I often see with sellers is them not having serviced their heating systems for sometimes as long as two, three, or even five years. By servicing your heating system, you can almost double the life of your heater. If you haven’t done that, now is the time to call a heating company to service and clean your heating system and make any necessary repairs to it.

Most people wait until the heater breaks, and that’s usually during the first winter freeze-up. Heating companies can sometimes be backed up three or four days during this time, though, so you want to stay ahead of that.

Another thing you can do is make sure all of your windows are caulked on the outside and inside. If you’ve got older windows that naturally leak air, you can also insulate them by putting plastic shields over them.

Next, consider installing a programmable thermostat. Turning your thermostat down 10 to 15 degrees at night or while you’re not at home can save you about 10% on your heating bill.

Also, don’t heat unused spaces. If you have rooms you don’t use, shut the heater down in them. That will filter the heat to other places in the house. If the heater works less, it will cost you less money.

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The less your heater works, the less it will cost you.

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Lastly, if you have large windows that let a lot of sun in during the day, make sure those windows are open so that sunlight can heat your home naturally.

If you have any questions about energy efficiencies in your home or you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send us an email. I’d be happy to help you.

How to Keep Your Home Safe While You’re Away

How can you keep your home safer while you’re away? Here are our best tips.

There are many great Anchorage area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (907) 865-6404 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

One question I’ve been getting a lot is, “What can I do to keep my home safe while I’m away?” Crime is on the rise in the Anchorage Valley area and keeping your house safe is important, especially if you’re traveling or on vacation. Here are a few things you can do to keep your home safer.

The first thing I would suggest is installing a camera in your doorbell. I’ve got one, and it tells me every time somebody rings the doorbell. I can even talk to the person before I open the door.

Another good idea is adding some exterior lighting with motion sensors. A lot of times, these will scare people off if they are snooping around.

It’s also a good idea to let your neighbors know you are leaving. I have neighbors on both sides of me that we inform every time we leave. Remember to put your mail on hold as well.

Finally, double check those windows and doors before you leave. One-third of all break-ins are unforced entries.

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Double check those windows and doors.

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I hope these tips are helpful and keep you safe and sound in your home. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.