Spring Home Maintenance

Tips for Seasonal Home Maintenance

Spring has certainly taken it's time showing up in Northern Virginia this year! Let's hope it sticks around for a bit before the heat of summer sets in. As always, I wanted to provide you with a helpful list of seasonal home maintenance tips. Have you gotten the Spring cleaning bug yet? This list will help you determine where to start of what is most important at this time of year:

OUTDOOR TASKS
- Inspect roof for damage or missing shingles due to Winter weather, repair as needed.
- Check window screens for damage or dirt; repair or wash as needed.
- Clear gutters and downspouts of leaves and debris that may have been missed during Winter maintenance.
- Inspect foundation around house to check for any cracks and repair as needed.
- Check on tools/lawnmower to clean/repair as needed.
- Turn outdoor faucets back on.
- Trim bushes when there is no longer a risk of freezing temps/frost; clean garden beds of debris.
- Plant new trees/bushes/flowers, fertilize gardens, add mulch if desired.
- Trim tree branches that might be too close to house or gutters.

INDOOR TASKS
- Clean windows inside and outside.
- Clean fan blades that have gathered dust during Winter months.
- Clean air duct grills and replace HVAC filter.
- Schedule HVAC maintenance to ensure air conditioning is ready for warmer days in June.
- Check attic to look for any roof leaks from Winter snows and Spring rains.
- Check smoke alarms and replace batteries as needed.

If you need any referrals for home maintenance care this Spring give me a call 202-359-2483! I will connect you to professionals I trust to help keep your house in top shape.

Kitchen Renovation - AFTER!

When taking on a full kitchen renovation, prepare yourself to be catching up on life for a while even after the project is completed! Many have been asking for this update and I'm are sorry we've slacked off in sharing the update. The wait is over! I hope you enjoy the pictures, we are definitely enjoying our new kitchen.

 The renovation took 2.5 weeks to be *mostly* complete so that we could use our kitchen again; it probably took a month or so to get all the punch list items checked off. Living through a renovation could be a blog in itself. A few quick tips - send children away for as much time as you can. Sarah and the girls were gone for 10 of the worst days. Set up a mini kitchen in another part of your house so that you don't overspend on eating out (and gain 15lbs). When Sarah was back she tried to keep us eating at home by buying bagged salad and microwavable meals, not the healthiest,

Home Improvement - Kitchen Renovation

Why we decided to renovate our kitchen...

Our kitchen in 2008 (at purchase)

Everyone knows that kitchens sell houses. That fact alone does not mean that you should renovate your kitchen. As I shared in my previous home improvement blog, you always need to make sure you aren't spending more on updates than you will get on return if your primary motivation is to sell your home. Caveat: if you plan to live in the home for several years you don't need to consider the ROI nearly as much. But when selling you should be sure to update your home according to the ROI on the updates. There are cheaper ways to improve a kitchen than doing a full kitchen renovation.

My wife hated our kitchen from the start. I can't say I blamed her since there was cheap, pealing laminate on the floors, dark wood cabinets and old appliances in a dimly lit kitchen. We made changes early on that significantly improved the look of the kitchen, including painting the cabinets white, installing more updated drawer and cabinet hardware, laying a better quality floor, installing a nicer light fixture and painting it a brighter color. Though we dreamed about a full renovation, we never thought we'd really do it because the ROI was questionable for our neighborhood. Plus, the few times we looked into bigger renovations, the price tag seemed way too high.

Fast forward to this summer when I sold one of our neighbors homes within 2 days of being on the market at the highest price the neighborhood has seen since 2007. They had done a beautiful update

Winter Home Maintenance

The temps are starting to drop! Get a head start on winterizing your home so you aren't caught in the cold. Also remember to do quarterly maintenance to keep your house and appliances running smoothly!

Outdoor Tasks

• Walk around your home's exterior and check the crawl space vents located at the foundation to close any that are open.
• Check windows and doors for any cracks in the frames or separation from the home. Caulk and/or make needed repairs.
• Clear debris from gutters to ensure water flow. Removing build-up prevents icicles and ice dams from forming later and damaging gutters.
• Shut off outdoor water pipes to prevent freezing.
• Protect your central air conditioning unit with a cover.
• Store unneeded patio furniture/cushions, garden tools and summer toys.
• Move snow shovels and snow blowers to a convenient spot.
• Resist the urge to cut back shrubs and garden debris. Doing so now

Annandale/Alexandria Residential Construction News

New residential construction plans for the Annandale/Alexandria area!

How Do I Price My Home?

Pricing your home right is a critical aspect of selling. No one wants to undervalue their home, but overpricing it can be just as costly. You could miss out on buyers who are ready to make an offer, resulting in longer days on market and potentially needing to do multiple price drops before finding a buyer. Price drops are often necessary in the real estate world, but too many can make you appear desperate to sell, which impacts your leverage during contract negotiations. This article does a great job of explaining this in greater detail, and how to watch out for realtors who over promise on price just to secure your business, only to reduce the sale price down the road, impacting YOUR bottom line. Want an honest and thorough assessment of your home's value? I'm happy to talk with you anytime!

Home Improvement - Where To Start?

Here’s What I Did In My House… 

Our backyard when I purchased the house. Old bricks
and rotting wood were under all those leaves!

When I bought my house in 2008 it needed a fair amount of work. It was a foreclosure and the bank had done the minimal amount of work needed to sell the house. The basement was completely gutted from flooding, the bathrooms and kitchen were all original to the house (and UGLY), and the backyard had a 9 foot petrified rose bush (no joke), among other problems.

My first priority was finishing the basement and updating the master bath. The basement was an obvious place to start and the master bath was a more affordable (and just as necessary) update than the kitchen. I was able to secure a 203k loan that gave me the cash I needed to get these projects completed within the first 6 weeks of home ownership. These projects alone significantly increased the value of my home and also allowed me to get cash flow out of my house because I was able to rent out the upstairs rooms and live in my basement. If you are comfortable with doing that and are looking for a