Solution for Squeaky Floors and Stairs

Do you have squeaky stairs, floors and even squeaks under the carpeting?  Well now there is a fast and easy way to fix those age old problems. It is very important to fix these squeaks when you a showing a house in hopes of selling.

The new ‘Squeeeeek-No-More’ screws, which can be purchased at home centers and hardware stores, will pull flooring up tight to the joists, or stair treads up tight to the stringers. You put them in and then their heads snap off, leaving a 1/8-inch-wide hole in the finished surface.  For wood floors, you can fill in the holes with a colored wax filler. For tightening floors under carpets, you put them in place, snap off the screw heads and the hole will disappear under the carpeting.

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Selling your Vancouver Home – Some Tips to Speed up the Sale

There are some important things that a home seller should do when preparing for an open house or when their Realtor is bringing over people to look at the house. Much of the prep work is a pain, but necessary for a good showing.

Let the  Realtor show your home by themselves by getting out of the Vancouver  home and taking the pets and kids to the park or somewhere until the showing is completed, and if you must remain during the showing, don’t volunteer anything, or answer any questions, and try to keep the children and pets in the backyard or away from the potential buyers so not to distract them.

Make sure the home is clean and neat. Empty trash containers. Make sure beds are made and clutter picked up.  Don’t over kill with room deodorants or sprays. Be sure fireplace and any wood burning stove is cleaned out. Be sure that the kitchen stove is clean as well as the other appliances. Check the bathrooms. Tubs, sinks and toilets must sparkle. Do the dishes and don’t just stack them where they are unseen like in the dishwasher. Turn on lighting in the home so it looks cozy, warm and comfortable. Make sure that any papers or trash is picked up from the yards and along the curb. Try to make sure that the furniture is dusted and carpets vacuumed daily during the showing period, and the tile, vinyl or linoleum is clean.

The more the seller can help the Realtor in these ways during an open house or whenever a potential buyer is coming to inspect the home, the faster the home will sell.

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Selling Vancouver Property in a Slow Market

Here in the Vancouver-Portland real estate market, like the rest of the nation real estate sales have been very slow and as we all know the property values have dropped. Great for the buyer and there are still plenty of home-buyers eager to make a purchase. Preparing your property is something you need to do before the property officially goes on the market. So before you put your Vancouver home for sale, do the following:

• Take care of basic repairs.

• Thoroughly clean your  house and yard and then keep it tidy throughout the time it is on the market.

• If possible, have your home staged by a professional.

In a slow market, hiring a REALTOR® is crucial to get your home sold in a reasonable amount of time.
Be sure you:

• Keep pets contained during a real estate showing and make sure that your cat litter box is always clean

• Remain realistic in your expectations of the price you will be able to sell your home.

Of course these are but a few suggestions. Call me and I will discuss with you more creative ideas on how we will market your property.

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Make a Home Look More Expensive

When you are getting ready to sell your home, there are many things that have to be done so the house is in excellent condition when potential buyers come to look at it.

Home staging is very important and whether you do it, or hire a professional to do it, certain things should be done to make the home look and have a feeling of being in fashion and up to date. This brings up the age old problem of having to re-do the home and possibly having to go buy new pieces of furniture, or accessories.

Unfortunately, there is not just one place to find home staging supplies, so being creative is important, not only in what you use, but what you buy, and then how you use it.  You can get some ideas from your close friends.

Here are five ways to make your home’s interior look more expensive, and in fashion, but not at the cost of your bottom line:

1.  Use one expensive piece of furniture, or other item, in each room, well positioned.  It can be a piece of art, a table or something rare and expensive like valued china. The expensive piece(s) should be the focus of attention as soon as someone walks into that room.   This is what they see first. First impressions!

2.  Use white. It has always, and will always be a staple that professional home stagers use. It radiates of light, cleanliness, and open space. Try using inexpensive white pieces on an expensive table or other piece.

3.  Look at what can be recycled. Try recovering a favorite chair or sofa.  Much of the furniture of past years had great design and great lines and sometimes are worth recovering and restoring them back to life.

4.  Rotate your theme colors, and do it in each room if possible. Every new season, the design world changes the “what’s-in” color.  A good way to make your home look in-style, is to have that in-style color. Visit some ‘in’ stores in your area, and see what they are doing with different colors, how they are using them, and which is the most popular.  You will get lots of good ideas.

5.  Don’t buy new furniture or accessories at the beginning of any new season.

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