Charlotte Homes for Sale
Nina Hollander
(704)779-0813

Turquoise is the hot, hot, hot color for 2010 if you are staging or decorating your home! It’s considerd the new “neutral;” a color that most people respond to positively and is universally flattering appealing to both men and women. When home buyers enter a room with turquoise, they instantly get a mood lift.  Color specialists claim that turquoise restores a sense of well-being. And most any color goes with turquoise, as well, including neutrals, browns, greens, etc. Plus, there are lots of different shades of turquoise, which can flatter any neutral and any room.

There’s a huge misconception that when you are staging your home for sale you need to make everyting beige or white and delete all color. In fact, a pop of color instantly brightens and updates any room. This year, the color to use is turquoise. And keep in mind, you don’t need to paint all your walls turquoise–you can just do an accent wall if you’re so inclined. But if you keep everything else neutral–carpet, wall color, upholstery–you can simply add turquoise accents to “pop the color” by adding turquoise lamps, pillows, accessories, candles, etc. Keep in mind that when you decide on a strong color like turquoise to enhance your decor, you should stay with the same color family throughout the home to provide visual continuity.

Anytime you are staging your home, keep the following “rules” in mind:

• De-personalize and de-clutter each room–many stagers suggest removing 65% of what’s in each room to open it up and make it look more spacious. (Think of it as advanced packing, which you’d have to do anyway once your home sells.)
• 60% of each room should be one color.
• 30% of each room should be another color.
• 10% of each room is your accent color–like turquoise.

Carolinas Realty Partners are pleased to offer our special Real Estate CyberTips E-Newsletter, which in very concise form, provides you with monthly Cyber tips and tricks along with our pointers to Internet places of special interest to real estate owners, investors and related professionals. 

Please click here to access your copy of the June Issue of  “Real Estate CyberTips.”

 This month’s issue includes the following tips:

• REMODEL AND DECORATE YOUR HOME RIGHT HERE!
• THIS BUTLER WILL WAKE YOU UP!
• GET ANY SOUND YOU WANT!
• HERE’S YOUR 15 SECOND PITCH!

We hope you enjoy the June edition of  “Real Estate CyberTips”. 

Even though most real estate purchase contracts include an inspection contigency to allow the home buyer to professionally inspect the house at their expense prior to purchase, it makes a lot of sense for home sellers to have their homes inspected before listing the home. Here’s why:

• If any significant problems are discovered in the home prior to a buyer’s inspection, you can have the repairs done in advance on your own terms and on your own schedule. For some reason, buyers always assume a repair will cost 2-3 times more than it actually does.
• You have time to “shop around” to get competitive bids to do the repair work rather than ending up paying more for a rush job to meet a contract deadline.
• You have flexibility in choosing the materials used in making repairs and can save money versus having a buyer dictate the quality of repairs to go through with the contract.
• You avoid “nasty” surprises subsequent to a buyer’s inspection and thus there’s less chance of a buyer walking away from the contract or negotiating a lower price because of unexpected repair needs.
• You avoid delays in closing due to unexpected repairs that take time.
• Don’t underestimate the value of being able to market your home as “pre-inspected and all repairs taken care of.” Buyers will take note and will reflect this fact in their offers. Many inspectors today will offer you a 90-120 day inspection warranty, as well.
• And with all the other issues involved in selling a home today, there’s something to be said about having peace of mind that your home is “sale and inspection ready!”

These days, home sellers should look for every advantage to position their home ahead of the competition and having a pre-sale inspection is one great tool to use.  To read more about how a pre-listing inspection benefits home sellers, home buyers, and their realtors, click here. In the end, think of it as “cheap” insurance to getting your home sold with the least amount of problems.

Renovation work such as window replacement, sanding and demolition can create lead dust and chips in properties built prior to 1978 when lead based paint was still a legal substance and used quite extensively. Lead can harm children and adults and to protect against these risks, the EPA is now requiring new lead-safe renovation practices known as the Lead Based Paint, Renovation and Repair Painting Program (RRP).

If you are thinking of  hiring a contractor and have a home built prior to 1978 you need to know that effective April 22, 2010, contractors and painters must be certified and must adhere to specific work practices as outlined by the EPA to prevent lead contamination.

These new rules affect:

• Renovation contractors, maintenance workers in multi-family housing, painters and other specialty trades.
• Renovation, repair, painting activities.
• Homes, child-care facilities (residential, public, or commercial) and schools built prior to 1978.
• Property owners who perform renovation projects in pre-1978 rental housing.

These new rules don’t affect:

• Homeowners performing renovations, repair, or painting work in their own homes.
• Minor maintenance or repair activities where less than six square feet of lead based paint is disturbed in a room or less than 20 square feet of lead based paint is disturbed on the exterior of the home. (Window replacement is not considered a minor repair or minor maintenance.)

If you are hiring contractors or painters or are considering window replacement, you need to now make certain that whomever you hire has been properly certified.

Resources you can use to find out more:

• Quick Answers
• Complete EPA Guidelines
• Renovate Right Booklet/Guidelines (must be provided to tenants in advance by property owners who renovate, repair or prepare surfaces for painting in pre-1978 rental housing or space rented by child-care facililties before beginning work.)

 IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN–DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME (DST)!

Time to set your clocks ahead and spring forward one hour.

DST officially begins this SUNDAY, MARCH 14th at 2:00 AM and will last until November 7, 2010.

While it may take a couple of weeks for us to adjust our internal clocks, DST provides us with additional hours of sunlight that we could utilize thoughout this spring to keep our homes running smoothly. With this in mind, here are a few home maintenance items to think about as we make the transition into Spring:

• Replace your furnace filter
• Clean the kitchen exhaust hood and air filter
• Check your electrical system
• Check or replace your fire extinguishers
• Replace batteries in your smoke detectors
• Review your emergency escape plan with your family
• Check for post-winter roof damage
• Have a professional air conditioning contractor inspect and maintain your system
• And don’t forget to wash those windows to let all the spring sunshine in!

These days we’re all looking for ways to save money and tighten our belts. For homeowners, a logical place to start is to look at ways to save on energy costs in your home. 

Here are a few online resources to get you moving in the right direction to improve your home’s energy efficiency:

• Comprehensive Home Energy Savings
• Energy Audit Tool
• On-Line Home Energy Magazine
• Energy Savings Booklet
• Home Energy Savings Tips
• Energy Savings Start At Home
• Consumer Guide To Energy-Efficient Appliances
• Energy Star Products & Home Tips

And don’t forget to check out your local energy companies–many will provide a free energy audit and most will provide advice on local contractors and suppliers and information on incentives and rebates available in your area.

HomeGain has released the results of its nationwide home improvement and home staging Home Sale Maximizer survey.  

According to the HomeGain survey, the top five home improvements that Realtors recommend to home sellers based on cost and return on investment (from highest to lowest ROI) are: 

1. Cleaning and de-cluttering ($200 cost / $1,700 price increase / 872% ROI)
2. Home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 price increase / 586% ROI)
3. Lightening and brightening ($230 cost / $1,300 price increase / 572% ROI)
4. Landscaping ($320 cost / $1,500 price increase / 473% ROI)
5. Repairing plumbing ($385 cost / $1,250 price increase / 327% ROI) 

Some additional low-cost, do-it-yourself home improvements include: updating electrical, replacing or shampooing carpets, painting interior walls, repairing damaged floors, updating kitchen, painting outside of home, and updating bathroom(s).

The home improvement projects with the highest price increases to a home’s resale value are updating the kitchen ($1,200 cost / $2,850 price increase), followed by painting the outside of the home ($900 cost / $1,815 price increase) and home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 price increase). 

Get a copy of HomeGain’s Home SaleMaxizer.

Charlotte’s annual sales tax holiday on Energy Star appliances rolls around again this weekend, allowing consumers to save money while reducing their energy use. The North Carolina Legislature defines “Energy Star qualified product” as “a product that meets the energy efficient guidelines set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Energy and is authorized to carry the Energy Star label.”

Clothes washers, freezers, refrigerators, central air conditioners, room air conditioners, air-source heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, and programmable thermostats all qualify for the tax break.

Click here for more information about the Energy Star Program,  including tax credits for energy efficiency.

Here are four great things to do in November to keep your home in tip-top shape:

• Check your roof from the ground (use binoculars) and repair any curled or missing shiples.
• Ensure that your well cover is tightly seated to keep pipes from freezing.
• Drain and winterize your irrigation system (backflow preventers are particularly vulnerable)
• Seal foundation holes, particularly around pipes and wires to keep rodents out.