Real Estate Advice and Tips
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Home Not Selling? The Two Real Reasons Why (and How to Avoid Them)

Every real estate market, in any economy, has a number of homeowners dismayed about their home not selling. These houses just sit on the market. They become stale inventory, frustrating the home seller, real estate agents, and even buyers (yes, buyers). Over the last three years, I’ve had the very unique opportunity to travel to a number of states and have multi-hour, face-to-face conversations about local real estate markets with scores of real estate agents. Some work with our brokerage, many with other brokerages. These agents may work in urban, suburban, or rural markets. A lot of these agents work in my niche of real…

Real Estate Advice and Tips
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Home Gutter Maintenance

Cleaning rain gutters is not normally at the top of a homeowner’s to do list, but it should be. Gutters clogged with leaves and other debris can overfill and crack. When damage like this is sustained, rain water spills in undesirable places causing unforeseen damage. A single leak in the gutters can result in foundation cracking, mold and mildew growth, flooding in basements and crawl spaces, soil erosion under a home’s foundation and more. Structural damage to homes can be costly to fix; while, mold and mildew can even increase the risk of respiratory illnesses and home deterioration. Properly maintained…

Real Estate Advice and Tips
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Home Projects – DIY or Call a Pro

You’re sitting on the couch watching your favorite home improvement channel, or you’re browsing the Internet and come across a great home project you’d love to create. Maybe it’s a raised-bed garden, a beautiful built-in bookcase, or a wall tunnel for your cat. Whatever it is, you’re probably saying to yourself, “That looks easy. I can do that.” Hold up. Before you make yourself into Tim “The Toolman” Taylor with your epic flub in home renovations, ask yourself if you’re really capable of getting the job done. Here are a few questions to ask yourself: Do I have the time?…

Real Estate Advice and Tips
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Breath Easy: 4 Tips For Fresher Air In Your Home

The best part about fall around the lake is the crisp, clean air that drifts in through the open doors and windows. Of course, it always feels better to be outside this time of year than inside, but how do you get the clean, fresh fall air to follow you indoors? Instead of spraying pumpkin spice air freshener inside, or piling on the potpourri, here are a few tips to help you get fresher air indoors: Windows Pretty obvious, right? Open your windows! Open your storm door if you have a screen door as well. Opening the windows allows fresh air…

For Homeowners, Real Estate Advice and Tips
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Value of My Home Is Rising … Do I Need More Homeowners Insurance?

Home prices fluctuate considerably, often times leaving people to wonder whether or not they have adequate homeowners insurance coverage. That’s especially true whenever home prices are on the rise around the country. But just because the value of your home has risen recently doesn’t mean you need additional insurance coverage, as there are a number of things that play a role in determining the amount of coverage that you’ll really need.

For Homeowners, For Sellers, Real Estate Advice and Tips
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Pros and Cons of Renting Out Your Lake Home

Buying a lake home can be an incredible investment. There’s nothing like having a second home that you can use for vacation – especially one that’s on the lake. What better place to take the family on summer vacation than a home right on the lake? You’ll be feet away from being able to go for a swim. You could even invest in a boat that you can take out onto the water whenever you want. However, if you are buying a lake home for use as a vacation home, you may want to consider renting it out during the…

For Homeowners, For Sellers, Home Improvement, Home Interiors & Decor, Lifestyle, Real Estate Advice and Tips
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8 DIY Projects that Can Increase the Value of Your Lake Home

If you’re lucky enough to own a home by a lake, you know how peaceful sitting looking out over the water can be. You’re also likely aware that such homes generally have a steady stream of people interested in buying them as soon as they go on the market. Although a lake home can be prime real estate, there are several things you can do to both enhance your enjoyment of your property as well as increase your home’s value when it comes time to sell it. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to…

For Homeowners, Home Improvement, Real Estate Advice and Tips
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5 Ways To Make Your Lake Home More Eco-Friendly

“Eco-friendly” is more than just a buzz word or concept that applies to business properties, primary residences, and your day-to-day lifestyle living in a lake home. You can also extend green practices to your lake home to improve air quality and provide a cleaner, cost-efficient environment for your family and pets. A green vacation home can also help you reduce your impact on the environment by ensuring that you do your part to help conserve and preserve natural resources. Here are five ways you can make your vacation or lake home more eco-friendly and shrink your carbon footprint. 1. Use…

For Buyers, Real Estate Advice and Tips
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Investing In A Lake Home? Things To Watch Out For

Investing in a lake home can be a fantastic idea, whether you’re looking to buy property on the water as a primary residence, or as a vacation home. However, there are a lot of different things that you need to consider when investing in lakefront property. Buying a lake home is much different than buying a normal home on land – things such as cost per acre or cost per square foot don’t apply in the same manner to lake homes. The following are a few things you should keep in mind when looking at lakefront properties: