Have you ever walked into a store, and when you were approached by a sales rep who asked, “Can I help you find your size?” you had to explain, “Oh, I’m just looking”?
Maybe you even felt a little guilty that you were not intending to buy anything.
Well, the same thing can happen in real estate. For example, you might happen to drive through a neighborhood, find that you like the area, see a couple of For Sale signs, and think, “I wonder how much it would cost to get into this neighborhood?”
That happens all the time, even to those who aren’t thinking about moving.
If you get curious about a neighborhood, please don’t hesitate to ask us about it. We would be happy to answer your questions about the area and give you a ballpark of what a typical home costs there.
When it comes to real estate, it’s smart to have a sense of what the market is doing and what homes are selling for in areas you like. That way, if you ever do decide to move, you’ll have a headstart!
Like most homeowners, you probably don’t think of your property as just a building with rooms and a backyard. To you, it’s much more than that. It’s a home.
When you walk into your dining room, for example, you don’t merely see the table and chairs. You see memories. You recall laughter with family and friends. It’s emotional.That’s what a home is all about.
However, buyers don’t want to buy your “home”. What they really want to buy is a property that has the potential to become their home.
While you see memories of family dinners, they see room dimensions and wonder what the dining room may look like with their own furniture in it.
So, when you’re selling your property, you need to keep emotions at bay as much as possible.
In fact, the best mindset is to think of your property as a product. The more attractively you present that product to prospective buyers, the more likely you are to get good offers.
That’s why cleaning, depersonalizing, and staging are so important.
It’s also why setting a price that aligns with your home’s current market value is important. You may have put your heart and soul — and many weekends — into landscaping the backyard to make it a summer oasis. It may, in fact, be a strong selling point of your property.
But, that improvement will only increase the selling price by an amount that the market, not your emotions, dictates.
So, keep emotions out of the selling process as much as possible. Save that energy for turning your next property into your dream home.
Want more tips on selling your property for the best price possible? Call today.
Finding an Honest Home Improvement Contractor
You can’t call yourself a dentist unless you have specific hard-earned credentials. Just about anyone, however, can hang a shingle and call themselves a home improvement contractor. That’s why choosing a reputable one is so difficult.
Here are some tips:
Find out if they are truly in business full-time. A part-time or occasional contractor may not have the experience necessary to do a great job.
Ask about licenses and other credentials. Some contractors have accreditations from professional and trade associations.
Review their project portfolio. A reputable contractor will have photos and other evidence of work completed for similar clients.
Check online for reviews. If there are more than five poor reviews within the past three years — that’s a red flag.
Ask for references. Then, call at least one.
Finally, the best contractors are those that get recommended by people you trust.
Looking for a contractor recommendation? Call today.
Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and brush them with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Put on a microwave-safe plate and microwave, flipping halfway, until fork tender, about 20 minutes. (Alternately, bake in the oven at 400 degrees F on a baking sheet until cooked through and fork tender, about 1 hour.) Let cool slightly.
Cut a 1/4-inch-thick slice off the top of each potato. Carefully scoop out the flesh into a medium bowl and mash with the milk, sour cream, 2 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon salt using a fork or potato masher. Fold in the chives. Put the potato bowls on a baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire, tomato paste, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 cup water and bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and cook until the beef and carrots are coated in sauce with a little extra sitting on the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Stir in the peas until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Spoon the beef mixture into the potato bowls. Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes on top of the beef mixture and bake until heated through and the potatoes brown on top, about 15 minutes. Cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into 4 slices and top each potato with one.
Copyright 2017 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.
Notable, Quotable, Quotes!
“When you change your thoughts, remember you also change your world.” Norman Vincent Peale“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Eliot
“Reinventing the wheel is sometimes the right thing, when the result is the radial tire.” Jonathan Gilbert
