Let’s face it we all have stuff we need to get rid of in our homes, and typically the kitchen has a ton of stuff that doesn’t need to be there lying around in it.  Since we are currently in the cold of winter, there is no time like the present to start cleaning out your kitchen and making it look a bit more presentable.  Below is a list of the top things you should purge from your kitchen.

1. We all have one, a junk drawer and that junk drawer is many times located in the kitchen. It’s where we put all the items we have no idea what to do with but aren’t; quite sure we want to get rid of just yet.  Take that junk drawer and go through it with a fine tooth comb and decide what you need and what you don’t need.  Throw away all that you don’t need.  Most times the things you don’t need are the items you haven’t used in the past 6 months.  I promise you won’t miss anything.
2. Another thing we all seem to have lying around our kitchens is all those restaurant sauce packets we feel the need to keep. Sure you might use one once in a while but most times they just take up space either in the junk drawer or in the refrigerator.  Throw all the restaurant condiments out!  It will make your kitchen look much lovelier.
3. Yet another thing we all need to purge from our kitchens is the dressings, sauces and other items that have long since expired. There isn’t much worse than getting ready to put some sauce on your food only to find that it expired two years ago.  Clean out your fridge and only keep those things that you are going to use within the next week or so or at least make sure that all the dates are current.
4. Most everyone has some sort of a stack of lids in their kitchen that they just can’t seem to find a container for. If you have a bunch of lids that don’t have matching containers to secure them to, why not just throw them out.  They no longer serve a purpose.

Hopefully this list of items you need to purge  from your kitchen will get you starting thinking in the right direction.  At least it will be a starting point for you.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Highlights:

• When listing your house for sale your top goal will be to get the home sold for the best price possible!
• There are many small projects that you can do to ensure this happens!
• Your real estate agent will have a list of specific suggestions for getting your house ready for market and is a great resource for finding local contractors who can help!

by The KCM Crew

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Having a housekeeper to clean your house is a wonderful way to get some help with your housework if you have to work outside of the home and don’t have much time to do it yourself.  There are ways to make your housekeeper’s job a bit easier than it otherwise might be however and the list below is a list of tips to help your housekeeper have an easier time making your house more beautiful and tidy.

1. Be sure if you want your house cleaned like you want it that you are clear on specifics about what exactly it is you want done.  If you write a list of what all you want cleaned for example you need to spell out each thing you want done and how you want it done so that you are not disappointed when you get back home after the housekeeper has done their job.
2. Another tip to help your housekeeper get their job done well is to take care of your pets.  Your housekeeper is there to clean your house, not to pick up after your pets and their messes.  If you can take your pet over to a friend’s or family members house while your housekeeper is there cleaning it may be best for all involved.
3. If you have things around the house that you can do before the housekeeper comes you may save yourself a bit of money. An example of the types of things you can go ahead and get done before the housekeeper comes is to get rid of your trash from last night’s dinner as well as go ahead and wash the dishes.
4. If there is something really nasty in the house such as dog poo then clean it up before your housekeeper gets there. If it is too nasty for you then it is too nasty for your housekeeper and you shouldn’t expect them to take care of it for you.
5. Clean up any clutter before your housekeeper comes to your home so that they won’t have a hard time getting the floors cleaned and also so they won’t have to wonder where things belong and therefore may end up putting something in the wrong spot.

These are just a few tips that will make your housekeepers life a bit easier.  If a clean house is what you are after, do your part to make it happen and to keep your housekeeper happy.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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If you have let your house go and you find yourself in need of a professional organizer, there are a few things you need to do in order to get ready for one to come and help you get your life together.  Below is a list of things that you need to do BEFORE hiring a professional organizer so that you both end up with the results you were hoping for.

1. One thing you need to do before the professional organizer arrives on the scene is to de-clutter your own home and have an end game in mind. Make a mental note of how you want your family to benefit from the coming organization and plan your strategy around that.  If you have certain rooms that you use daily to make life work, start in those areas once your organizer arrives.  He or she will be glad that you have somewhat of a plan already in mind rather than having to start blindly with no goal to work towards.
2. Another thing you need to do in order to get ready for a professional organizer to come into your home is to realize that even though you hire someone to help you get your life in order, your home will likely still not look like a picture out of magazine. The truth of the matter is, folks live in their homes and where there is life there is mess.  If you go in with this mindset you will likely be pleasantly surprised of all that can be accomplished.
3. Be ready to let things go when your organizer comes into your home. You need to let your hording tendencies go and be willing to throw things out that you haven’t recently used.
4. Another tip for getting ready to hire a professional organizer is to realize that they are not there to build shelves and the like. If you have something that you want installed, get someone else to do it or do it yourself before your organizer arrives.  The professional organizer is there to help get things organized not to build shelving contrary to popular belief.
5. Professional organizers are not there to clean your home either so be sure to go ahead and have the house clean before they arrive. Clean isn’t the same thing as neat.

Hopefully this list will get you started in the right direction for getting ready for your professional organizer to arrive.  If you follow these simple tips you will likely be excited and happy with the final results.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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You may think that you can ask your real estate agent anything at all that you want to ask them and you may be right.  What you may not be right about however is that you may not get an answer.  There are some questions that real estate agents might know the answer to but they are not able to give you the answer based on the Fair Housing Act.  Real estate agents are not allowed to discriminate based on race, religion, sex or economic status.  If you ask any of the following questions you may not get a straight answer from your real estate agent.

1. Asking your real estate agent if a particular area is a good place to raise a family may or may not get you a straight answer. In fact, you may find that your agent just gives you a blank stare when asked this type of question.  They may know good and well that they wouldn’t want to raise their own family in a particular area of town but by staying loyal to the Fair Housing Act, they won’t be able to clearly answer that question for you.
2. Another question you may not get answered from your real estate agent is what the particular neighborhood you are interested in is like. If you really mean to ask if the neighborhood has a high ratio of minorities by asking if the neighborhood is safe, your real estate agent will not be able to clearly answer that question for you.  If you wonder if a certain area is safe, do your homework and figure it out for yourself, don’t make your real estate agent uncomfortable by asking questions like that.
3. Asking what the area schools are like is another similar question that will likely get you a blank stare from your real estate agent. If you want to know what the schools are like in a particular area you can search online for such answers.

Basically, if you don’t want your real estate agent to break their ethical code, steer clear of these types of questions and do your own work to find out the answers.  You will likely be able to find out all that you need to know about what it is you are asking without a lot of trouble and without having to ask your real estate agent.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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These days’ houses are selling like hot cakes!  If you have ever thought about selling your house, now is the time to do so!  The only “issue” you are likely to run into is that you may end up with multiple offers.  While multiple offers may be a good thing, you still should know how to choose the best offer   in the event this happens to you. Below you will find a few ideas on how to best handle this particular situation.

1. Finding out which of the potential buyers have the best financing available to them is a great way to help you choose which offer you would be best to go with.  If you pick someone who hasn’t got the financial side of it all worked out for themselves you will likely end up spending more time than you would like getting all the kinks worked out.  Choosing someone who has a reputable lender on the other hand and has already been pre approved will make the transactions go nice and smoothly for all involved.
2. Another way to choose the best offer when you have multiple offers is if the closing date is good for you.  You may have one person that wants to buy your home that has to wait on their home to sell first while another person is ready to go right away.  If you want to and are ready to move out quickly you may want to go with the latter however if you are not quite ready to move that fast you may want to go with the folks that need to wait a while.  Choose the offer that best suits your own personal needs.
3. Yet another way to choose the best offer on your house when you have been given multiple offers is to make a checklist of the pros and cons of each offer. This will make sorting out the details a bit easier for you.
4. Be sure that you have peace about each offer and if you don’t feel a peace about a certain offer, take that one off the list of who to choose from.

It is a good idea to go through all scenarios that may arise with each offer that is given before deciding which one to go with.  Once you choose the right offer, you can look forward to moving into a new chapter of your life!

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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If owning your own home isn’t on your agenda and you would rather purchase a condo or townhome to make things a bit easier on yourself, you are not alone.  There are several things however that you should consider and think about before purchasing a condo and a few of those things are listed below.

1. One thing to consider when purchasing a condo  is who the manager is.  If you have a manager that is easy to deal with then you shouldn’t have any issues, but if you have a manager that doesn’t see eye to eye with you on things you may find yourself wishing you never would have purchased a condo.
2. There are fees associated with owning a condo. You should definitely check into the fees associated with your particular condo before purchasing it.  These fees can range anywhere from $200 to $400 per month or year depending on how upscale the condo is you want to purchase.
3. Looking at the condo financial statements is a great way to see if you really want to purchase a condo or not. For example if the condos financial statements do not include paying for repairs on a broken street light, you may end up seeing the repair costs tagged on to your bill.  Taking these types of things into consideration could sway your decision one way or the other regarding purchasing.  If you find that repairs on such things are not included in a particular condos financial statements you may want to search for a condo that does cover them.
4. Knowing the rules of condo living can make or break your decision of purchasing as well. Some condos don’t allow holiday decorations while others just tell you where to park.  It’s up to you to decide what is most important to you and what rules simply do not matter that much, however knowing the rules is imperative.
5. Checking out the condos liability insurance to make sure there are no pending lawsuits against it is also a good idea.

These things to consider before purchasing a condo are just the tip of the ice berg.  Do your due diligence, ask questions and find out all there is to know about condo living  before sinking your money into a one you are not happy with. If you do all of this and you are satisfied, you will likely enjoy condo living and all it has to offer.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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If you have your house on the market you likely already have everything arranged neatly and perfectly throughout the house.  The one area of your home that you may have forgotten about however is the basement.  Below are a few tips for staging your basement so that those who come to tour your home may be more willing to make an offer.

1. One tip for staging your basement to make it “show” ready is to pick up all of the clutter off the floor.  Most of the time when folks have a basement in their home they tend to use it as a catch all and therefore many items get tossed down the stairs without a second thought.  If you want the house to show the best it possibly can, be sure to put all of your basement clutter away neatly into storage bins.
2. Another way to stage your basement for a viewing is to paint the basement floor with a sealing paint. You could use the same paint folks use to paint their garage floor with or you may want to do something fancier such as decorative concrete. Whichever you choose, cleaning up the floor of the basement is a great way to make a statement during a showing.
3. Another good way to stage your basement in order to possibly have a better showing is by finishing the walls with sheetrock. This is not a huge project to undertake and is one that you can likely do yourself without breaking the bank.   Finishing the walls in the basement can make a really big difference in the way the basement looks.
4. Yet another way to stage your basement is to do your part to get rid of that typical basement smell. Use air fresheners and or fans to circulate the air the basement when you know that someone is coming to look at your house.  You can also use a diffuser with your favorite essential oil to make the basement smell nice and fresh.
5. If your basement is not well lit, you may want to add a few lamps before a showing. This is a great way to brighten up an otherwise dreary part of the house.

These are just a few ways in which you can make the basement of your home more appealing by staging. 

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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If you have recently put your house on the market and want it to sell quickly you may need to take a look at a few of these tips on how to eliminate smells so that your house will be more likely to sell. While selling your home quickly may sound good to you, you may not be thinking about exactly how clean your house smells when you have a last minute showing pop up.  If you are caught in a bind with a last minute showing and you need to get rid of a few household odors, be sure to read below for some ideas.

1. If you have pets you already know that they have a smell all their own. Pets that may not be house trained yet may be hard to deal with during a house showing.  If you need to cover up the smell of pet urine quickly there are several ways to go about it.  One way to get rid of pee smell in the carpet is to soak the area with enzyme spray.  Another way to get rid of the smell all together (however it may take a bit longer) is to get rid of the carpet once and for all and put in hardwoods.
2. Another way to eliminate smells so that your house might sell is to open up your windows while you are cooking. If you know you have a showing one night, be sure to keep your windows open while you are cooking with the hood fan on as well.  Another good way to get rid of the smell of a recently prepared meal in your home is to set a bowl of coffee grounds on the countertop over night (if your showing doesn’t happen to be the same evening of course.)  If you don’t want to take any chances of having your dinner linger during the showing you could always just go out to eat for the evening.
3. Garbage smell in a home is some of the worst odor possible. One easy way to get rid of that particular smell is to be sure and take it to the curb before you leave for the showing.

These are just a few ways that you can get rid of smells in your home  so that your showing might go well and you may be more able to sell your home.  Hopefully they will get you started in the right direction.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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Decorating your home can be fun but no other room is more fun than decorating the nursery for the arrival of a new little one.  Nothing brings more happiness than welcoming a new baby into the world and what better way to welcome your new bundle of joy into your home than by fixing the nursery up for them.  Below are a few nursery decorating ideas to welcome your new little one.

1. A little baby is nothing more than a miracle from above so why not decorate your new baby’s room like the royalty that they are. Decorating the nursery  in a royal theme is a perfect idea whether you are welcoming a tiny prince or a princess.  You can keep the décor unisex by adding some rich colors to the wall or adding a chandelier to the ceiling.  Adding a few decorative pillows maybe in the shape of a crown might be a good idea as well.
2. Another cool idea for decorating your nursery is to make it extremely colorful with balloon décor. This type of room can be unisex as well if you stick to the primary colors of yellow, blue, green and red.  If you want to get really creative you could paint a balloon mural on the wall and perhaps an outdoor scene to go along with it.
3. If you like country décor you could use painted pallets to add a touch of southern sass to the room. This type of country décor can be unisex if you want or you can make it more of a cowboy feel or a cowgirl feel depending on which you have been blessed with.
4. Yet another great decorating idea to welcome your new little one into their new room is a Hollywood glitz and glam room. Sheer curtains hung throughout the room with walls painted pink is a great way to get this particular look and feel.  Yet again, a chandelier may be appropriate for this type of room.
5. If you want another gender neutral idea for your baby’s room you can use colors such as grey and yellow.  These colors are not only unisex they are timeless as well.

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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