If you haven’t noticed, essential oils are everywhere you look.  They are popping up left and right these days as more and more people are becoming aware of all the good they can do.  There are many uses for essential oils.  Some folks use them to help with heath issues while others use them to simply make things smell fresh.  Let’s take a look at how to use essential oils in your home.  Below are a few ideas to get you started thinking of how to do just that.

1. One way you can use essential oils in your home   is to use them to cut down on bacteria and odors in your kitchen.  The best way to accomplish this is to put 2 to 5 drops of lemon essential oil on a sponge and wipe down the countertops and other porous surfaces such as your cutting boards.
2. Another way to use essential oils in your home is as a laundry freshener. Instead of buying dryer sheets all the time, just put a few drops of your favorite oil (perhaps lavender) on a damp washcloth and then toss it into the dryer.
3. Yet another great use for essential oils in your home is to help freshen up your trashcan by adding your favorite oil onto a cotton ball, then placing it into the bottom of your trashcan.  This will help to keep the trash smell from overtaking your house like it can sometimes do.
4. You can even use essential oils to clean with by mixing them with baking soda, vinegar and dish soap, then use them to clean grout in your bathroom or kitchen. You will need to use about 10 drops of an essential oil mixed with 1 cup baking soda, 3 tablespoons dish soap and 1 tablespoon white vinegar to accomplish this.
5. Using essential oils as a carpet freshener is another great way to use them in your home. Simply mix 1 ounce baking soda with 12 drops of your favorite oil together then sprinkle it over your carpets.  After a period of about 20 minutes, vacuum the area for a clean fresh scent.
6. For a good all purpose home cleaner made with essential oils, mix 20 drops pine oil, lemon and eucalyptus with 1 ounce white vinegar. Fill the rest of the bottle with water.  Remember to shake it well before each use then proceed to use this concoction on anything from glass surfaces to kitchen countertops to widows.

These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how you can use essential oils in your home.

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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Is spring closer than we think? Depending on which groundhog you listen to, you may have less time than you think to get your home on the market before the busy spring season.

Many sellers feel that the spring is the best time to place their homes on the market as buyer demand traditionally increases at that time of year. However, the next six weeks before spring hits also have their own advantages.

Here are five reasons to sell now.

1. Demand is Strong 

Foot traffic refers to the number of people who are out, physically looking at homes right now. The latest foot traffic numbers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) show that the number of buyers out looking for their dream homes in December reached the highest mark since February 2016.

These buyers are ready, willing and able to buy…and are in the market right now! Take advantage of the strong buyer activity currently in the market.

2. There Is Less Competition Now 

Housing inventory just dropped to a 3.6-month supply, which is well under the 6-month supply needed for a normal housing market. This means, in many areas, there are not enough homes for sale to satisfy the number of buyers in that market. This is good news for home prices; however, additional inventory is about to come to market.

There is a pent-up desire for many homeowners to move, as they were unable to sell over the last few years because of a negative equity situation. Homeowners are now seeing a return to positive equity as real estate values have increased over the last four years. Many of these homes will be coming to market soon.

Also, new construction of single-family homes is again beginning to increase. A study by Harris Poll revealed that 41% of buyers would prefer to buy a new home, while only 21% prefer an existing home (38% had no preference).

The choices buyers have will increase in the spring. Don’t wait for this other inventory to come to market before you sell.

3. The Process Will Be Quicker

One of the biggest challenges of the housing market has been the length of time it takes from contract to closing. Banks are requiring more and more paperwork before approving a mortgage. There is less overall business done in the winter. Therefore, the process will be less onerous than it will be in the spring. Getting your house sold and closed before the spring delays begin will lend to a smoother transaction.

4. There Will Never Be a Better Time to Move-Up

If you are moving up to a larger, more expensive home, consider doing it now. Prices are projected to appreciate by 4.7% over the next 12 months according to CoreLogic. If you are moving to a higher priced home, it will wind-up costing you more in raw dollars (both in down payment and mortgage payment) if you wait. You can also lock-in your 30-year housing expense with an interest rate around 4% right now. Rates are projected to rise by half a percentage point by the end of 2017.

5. It’s Time to Move on with Your Life

Look at the reason you decided to sell in the first place and determine whether it is worth waiting. Is money more important than being with family? Is money more important than your health? Is money more important than having the freedom to go on with your life the way you think you should?

Only you know the answers to the questions above. You have the power to take back control of the situation by putting your home on the market. Perhaps, the time has come for you and your family to move on and start living the life you desire.

That is what is truly important.

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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You may have thought about selling your home before but you just aren’t sure now is the time.  There are a few signs that now is the correct time to sell your home and some of those signs are listed below for you so that you can be sure you’re making the right decision.

1. If your home has gotten a bit too small for your growing family and you are trying daily how to figure out where to put everyone, you may need to put your house on the market.  If you are making your kids bunk together and then trying to add another baby to the mix, you may need to purchase a home that will be more able to fit your needs.
2. If you have changed to a job that has taken you father away from your home than you had anticipated and therefore has caused your daily commute to be longer than you like, it may be time to sell your home. Selling your home for a job change is a big reason that many folks sell.
3. If your lifestyle has changed and you simply don’t have time to take care of your home anymore, you may want to sell it. This can be caused by such things as your children moving out and you becoming empty nesters.  Many times the room you once needed becomes way too much for just you and your husband once your kids move out.
4. If you need a bigger home to accommodate your growing family but the thought of remodeling sends your head into a spin, you may want to go ahead and put your house on the market to see if you have any interest in it first.
5. If you have equity in your home and you want to take advantage of the great rates that are currently available before they disappear you may want to go ahead and put your house on the market.
6. If you live in a neighborhood in which a lot of houses are currently selling, you may want to put yours on the market to see if you get any interest in it and possibly even sell    Now is the time that folks are many times getting full asking price for their homes so it is a buyer’s market.

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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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:

• 45 million existing homes were sold in 2016! This is the highest mark set since 2006.
• Inventory of existing homes for sale dropped to a 3.6-month supply, the lowest level since NAR began tracking in 1999.
• The median price of homes sold in December was $232,200. This is the 58^th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains.

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.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!

You may have thought about selling your home before but you just aren’t sure now is the time.  There are a few signs that now is the correct time to sell your home and some of those signs are listed below for you so that you can be sure you’re making the right decision.

1. If your home has gotten a bit too small for your growing family and you are trying daily how to figure out where to put everyone, you may need to put your house on the market.  If you are making your kids bunk together and then trying to add another baby to the mix, you may need to purchase a home that will be more able to fit your needs.
2. If you have changed to a job that has taken you father away from your home than you had anticipated and therefore has caused your daily commute to be longer than you like, it may be time to sell your home. Selling your home for a job change is a big reason that many folks sell.
3. If your lifestyle has changed and you simply don’t have time to take care of your home anymore, you may want to sell it. This can be caused by such things as your children moving out and you becoming empty nesters.  Many times the room you once needed becomes way too much for just you and your husband once your kids move out.
4. If you need a bigger home to accommodate your growing family but the thought of remodeling sends your head into a spin, you may want to go ahead and put your house on the market to see if you have any interest in it first.
5. If you have equity in your home and you want to take advantage of the great rates that are currently available before they disappear you may want to go ahead and put your house on the market.
6. If you live in a neighborhood in which a lot of houses are currently selling, you may want to put yours on the market to see if you get any interest in it and possibly even sell.  Now is the time that folks are many times getting full asking price for their homes so it is a buyer’s market.

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.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!

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.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!

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.

Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!