Walk through your local garden center and finding what’s right for your landscape and gardening skill level can be overwhelming.  Not everyone wants to spend the warm months of the year taking care of needy plants, and there are many available that will offer color all summer and don’t need a lot of attention! 

• Daylilies come in hundreds of varieties and colors and are almost plant and forget.  Plant different cultivars in a sunny spot about twelve inches apart, keep them watered well for the first few weeks, and you’ll be rewarded with pops of color all Summer. 
• Everyone loves sunflowers, and they are easy to plant from seed. There are even varieties available that are only a few feet tall that would work in containers.  If you plant seeds, try planting each set every two weeks for six weeks, and once they bloom, they’ll bloom until Fall. 
• Who wouldn’t like grass that doesn’t need mowing?  Ornamental grasses such as zebra grass, purple fountain grass, blue fescue, and Japanese blood grass grow to be different heights and can add interest as well as color with little maintenance.  
• If you have a shady spot, impatiens are non-stop blooms if you keep them cool.  Some call them “cowboy flowers,” as they can look almost dead, and give them a drink of water, and they come back to life! They’re great in containers and hanging baskets and can brighten any dark spot in the yard. 
• Attract butterflies to your yard with a butterfly weed plant.  Since it is a native wildflower, it is practically carefree, and butterflies love the nectar.  Planting from seed can make flowering take a year or two, so look for an older plant already in flower in your garden center. 
• Zinnias put on a show all Summer, and come in many colors and bloom varieties, and all it takes is a scattering of seeds.  Like sunflowers, if you plant them every two weeks for about six weeks, they’ll bloom successively for many weeks. 
• Portulaca is a succulent plant that grows low to the ground and blooms in bright pink, orange, red, white and yellow.  When everything else is drooping in the heat of Summer, because of their heat tolerance, will be shining bright. Another plant for those shady places is fern.  There are many cultivars, and ferns thrive in shade, and you get a bonus because they come back every year. 
• Trumpet vine is so easy to grow, it is commonplace along country roadsides, climbing power poles, blooming with bright orange trumpet-shaped flowers.  Plant this with some support, and besides looking pretty, hummingbirds enjoy it! 
• Look for easy care hybrid roses.  Not only are the modern cultivations easy to keep, they bloom all season. 

Check with your local cooperative extension service if you need advice on what is good to plant for your local climate, or find your region in this article from Better Homes & Gardens™ for more ideas.  Gardening can be as time-consuming or as carefree as we want–we just have to pick the right things to grow. 

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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.

When buying a home various factors come to mind immediately-location, price range, home style, home condition, wish list for the interior and exterior, number of bedrooms and bathrooms desired; just to name a few. One component which can be overlooked by some but is extremely essential to many would be the local school system in the neighborhood. I highly value my communities’ school system.

Studies have found that home buyers would give up one aspect of their home to have their children attend a ‘better’ school district; this speaks volumes to how important education is for parents’. For some parents there are alternatives such as private schools but that is not the case for many. Even if buyers don’t have or plan to have school-age children in the house, the quality of nearby schools can have an impact on how much you pay, and how much a home sells for down the line.

In the past year Orange county public schools  has succeeded in the improvement to maintain outstanding schools for all of our children. Through strategic planning and organizational development our schools continue to advance! Good local schools are amongst us in high numbers and will provide our children with the learning and education they should receive but with the type we wish for them to obtain as well.

For additional information on our school systems please visit Florida Department of Education.

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.

This time of year folks begin to get outdoors to do more around their homes because it is nice and warm outside.   It’s also a good time to do a bit of work outside the house and make your outdoor space more inviting and fun for family and friends.   Below is a list of ways in which you can accomplish this.

1. If you already have landscape lighting, why not purchase a few fun colored lights to use in them for different holidays.  This will defiantly make your outdoor space a lot more fun.
2. If you are getting tired of mowing your grass then you may want to replace your grass with a garden. You might want to add a garden of flowers or a garden of vegetables or even put in a koi pond.  Any of these ideas will help to keep you from spending your summer evenings mowing the grass all the time, therefore making your outdoor space more fun.
3. If your patio furniture is old and outdated, now is the time to go out to purchase some that allows you to show your style more effectively. Outdoor furniture always makes outdoor spaces more inviting and fun.
4. Adding a new doorbell to the outside of your home may seem like a small thing, however if you find a nice one that lights up the front door area it can do wonders towards making your home seem more inviting at night.
5. If you don’t already have a swimming pool, summertime is a great time to add one. Not much can make your outdoor space more fun than a swimming pool for all to enjoy.
6. If you do add a swimming pool why not go out and make it really fun and cool by adding an outdoor shower to the mix. This type of thing is pretty rare unless your home is at the beach, therefore your outdoor shower may quickly become the talk of the neighborhood.

There are so many ways in which to make your outdoor space more inviting and fun; these are just a few of them that you may want to try.

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.

Let’s face it, many times when folks visit the islands they tend to not want to come home from such places.  This is the case typically because the beach is a very relaxing place to be with all the warm air, salt water and sunshine.   What if you could decorate your home to have an island feel?  There are ways to go about turning your home into a tropical oasis.  A few of those ideas are listed below for you.

1. A good way to get started making your home feel like an island paradise  is by beginning to think outside of the box.  Do not be afraid of using bold colors in rooms in which you want to transform.  You can choose bold teal colors that mimic the look of the ocean for your family room then perhaps you can use some wallpaper in your kids’ bathroom that has sea creatures on it.  Don’t worry, as long as you keep it classy, not tacky, you will be able to get away with doing all sorts of wild colors and designs to achieve your beach house feel.
2. Another way to decorate your home to have an island feel is to add some accessories throughout the house that help you achieve the look. Throw pillows with sand dollars and seahorses on them are a great start.  You can even use seashells you have gathered on your trips to the ocean to decorate with.  Putting some seashells in glass vases with a bit of sand in them is a great way to achieve beach décor.
3. One way to give your home an island feel is to use a lot of candles that are scented with tropical scents.  Lighting these daily will help you to feel like you are on vacation when you are sitting in your own home.
4. Lots of ceiling fans throughout your home is another way to create an island oasis inside. You can also use ceiling fans outside on your porch area to take the feel outside.
5. Wicker and rattan is your friend if you want your home to feel like an island. Use it liberally.
6. Using a lot of tropical plants to decorate the inside of your home is another good way to get the island feel you are searching for.

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.

Most home sellers work full time, and getting the house prepped to be put on the market can be a second full-time job, depending on their to-do list.  As most every seller knows, curb appeal is vital for a great first impression, and carving extra time is a luxury, but with these tips and ideas, it can go from zero to fabulous in a weekend! 

• Cleaning Pressure wash the exterior siding, fencing, the porch floor, concrete walkway and driveway, and as dreadful as it may be, clean out gutters. 
• Painting These exterior items may need paint:  front door, shutters, window sills, exterior trim, garage doors, porch floor and railings, mailbox and address numbers. 
• Replace Lighting fixtures that are dated or weathered should be replaced, and put up new address numbers, or mailbox if paint doesn’t improve their appearance, and get a new welcome mat. 
• Inspect Go around the house and look closely at exterior trim, shutters, and window sills.  Examine concrete for damage, and make sure walkway pavers are stable and in perfect condition.  Make certain that all landscape lighting or irrigation systems are in working order. 
• Lawn Care Not only should the lawn be mowed but using an edge trimmer to neaten up the walkways, driveway and planting beds makes a big difference.  Seed any dead areas of the lawn.   
• Landscaping Weed flower beds, add seasonal easy-care plantings (annuals are best for season-long blooms!) and new mulch.  If a tree needs more than minor pruning, call a tree specialist. 
• Decorative Remove personal yard flags, add some potted plants on the porch, highlight a shady spot with a simple outdoor bench and a few plants, and clean up outdoor furniture cushions or replace them. 

Much like the interior of the home, the outside should be clean, in working order, and clutter-free.  Before you get outside, go online and search recently sold homes in your market for some curb appeal inspiration, then put in a weekend’s time, and get that house sold!  

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.

If you’re planning on doing some homework with your tax refund, here are a few suggestions on how best to spend that money… 

$1,000 or Less 

• Add or improve your front walkway.  Whether you plan on putting your home on the market soon or not, a new walkway will improve the curb appeal.  
• Replacing the front door is an expensive job, but you can create a whole new look for the front exterior of your home just by having a new front entranceway. 

• Install new light fixtures, especially if you’re tired of the builders-grade fixtures. If you shop smart, you can get stylish new flush-mount lights for every room. 
• Do a minor bathroom renovation:  replace the toilet, faucets, and lights, and give the tub/shower a makeover with a refinishing kit. 
• Paint the kitchen cabinets, replace the hardware, and add a tile backsplash. You won’t believe what a difference those three minor renos will make! 
• Upgrade one appliance kitchen appliance.  

$1,000-$2,000 

• Any repairs that you’ve put off because of cost should be done before any improvements to renovating is done. Protecting your investment is more important than new bathroom tile. 
• If your front lawn is a black canvas, hire a landscape designer to create some improvements.  
• Have your “popcorn” ceilings removed by a pro and add new crown molding.  
• Tankless water heaters, whether you choose whole-house or single-point, are worth the investment as you’ll see a difference in your electric bills. 

• If you’re handy, you can take on a DIY job and save money: paint your home’s exterior, install new flooring, add wainscoting, or install kitchen countertops. 

As much as you’d like to see something physical after spending your tax refund, paying any accumulated debt down or investing it will pay you back in the long run. Check out these ideas from Investopedia,  and take off some of that financial load you may be bearing! 

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.

Have you ever thumbed through a home magazine spread and wondered where the electrical outlets, electric cords, thermostat, or HVAC vents were?  Those every day necessities are in those homes, they’re just edited from the photos.  Since we can’t use photo editing inside our homes, we must find ways to make those mundane things blend in or edit them with some tricks to make them more stylish.   

• A thermostat isn’t the prettiest thing on the wall, and if yours is in a prominent area in the house, you can help it blend in if you surround it with framed items on a gallery wall. 
• Having the Wi-Fi router in a central place gives us better connections, but they’re not an attractive piece.  Hide it in an empty box with holes cut in the back for cords, an inexpensive basket, or get crafty and make a screen from old book spines! 
• If electronic devices clutter up counter space when they’re charging, there are outlets made specifically for drawer installation, but should be done by an electrician.   

• Stainless appliances in the kitchen are sleek and beautiful, and when our gadgets are a dull white, we can make them look like new with stainless steel stick-on decals! Find these online or in your local home center. 
• Removing popcorn ceilings can be exhausting, not to mention messy.  It may take a little time, skill and effort, but covering them instead with prefinished wood planks and crown molding will add style and charm to your rooms. 
• Canvas art usually has an open back, and you can hang these pieces over flat screen television, thermostats, and window unit air conditioners (when not in use). 
• Those return air vents aren’t pretty at all, and there are many ways you can hide them: purchase a stylish cover that is made specifically for return vents, hang a repurposed open door mat over the vent, create a panel with decorative sheet metal to put in place of the slatted cover, or turn an old shutter into a vent cover.  Talk to your HVAC serviceperson before you start this project to make certain your system will still run smoothly once you’re done. 
• Add a bit of style to the plain front of your bathtub with self-stick tiles.  These products come in all shapes, colors and styles, and don’t require any tile installation know-how. 

• To hide all the cords in the office area, use cup hooks under the table or desk to keep the length of the cords up and out of the way. 
• Wall-mount televisions have become the norm, and the cords hanging from the screen can be unsightly.  Home centers have kits to install a cord holder in the wall for those who feel confident enough to use some power tools, and there are covers in endless colors and styles.

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.

New year, new you, right? Oh, we all seem to resolve to eat healthier, lose weight, kick dirty habits and all kinds of other things, but by the end of February, we find ourselves just trying to remember what our resolutions were, much less actually sticking to them! Homeownership is the same way–we start out with big ideas of what we’ll be doing to maintain it, then life gets in the way, and we fall short.  Get started with this guide: 

• Having an energy audit performed on your house will help you save not only energy but money, too. 
• Your dryer’s lint trap should be cleaned routinely after each load, but your vent and vent tubing should be cleaned at least annually.  Removing as much lint as you can helps dry your laundry faster and reduce the risk of fire. 
• Home security systems aren’t foolproof against hackers, and neither are smart home accessories.  Change passwords frequently, and don’t reuse passwords.  To make it even more difficult to hack, use two-factor authentication.  

• The Family Handyman has several tips for keeping the yard and yard tools in tip-top shape. 
• Resolve to cut the clutter in your house. While the temps are cool, and you’re spending more time inside anyway, take one room in your home per week to clean out and clean up. 
• Repair the little things that you overlook because they’re not necessarily a safety issue:  doorknobs that aren’t working, dripping faucets, or squeaky floors. Fix now to save you from something bigger happening and costing you more later. 
• Get your personal finances in order!  Commit to saving money, not only in the literal sense, but get the best rates on insurance, or consider refinancing your mortgage. NerdWallet has some great tips for building equity in your home. 
• Print out this free home checklist, and you won’t miss a thing each season! 

Find a good balance of taking care of home and taking care of you and your family.  Don’t spend every spare minute maintaining your home. Some projects can combine family and work time, like a big cleaning job, or yard work.  As important as it is to keep up your home, it’s important to keep up with family 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.

It’s time to get the holiday house decorating in high gear, and you may have bought new light strands, but plan on mixing them with ones you have, or adding LED lights.  Safety is important this time of year, and making the days merry and the nights bright means taking a few precautions. 

• Check your old lights for frayed wires, nicks or cuts along the outer cord, and broken bulbs. Broken bulbs can be replaced, but toss the frayed strands, or those with cuts. 
• Decorating the exterior of your house means the lights you use must be made for outdoors.  Check the packaging or tag on the string to make certain. 
• Use clips or hangers that are UL-approved–do NOT nail, tack, or staple lights to any fixture. 
• If you’d like to light a tree in your yard, make absolute certain no power lines run through the branches, and keep any lighting at least ten feet from power lines. 
• Make sure your extension cords are specifically made for outdoor use, and have a three-pronged ground plug.  Your receptacle should be a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet in case of electrical overload, it will shut off power.  Portable outdoor GFCI’s are available for very little cost at Amazon. 
• Read and heed all labels when it comes to connecting strings of lights.  If the label says only three can be connected to one another, start a new chain of lights after the third strand is in place.  Also keep in mind that only strands with the same number of bulbs should be connected–in other words, don’t connect a 100-strand with two 25-strands. 
• Keep extension cords away from high-traffic areas, and out from under welcome mats or pavers. 
• Many people start decorating long before Christmas, but be aware that most non-commercial light strands are only safely exposed to the elements for 90 days.  Any longer, and deterioration to the insulation will begin.   
• Avoid using a metal ladder if you’re having to get up high with your lights–use wooden or fiberglass instead. 
• Never leave lights on when you’re not at home, or asleep.   
• If you’re considering adding LED’s to your holiday display, make sure you don’t mix connecting with incandescent.  Going all-LED will be costlier upon start-up, but will save money on your power bill, as well as in replacement costs–LED’s can last up to twenty years. 

You don’t want a friendly neighborhood competition to turn into disaster, nor do you want a classic Clark Griswold power outage at home.  Know your home’s electrical limits, and use common sense and care while you’re decorating. 

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.

It’s the visiting time of year, and some of your guests will likely be bringing little ones with them.  If your home is now child-free, you may not be aware of possible hazards for little ones.  Get your home ready for them with these tips: 

• In the case that you don’t have cabinet locks and cleaning supplies are easily accessed, go ahead and place them all in a small cleaning bucket or basket so you can just grab them and put them out of reach when or before guests arrive. 
• The kitchen is usually the hub when company comes, so keep little ones from under foot by putting some interactive magnets on the fridge door–there are some pretty nifty learning-type magnets available, as well as the traditional alphabet letters. 
• If you have candles burning, make sure they are far from the reach of any age child, and in a prominent place so that they’re always in sight of you or another adult. 

• Check blinds and drapes for long cords–either drape them over the tops of the blinds or purchase cord holders to keep them up and out of reach. 
• For homes with stairs, purchase or borrow a latching safety gate to prevent little ones from wandering up the steps. 
• Ask everyone to keep the toilet lid down, or close the bathroom door when they go in and out.  If you ask them, they’ll be more conscious of it, and oblige. 
• In case you have a cozy fire burning, at least have a screen set up in front of the fireplace door as a barrier in case a little one stumbles while they’re walking nearby. 
• Houseplants can be tempting to a little explorer, but some plants can make us sick if ingested.  Do a bit of research, and if yours are in that category, give them a temporary home out of the way. 

• Keep an eye on yard sales or thrift stores for age-appropriate toys and games in good condition.  Clean them up, and place them in a basket or on a game table in the living area; kids love “new” toys. 
• Have someone get down on all fours on the floor and look for hazardous things that could be interesting to a child, and make the temporary changes you need to so your littlest guests will be safe. 

Enjoying the holidays means enjoying your guests, and not worrying if the youngest ones are getting into something you don’t want them to, or something potentially dangerous.  Your visitors will appreciate the extra effort it took to keep their children safe and entertained, making their visit more memorable.

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.