September 17th, 2020 by tisner
When it comes time to sell your home, you obviously want it looking its best so that prospective buyers will fall in love with it. This may lead to you consider touching up or remodeling parts of your home to make the best possible impression. If you’re trying to figure out the best parts of the home to give special attention to, there are a few places that buyers are more likely to pay attention to than others. Chief among these are the kitchen, the bathrooms and decks.
Considering the Kitchen
A lot of work goes on in the kitchen, so it makes sense that homebuyers want to make sure that the kitchen meets their needs. If your kitchen is dirty, cramped or outdated, that could raise a few red flags. Most potential buyers are looking for a big, open kitchen with modern appliances and usually a few key features like a dishwasher or kitchen island.
Obviously, your home doesn’t need to have all of these things to sell, and it may not even be realistic for you to make those sort of upgrades. Still, it’s possible to find a balance between a small, cramped kitchen and a potential buyer’s dream kitchen. Taking a moment to see how well your kitchen meets that balance can help you to see if there are any tweaks that you could make to improve the likelihood that a buyer will want to purchase your home.
A Focus on Bathrooms
The bathroom is one of the most important rooms in a house, and buyers want to be confident that things will work well in the bathroom when they’re in there. There’s a lot that goes on in the bathroom, though; beyond the obvious, this is also where people get ready in the morning, take their showers or baths, brush their teeth and sound their absolute best when singing along to a favorite song.
Because of this, there’s always a wow factor involved when a potential buyer sees a nice bathroom. This can be a combination of new and nice-looking fixtures as well as cleanliness, lack of obvious mildew or water damage, layout and things like adequate lighting and sufficient mirrors. Most bathrooms only have a limited amount of space to work with, but you’d be surprised how much of a difference you can make with a few tweaks and upgrades.
Enjoying the Deck
Not every home has a deck, but those that do always get oohs and aahs from potential buyers. A lot of homeowners want to be able to enjoy their time outside of their home, and having a deck can make this a lot easier since you can set up tables, chairs, a grill or anything else in a secure and flat area outdoors.
This isn’t to say that you have to build a deck to sell your house, though some sellers actually do make significant changes to landscaping and outdoor areas to spruce things up. If you already have a deck, take the time to make sure it’s recently painted or stained and is otherwise in good condition. A deck can make a big impression, but an ugly or damaged deck can make the wrong sort of impression on your potential buyer.
Sprucing Up the Whole Home
Obviously, there are other parts of the home that you can make changes or updates to if you’re getting ready to sell your home. General repairs, remodels or upgrades can interest potential buyers regardless of where they occur. But take care of any obvious damage, and then focus on the kitchen, bathrooms and decks, before you work on any other big areas.
Bringing in the Pros
If your home needs a little work done before it’s ready to sell, you can turn to HomeKeepr to find the pros that you can trust to get the job done. Sign up for a free account today and you can locate contractors based on real recommendations from people you trust. This will help make sure that you get the right pros for the job.
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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By: Homekeepr, Rob Morelli
Tags: baths, decks, home sellers, home selling, kitchens, orlando avenue top team, Orlando Sellers, selling your home, Teri Isner, Top Home Selling Points
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 15th, 2020 by tisner
Today, when news travels about a Homeowner’s Association (HOA), the news is not positive. Owning a home in an HOA has many benefits, however! Home hunters must remember that living in any managed property is a choice, so doing the “home” work is vital to being certain you are in the right home for you and your family.
- When you purchase a home in an HOA, an organization that creates and enforces rules in a subdivision or condominium, by default you are a member of that HOA and must pay fees and follow their bylaws.
- HOAs have rules and bylaws in place to protect property values, as well as to maintain a certain quality of life for the homeowners.
- Do not think about living in an organized community as a place that keeps homeowners from expressing themselves in their landscaping or house’s exterior. It is more about protecting your investment because of the home-maintenance regulations. You will appreciate this if you ever decide to sell the home.
- While searching for houses online, read the listing information carefully, and if the property is in an HOA, you will find the association’s name as well as the neighborhood’s fees. HOA fees can be high, but in comparison with what amenities they offer, it could save you money in the end.
- Performing an internet search for the specific name of a community should result in finding their website, complete with photos of homes and amenities. Some HOAs offer a readable file with more specific information, such as the community bylaws, covenants, restrictions, and fees.
- Not all HOAs are the same: amenities vary from community beautification, playground, swimming pool, or tennis courts to a neighborhood walking path or gym.
- Some associations provide security, trash pick-up, pest control, as well as street sweeping and snow removal.
- Choosing to live in a condominium community may be more to your liking: the HOA usually handles all landscape maintenance, as well as exterior home maintenance. You are responsible only for the interior of your home.
- The organization’s board members live in the neighborhood, so they are aware of needs specific to the area and can better handle solutions to any problems.
Do not pass on a home just because it is in a homeowner’s association community. Do careful research, talk to residents in the neighborhood, and ask your Realtor, as they are your first source for community information. There are many different aspects to different organizations and finding the right one for you and your family just takes a little research and thought.
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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Photo credit: HOA Management
Tags: HOA, Homeowner’s Association, homeowners, living in an HOA, orlando avenue top team, Pros of Living in an HOA Community, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
September 10th, 2020 by tisner
With more people staying at home and avoiding crowds, a lot of homeowners are turning to home prepping as a way to cut back on trips to the store and avoid shortages. Unfortunately, many people find themselves overwhelmed. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what to stock up on. And once the pantry is fully stocked and prepped, maintaining it, and finding what you need among all the other things, can be difficult. Organization is a key part of successful prepping, so if you want to have an effective pantry, here are a few organizational tips to keep in mind.
What Should You Store?
First things first: What should you store in your pantry? Obviously, you want things that are shelf-stable and will last a while. Pick up or prepare staples like canned vegetables, canned fruits, crushed tomatoes and dry goods like pasta, rice and beans. Add cooking supplies like cooking oil, flour and cornmeal, plus sweeteners like sugar and honey. Beyond that, round things out according to your family’s tastes. This is where you add your taco shells, your pasta sauces, cereals, popcorn, condiments and dressings, canned meats and anything else that you know your family uses regularly. If you have pets, you can also set aside a section of your pantry for pet food as well.
Organizing for Easy Access
When you start organizing your pantry, don’t just stick things wherever you can find a space for it. Take everything out, clean the area so that you’re starting fresh, then put things back in a reasonable and organized way. Group similar items, like different types of canned vegetables, together so that everything is easy to find. Avoid just shoving a bunch of things together to make more room, since that will cause confusion and make some of your items a lot harder to find when you’re looking for them.
Label Everything
Place labels on your shelves once you have everything organized so you’ll know what goes in any particular space in the pantry. That doesn’t mean that you have to micromanage and label each individual type of item, of course; create categories like “Jelly” and “Vegetables” to simply mark the general area where those items go. If you want to be really efficient with your labeling, take the time (or recruit family members to help) and place an easy-to-read sticker or label on the top or front of each item, and write the expiration date on it for reference.
Remember FIFO
Where a lot of people run into problems is rotating stocked items as new items are bought or made. Keep the FIFO principle in mind as you restock your pantry: First In, First Out. New items should always go to the back, allowing the older items in the front to be used first. As you take items out of the pantry, move up the items behind them so that they’re closer to the front and you have room to place things behind them later.
Shelving and Storage Additions
If you need to add shelving or other storage types to your pantry area, try to do so in a way that makes stocking and access easier. Standalone shelves that you can walk behind or rollout shelves that you can pull toward you make it a lot easier to place new items at the back, while sliding shelves or rotating units make it easy to reach stored items that otherwise might be hard to get to.
Emergency Storage
In general, your pantry should be filled with items that you’re actually going to use and that will be rotated out over time. If you really want to make sure that you’re good in case of a disaster, though, you can set aside a space for some additional emergency storage as well. Consider this sort of a “backup pantry” and focus on items with very long shelf lives such as freeze-dried rations, vacuum-sealed grains and bottled water. You should check expiration dates at least once or twice a year and move items about to expire to your main pantry, or use them for activities such as camping trips, hiking excursions or other adventures.
Building Out Your Pantry
Building a new pantry or adding onto an existing one can be tricky. Fortunately, HomeKeepr is here to help. Sign up for a free account today and to find pros based on recommendations from people you trust so that you can find the right person to give you the pantry of your dreams.
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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By: Homekeepr, Rob Morelli
Tags: home organization, orlando avenue top team, pantry organization, Pantry Organization for Preppers, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
September 10th, 2020 by tisner
The Windermere Real Estate Market Trends Report shows the average sales price was $794,210 in August 2020 compared to $694,500 in August 2019. Homes were on the market for an average of 65 days, compared to 51 last year. Homes sold for 97% of the list price.
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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Tags: home sales, home values, housign market update, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner, windermere florida, windermere florida real estate, Windermere Florida Real Estate Market Report for August 2020
Posted in Windermere | No Comments »
September 10th, 2020 by tisner
The Kissimmee Real Estate Market Trends Report for 34741 shows 61 homes sold in August 2020 up from 52 in August 2019. The average sales price was $240,130 compared to $193,405 in August 2019 and homes were on the market an average of 30 days, compared to 37 days in August 2019.
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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Tags: home prices, home sales, housing market update, kissimmee florida, Kissimmee Florida Real Estate Market, Kissimmee Florida Real Estate Market Report for August 2020, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner
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September 10th, 2020 by tisner
The Celebration Real Estate Market Trends Report for 34747 shows 148 homes sold in August 2020 compared to 152 in August 2019. The average sales price was $362,135 compared to $297,868 in August 2019 and homes were on the market an average of 75 days, compared to 70 days in August 2019.
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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Tags: celebration florida, celebration florida real estate, Celebration Florida Real Estate Market Report for August 2020, home prices, home sales, home values, housing market update, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner
Posted in Celebration | No Comments »
September 9th, 2020 by tisner
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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Stats courtesy of StellarMLS
Tags: home sales, housing market update, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner
Posted in General Real Estate | No Comments »
September 8th, 2020 by tisner
If you are a renter, you know that rent costs are on the rise, and it may be getting more difficult for you to stop thinking that a home purchase cannot be easier on your wallet. Starting on buying a home can come a year in advance of your first house hunt and creating a homeowner budget is the first step.
- Write a list of needs and wants for your future home, beginning with size, the number of rooms, type of neighborhood, size of the yard, garage, or no garage, etc. Be realistic, as there is only so much house you can afford. Set a price range, and stick to it.
- Create an income/expenses list, or use this handy budget calculator so you may see exactly where your money is going. If there is little left of your paycheck at the end of the equation, it is time to begin eliminating unnecessary purchases so you can start saving.
- Start paying off any debt you currently have credit cards, car loans, or personal loans. Eliminating these balances will reduce your debt-to-income ratio, and will show lenders you’re serious about paying for a home.
- Once you start paying off debt, start depositing the amount of those payments into a savings account. Not only do you need to save towards the payment, but you’ll also have other costs for buying a home: appraisal, home inspections, and other fees may or may not be added to the closing costs.
- Some people that live on low incomes may feel like homeownership is a pipe dream, but that is not true. Many government-backed agencies will assist those with limited incomes buy a home:
- Federal Housing Administration offers loans with low down payments (3.5%).
- USDA helps low-income families in rural areas with purchasing a home with no down payment.
- VA loans assist veterans with home-buying, as well as home repair.
No matter your income, homeownership is within reach if your credit report and score is within an acceptable range and may differ according to the lender. Learning how to budget your income, paying your bills on time, and saving money are all possible, and it may take discipline on your part. The result, however–a home of your own–is worth all the time and effort it took to prepare for it!
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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Tags: budgeting, buying a house, first time home buyers, home budgeting, home buying, homebuyers, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner
Posted in Orlando Buyers | No Comments »
September 3rd, 2020 by tisner
As a part of maintaining good social distance, many people are limiting who they bring into their homes. But this can lead to a bit of anxiety when you need to bring in some extra help to do jobs around the house. Plumbers, electricians and other contractors can’t do their jobs without access to your home’s internal space, but is it safe to bring workers inside when they also have to visit other homes and businesses as a part of their job?
Contractors want to keep themselves and their crew safe on the job, so almost any contractor you hire can be expected to follow appropriate safety protocols while in your home. With that said, there are things that you can do to help ensure that everyone remains safe when you have to bring in workers for necessary tasks around the house.
Necessary Questions
Before hiring a contractor or anyone to work inside your house, take a few moments to ask about their safety policies. You can ask about things such as whether they or their crew wear masks or ventilators when on the job or while dealing with customers. You can expect most contractors to have a safety and masking protocol in place, though it’s possible that you may encounter one or two who don’t want to take these precautions on the job. Asking them a few simple questions can help you identify those contractors and workers who will respect your desire to stay safe, and who will be careful the entire time that they’re in your home.
Cleaning and Sanitizing
Before contractors and in-home workers are scheduled to show up, take the time to clean up the area where they’ll be working and sanitize any surfaces that they’re likely to come into contact with. This makes it easier for them to do their jobs safely. It also demonstrates that you are willing to show others the same considerations that you wish to be shown as well. Some contractors will sanitize the areas they work in at the end of the day as a courtesy, but if they don’t, then you should carefully sanitize the area after any workers have left each day.
Masking and Distancing
Ideally, any workers who are in your house will wear a mask or other protection while they are inside. At the same time, you and your family should put a mask on whenever you’re in the same part of the house where work is going on. Additionally, while you should stay away from work areas whenever possible, it’s important to maintain proper social distance from workers when you do have to go into that part of the house. If you need to talk to the contractor or other workers, be sure to do it from at least a 6-foot distance or take the conversation outside if the work is happening in an area where proper distance is difficult to maintain.
Post-Work Cleanup
Once work is wrapped up and the work crew is gone, be sure to check the work area to see if there is any additional cleanup needed. Most if not all of the cleaning should have been done by the workers while wrapping up, but it’s possible that some materials will remain that need to be disposed of. Wear gloves and a mask when handling any packing material or other items that were left behind by the work crew. You should also sanitize the entire work area unless you know for sure that the workers sanitized everything just before they left. While it may seem like extra work, it helps to ensure that there aren’t any contaminated surfaces left behind.
Finding the Best Contractors
HomeKeepr is here to help you find the best contractors for the work you need who will respect your desire for safety in the home. Sign up for a free account today and start finding workers based on real recommendations from people you trust.
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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By: Homekeepr, David Weinstein
Tags: home safety, Is It Safe to Hire In-Home Workers, orlando avenue top team, safety protocols, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2020 by tisner
Fire pits are becoming a backyard staple, and they provide a great place to cook outdoors or wind down at the end of a busy day. While a fire pit is meant for pleasure, we must remember that we are “playing” with fire, and precautions have to be taken so it remains so.
- The location of your fire pit should be at least ten feet from any structure, neighboring property, or fence, with the best distance being twenty-five feet.
- A wide-open spot is best for placement, away from hanging tree branches, and never on a covered porch. In choosing a fire pit for a covered location, propane should be your choice for fuel. The flames will be easier to control and extinguish, if necessary.
- Use non-flammable materials as a base for the fire pit: rock, cement block, or fire-resistant composite material should be spread at least twenty-four inches out from where your fire pit stands. Never sit it directly on the grass or a wooden deck.
- While looking through the many options when purchasing a fire pit, you need to make certain that it is at least six inches deep, and a minimum of two feet in diameter. A removable screen is another great asset for the fire pit, as it will help contain embers from floating up with the flames.
- Extinguishing a wood fire in your fire pit is simple enough: douse it completely with water and stirring the ashes with a shovel to be certain the fire is out completely. Use only a metal container to dispose of ashes.
- If a full-on fire pit is not a possibility, a tabletop version may be your best choice. Fueled by denatured alcohol gel or bio-ethanol, these tiny fireplaces can be used anywhere, anytime.
Always check with your municipality to get the proper permits and give your insurance agent a call to make sure you do not need extra coverage on your homeowner’s insurance. Once you get all your safety precautions taken care of, you can enjoy your new retreat, knowing it is not only relaxing but safe 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.
Get Orlando Daily News delivered to your inbox! Subscribe here!
Photo credit: BobVilla.com
Tags: Fire Pit Safety Tips, fire pits, orlando avenue top team, Teri Isner
Posted in Home Tips from Teri | No Comments »
