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Remodeling for High ROI

September 24th, 2020 by tisner


Remodeling can be serious business, especially if you’ve got several pet projects on your list and a limited budget with which to work. It can be tempting to go straight to the items that you find the most important, but if you’re considering reselling your home in the not too distant future, the return on your remodeling investment is really the thing to watch. Luckily, Remodeling Magazine has been tracking remodeling trends and returns for the US market since 2002 and has amassed a great deal of data on which projects you should focus your money on if you’re concerned about how well it will return.

A Note on Cost Return Versus Resellability

It’s important to note that there is a distinction between items that will be reflected in your home’s value and those which will help your home sell. These aren’t always the same thing. For example, you might find that adding a pool is a lot of fun and that people are drawn to homes with pools in your area, but a pool doesn’t necessarily increase the amount of money you’ll be offered for your home. On the flip side of that, new kitchen cabinets almost always both increase value and help make your home easier to resell.

This Year’s Top Remodeling Items for Returning Your Dollars

Remodeling Magazine’s 2020 numbers are in, and much of what they have to say isn’t too surprising. Over the last several years, trends for return on your investment dollars have been mostly holding steady. Consider these items if you’re planning a remodel before you sell your home:

  1. Manufactured Stone Veneer. This year it’s number one on the list, though it was ranked second in both 2019 and 2018 for percentage of cost recovered. At an estimated $9,357 for the average stone veneer project, you’ll see an average of 95.6 percent return.
  2. Garage Door Replacement. Bumped from number one for 2018 and 2019 to a still respectable number two, garage doors will provide an average of 94.50 percent return for your average $3,695 project. Garage doors can change the entire face of your home, so they’re still a great choice for a quick facelift if you don’t have stone veneer money this year.
  3. Kitchen Remodeling. It’s no surprise that a nice kitchen can pay for itself, but you have to be very careful in how you spend your money. A minor, mid range kitchen remodel might include small updates like replacing the drawer, door fronts, and hardware on cabinets, as well as new appliances, flooring, and sink and faucet, plus a fresh coat of paint. That’s estimated to cost about $23,452 this year, but the return on it will be about 77.6 percent. This is also one of those items that will absolutely push a buyer to choose your home over another, so there’s value beyond simple dollars and cents.
  4. Siding Replacement. In the past, Remodeling Magazine has grouped all major siding types (excluding stone veneer) together, but this year it has separated them into two categories: fiber-cement and vinyl. Both are popular, durable choices for a home, and both return quite well. Fiber-cement should recoup about 77.6 percent of the $17,008 bill; vinyl returns about 74.7 percent of an estimated $14,359.
  5. Vinyl Replacement Windows. Replacement windows can be a huge selling feature, especially if your home is in a neighborhood where a lot of houses still have their original windows. They can be ordered with a myriad of design elements to make them just as charming as the windows you’ll be replacing, down to the tiniest details. You’ll be looking at a cost of around $17,641 for the project, but you’ll recover about 72.3% of that when you sell your home. As a bonus, the new homebuyers will have plenty of incentive to choose your home, since energy efficiency is still a major decision point.

Ready to Remodel? Not Sure How to Start?

Don’t sweat it, you can connect with an army of professions through HomeKeepr. HomeKeepr has your back. Login today to find home pros ready to help you get the most out of your remodeling budget.

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 

Weekly Market Snapshot 9/17 – 9/23

September 24th, 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

Fix That Leaky Roof!

September 22nd, 2020 by tisner

Drip. Drip. Drip. It is pouring rain outside, and you hear that dreaded sound coming from somewhere inside your home. Grabbing the mop bucket to place under the leak will save you from a mess but drying the floor and putting the bucket close by for the next rainstorm is not where you need to stop. Leaving a leaking roof untouched can be detrimental to your health, home, and investment.   

  • Sometimes you may not notice dripping water, but will see bubbling drywall or plaster, or simply a change in the color of the paint. 
  • If you find a drip and have retrieved something to catch water, your next step should be to try and find where the leak is. Open the attic door, and with a flashlight, look around for the dripping water or wet areas. 
  • Do not be tempted to place something to catch the water in the attic. The container can become too full and heavy, and come crashing through the ceiling. 
  • While a downpour or thunderstorm is not the time to go outside, once it is safe to do so, go outside and look up the roof’s slope from the area where the leaking was.
    — If it is not obvious, you may have to wait to create your own “rainstorm” with a water hose or call a pro to locate the problem. 
  • If the leak is on a flat area of the roof, secure a tarp over the leak to stop more water from coming in.  Sometimes the leaks are around a vent or chimney, and those can be tricky, so you may not be able to make a temporary fix until the roofer arrives.

  • Whether you DIY the roof repair or call a roofing contractor, the attic will need to be dried out. 
    — Use a dehumidifier to absorb the moisture in the air coupled with a large fan to dry the area.
    — Inspect surrounding insulation and make certain it is completely dry before you put it back in place. If it has become compacted, it will need to be replaced with new insulation. 
  • Leaving a leaky roof with a temporary patch, or worse, doing nothing at all can cause expensive and dangerous problems.
    — Mold and mildew can grow not only on the roof, but inside the attic, and possible down to the ceiling and walls.
    — Wood under the shingles and on the roof, joists can rot, causing an expensive replacement.
    — Drywall and plaster are not meant to be wet, and the moisture can cause them to become weak. No one wants collapsing ceilings or walls.
    — Water can get into the home’s wiring, causing copper wires to degrade, and in turn causing an electrical short or even a fire. 

As soon as a leak is discovered, repairing it yourself is fine if done correctly.  You may be pleasantly surprised at how easy it can be for a pro to stop a small leak, and the price of the repair will not be very high.  However, the cost of a professional making a repair to a leaking roof cannot compare with keeping your home’s largest and most important structure safe and sound as well as keeping your family safe and healthy. 

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: remedy roofing

National Cheeseburger Day – September 18th

September 18th, 2020 by tisner

National Cheeseburger Day on September 18th honors America’s favorite sandwich with a slice of cheese.
A few days ago, we celebrated National Double Cheeseburger Day. This food holiday is the lighter version. While only a single stack, this tasty burger still earns a celebration!
There are many theories to the beginning of the cheeseburger dating back to the 1920s. One story suggests that Lionel Sternberger invented the cheeseburger in 1926 while working at his father’s Pasadena, California sandwich shop, The Rite Spot. During an experiment, he dropped a slice of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger.
However, like numerous iconic foods, many people and restaurants claim the origin story. For example, a restaurant in Los Angeles called O’Dell’s placed the cheeseburger on their menu in 1928. It came smothered with chili – all for the price of a quarter. Kaelin’s Restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky claims they invented the cheeseburger in 1934. One record that gives the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, CO bragging rights is the trademark they received in 1935 for the name “cheeseburger.” Another who applied for a trademark of that word was Gus Belt, the founder of Steak n’ Shake. Sometime in the 1930s he also applied for the trademark.

Despite all these claims, a couple of things are for sure. The cheeseburger checks all the marks for satisfying a craving, and the cheeseburger isn’t going anywhere!

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalCheeseburgerDay

Grill up or fry up your favorite cheeseburger. You don’t even have to cook. Visit your favorite burger joint and order up a delicious cheeseburger. With all the options available, you’re sure to find one that fits your taste.

Enjoy one of these tasty recipes:

Perfect Bacon Cheeseburgers
Family Friendly Stuffed Cheeseburgers
Mushroom Cheeseburgers
Swiss Cheeseburger with Caramelized Onions on Toast

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: nationaldaycalendar.com

 

 

Kitchens, Baths, and Decks: Top Home Selling Points

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.

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

By: Homekeepr, Rob Morelli

Pros of Living in an HOA Community

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.

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

Photo credit: HOA Management

Pantry Organization for Preppers

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.

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

By: Homekeepr, Rob Morelli

Windermere Florida Real Estate Market Report for August 2020

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.

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

Kissimmee Florida Real Estate Market Report for August 2020

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.

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

Celebration Florida Real Estate Market Report for August 2020

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.

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

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