Paul's Blog: June 2018

Monday, June 25, 2018

Vacation in Your Own Backyard

4 Ways to Vacation in Your Own Backyard

Ditch the expensive summer trip for a retreat in your own backyard. Decks, patios, gardens and pools can provide a relaxing escape from your standard routine, making every day feel like a lavish vacation.

Decks: Extended Outdoor Living

Decks are a fantastic way to expand your indoor living space into the outdoors. In fact, outdoor rooms have become popular in every climate. And homeowners with budgets big and small are increasingly remodeling their decks and patios to make room for outdoor kitchens, dining rooms and entertaining areas.

There are three basic components to a great deck: a grilling area, a food prep/sink area, and a dining area. Perhaps the most is the dining area. Be sure to choose a comfortable location that can be shaded in the heat of the day. A tabletop umbrella, a pergola or even large trees will do the trick.

Patios: A Low-Maintenance Retreat

If you don’t enjoy working in the yard, a small, low-maintenance patio is a good solution for you.

Small doesn’t have to mean dull and uninteresting. The materials you choose for your patio should be based on personal taste. Many people like the classic look of brick, which is durable and easy to install. Patio pavers and flagstone are also inexpensive and easy to install. They’re available in many colors, and they’re long lasting and durable too.

If you’d like to have box gardens or a small patch of grass on your patio, plan to incorporate these in areas that receive adequate and consistent sunlight.

A fountain or small waterfall will add a luxurious and exotic feel to your patio. Running water helps obscure outside noises and creates a relaxing atmosphere, especially if you are in an urban area.

There is nothing as pleasant as enjoying a meal on your patio. Design an area large enough for a table and a few chairs. If your space is limited, use built-in planters with wide borders as seating for buffets and casual gatherings.

Landscaping: Design Your Personal Garden Escape

You can model your landscaping directly after traditional garden styles. Or, you can incorporate elements from different styles to create a unique design of your own. The basic principle is to do what you like and work with what you have. Remember, you will spend a lot more time in your yard if you’re happy with your landscape design.

English Garden Style: Incorporates many shrubs and perennials in a design that complements the architectural style of your home. Other decorative elements might include an arbor or bird bath.

Oriental Landscape: Uses water, rocks and evergreens with a variety of plants to create distinctive perspectives. Also popular is the traditional Japanese Zen garden.

Woodland Landscape: Reflects the natural way that fauna grows in a wooded area with a less manicured appearance. A good choice if you do not wish to spend a lot of time on maintenance.

Butterfly Gardens: Birds and butterflies are a welcome addition to any garden. Certain plant species attract them.

Xeriscape Gardens: Includes lots of low-water plants and flowers, as well as design ideas to reduce water usage and evaporation.

Swimming Pools and Hot Tubs: Soak Away Stress

Why should you get to enjoy a swimming pool or hot tub only while you’re on vacation? If you install your own, every day can feel like a retreat. And a swimming pool can provide hours of relaxation and fun.

Swimming pools come in a variety of different materials, some requiring more maintenance than others.

The slick surface of fiberglass pools repels algae, but it will need occasional re-coating.

Concrete pools can take more wear and tear than other pool materials, but they need to be replaced or resurfaced every 7 to 10 years.

Tile may be used as a finish for a concrete pool in place of a plaster finish. The tile surface requires less surface maintenance than other surfaces.

Vinyl-lined pools have a slick surface that, like fiberglass, repels algae. It’s easier to maintain the chemical balance in vinyl pools, but they need to be replaced about every 10 years.

Hot tubs serve as the ultimate personal retreat. The tub’s therapeutic waters are ideal for stress relief and relaxation, alleviating the aches and pains of everyday demands in the privacy of your own home.

Northern Colorado is a great place to live! For more information, please give me a ring or email me today. I would love the opportunity to earn your business and partner with you in regards to your Real Estate needs.

If you are looking to purchase, I can show you how to save a lot of money, as much as 10% on the purchase and finance of your next home.

Contact me today to learn about ALL of my strategies to get you the BEST price for your home in the SHORTEST possible time, with the least amount of Brain Damage!

Paul Ross 970-217-3245

RESIDENT REALTY

SOURCE: HOMEADVISOR

Monday, June 18, 2018

Mistakes You Can Make While Renovating

The 7 Worst Mistakes You Can Make While Renovating And How To Avoid Them

Everyone wants to renovate. And now more than ever, they want to do it themselves. According to Remodeling magazine, “Big-ticket remodeling activity, already enjoying record economic conditions, is growing at its fastest pace in four years and should rise 5.1% this year alone.” Those numbers are based on Metrostudy’s latest Residential Remodeling Index (RRI).

In addition, “The RRI as of the first quarter of 2018 stood as 112.9, its highest reading ever. That number means the economic conditions known to influence remodeling activity are 12.9% better than the old peak in early 2007, just before the Great Recession. The RRI has shown year-over-year gains for 24 consecutive quarters, and as of 1Q18 it was 5.2% above the year-earlier level—the highest such annual growth since the first quarter of 2014–and was 1.4% better than it was just three months prior.”

While all that remodeling is great for the economy and also, presumably, for individuals’ home equity, problems can arise when homeowners take on tasks themselves without the proper training or preparation. Keeping renovations on track is simple – if you know what to look out for so you can avoid big mistakes.

Overestimating your skill

Tiling looks easy, right? Why not do the entire bathroom, floors and walls. And who needs to take a class or even watch a couple of YouTube tutorials. You’ve seen it done on TV, and, hey, you pick stuff up quickly, right? That’s a recipe for disaster, and, chances are, you’ll either be calling a professional to come finish what you started, or to rip it out and start over.

How to avoid mistakes:

Take on something small, first. Test your skills, and your patience, before embarking on the tough stuff.

Underestimating your budget

It’s a universal truth that no one ever puts aside enough money for their renovation. And it seems that the tighter your budget, the more likelihood there is that issues will arise to bust it! The last thing you want is a problem that changes your entire plan last minute or makes you stop mid-renovation to make alternate plans or find more money.

How to avoid it:

Experts recommend setting your budget amount and then adding 20 percent, but, the more novice you are, the more you may want to add to that cushion.

Minimizing the timeline

Homeowners looking to do their own renovations can wildly underestimate the amount of time needed to make the changes. This is mostly due to inexperience but is also shaped by individual needs. Just because you only have two weekends to completely tear down and renovate your kitchen before your in-laws arrive doesn’t mean it’s going to happen within that timeframe. It’s more likely that they’ll arrive to a mess and no functional place to prepare a meal, let alone the pretty finishes you wanted to show off.

How to avoid it:

Do some research. Listen to what the professionals say. Read some blogs from homeowners who have already done the DIY reno kitchen thing and absorb what they have to say. Really hear it instead of dismissing them as amateurs. Let the mistakes and experiences of others shape how you go about your renovation so your open eyes and open mind can guide you toward success.

Swinging the hammer without a plan

Demo sure looks fun on TV, and it can be fun. But it can also be seriously damaging to your property if you swing away without knowing what you’re swinging away at, and you don’t have a plan for what to do next, or what to do if you encounter something unexpected.

“Work on older buildings can yield a lot of unforeseen events,” said Architectural Digest. “Who knows what’s behind that wall you’re opening up? New construction is more controlled, but that doesn’t always mean smooth sailing. Be prepared for the unexpected. We all hope and pray everything goes according to plan. Trust us: Nothing will.”

How to avoid it:

Hire a structural engineer who can tell you exactly what’s going on in the wall you want to take down there and ensure you don’t do something crazy, like compromise the entire structure of your home.

Not asking for help

Congrats on that whole, “I’m so independent” thing, but when it comes to renovating, the more the merrier. You want someone there to to help with the heavy lifting, to bounce ideas off of, and to confirm suspicions, when necessary.

How to avoid it:

Call your friends, call your fam, call your coworker who’s the self-proclaimed Queen of Reno. If nothing else, having another human in the room will make the reno go quicker and will give you someone to talk to, other than yourself.

Thinking you can just do it on weekends

Sure, there are weekend warriors who can power through their Saturday and Sunday renos and go back to work on Monday, but, let’s be real. Is that you? The last thing you want is to have to live in a mess for months while you figure out how to finish what you started.

How to avoid it:

One of the most important tips to consider before you embark on any renovation is to just get real honest with yourself about your natural tendencies. Some of us like spending 18 straight hours hammering and sawing and caulking, and some of us are tired and over it after the first 20 minutes.

Not considering the impact on your marriage

There’s a reason home renovation is one of the leading causes of divorce: The stress it causes. “It’s not necessarily that the renovation process causes problems; it’s more that the process exacerbates whatever issues already exist in the relationship,” said Business Insider. In some cases, it can even catalyze the dissolution of a relationship, bringing to the surface issues you might have swept under the rug.”

According to the publication, up to 17 percent of couples consider splitting up while fixing up.

How to avoid it:

Keep the communication going. And go into it knowing it will be stressful so you’re prepared when things get testy. “Perhaps the best antidote to home renovation-related strife is simply to prepare for it in advance,” they said. “Know that the process may contribute to conflict between you and your partner, and think about potential ways to mitigate the stress.”

If you are looking to purchase, I can show you how to save a lot of money, as much as 10% on the purchase and finance of your next home.

Contact me today to learn about ALL of my strategies to get you the BEST price for your home in the SHORTEST possible time, with the least amount of Brain Damage!

Paul Ross 970-217-3245

RESIDENT REALTY

SOURCE: REALTY TIMES / WRITTEN BY JAYMI NACIRI

Friday, June 15, 2018

Lawn Care For The Fall

Lawn Care For The Fall: Essential Tips to Follow

All summer you’ve been watering, cutting, trimming and feeding your yard in the hopes of having the greenest plot of land in the neighborhood. So what should you do to get your lawn in shape for the cool breezes of autumn? These six steps will help you get a head start on the colder weather.

Aeration and Overseeding

If you live in a climate with cool-season grass, fall is the perfect time to aerate your lawn because the air is cool and the soil is still warm from the heat of summer. The earlier you can do this, the better the results will be for your yard. Depending on where you live, September or early October is the best time to tackle this project. You’ll pay around $120 for lawn aeration.

Aeration removes small plugs of soil from your lawn, allowing greater amounts of air, nutrients and water to reach the root system of your grass. It also reduces soil compaction in the process. Following aeration, you might want to overseed your yard. Overseeding makes it easier for seeds to germinate while the soil is loose.

Feed Your Yard

Fall is the prime season of the year to fertilize cool-season grasses. Unlike warm-season grasses, which often go dormant in the fall and winter, cool-season grasses can actually hit their peak growth rates during the fall. This means they need a full dosage of nitrogen to help boost the health of the soil and your grass. Most importantly, this will help prevent the growth of weeds, which choke out the grass over time.

Cut Down on Mowing

Throughout the summer, you’ve gotten into the habit of mowing weekly. But if you have cool-season grass, it’s time to start cutting back on the number of mowing events each month. Generally speaking, every other week should be your maximum. If you have too much leaf coverage on your yard, you can mulch those up, but remember to leave your cutting deck high so you aren’t cutting off too much of your grass in the process.

The professional recommendation is not to cut off more than one-third of the total blade of grass each time you mow. Doing so can result in scalping the lawn, which stunts the growth of your grass. If you live in a warmer climate with warm-season grass, you can likely skip mowing altogether because your grass is going into its dormancy cycle.

Leaf Removal

There are two approaches you can take when dealing with falling leaves. At a bare minimum, you should remove any fallen foliage within seven to 10 days because it blocks sunlight from reaching your grass. But, if you get a relatively light leaf fall each autumn and you own a strong mulching mower, you can turn fallen leaves into a composting gold mine. If you mulch your leaf fall on a regular basis — at least once a week — you are recycling the nutrients back into the soil. If your leaf pile is too big, consider hiring a pro. You can expect to pay about $310 for professional leaf removal services.

Sow and Reseed

Believe it or not, but fall is a great time to reseed the bare patches of your yard and sow new sections of lawn for cool-season grasses. Applying fresh soil and some new seed to barren patches of your yard can help prepare your lawn to bounce back in the fall. As mentioned earlier, this time of year is often the strongest for cool-season yard growth, so take advantage.

Winterize Your Sprinkler System

If you have an underground sprinkler system to help you keep your yard green all summer, it could be the biggest threat to your utility bill and soil during the winter months. If you fail to blow out your underground system, the water left in the pipes could freeze, expand and burst the pipes. This could lead to a water leak in your yard that could compromise the integrity of the soil and cause serious damage. If you live in a cooler climate, it’s important to winterize your sprinkler system immediately.

Conclusion

With one weekend of work, you can accomplish most of these tasks and have a yard that looks great for the coming fall months.

Home Projects That Cost Less

6 Home Projects That Cost Less Than a TV

Giving your home a little extra “umph” doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars. In fact, you can dramatically improve the looks of your home for less than the cost of a new TV. Ready to find out how? Keep reading to discover the six projects that are sure to make your home pop — without busting your budget.

1. Revamp your entryway.

A stylish entrance is an important part of any home’s decor. Begin your upgrade with a new welcome mat and house numbers. These simple upgrades are cost-friendly and have an immediate impact on your home’s entrance. You can also arrange potted plants — like easy-to-maintain succulents — around your entrance for an eye-popping aesthetic. Flowering plants, while slightly more difficult to maintain, can complement the color scheme of your entrance or act as a standalone focal point. You can also spruce up your home’s entrance with a quick color update to your front door. A new shade will complement your entryway décor and spruce up the overall look of your home’s exterior. Chic doorknockers, updated doorknobs and alluring porch lighting are the perfect finishing touches for your home’s entrance.

Expected costs:

Welcome mat: $2 – $45
House numbers: $6 per number
Succulents: $37 for pre-potted kits
Flowering plants: $30

Door knockers: $35
Doorknobs: $125
Porch lighting: $50
Front door color updated: $100-$300

2. Modernize your bathroom.

Major remodels aren’t the only way to revive your tired bathroom. Start by updating your paint. A new color will open up small spaces, rejuvenate your aesthetics and inspire chic décor. Next, upgrade your linens. New towels, shower mats and shower curtains can hide dated features and improve the overall panache of your bathroom. As a finishing touch, add candle sconces and alluring storage solutions like towel-hanging ladders and toiletry-stowing reclaimed crates.

Expected costs:

Painting: $200
Linens: $45
Candle sconces: $7

Reclaimed ladder: Less than $50
Reclaimed crates: $0-$20 per crate

3. Repaint your interior walls.

Repainting an entire room or just sprucing up a dated space with an accent wall will boost your home’s appeal. Lighter colors are perfect for opening up small areas and enhancing your home’s serenity. You can also paint your walls and trim — or other architectural features like mantles and built-in bookcases — subtly contrasting colors to give your room a dynamic pop. Accent walls are perfect for reviving dull spaces without the cost and work of a large painting job. Darker shades are perfect for studies, home offices and other areas of contemplation.

Expected costs:
Interior paint: $200-$300

4. Update your cabinet hardware.

Installing stylish cabinet hardware is a quick and cost-friendly way to jumpstart your kitchen. Before you begin your update, it’s important to pinpoint your kitchen’s style — you don’t want to mismatch modern pulls and knobs with traditional cabinets. If your kitchen has a contemporary design, go with sleek, understated hardware. Ornate, classically inspired aesthetics work best for traditional cabinets.

Expected costs:
Cabinet pulls: $3-$15 per pull
Cabinet knobs: $3-$15 per knob

5. Rejuvenate your light fixtures.

Dated light fixtures not only look bad, but they can also make day-to-day activities difficult — ultra-low lighting is great for a romantic night in, but not so much for chopping vegetables. Before you install new fixtures, it’s important to consider your décor. If you have a flair for the modern, go for the subtle-but-stunning aesthetics of pendant lighting. If your home has more of a traditional design, consider the lavish ornamentation of baroque-inspired chandeliers or candle wall sconces. Do-it-yourself electrical jobs can be dangerous. Hire a pro if you’re unsure about tackling this project yourself.

Expected costs:
Light fixture: $88-$230

6. Clean your carpets.

Unblemished carpets make a huge difference in the appearance of your home — especially if you experience a lot of foot traffic. Spot cleaning small stains is a simple do-it-yourself job, but it’s best to leave larger jobs to the pros.

Expected costs:
Professional clean: $174 – $ 350

If you are looking to purchase, I can show you how to save a lot of money, as much as 10% on the purchase and finance of your next home.

Contact me today to learn about ALL of my strategies to get you the BEST price for your home in the SHORTEST possible time, with the least amount of Brain Damage!

Paul Ross 970-217-3245

RESIDENT REALTY

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

ADDING A PATIO

Patios Can Appeal To Buyers

.Depending on where you live, adding a patio might not be the kind of thing you think about during the cold, and maybe snowy, winter months. But a patio is what many people enjoy on a sunny warm afternoon. It just feels good to sit outside and sip some iced tea or lemonade. That’s the picture your real estate agent would want to capture when listing your home for sale.

Patios are appealing because they can create a sense of peace, open space, freedom, and they can seem to extend the square footage of livable space on those good weather days.

Set out on your patio some simple but comfortable patio furniture when you’re listing your home and you might find that prospective buyers take a seat and think about your home. Good! Let them soak in the energy of the home. The way it feels. The way it allows them to relax. Set some brochures out on a side table. Maybe even a good book. You’d be surprised what these buyers pick up. If they enjoy themselves while sitting on your patio, you’re likely to have piqued their interest in your property.

So, what if you have a backyard but no patio; is it worth investing in one? The answer depends on your financial situation but there’s no doubt that having a patio or a deck – a space outdoors to relax – is a plus.

However, here are a few tips about creating that patio space. If you have a small backyard, you don’t necessarily want to take up the entire space with a concrete patio. The reason? Greenery is also appealing. Basically, you want to have the patio proportionally sized to your yard. So you don’t want to have a huge yard and tiny patio nor the opposite.

Your patio should be located close to an entryway to the home, typically the kitchen. This is so that if there is grilling or eating outside, people can easily access the kitchen as opposed to walking through some other room in the house first.

Patios also should be located in areas where there is some level of privacy. A patio is most appealing when you can sit back, relax and enjoy a good meal, book, or conversation without feeling like you’re being watched. So the backyard is usually the best location.

Buyers often consider a well-built and maintained patio a plus and may create a higher selling price for your home.

To cover or not? Often when homeowners put in patios, they question if adding a covering would help increase the value of their home. That really depends on many things such as if the covering is well built and maintained and if it’s aesthetically pleasing, not blocking views, etc. In the case where it’s crafted and maintained well, the patio and its covering can increase the appeal of your home. That could translate to a higher selling price as well as a faster sale.

If you are looking to purchase, I can show you how to save a lot of money, as much as 10% on the purchase and finance of your next home.

Contact me today to learn about ALL of my strategies to get you the BEST price for your home in the SHORTEST possible time, with the least amount of Brain Damage!

Paul Ross 970-217-3245

RESIDENT REALTY

SOURCE: REALTY TIMES / WRITTEN BY REALTY TIMES STAFF

Lower Your Water Bill

8 Ways To Lower Your Water Bill This Summer

When the temps rise, so does water usage. And that means a larger impact on areas that are already struggling with drought conditions, not to mention the impact on your wallet, regardless of where you live.

“Summer’s rising temperatures often coincide with rising outdoor water use, primarily due to an increase in lawn and landscape watering,” said WaterSense. “While using water efficiently is important throughout the year, sometimes the timing of water use can make a big difference for community water supplies – and your water bill.”

In most cases, there are easy fixes you can make to be more water efficient. Here are 8 you can incorporate into your daily habits immediately.

Turn off the faucet to Lower Your Water Bill!

Did you know that you waste a good four gallons of water every time you leave the faucet running while you’re brushing your teeth? This one easy change can make a big difference in your water usage and conservation efforts.

Check the toilets

“It may seem like a slow drip, but those drips add up to gallons faster than you might realize,” said Maximum Yield. “To diagnose a silent toilet leak, place food coloring in your toilet tank and wait to see if the color makes it into the bowl. If you see color seeping in, it’s time for a fix.”

Set a timer

Have kids (or spouses) that take impossibly long showers? Even cutting back on a couple a week can dramatically curb your water usage and Lower Your Water Bill. Shave off two minutes to save as much as 1,750 gallons of water per person a year! Set a 10-minute timer on a waterproof shower clock so your water-wasting offender can see how much time they have left to rinse, lather, and repeat.

Use the dishwasher

Here’s a surprising fact: You actually use far more water handwashing dishes than if you run the dishwasher. How much more? “Doing a full load in your machine is far more efficient than washing the same number of dishes by hand,” said This Old House. “This is especially true if you have an Energy Star dishwasher, which requires an average of four gallons of water per load, compared with the 24 gallons it takes to do them in the sink. Using one will save you 5,000 gallons of water, $40 in utility costs, and 230 hours of your time each year.”

Go to the car wash

Yes, you can Lower Your Water Bill by washing your car at home. But if you think you’re saving water, too, this may come as a shock: You use two and a half times more water handwashing the car than you would at the car wash!

Check your sprinklers

Malfunctioning sprinklers could be costing you money and wasting water. Sprinkler heads that don’t properly deliver an even spray could cause parts of your lawn to die. If the heads don’t lower properly, they can be damaged or broken easily.

You may also be overwatering. “If the environmental argument for conserving water doesn’t appeal to you, here’s a financial one: According to the city of Cleveland, the average cost of water starts at around $13 per 1,000 gallons,” said Schill Grounds Management. “This may not seem like a ton of money, but volume quickly adds up when you’re irrigating a large property. At this rate, the average sprinkler spraying just one zone it shouldn’t be for 12 minutes/day at 12 gallons/minute can waste over $680 per year! The simple truth is that only annuals need to be watered daily. Trees, shrubs, and turf can all be watered less frequently for massive water savings.”

A check of your system could save you money and hassle.

Water in the morning or at night

Letting your sprinklers go during the hottest time of the day minimizes the benefit of watering. “Water evaporates quickly when the sun is high, so sprinkle when it’s more likely to stay in the soil,” said the National Resources Defense Council(NRDC). “And make sure you’re watering your yard, not the sidewalk or driveway. A drip irrigation system works better than sprinklers, as it sends targeted amounts of water exactly where you want it. Check to see if you qualify for a rebate to make your irrigation system more water efficient.”

Mulch it

Mulch doesn’t just make your yard look fresh, but it also helps keep moisture in. “Mulched gardens are healthier, have fewer weeds, and are more drought-resistant than unmulched gardens,” said Good Housekeeping

If you are looking to purchase, I can show you how to save a lot of money, as much as 10% on the purchase and finance of your next home.

Contact me today to learn about ALL of my strategies to get you the BEST price for your home in the SHORTEST possible time, with the least amount of Brain Damage!

Paul Ross 970-217-3245

RESIDENT REALTY

SOURCE: REALTY TIMES / WRITTEN BY JAYMI NACIRI

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Safety Tips For Your Home

Safety Tips For Your Home When Going On Vacation

Among the fastest ways to kill a post-vacation buzz is returning home and discovering your house is in shambles. Maybe a water pipe broke and now you’re trudging through ankle-deep sludge. Perhaps a burglar slipped inside, ransacked the place and gallivanted away with your most valued possessions. Or it could be that you forgot to clean out the fridge before leaving, and now mold has infested every nook and cranny. Just like it’s important to shop for an excellent vacation deal, it’s crucial to make sure returning from that well-earned trip isn’t a headache or disaster. Here are six easily-skipped steps to keep in mind while you’re planning that enticing itinerary.

Of Course Somebody is Home

Hiring a house or pet sitter (CLICK THIS LINK FOR A $20 CREDIT ) is the best – albeit costly – method to ensure your home stays just like you left it. House sitters can vary from a trusted friend or family member, to somebody who is a professional. Typically a house sitter will take care of any pets you’re leaving behind, water plants, collect the mail and sometimes other small tasks. It’s challenging to trust somebody enough to be in your home for days on end, but their presence ensures burglars avoid your place and that your appliances and utilities don’t decide to take a vacation of their own.https://www.rover.com/refer/paulr58904/?source=header_feb&bep=event%3D%2Bnavigation-give-20-get-20%2B&bep=event%3D%2B

Celebrate on Social Media After the Trip

Booking a vacation is exciting. It’s a break from the daily grind, and that’s often something we want to share with our friends, family and acquaintances via social media. But you should probably hold off on announcing to the whole Internet that your home is vacant and ripe for the picking. Websites like Facebook and Twitter make it easy for complete strangers to gather your personal information and then find out where you live with a quick online search.

If you can’t help yourself from announcing the trip and posting photos, then do yourself a favor and greatly restrict who can see and share the information. The same plan of action holds true for automatic email responses and voicemail systems. The rule of thumb is that if you’re not comfortable with somebody being in your house when you’re not there, then don’t tell them – even indirectly – that you’re heading off on some sweet adventure. Scoundrels might seize that announcement as an open house invitation, and you might return to an open front door.

Burning the Midnight Oil

Casing a house is a common tactic for many home invaders. They spend days – sometimes even weeks – monitoring when you’re home, what rooms you’re in, what you’re doing and who you’re with. They’ll know your daily habits better than you do. The best way to thwart these folks is to make sure it genuinely looks like somebody is home. Set up an app-controlled light timer. You can even set up a timer-controlled power supply to stereos or TVs. But don’t keep the same timer settings day by day. Vary when lights come on, which rooms they pop on and for how long everything is running. Also be sure to use compact florescent light bulbs to save electricity and your energy bill.

Lock it Down, Regardless of Where You Live

It’s oddly common that in small, homey towns where “everybody knows each other” folks leave their homes and cars unlocked. If you’re involved with this mindset, then you may very well leave your door unlocked during an extended absence. And unlocked doors are the biggest “burglarize me” signals out there. More than 30 percent of home burglarieshappen from an unlocked entrance. Don’t be the person who forgot to close and lock the windows or sliding glass door. Put a dowel rod behind any type of sliding entrance, and be sure to lock the deadbolt. It’s easy to prevent an easy crime.

This Needs Power, This Doesn’t

Imagine how devastating it feels to show up back home after your trip and discover a charred pile of rubble where your home once stood. Let that feeling sink in for a few moments, and then take a look around at what electronics and appliances you currently have plugged into the wall throughout your home. A power outage or surge could trip these devices and cause a fire if the device isn’t plugged into a surge protector or turned off. Now since you’re leaving certain electronics on timers to discourage home invasions, make sure what you do leave plugged in is plugged into a surge protector. You can group electronics and appliances close together to limit the number of protectors you’ll need to buy.

Otherwise, think about how much energy appliances like your refrigerator, water heater or climate control require and consume. If you don’t have plants, animals or open food, then you can pretty much turn off your climate control depending on what the outside weather is like. Set your water heater to vacation mode to reserve energy consumption. And last, either remove perishables from the fridge, turn it off and open the door to prevent mildew, or make sure the appliance is completely full of non-perishable items. If you have empty space then fill jugs of water there to insulate your fridge and lower energy consumption.

Finally, if you’re off on an adventure during the winter, ask a trusted neighbor, friend or family member to come by and run the facet for about 5 minutes every day or two. If your pipes are properly insulated, this should help prevent them from freezing over or breaking.

A Tidy Home is a Lived in Home

The final step that is extremely easy to skip on longer or seasonal trips is how your home looks. Sure, you have lights popping on and off at random times, but is your yard unkempt? Are mail flyers, newspapers and packages creating the next great pyramid on your doorstep? These are signals to anybody paying attention that you’re not home. Either stop packages, the newspaper and your mail from being deposited, or get somebody you trust to pick everything up for you. Plus if you’re leaving in the winter and it snows, make sure they shovel your driveway or sidewalk.

If you are looking to purchase, I can show you how to save a lot of money, as much as 10% on the purchase and finance of your next home.

Contact me today to learn about ALL of my strategies to get you the BEST price for your home in the SHORTEST possible time, with the least amount of Brain Damage!

Paul Ross 970-217-3245

RESIDENT REALTY

SOURCE: REALTY TIMES / WRITTEN BY REALTY TIMES STAFF