Cape Deb - your Guide to Paradise » cape coral homes http://capedeb.com specializing in Southwest Florida Real Estate Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:30:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 August 2010 Newsletter….Cape Coral FL Real Estate News from Cape Deb……… http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/08/august-2010-newsletter%e2%80%a6-cape-coral-fl-real-estate-news-from-cape-deb%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/ http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/08/august-2010-newsletter%e2%80%a6-cape-coral-fl-real-estate-news-from-cape-deb%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/#comments Sat, 14 Aug 2010 18:12:45 +0000 CapeDeb http://capedeb.com/?p=929 August 2010 
                           

                                       

State and National News:

 Taxes and Insurance:

  • Vacant Homes–Insurance coverage changes   Read more…

 Cape Coral and SW Florida News:

 Real Estate Tips:

 Green News:  

_____________________________________________________________________  

Check out my website at

www.CapeDeb.com

 _______________________________________________________________________  

This month’s feature…..  

Gulf Access….Basin View!…..PRICED at $239,000!!!!!!  

  

(click picture for more info)  

-Pool Home

-Two Master Suites and more….

{CapeDeb’s Listings here}

{Search all properties here }

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8 Tips for Adding Curb Appeal and Value to Your Home

By: Pat Curry  Published: March 25, 2010 Appraisers and real estate agents offer advice for curb appeal that preserves value and attracts potential buyers. Custom house numbers on a homeAdding architectural numbers to the outside of your house gives it a distinct style. Image: CustomHouseNumbers.comCurb appeal has always been important for homesellers. With the vast majority of today’s homebuyers starting their search on the Internet, the appearance of your property is more critical than ever. You only have a few seconds to catch their attention as they scroll through listings online to get them to stop and take a closer look.But the role of curb appeal goes beyond just making a good first impression. The way your house looks from the street can impact its value. It can also shorten the time it takes to sell your house. 

 We asked real estate agents, appraisers, home stagers, landscape designers, and home inspectors which curb appeal projects offer the most value when your house is on the market, both in terms of its marketability and dollars. Here is what they told us: 

1. Paint the house.

Hands down, the most commonly offered curb appeal advice from our real estate pros and appraisers is to give the exterior of your home a good paint job. Buyers will instantly notice it and appraisers will note it on the valuation.

“Paint is probably the number one thing inside and out,” says Frank Lucco, managing partner of Houston-based IRR-Residential Appraisers and Consultants. “I’d give additional value for that. If you’re under two years remaining life (on the paint job), paint the exterior because it tends to show wear badly.” 

Just make sure you stay within the range of accepted colors for your market. A house that’s painted a wildly different color from its competition will be marked down in value by appraisers. 

2. Have the house washed.

Before you make the investment in a paint job, though, take a good look at the house. If it’s got mildew or general grunge, just washing the housecould make a world of difference, says Valerie Torelli, a California real estate agent with a background in accounting.

Before she puts a house on the market, Torelli often does exterior makeovers on her clients’ homes, a service she pays for herself to get higher selling prices. Overall, she says her goal is to spend less than $5,000, with a goal of generating an extra $10,000 to $15,000 on the sale price.

Torelli specifies pressure-washing—a job that should be left to professionals. Pressure washing makes the house look “bright and clean in addition to getting rid of unsightly things like cobwebs, which may not be seen from the yard but will detract from the home’s cleanliness when seen up close,” she says.

The cost to have a professional cleaning should be a few hundred dollars—a fraction of the cost of having the house painted.

3. Trim the shrubs and green up the yard.

California real estate agent Valerie Torelli says she puts a lot of emphasis on landscaping, such as cutting down overgrown bushes and replacing them with leafy plants and annuals mulched with beautiful reddish-brown bark. “It runs me $30 to $50,” says Torelli. “Do you get a return on your money? Absolutely. It sucks people in.”

You also don’t want bare spots. Take the time to fertilize the yard, throw out some grass seed, and if need be, add some sod.

4. Add a splash of color.

It could be a flower bed of annuals by the mailbox, a paint job for the front door, or a brightly colored bench or an Adirondack chair. “You can get a cute little bench at Home Depot for $99,“ Torelli notes. “Spray paint it bright red or blue and set it in the yard or on the front porch.”

It’s not a bad idea, but don’t plan on getting extra points from an appraiser for a red bench, says John Bredemeyer, president of Realcorp in Omaha. “It’s difficult to quantify, but it does make a home sell more quickly,” Bredemeyer says. “Maybe yours sold a couple weeks faster than the house down the street. That’s the best way to look at these things.”

5. Add a fancy mailbox and house numbers.

An upscale mail box and architectural house numbers or an address plaque can give your house a distinctive look that stands out from everyone else on the block. Torelli makes them a part of her exterior makeovers “I’ve gotten those hand-painted mailboxes,” she says. “A nice one runs you $40 to $50.” Architectural house numbers may run as high as a few hundred dollars.

6. Repair or clean the roof.

Springfield, Va.-based home inspector and former builder Reggie Marston says the roof is one of the first things he looks at in assessing the condition of a home. He’ll look at other houses in the neighborhood to see if there are a lot of replaced roofs and see if the subject house has one as well. If not, he’ll look for curls in the shingles or missing shingles. “I’m looking at the roof for end-of-life expectancy,” he says.

You can pay for roof repairs now, or pay for them later in a lower appraisal; appraisers will mark down the value by the cost of the repair. That could knock thousands of dollars off your appraisal. According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2009-2010 Cost vs. Value Report, the average cost of a new asphalt shingle roof is more than $19,000.

“Roofs are issues,” Lucco says. “You won’t throw money away on that job. You gotta have a decent roof.”

Stains and plant matter, such as moss, can be handled with cleaning. It’s a job that can often be done in a day for a few hundred dollars, and makes the roof look like new. It’s not a DIY project; call a professional with the right tools to clean it without damaging it.

7. Put up a fence.

A picket fence with a garden gate to frame the yard is an asset. A fencehas more impact in a family-oriented neighborhood than an upscale retirement community, Bredemeyer says, but in most instances, appraisers will give extra value for one, as long as it’s in good condition. “Day in a day out, a fence is a plus,“ Bredemeyer says. Expect to pay $2,000 to $3,500 for a professionally installed gated picket fence 3 feet high and 100 feet long.8. Perform routine maintenance and cleaning.Nothing sets off subconscious alarms like hanging gutters, missing bricks from the front steps, or lawn tools rusting in the bushes. It makes even the professionals question what else hasn’t been taken care of.

“A house is worth less if the maintenance isn’t done,” Lucco says. “Those little things can add up and be a very big detractor. When people say, ‘I’d buy it if it weren’t for all the deferred maintenance,’ what they’re really saying is, ‘I’d still buy it if you reduce the price.’” 

Georgia-based freelance writer Pat Curry has covered housing and real estate for consumer and trade publications for more than a decade, including covering new home sales and marketing for BUILDER, the magazine of the National Association of Home Builders.  
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Copyright 2010.  All rights reserved. 

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Deb Cullen, CRS, GRI, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, RSPS, SFR

Century 21 Sunbelt, 725 Cape Coral Pkwy W, Cape Coral, FL 33914

deb@CapeDeb.com

www.CapeDeb.com

239.233.2322

Sign up to receive a free copy of the monthly newsletter click here

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Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/08/august-2010-newsletter%e2%80%a6-cape-coral-fl-real-estate-news-from-cape-deb%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/feed/ 0 Cape Coral FL Market Watch (July 2010) http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/07/cape-coral-fl-market-watch-july-2010/ http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/07/cape-coral-fl-market-watch-july-2010/#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:10:11 +0000 CapeDeb http://capedeb.com/?p=886

Paradise is selling fast! 

There are currently:

2525 single family homes for sale in Cape Coral, FL

1582 homes have sold in the past three months

That leaves us with an absorption rate of: 4.7 months  

What does that mean? 

Let’s say that not another house went on the market.  How long would it take to sell the existing inventory?  Only 4.7 months…. 

Rule of thumb:

A ‘normal’ real estate market (if there is such a thing) has an absorption rate of 6%

When is it a buyers market?  When the absorption rate is over 6 %

When is it a sellers market?  When the absorption rate is under 6% 

You can have some of this FABULOUS weather too but you better hurry. 

RUN don’t walk…..

Paradise is selling fast!

CALL OR EMAIL FOR A ‘FREE’ CAPE CORAL MAP ….

Debbie Cullen, CRS, GRI, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, RSPS, SFR

Century 21 Sunbelt, Realtor

Serving SW Florida (Cape Coral…aka Paradise)

239.233.2322

deb@CapeDeb.com

www.CapeDeb.com

Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/07/cape-coral-fl-market-watch-july-2010/feed/ 0 July 2010 Newsletter….Cape Coral FL Real Estate News from Cape Deb……… http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/07/july-2010-newsletter%e2%80%a6-cape-coral-fl-real-estate-news-from-cape-deb%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/ http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/07/july-2010-newsletter%e2%80%a6-cape-coral-fl-real-estate-news-from-cape-deb%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/#comments Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:39:49 +0000 CapeDeb http://capedeb.com/?p=864 July 2010 
                           

                                        

State and National News:

 Taxes and Insurance:

 Cape Coral and SW Florida News:

  • 1st Quator 2010 Local Market Report   Read more…
  • New model: SWFL has less than one percent chance of getting oil   Read more…
  • City issues more single-family home permits   Read more…
  • Lee County Community Gardens   Read more…
  • 2010 Summer Cape Coral Parks and Recreations Guide   Read more…

 Real Estate Tips:

 Green News:

_____________________________________________________________________

Check out my new website at

www.CapeDeb.com

 _______________________________________________________________________

This month’s feature…..

Rose Garden Villa Condo….

(click picture for more info)

-High ceilings, Bright Corner Unit

-one of Cape Coral’s best kept secrets

{CapeDeb’s Listings here}

{Search all properties here }

______________________________________________________________________

10 Tips for Saving Energy in the Kitchen…..

Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Douglas Trattner
Published: August 28, 2009

Spending less money on utility bills doesn’t mean you need to rush out and purchase a whole new suite of Energy Star appliances. With occasional light maintenance and good habits, you can greatly improve the energy efficiency of your large kitchen appliances—up to about $120 annually—without sacrificing convenience.

Refrigerator/freezer

Energy-efficiency experts tell us to focus our efforts on the biggest energy hogs in the house, and that definitely includes the fridge. Because it cycles on and off all day, every day, the refrigerator consumes more electricity than nearly every appliance in the home save for the HVAC systems. The average refrigerator costs about $90 per year to operate, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The good news is that a few simple adjustments can trim roughly $38 to $45 off those utility bills.

1. Adjust the thermostat. By setting the thermostat colder than it needs to be, you might increase your fridge’s energy consumption by as much as 25% on average. Adjust the refrigerator so that it stays in the 37-40 degrees F range. For the freezer, shoot for between 0-5 degrees F. You could save up to $22 per year. If your model doesn’t display the current temps, invest in two appliance thermometers (one for the fridge, one for the freezer). They cost roughly $3-$20 apiece at online retailers.

2. Clean the coils. As dust accumulates on the condenser coils on the rear or bottom of the fridge, it restricts cool-air flow and forces the unit to work harder and longer than necessary. Every six months, vacuum away the dust that accumulates on the mechanism. Also, check to see that there is at least a 3-inch clearance at the rear of the fridge for proper ventilation. This routine maintenance can trim up to 5% off the unit’s operating cost, says energy savings expert Michael Bluejay, saving you about $4.50 a year.

3. Use an ice tray. Automatic ice makers are a nice convenience, to be sure, but it turns out the mechanisms are energy hogs. An automatic ice maker can increase a refrigerator’s energy consumption by 14% to 20%, according to Energy Star. By switching off the ice maker and using trays, you can save about $12 to $18 off your annual electricity bill. Most units require little more than a lift of the sensor arm to switch them off. To reclaim the space remove the entire unit, a simple DIY job on many models. 

4. Unplug the “beer fridge.” Many homes have an extra fridge that runs year round even though it’s used sparingly. Worse, these fridges tend to be older, more inefficient models. By consolidating the contents to the main fridge and unplugging the additional unit, you eliminate the entire operating cost of a fridge. The second-best solution is to make sure the extra fridge remains three-quarters full at all times. The mass helps maintain steady internal temps and lets the fridge recover more quickly after the door is opened and closed, according to the California Energy Commission. 

Ovens and ranges

“Green” cooking all comes down to proper time and space management. By using gas and electric stoves more effectively, you can painlessly save a few dollars a year.

5. Cut the power early. As anybody who’s ever bumped a burner on an electric stove can attest, those heating elements stay hot long after they’ve been switched off. Put that residual heat to work by shutting off the burner several minutes before the end of the cook time. The same technique can be applied to the oven. The savings can add up to a couple bucks every month.

6. Match the burner to pan. When a small pan is placed on a big burner you can practically see the money disappearing into thin air. By matching the burner to the pan, electricity won’t be squandered heating the kitchen rather than the food. The reverse is true, too. A small burner will take considerably longer to heat a large pan than would an appropriately sized burner. For gas stoves, don’t let the flames lick the sides of the pot. Follow these tips and watch the utility bills shrink by a few dollars a month.

7. Do away with preheating. You can save about $2 a month by not preheating your oven (20 cents per hour to operate electric oven; eliminate 20 30-minute preheats a month). Many cooks agree that the practice is wholly unnecessary for all but a few recipes, namely baking breads and cakes. This approach may add a few minutes to the overall cooking time, but it eliminates all that wait time on the front end.

Dishwasher 

As with washing machines, most of a dishwasher’s energy needs go to heating the water. Still, says Lane Burt, an energy policy analyst with The Natural Resources Defense Council, a 10-year-old dishwasher can be made nearly as efficient as a newer model simply by knowing when and how to run it. Follow a few simple tips, and you can reduce your annual utility costs by roughly $35-$54.

8. Manage the load. Most dishwashers use the same amount of water and energy whether they’re run full or half-full. You can cut your operating costs by one-third or one-half by running the machine only when it’s full. It costs about $54 to run a pre-2000 model dishwasher per year, based on government data. Proper load management can save up to $27 each year.

9. Activate energy-saving features. A dishwasher’s heated dry cycle can add 15% to 50% to the appliance’s operating cost. Most machines allow the feature to be switched off (or not turned on), which can save $8-$27 per year, assuming an operating cost of $54 annually. If your dishwasher doesn’t have that flexibility, simply turn the appliance off after the final rinse and open the door. 

10.  Use the machine. Many homeowners believe they can save water and energy by hand washing dishes. The truth is that a dishwasher requires less than one-third the water it would take to do those same dishes in the sink. By running the machine (when full), you can cut down the operating time of the hot water heater, your home’s largest energy hog. Not only will you save a buck per month, you won’t have to do the dishes.

Douglas Trattner has covered household appliances and home improvement for HGTV.com, DIYNetworks, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. During the 10-year stewardship of his 1925 Colonial, he’s upgraded almost every household appliance. After lengthy deliberation, he recently replaced an aging top-load washing machine with an energy-efficient front-load unit

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Copyright 2010.  All rights reserved.

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Deb Cullen, CRS, GRI, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, RSPS, SFR

Century 21 Sunbelt, 725 Cape Coral Pkwy W, Cape Coral, FL 33914

deb@CapeDeb.com

www.CapeDeb.com

239.233.2322

Sign up to receive a free copy of the monthly newsletter click here

To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here

Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/07/july-2010-newsletter%e2%80%a6-cape-coral-fl-real-estate-news-from-cape-deb%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/feed/ 0 Pending….Cape Coral Home–Affordable at $79,900 http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/06/cape-coral-home-affordable-at-79900/ http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/06/cape-coral-home-affordable-at-79900/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:03:08 +0000 CapeDeb http://capedeb.com/?p=842

City Water/Sewer in and ASSESSMENTS PAID!! NEW ROOF 6/2010!!!!! This is it….the one you have been waiting for. Open floor plan…split bedroom design (master on one side of house–two bedrooms on the other side)…………… RARE–HUGE! HUGE! HUGE! Lanai for fantastic outside living……..invite your friends and family or just come relax. This home has a great layout and offers lots of space for entertaining. Comes furnished and includes washer/dryer. Don’t miss out……..won’t last long!!!!!!!!

Call or email today for more info….

Deb Cullen

239.233.2322

deb@CapeDeb.com

Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/06/cape-coral-home-affordable-at-79900/feed/ 1 February 2010 Newsletter….Cape Coral FL Real Estate News from Cape Deb……… http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/02/february-2010-newsletter%e2%80%a6-cape-coral-fl-real-estate-news-from-cape-deb%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/ http://capedeb.com/index.php/2010/02/february-2010-newsletter%e2%80%a6-cape-coral-fl-real-estate-news-from-cape-deb%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6%e2%80%a6/#comments Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:49:56 +0000 CapeDeb http://capedeb.com/?p=560 February 2010 
                           

                                        

State and National News:

 Taxes and Insurance:

 Cape Coral and SW Florida News:

  • Cape Coral at top of the list for affordable housing   Read more…
  • Lee County looking up, but a long way to go   Read more…

 Real Estate Tips:

 Green News:

_____________________________________________________________________

Check out my new website at

www.CapeDeb.com

 

     ______________________________________________________________________

  10 Ways to Make Your House More Salable……. 

1.      Get rid of clutter. Throw out or file stacks of newspapers and magazines. Pack away most of your small decorative items. Store out-of-season clothing to make closets seem roomier. Clean out the garage.  

2.      Wash your windows and screens to let more light into the interior.  

3.      Keep everything extra clean. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates. Mop and wax floors. Clean the stove and refrigerator. A clean house makes a better first impression and convinces buyers that the home has been well cared for.  

4.      Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Open the windows.  

5.      Put higher wattage bulbs in light sockets to make rooms seem brighter, especially basements and other dark rooms. Replace any burnt-out bulbs.  

6.      Make minor repairs that can create a bad impression. Small problems, such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet, may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression that the house isn’t well maintained.  

7.      Tidy your yard. Cut the grass, rake the leaves, trim the bushes, and edge the walks. Put a pot or two of bright flowers near the entryway.  

8.      Patch holes in your driveway and reapply sealant, if applicable.  

9.      Clean your gutters.  

10.  Polish your front doorknob and door numbers.  

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.                        www.REALTOR.org/realtormag           

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Deb Cullen, CRS, GRI, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, RSPS, SFR

Century 21 Sunbelt, 725 Cape Coral Pkwy W, Cape Coral, FL 33914

deb@CapeDeb.com

www.CapeDeb.com

239.233.2322

To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here

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