Annual Home Maintenance Tasks

Owning a home means doing some maintenance at any point in the year, and remembering to take care of the tasks that only need to be done once a year. Keeping up with the maintenance on your home helps to preserve the value as time goes on, and can help you avoid larger issues that can occur due to lack of maintenance. Here are some annual home maintenance tasks to put on your calendar for this month before it gets too hot!

Air Conditioner Check

An annual air conditioning check can help you understand what to expect in the coming year. A professional can assess the current and future condition of your HVAC unit, and give you a heads up on parts that may wear out soon. This can save you from having to make an emergency call in the middle of the night when the unit stops working, which can cost twice or three times as much.

Gutter Inspection

If your home has gutters, making sure that they are staying in the right place is important for many reasons. The main function of gutters is to draw rainwater away from the foundations of your home, and keep the home from shifting. Since we get a lot of rain in the Central Florida area, rainwater distribution can make a big impact on your home, so its important to make sure they are still secured to the home and there are no blockages stopping the water from flowing out properly.

Oven Cleaning

It’s a task no one enjoys doing, but it makes a big difference in the function and smell of your oven. The best time to clean your oven is when no one is home to be affected by any fumes, and you have a long time to allow the cleaner to work. After the cleaning process is done, you may want to run the oven empty on a low heat setting to get rid of any residue.

Dryer Vent Check

There are many issues that can arise with a dryer vent, including clogging due to lint accumulation, or reduced power due to the vent wearing out. You can hire a professional service to remove all of the dust and buildup from the dryer vent, and with proper regular cleaning, you should not need to have it done again for at least 12 months.

If you’re looking for a new home to call your own, the Core Group can help. Click here to find out more about how we can help you find the right home for you.

Top Home Maintenance Concerns for Florida Buyers

Living in Florida can mean unusual wear and tear on your home that residents of other states typically don’t have to worry about. If you are a transplant from another state, you may be wondering what steps you need to take to keep your home in top shape. Here are some of the main concerns that Florida homeowners face and how you can protect your home from them.

Indoor and Outdoor Pests

The hot and humid weather in Florida makes it a great place for animals to call home. To keep outdoor pests from coming in, or indoor pests like roaches from taking hold, regular pest control is a must in Florida. You can perform this task on your own by spraying a pest control substance around the outside perimeter or hire a service to treat your home regularly. Check your home for the signs of pest infestation, such as droppings from rodents, or small wooden trimmings that may appear along your baseboards as termites work their way in.

Tree Damage

When summer approaches, the thunderstorms and high winds associated with them can easily cause dead or dying tree branches to fall and land on the structure of your home. The weight of the tree branch can cause significant damage to the roof, gutters, siding or windows. To avoid this, perform regular checks of the trees closest to your home. Examine them for any cracks along the tree base or branches, any rotted spots or dead branches. If there are a lot of trees around the outside of your home, it may be worth the money to get a professional tree service to come out a few times a year to trim your trees.

Hurricane Damage

Although Central Florida is at less risk of hurricane damage than coastal parts of the state, there is still a risk of homes getting damaged when a hurricane hits our area. Part of being prepared for this risk is making sure your home is up to par. If you live in an older home, make sure your windows can stand up to the high winds and debris they may be subjected to if a hurricane strikes. Any gaps or worn out spots on your roof are also likely to sustain damage, so performing a regular inspection on the state of your roof is a good idea. Look for any areas where the shingles are worn or any spots where the roof surface seems to dip.

Keeping a home in good condition can mean extra work for you, but the reward is a home that will retain its value for many years to come. If you’re ready to take the next steps toward homeownership in Central Florida, The Core Group can help. Click here to find out more.

Top Home Maintenance Tips for New Homeowners

The importance of maintenance is something many first time homeowners learn the hard way. Proper maintenance can help prevent many home catastrophes that end up costing you money and time to repair. Monitoring the major systems in your home and how well they work is one of the best ways to make sure you know exactly what is working properly within your home, and which systems will soon need repair or replacement. Here are some of the basic, simple ways you can maintain and protect your home.

Keep Your Heating and Cooling System Clean

Change any filters in your heating or cooling system regularly to ensure the air quality stays high inside your house. Depending on the age of your home, presence of pets or smokers and other factors, you may have to have the inside of your air vents cleaned to allow the system to work properly. This will not only leave your family more comfortable, it will keep your energy bills lower and reduce the presence of allergens and germs.

Take Steps to Prevent Pest Invasions

With warm weather and a host of tropical creatures living outside our doors, it stands to reason that Central Florida residents have to do regular pest control to keep their homes safe. There are a variety of invasive pests that may attempt to get into your home in Central Florida, including:

Snakes
Termites
Possums
Vermin

The best way to prevent having to undergo a costly and inconvenient extermination effort Is to stop pests from coming inside the home in the first place. A professional pest control service can identify any vulnerable spots in the home where pests can gain entry and seal them for you, as well as perform a regular pest control service to keep critters out.

Evaluate Your Electrical System

If you’ve purchased a historic property, the electrical system may not be ready to support your modern power needs. Some of the telltale signs that your system is overtaxed include:

Flickering lights
A circuit breaker that continually flips when used
Outlets that do not have a built in reset switch

If not properly equipped to handle the amount of power your system uses, an outdated electrical system can cause an electrical fire. A qualified electrician can assess your system for you and give you a solid answer on whether or not it requires an upgrade.

Assess Any Leaks That Exist

Any spots in your home that let in water can be potential starters for mold, and reduce the structural integrity of your home over time. While some pipes will naturally sweat or give off a little moisture, you shouldn’t be seeing water pooling in any spots in your home. If there are pipes that drip or spots in the roof that let drips come through, take note of how much water enters and continue to monitor to ensure it doesn’t get worse.

Maintaining a home doesn’t have to be difficult or costly, particularly if you make these tasks a part of your regular plan. If you’re ready to find your first home, let the Core Group help. Contact us today to see our available properties in the Central Florida area.

Preparing for House Guests in Your First Home

Having house guests visit you for the first time is an exciting but nerve wracking event. You want to be sure to make them comfortable without making yourself crazy during the time they are staying. If you’re wondering how you can make a good impression on your house guests when you haven’t been in your first home for very long, here are some tips from the professionals at the Core Group.

Put Yourself In Their Shoes

It’s practically a guarantee that your guests will forget things, and unless you want to spend time driving them back and forth to a store, you should prepare by stocking up on these things. A great way to start making a list of the items your guests may need is to think of the items you have forgotten when you traveled on vacation before. Some of the most likely items that people forget when traveling include:

Toothbrush and toothpaste
Contact lens solution and case
Soap and shampoo
Pain Relievers like Tylenol or Advil

Stock Up On The Staples

While in your home, there are some household staples that visitors will use and consume, and these are typically items you don’t want to run out of. For example, you don’t want to run out of toilet paper in the middle of the night. Some of the household items you can expect to go through at a rapider pace than normal include:

Toilet paper
Bottled water
Paper towels
Coffee
Dishwashing detergent
Garbage bags

Put Snacks on Your Shopping List

It’s hard to predict exactly what guests will want to eat, but it’s a safe bet that they will want snacks at some point. Simple things like sliced fruits and vegetables, pretzels, mixed nuts and granola bars are all good options for visitors to grab and graze on during the day between meals or if they wake up looking for a midnight snack. Display these items on trays on in large bowls in the kitchen to make them easy to find.

Test Your Guest Room

In many homes, the guest room furniture is not used very often and especially not by the homeowner. The issue with this is that you may never know if the bed is uncomfortable or the pillows are saggy. Guests certainly aren’t likely to tell you. Before your guests arrive, try out the space and make sure they will be comfortable. Test the pillows, mattress and lighting to make sure it is all ready for your visitors.

Don’t Sweat The Small Details

Visitors are coming to see you, not to analyze the way your home is decorated. While everyone has finishing touches they want to put on every room of the home, trying to complete these things while preparing for guests to come can be unnecessarily stressful. Prioritize the tasks you want to complete around your home, and take time over the week before your guests arrive to get as many as you can done.

If you’re looking for a property to call home with enough room to accommodate guests, the Core Group can help. Contact us to get started looking for a home in the Central Florida area.

Top Tips for Selecting a Low Maintenance Home

One of the main issues potential homeowners face is the amount of time and money that home maintenance requires. If you’ve gotten used to apartment living, the idea of having to handle the issues that arise yourself instead of calling the landlord can be overwhelming. One of the ways you can avoid spending a ton of effort and cash on maintaining a home is to choose a home that requires less maintenance. Here are some tips for choosing a home that requires a minimum amount of maintenance.

Pay Attention to The Outer Materials

Before you consider buying a home, take some time to research what materials the home was made with. These materials will dictate how often you need to repair or replace parts of the home. For example, a homemade with siding or a wood frame will naturally need more maintenance than a concrete or brick home. Shingle roofing is more susceptible to the elements than metal, and might need repairs after a heavy wind or severe thunderstorm. Take a few minutes to google how often the materials that make up the majority of the home are expected to last, and factor this into your decision to make an offer.

Consider The Yard and Garden Maintenance

Here in Florida, you can count on having to maintain your lawn and garden year round. Some of the questions you should ask to help you determine the amount of yard maintenance you’ll be in for include:

What type of grass was used for the lawn?
Does the lawn have a built-in irrigation system and how old is it?
Are the plants annuals or perennials?

If you want to do minimal maintenance, a home with stone landscaping can be a perfect solution. With no grass to cut, you’re guaranteed to have less work than the average homeowner. But remember that when the hot weather comes, your stone front yard may attract snakes and lizards who enjoy sunning themselves on this type of yard.

Select a Home With Long Lasting Interior Finishes

The outside of the home is not the only area that needs regular maintenance. Inside the home, items will wear out and need replacement, so it pays to look into the materials and finishes used inside as well as outside. Granite countertops may look great, but they will need resealing every three to five years. Soft carpeting may feel nice on your feet, but tile or wood flooring will last longer and be harder to damage. Consider how important these finishes are for your interior décor plans versus the amount of time they will take to maintain or replace.

By taking some time to consider how a home is made and what materials were used, you can be sure you won’t be spending all of your time performing maintenance and repairs. A low maintenance home will give you the freedom to enjoy your evenings and weekends the way you want.

Rituals for Moving Into a New Home From Around The World

sage

As Americans, we don’t have many traditions for moving into a new home, aside from planning a killer housewarming party. But around the world, there are many superstitions and traditions that everyday people follow when moving to a new home to bring them blessings and good luck. If you want a little extra assurance that your new home will be a happy one, try one of these rituals before you park the moving truck at the curb.

Keep Your Home Full of Food

The Jewish tradition of bringing bread and salt into your home is an easy one to work into your schedule. All you have to do is make sure that a loaf of bread and some salt are the first things to enter the home before any boxes or furnishings cross the doorway. The bread is believed to protect the home’s inhabitants from feeling hunger, and the salt ensures that life in the home will always be full of flavor.

If you’re up for something more complex (and messy), the Hindu tradition of boiling milk and rice is also said to prevent hunger. To complete this properly, all you have to do is place milk and rice in a pot and let it boil until it overflows onto the stove. It will cause a bit of a mess on the stove top, but it is said to make sure food stays abundant in the home. If you really want to follow the tradition, mix a bit of sugar into the rice and milk and offer it to your guests and family members.

Block Out The Bad Juju

Whether you call it negative energy, bad juju or the presence of spirits, many cultures believe that the overall aura of a home should be cleansed before you move in. In China, throwing away old brooms and mops is the first step, because these items hold on to bad energy from the old home. Next, clear the bad energy from your new home by burning some sage. All you have to do is set the sage on fire, blow the flame out, and let the sage begin to smoke. Walk around the home with the sage in a fireproof bowl or bucket, letting the smoke spread all around. For maximum efficiency, walk in a clockwise direction and use your free hand to fan the smoke around.

Cook A Housewarming Meal

Across many cultures, having a gathering with family and friends is the best way to embrace a new home. Feeding them is not just polite, it’s a time-honored tradition in European countries, where it dates back hundreds of years. People would cook a meal in the finished home to thank all of the workers that helped to make the home.

These traditional rituals may seem silly or unusual to you, but they don’t cost much or take much time to perform, so why not try one and see if you feel like it makes your new home a more positive place.

Orlando Real Estate: Seller’s Market

So far, in 2016, Orlando real estate trends have steadily continued on a trajectory that favors the sellers. The overall median price for a home in Orlando rose to $185,000 last month – more than a 12% increase from February 2015. This rise in home prices in conjunction with an increasingly low inventory of homes available, means Orlando is currently a major sellers market. Low interest rates and a high demand for quality homes means that houses are flying off the market. This may pose a challenge for potential home-buyers, but if you’re looking to sell your Orlando-area home, this is good news for you. Take advantage of the current market trends and consider these easy steps to make your home even more appealing to buyers.

1. One Chance to Make a Great First Impression

As a child, you may have been told not to judge a book by its cover. However, when a prospective buyer arrives at your home, chances are they will judge the house immediately based on the view from the outside – all before they even walk through the door. That’s why it is crucial that the yard and exterior of your house is warm and welcoming when buyers come knocking. You’re likely to get a great return on any money you put into improving your house’s curb appeal, so consider adding a fresh coat of paint, planting some brightly colored flowers, and keeping the grass and shrubs neatly trimmed.

2. Organization is Key

When buyers are browsing for houses on the market, they are looking for a home that they can envision themselves in. Help them see the big picture by eliminating clutter and giving heir imagination room to work it’s magic. You can accomplish this through a few simple steps. Make sure to remove the bulk of the personal items in your home. Consider moving things like family photos, memorabilia collections and personal knick-knacks to storage. This will make it easier for buyers to imagine their own photos and belongings in the house. Cut down on clutter throughout your house, but especially in areas like closets (this will give the impression that there is plenty of storage for future homeowners). You want to provide visitors with a blank canvas that allows them the opportunity to imagine all the possibilities.

3. Tiny upgrades, Big Payoffs

There are a number of relatively inexpensive and quick fixes you can do to your home to increase it’s potential. These minor upgrades won’t break the bank, but they may just be the cherry on top for a prospective buyer. In fact, you’re likely to get a 100 percent return on these tiny investments, all while selling your home in less time. Clean or replace things such as outlet covers and switch plates. Even upgrading ceiling fans and light fixtures can be relatively simple and inexpensive. Cabinet hardware in bathrooms and kitchens are also a quick fix that can make a big impression. Even the price of painting your home’s interior pales in comparison to the value it can add when selling a home.

4. Kitchen, Kitchen, Kitchen

You’ve probably heard that the most important factor in real estate is location, location, location. This is paramount for many buyers, but when it comes to purchasing a home, there’s another very important feature that buyers are looking at – the kitchen. It can absolutely make or break a home. So, when you’re getting ready to sell your house, take some time to make sure the kitchen is appealing. Add a fresh coat of paint and some new hardware to dated cabinets. Consider adding at least one updated, stainless steel appliance to provide a high-end look and feel. Last but not least, make sure the panty and cabinets are neatly organized and de-cluttered.

5. A Deep Clean

Prospective buyers love to scrutinize the cleanliness of the homes they visit. So, get ahead of the game by giving your home a deep clean before putting it on the market. You might find it necessary to hire a professional cleaning service to come in and do the dirty work for you. Pay particularly close attention to the kitchen and bathrooms. Make sure blinds and window sills are dusted, vacuum under furniture, wipe down surfaces, and mop any hardwood or tile floors. Go the extra mile and display a fresh bouquet of flowers in areas like the dining room, foyer, or kitchen. A deep clean goes a long way.

(Image Courtesy of rayselfstorage.com) — Sold Home For Sale Sign in Front of New House

The current Real Estate climate in Orlando means it’s a good time to sell. Implement these quick tips and you’ll be well on your way to finding a buyer for your Orlando-area home.

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THE INSPECTOR’S COMING!! (How to prepare the home)

There are routine steps that sellers can take to help ensure that an inspection goes off without a hitch.

Most steps are part of regular maintenance chores and quite easy and inexpensive to do. Some of these remedies are obvious but might be overlooked by anxious sellers. Above all, sellers should not try to do quick, cheap repairs, as this could cause questions and concern to home inspectors and prospective buyers.

Exterior

Provide at least 6″ of clearance between grade/ mulch and siding. Decks should be properly graded.
Dirty gutters and debris should be cleaned from the roof and basement entry drains should be cleaned out as well.
The grade of the land should slope away from the home so that water is diverted away from the house.
Downspouts, sump pumps, condensation drains, and the like should all drain away from the home.
Trees, roots, and bushes should be trimmed away from the home’s foundation, roof, siding, and chimney.
All weathered exterior wood should be painted. Caulking should be placed around the chimney, windows, and doors.
Rotting wood and/or firewood should not be in contact with the house.
If the asphalt driveway is cracking, it should be sealed.
Masonry chimney caps should be sealed or pointed up. Metal flue caps should also be installed on chimneys.
Any faulty mortar joints in a home’s brick or block should be pointed up.
The home’s HVAC filter should be cleaned or replaced, if needed. Dirty air returns and plenum need cleaning, too.
All doors and windows must be in proper working condition.
If windowpanes are cracked, sellers need to have them replaced, or repaired if possible.

Interior

GFCI testing

Make sure that any burned out light bulbs are replaced before a home inspection.
Ensure that all smoke detectors are working.
If a home’s attic is not ventilated, it needs to be.
A professional should clean the chimney, fireplace or wood stove and provide the buyer with a copy of the cleaning record.
Plumbing fixtures, including toilet, tub, shower, and sinks, should be in proper working order. Any leaks must be fixed, and caulking should be done around plumbing fixtures if necessary.
A sump pump should be operating properly.
All GFCI receptacles need to be tested to make sure they are operating correctly. If not already in place, GFCI receptacles should be installed near all water sources.
Masonry walls in the basement need to be sealed. (yes there are some basements in Florida)
Make sure that vapor barriers, if applicable, are installed in crawl spaces and that the crawl spaces are dry. Moisture needs to be removed, as moisture levels in wood should be below 18 percent to prevent dry rot and mildew.
Remove any paints, solvents, gas, and similar materials from crawl spaces, basements, attics, porches, etc. Access to the attic, crawl space, heating system, garage, and other areas the home inspector will check must be clear, with nothing blocking the way.
If the house is vacant, all utilities must be turned on, including water, electric, water heater, furnace, air conditioning, and breakers in the main panel.

Sellers who follow these steps should have no problem with a home inspection, making themselves, their Realtor®, and their prospective buyers very happy.

Installing a Pedestal Sink

Installing a pedestal sink can be a real pain in the neck. What I didn’t have when I attempted this home improvement project is a simple guide to walk me through the process. This video is a simple step by step guide to help you get the job done.