Curb Appeal on a Dime

I saw a house the other day that was a simple cape style with no dormers. Instead of the typical cape with a center door on the front, this door was on the side of the house. When you entered the yard, you saw the broad side of the house with two windows and nothing else. There were stairs on one side that brought you to the main (side) door and a small deck just before the door.

In front there were remnants of a flower garden but they were more weeds than flowers. Nothing much grew on that side of the house.

Here's what I suggested: 1. At the bottom of the stairs going to the door, put pots of chrysanthemums. Put more at the top of the stairs on the deck for a total of four. Claussens on Rte 2A in Colchester Village has great chrysthanemums every year.2. Edge the garden in front of the house and get hostas from neighbors -- everyone has hostas to share at this time of the year. Plant hostas in the front of the house and mulch the heck out of the area around the plants. Mulch anywhere they want to create more beds. 3. Then put window boxes under the two windows and fill them with annuals -- over plant because there isn't much time left before a frost so they won't grow.

Cost:
Chrysanthemums: About $60
Window Boxes: He can make out of scrap lumber so they are free
Flowers for window boxes: Go to Lowe's and buy annuals on sale: $15
Mulch: $50
Hostas: Free
Total: $125
What will the return be? This small investment could mean the difference of someone wanting to buy the house or not!

Easy to turn a plain Jane house into a fabulous house with a little money and imagination!

Walk Through Before Closing

The standard Vermont Purchase and Sale contract allows for buyers to do a walk through of the property they are buying within 24 hours of closing. What happens at the walk through?

First, the contract calls for the house to be broom clean and free of occupants and personal property. So, that is the first thing to check for. If there is stuff in the house, we'll call the other agent to see what the seller's plan is to remove the belongings. We might give them a little time to come back to get their things, or at closing, money can be put aside to insure the belongings are moved.

If any work needed to be done for the contract, we confirm that it has been completed. We check appliances to make sure they are working. We flush toilets, run water in the sinks and showers, and make sure there are no leaks. We turn on the heat and make sure there is hot water.

Strange stories in walk throughs: The refrigerator didn't work and it was full of food. Yuck. The garage was full of paint cans that were supposed to be moved. They had to come get them. A box of vinyl siding that was to be left was removed. The sellers brought it back. The electricity had been shut off prematurely and so the house was not cleaned. The sellers were charged for cleaning fees.


The walk through is the final opportunity to see the property you are going to buy and make sure everything is working. If the refrigerator breaks after closing, you have a broken refrigerator. That's why we check to make sure before closing!

Referrals Through Real Estate

One of the benefits of being in real estate is finding trades people to refer to clients and customers. I am currently looking for a good sheet rocker and put out a voice mail in our office and received two names. I also called a contractor I used in Grand Isle and he gave me a third name. I have painters, plumbers, electricians, fine carpenters, rug layers and general contractors. It is great to be able to refer clients to trusted trades people.

In addition, I enjoy using clients and customers for jobs or services. I have a great stock broker who has referred me to many buyers and sellers. I love giving his name out. I have given out the name of a good chimney mason who does great work lining chimneys and fixing problems with crumbling bricks. He referred me to his sister when she was selling her house. I have a local carpet store that I work with all the time. One of my friends and clients does decorative painting. The list goes on.

These people will practically drop what they are doing and find time to help a client of mine or to help me. They know they receive a lot of referrals from me and I know they do great work. We are mutually loyal to one another!

Would you like names? Just let me know. And please send me the names of people you have used. It's always better to have a personal referral. It's a great benefit to my clients and customers.

To Landlord or Not to Landlord

We bought a duplex in St. Albans in 2005 for $155,000. It seemed like a good idea -- buy a house that needed a lot of work, buy it at a low price, fix it up and rent it. We put in $15,000 in the first few months, rented it and made a positive cash flow of about $300 each month.

The house was in rough shape but not terrible. When we bought it, there was a goat in the living room. Yes, a goat. When the goat was gone, we refinished the wood floors, painted walls, fixed holes in the plaster, and put in new carpet.

With each changeover of tenants, we had to go in and do varying amounts of work. One set of tenants left the apartment so disgusting, we had to rip up all the carpet and put down new, put new floors in the bathrooms, and hire someone to clean it for about 8 hours.

One set of tenants stopped paying and we had to go to court to evict them. We lost $3,000 in rent and legal fees, not to mention a lot of sleep. It was very scary because I built the situation up to being a horror movie in my mind and thought the tenants would come kill me! Dramatic, I know, but I had no other experience and so my mind went to a dark place.

The last tenants did $1100 in damages with a $750.00 damage deposit. Worse, the police came to the apartment often, my neighbor called constantly complaining about the noise, and the fire department came for an oil fire that happened by accident.

I thought this duplex would be a great investment but real estate in St. Albans has gone down . We would break even on the price we paid but not for all that we have invested in repairs and updates. Plus, we have to get new tenants nearly every year. This is taxing and expensive.

Would I do it over again? No, I wouldn't. I don't think I have the personality anymore for being a landlord. I don't know how people who own multiple properties do it.

So, as soon as the market recovers in St. Albans, we're putting a for sale sign up!