About Germantown's Kingsview Village

I'd like to wish everyone a very happy labor day celebration. Please be safe while you enjoy the day with your family and friends.

Are you still texting while driving? Wikipedia - Texting while driving is the act of composing, sending, reading text messages, email, or making other similar use of the web on a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle.

If your answer is yes, then that's not good! Without going into deep statistical data , your life is at risk and you put others in danger when you text while driving.

Based on my experience I can state that the subtle time that passes when texting is amazing. And while driving you seem to lose track of your surroundings even though it appears that you are aware of what's going on around you (it's weird). Your perception has been distorted just by practicing this odd technique. Your car still travels many feet per second and your focus has been eliminated from the most important thing you are supposed to be doing at the time....DRIVING A CAR!

Ask yourself a couple of questions about the times you were texting while driving.... "Do you remember if the light was red or green?" "Did you come to a full stop at the stop sign and look both ways prior to proceeding forward?" " What was the car behind you doing?" And, "At what speed were you traveling?" Just a few of these "hello" are you sleep at the wheel or just texting! These are questions everyone should consider.

We don't need laws to tell or make us stop texting while driving....We need to exercise common sense practices when handling an automobile. Be safe out there on the road.... and hold all calls.

Odors can be like.... eeeeuuuuuwwwww. You know what I mean. There's an old saying that "If you don't smell fresh air, there's no fresh air ... to smell"! There are many sources of odors, and for this short blog lets concentrate on the odors caused by bacteria in the air at our homes. And if we remove these bacteria from the air it stands to reason that the odors will leave in the removal process. What can we choose as a effective removal agent?

How about vinegar?! Vinegar is well recognized as an excellent cleaning and sanitizing agent. I like to call it the home miracle water. It cleans, it zings and it smells oh so lovely when just simmered in a pot of water.... cleansing the air in your home.

To remove cooking odors boil a teaspoon of white vinegar in ½ pint of water to remove unpleasant cooking odors. And for other odors or just stagnant air add 1/2 pint of vinegar into a gallon pot of water and let simmer on the stove. The fumes will travel through the home dismantling many type odors while leaving that fresh air smell around. You can also mix a teaspoon amount of vinegar and lets say a pint of water into a spray bottle and mist around the rooms as an air freshener (be careful not to spray onto wood surfaces).

Vinegar has many household and some health remedies that work quite well. Keep in mind that vinegar itself is an acetic acid. And one thing acids do well is : "Take things apart" on a microsopic level. so be careful not to get it on porous or fabrics because it may stain. Otherwise, vinegar is a very inexpensive and effective household helper solution.

You can create the perfect rental application. Just practice the following steps and your application will be looked at with positive vibes.... increasing or at least not taking away from your chances for a desired result.

1. Write legibly so that you are not the only one who can translate the information presented on the application. Neatness counts. 2. Complete the entire application to rule out your being asked for additional information after the application has been submitted. Your real estate agent should review all the information submitted in the application prior to sending it the rental agency. 3. Adhere to the rental agency protocol for application submitted. It's their policy and if you follow it your application should be reviewed without difficulty and in a timely manner.

After you submitting your application to the agency allow a reasonable time to pass prior to calling for a progress / results report. Your application may be the only one for the property in question... but it probably isn't the only one in the office. So even though we are in the computer age, thing still tend to take time and decisions have to be made prior to your receiving the final answer. Allow your Realtor to advise you in this type situation. After all he/she is your representative and that's one of the main reasons you have an agent.

A complete application neatly written is perfect for getting the notice you deserve!

We can't predict the future with any real certainty.... but we can exercise our control over our own actions which may very well lead to the results we intend. How do we know it was our intention once we get the desired result? It's the desired result that proves our intention! In short ... It was your intention to sell the house based on what you did to sell the house. Make sense? It does to me when you consider some of the reasons that the house doesn't sell.

Speaking in general what are three things we as realtors can do to assure the house will be sold... in a timely matter meeting the expectations of our clientele? Lets consider #1 Price the house right! This involves doing your homework and getting the comps from the area (rely more on the sold listings for accuracy) and communicate clearly your findings to the seller while taking their considerations in mind. It is your responsibility as their trusted adviser to point out in a creative manner the advantages and disadvantages of pricing the home for the market. This method will give your client the appropriate information to make a clear decision on the selling price, and in turn the market will respond positively once you place the house on the market.

#2 Now that you and the owner have decided on the true market value. You can now prepare the home for public preview. This should include making the front and backyard presentable and inviting (you know, sweeping clean, cut grass, trim bushes and strategically placing potted plants,if necessary). Then the inside of the home should be "staged" to create spacing and easy access through each room (removing obstacles is critical to easy traffic flow). Assist the owner by providing and going through a checklist of preparing the home for public preview is a plus. Updating is a positive if possible but is not always necessary, especially if the home is made to be "public presentable". So realtors should brush up on their staging knowledge or confer with someone who stages homes and perhaps work a reasonable deal for their services. It can only help in the long run. And doing the little things like cleaning windows, walls, dusting, changing air filters are positive. Your public previewers will be scrutinizing the details. So explain these topics carefully with the sellers to get their cooperation.

#3 Market the home to the best of your ability! Their are many media sources available to the Realtor and as many as humanly possible should be used. The more you market the more the market will notice you! Take many photos to illustrate the entire home such that anyone previewing online will be enticed to visit and preview in person. For your photos be sure to present clear photos that actually show the viewpoints of the rooms presented. Personally I like to arrange the photos in "tour" mode, showing the rooms in the house in the sequence that connects each room in the order of a "walk through". Open houses should be scheduled for at least the first few weeks if not longer. And as the listing Realtor you should always make yourself available to answer inquiries and considerations prospective buyers may have. While at all times representing the best interest of your client.

Make sure you maintain routine and constant contact with your client during the entire process. If clear communications are made during the entire process and you and the seller remain on the same page as far as considerations and decision making are concerned.... You may indeed ...."Consider this listing ... "SOLD".