Barbara Hershey, Realtor Maine Real Estate

Simple summer steps to sell your home
(ARA) - If you plan to put your home up for sale this summer, or if it has been on the market for some time, you might consider investing in a few key updates to improve your odds of attracting a buyer. Of course, you don't want to sink a load of cash into a place you aren't going to stay in, but focusing on a few influential fixes can drastically improve the home's overall appearance - and your chances of selling.

Freshen up
Potential buyers often look for obvious signs of neglect, such as leaky roofs, water damage or crumbling foundations. But even without these problems, making your home look like new again can be as simple as applying a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Cooking, smoking and everyday living can discolor and fade your ceilings and walls, making your home seem old and unattractive. It's amazing what a fresh coat of color can do to improve a home's appearance, and Pratt & Lambert Paints allows you to renew any room even faster with its self-priming Accolade paint. You want potential buyers to see your home as updated yet comfortable. A single coat of Accolade in a warm neutral like Soft Charmeuse or Havana Cream from Pratt & Lambert's 2011 Color Trends palette will give your home an open but inviting feel. And don't forget to touch up your white baseboards, trim and ceilings to make each room look its best.

Stay grounded
As much time as they spend looking up, potential buyers also spend time looking down. Flooring has a drastic effect on a home's selling power, and an outdated or poorly maintained floor can ruin a room's appeal. Old, dingy carpets can overshadow any other improvements you make and give the home an unkempt feel. If your home has hardwood floors, remove old carpeting and refinish the wood beneath it. This is a great selling feature you should invest in highlighting. If you do not have hardwood floors, update your old carpeting with a neutral shade. Replace any cracked or chipped ceramic tiles in kitchens and bathrooms, and thoroughly clean or replace the grout on all tiled surfaces as well.

Shower power
You may have heard that bathroom updates have some of the biggest returns when it comes time to sell a home, and it's true. According to CBS MoneyWatch.com, homeowners can expect to recover about 75 percent of minor bathroom remodel costs. So invest in a faucet, showerhead, cabinetry and a new light fixture to add to your "new" bathroom's appeal. Have a half-bath? Consider adding a shower to make it a full; this will make your home much more marketable.

Curb appeal
First impressions can have a huge impact on buyers' decisions, so make sure your home is as attractive from the street as possible. If your cement sidewalk or patio areas have cracks, patch them with a kit from your local hardware store. Resurface an asphalt driveway and make certain your garage doors and exterior are freshly painted. Remember, your front door is the first thing a buyer will see. Consider repainting it a bold color that invites them in, and don't overlook replacing your doorknob if it is in poor shape. Summer means color, and adding bright flowers to your front entry or garden will make any visitors feel welcome.

With a few updates around your home, you can greatly increase its perceived value and appeal to buyers. Put some time and resources into these key areas and you'll soon reap the benefits of your investment.

 

Have you ever thought about how much the roof on your home is like icing on a cake?  For example, if you see a beautiful home with a sharp looking custom roof, you automatically assume that what's under the roof is just as well maintained and beautiful as the roof is.  Just like when I see a beautifully frosted cake I just know that the inside will be delicious as well! But if you see a home with a scruffy, poorly maintained, outdated roof...you immediately begin to wonder how much the interior has been neglected as well.  Just like when I see a cake with half the frosting sliding off that looks like it just lost a fight with the cat...I am suspicious of what the inside tastes like.  So I put it back in the fridge and give up baking.  But for those of you trying to sell your home, updating your "icing"  might be just what your "cake" needs!

 

(ARA) - For some people, selecting roofing material is an afterthought, but savvy homeowners, remodelers and builders know a beautiful roof creates architectural appeal that can top any other residence in the neighborhood.

Distinctive roofing completes the visual picture, accenting steep gables and supplying attractive color fields to hipped roofs. Existing homes can also benefit from the striking rejuvenation of a new roof, which adds instant attractiveness where roof appeal may not have been much of a consideration before.

Slate roofing has long been prized for its beauty, following its rise in popularity through America's early years. The picturesque look of slate is now available through the advanced technology of composite slate, created with molds cast from real slate. Unlike natural slate, it won't break or delaminate. InSpire Roofing delivers Old World elegance to both expansive and more intimate size homes, ranging in style from rustic to contemporary.

For homeowners who want to achieve a custom look, composite slate combines a perfect blend of high style and high technology to complement a multitude of architectural styles and exteriors. "Coming in the industry's widest color palette, InSpire adds richness, deep texture and the authentic look of natural slate, without the high cost and heavy weight that comes with it," says Jonathan Wierengo, vice president of marketing for The Tapco Group. Crafted from compressed limestone and virgin resins, including recycled content, InSpire is an innovative green product that even performs better than natural slate and is backed by a transferable limited lifetime warranty.

Composite slate brings artistic flair to homes clad in stone, wood, fiber cement or other materials, and adds interest on dormers, multiple gables and cross gables. Its beauty draws the eyes upward to soaring ridges, and also complements features like chimneys and eyebrow windows. Renovated brick or stucco homes can deliver a dramatic architectural statement with a new roof.

To achieve an historic look, homeowners can choose nuanced grey hues, even combining Dover Grey, Slate Grey, Pewter Grey and Charcoal Grey. These are offered among the seven standard and 11 premium colors available from InSpire, along with seven blended colors to help homeowners create custom looks that can be bold, rustic or traditional. The elemental feel of Emerald Green, the dark earthiness of Red Clay and the depth of Stone Black, also partner well with grey shades. The nature-inspired textures and colors of Moss Green and Red Cedar are a perfect fit for timber homes and rustic cabins.

To visualize your home with the natural elegance of InSpire Roofing, visit www.inspireroofing.com to pick the right color or color combination for your roof or call (800) 971-4148 for more information. InSpire Roofing Products is a division of The Tapco Group and a U.S. Green Building Council Member.

Awesome bathroom upgrades for less than $200
(ARA) - A beautiful bathroom can be uplifting on many levels: it improves your home's resale value and provides you with a welcoming environment in one of the most-used rooms of your house. If your bathroom has become the room in the house you least want to visit, it may be time to consider some cost-effective upgrades.

A mid-range bathroom remodel can cost, on average, around $16,000 (and return 64 percent of that cost at the time of resale), according to Remodeling Magazine's 2011 Cost. vs. Value Report. You don't have to spend thousands, however, to give your bathroom a fresh look. Here are some high-impact, awesome upgrades that you can accomplish for less than $200 each:

Work those walls

Paint is still the cheapest, easiest way to freshen a room's look and that's true even in the bathroom. While painting a bath can be a bit more complicated than other rooms because of obstructions like mirrors, showers, tubs and the commode, it's still a project well within the abilities of most do-it-yourselfers. Good paint can be had for as little as $25, and most bathrooms will only need a gallon or two.

Once you've repainted, consider adding a wallpaper mural. You've probably always thought adding wallpaper in a bath was risky, given the room's usual humidity. But modern wallpaper options, like SmartStick by MuralsYourWay.com can easily hold up to bathroom conditions. A patented adhesive allows you to easily place the material on nearly any surface - walls, windows, that architectural niche above your bathtub - pull it down, reposition it, and even move the moisture resistant mural to a different wall. You can even customize with your own wall photo by using your own original photography. Submit your photo through the website and the company creates a custom mural using your artwork.

Lighten up

Lighting is another low-cost way to renovate a bathroom. If your bathroom sports a utilitarian overhead fixture, or a dressing-room-style light bar above the mirror, you can create a whole new look for the room by replacing those lights with one - or more - contemporary styles.

Because our bathrooms serve several functions bathroom lighting should be flexible too. Design pros often place more than one light source in bathrooms, even if the room is relatively small.

Adding a couple of wall sconces in addition to a main light source costs little but allows you to lower lighting in the bathroom when you're in the mood for relaxation. And a strong, overhead light source provides practical illumination for putting on make-up or shaving for example. It's easy to find cost-effective lighting options at your local home improvement store.

Little things mean a lot

You can also make several small changes in a bath that will have a big impact, from swapping out cabinet hardware to replacing an existing straight shower rod with a curved one. Depending on which projects you choose, you could accomplish several for less than $200 total.

Other small but mighty steps include:

* Replacing dated faucets.
* Installing a new showerhead or hand-held showerhead.
* Swapping the old toilet seat for a new one.
* Replacing accessory hardware like towel bars and robe hooks with newer, matching ones.
* Choosing coordinating bath accessories such as a cup and toothbrush holder.
* Adding new towels and bath mats.

When it comes to upgrading the bathroom, virtually any improvement has value - both in terms of enjoyment and resale. Fortunately, value doesn't have to come at a high cost, when you make simple, cost-effective improvements.

Looking for something to do? It's always entertaining to watch the sheets of ice as they float down the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine! Of couse, I'm also looking forward to warmer temperatures and watching the sailboats float down the Kennebec!