About Ottawa's Metcalfe

Are you considering a rural property or a home on a lake or by the seashore? If your considered property is not on a municipal water system, make sure that you have the water tested for potability. You want safe drinking water, low in bacteria / pathogens.

The homeowner will give you the results from their latest test but be cautious. The homeowner may be a wonderful person, kind to children, dogs and Buyers but water can be contaminated quickly and Sellers sometimes get anxious to sell. That water may have come from somewhere other than the property.

Take the sample yourself. Your agent should not take a water sample for you. You want to be completely in control and possession of the sample. Take it or send it to a water testing facility. Read the results carefully. Water testing may take a couple of days so take your sample early and ensure that you have allowed sufficient time in your conditions to get the results back to you.

You do not want to buy a home that will put you 'in deep water'.

Photo credit: Venice Canal, taken from the Rialto Bridge

Buyers will look in your shed. This weekend, I took some Buyers to a house that was in need a some TLC (tender loving care). In addition to walking around the house, the husband went to the shed for a good look. He was not impressed with the state of the building nor the state of the interior. It was added to the list of why the house was not worth the asking price.

Before selling, declutter your shed. This is not a place to hide your excess stuff. If the exterior is in bad shape make a decision to either tear it down or fix it up. Don't just leave it thinking that Buyers don't dar.

Finally, don't be tempted exclude the shed in your sale. It will be too much trouble for you to dismantle and not likely to make the trip across town or country. Make it part of the real estate you are selling.

Appeal to the gardening crowd with a Home and Gardens Magazine shed.

Photo credit: garden shed I love this photo. It is not just the garden shed but the state of the yard in what looks like fall. The fence draws your eye up and out of the photo. Very well done.

PHYSICAL NATURE OF CLOTHES CLOSETS

If you are in the enviable position of designing a home with a huge closet, remaking your current closet, or just looking for anything that will help you find your clothes quicker then here are some things about closets that may help you.

Hangers - the days of the wire hanger are over. They are worthless. Buy good wood hangers and thick plastichangers. You might want to buy a second colour for your spouse (if you have to share a closet with her).

Lighting - Use the blue tone fluorescent bulbs if possible. Halogen lights and the old incandescent bulbs go give off heat. How long do you stand inside the closet trying to decide what to wear? It can get warm. Can you wire the light so that it goes on and off when the doors are open or shut?

Paint - If you are painting the inside of the closet (and once it is empty for the decluttering process this would be the perfect time to paint), make it white semi-gloss. If there is no door on the closet then you are likely going to same colour as the room.

Doors - the best for a walk-in closet is pocket doors so that no space is lost. The best for non-walk-in is bi-fold or full swing. The worst doors are sliding doors because they cover too much of the closet when open.

Top Shelves - Keep a step stool or little stepper in your closet so that you can reach the top shelves. Slide it under your long hanging dresses / slacks so that you don't trip on it.

Poles and rods - Metal rodsare preferable to wood - they do not warp. Rub the metal rod with waxed paper to have things slide better. You can double rods - one higher and one lower for blouses and skirts. As you may know, this doubles the usable space.

Hamper - Can you fit a laundry basket in your closet?

Open Shelving - Can you build in open shelves? Sweater, knit tops and t-shirts should be folded and placed on these shelves. Hangers, especially the dreaded wire hangers, stretch these clothes out of shape. Also fold your jeans in half and stack them on a shelf - it saves so much space.

Oh were, oh were has my winter dress gone? - Off season clothes and shoes - If you haven't enough space in your closet, start looking for an alternate place. Buy the bags that can have the air sucked out and store clothes in these bags - put inside luggage if you want. Make sure that the clothes are clean. Look at rolling storage for under the bed for out of season sweaters and seasonal clothing.

Dust protectors - If you have clothes dry cleaned, do not store in the plastic dry cleaner bags. Humidity can ruin your clothes contained in plastic - rot, mildew and staining from the plastic will occur.

Cruise through closet organizing websites. There is so much out there to improve the organization of your closet. A trip to the Container Store, a peak at California Closets, Muskoka systems, Rubbermaid, and a Sunday afternoon looking at what is available at the big box hardware stores will just get you started.

Photo credit: adjustable closet

You might want to show off how big your dining room is by taking the leaves out of your table and pushing in the chairs. Your thinking may be that the room will look bigger because there is more free space around the table. In fact, as long as there is enough room so that the chairs can be pulled out, leave the leaves in the table. Most Buyers want to know if a crowd will fit around the table at Thanksgiving.

Now look at the floor, do you have hardwood or tile with a puny little rug under the table? If you pull out the chairs to sit down, do the chair legs come off the area rug? If that happens then your rug is too small. It will make your dining room look off balance and odd. The fastest and cheapest correction is to remove the rug. Remember, your house will be a product not a home for you when it is For Sale. No Buyer will care that the rug is there to catch all of Junior's dropped food.

When it comes to dining room tables and area rugs, size matters.

Whether dancing or eating off of it, your table should be big.

Photo credit: dining room 3