Let’s face it … there are handy people … then there are the Tim Taylor’s from TV’s Hometime. Some people should just never pick up a screwdriver. We real estate agents have seen it all, but I never cease to be amazed at what some people do.
Can you see what is wrong in this photo?
Yesterday’s nice weather was a good day to check winter’s damage and begin making repairs outside your home. Beginning last fall I began noticing that a downspout was overflowing, and washing away the landscape mulch. With the downpours we’ve had recently, it had to be fixed.
Thinking the drain pipe was just plugged, I called RotoRooter. However, they determined that the pipe must be broken, requiring some potentially major digging.
Time to call in the pros – my kids. One of my sons-in-law has worked in the landscape business since high school (a long time ago) so he’s my go-to guy for the green things. He & my daughter work for the same company, Outdoor Makeovers. They, and my other son-in-law plus assorted neighbors, helped with the project.
We found that the pipe was broken near the sidewalk, resulting in the lower portion being packed with dirt over the years. For some reason, a perfed pipe was used under the sidewalk which had allowed for dirt to infiltrate to begin with. As you’ll see in the video, the downspout wasn’t seated into the drain pipe so that needed fixed as well.
If you’re thinking of having landscape work done this spring, I highly recommend a call to Bruce, the sales manager at Outdoor Makeovers, at 614-777-8757 to discuss your project. If Pam answers, tell her you read her Mom’s blog. 
Copyright © 2011. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Last year, about this same time, I wrote an article about the importance of clearing snow from the curbsize drain that leads to your sump pump. We’re to get temps in the mid-30′s this week so it seems a good time to repost this article.
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Although the weather forecast isn’t calling for any days above freezing yet, we certainly hope that these FEET of snow go away eventually. When the melting begins, we’ll need to be ever present for potential damage to our homes.
I learned a lesson a few years ago regarding the exterior sump pump pipe. We had some melting days, but then the nights would cause refreezing. The drain that opens to the street was still packed with snow. This meant that the melting snow flowing into the inside sump pit couldn’t eject the water into the street. As a result, the water stayed in the ground pipe and froze. Once it froze, there was no where for the sump water to go.
A local news station had a report on how to fix this problem that apparently others were having as well. First step is to clear the snow from the curb drain so that when melting does start, there is a place for the flowing water to go.
If the drain from the house to the street is already blocked with frozen water, then you may need to unscrew the cap near the top of the sump pipe (see arrow in photo) to allow the water to eject. The TV station mentioned that there was a special extender that could be purchased at a store like Home Depot or Lowe’s that could be attached to the sump pipe to carry the water away from the home’s foundation. By the time I went to the store, they were all sold out so I had to jerry rig a 5-ft long piece of PVC pipe to expel the water away so that it wouldn’t just flow back down near the foundation, causing the sump pump to recirculate the same water over and over.
So, as you’re out shoveling the drive and sidewalks, you should also shovel the snow from the sump’s curb drain to allow the water to flow freely which might avoid having it freeze in the pipe to the house. When the chunk of ice on my drain finally thawed enough to flow out to the street, it was a nearly 30″ long cylinder of ice.
I learned my lesson and will be clearing that curb drain … just as soon as the snow plows quit piling it up again and again.
Copyright © 2011. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
There is something that real estate agents see all too often … and it’s not pretty!
I suspect it starts with the cable network’s home fix-up shows. Now that wallpaper is no longer in favor – because people learned how hard it was to remove – people are turning to other ways to add “interest” to their walls. Thus, the FAUX PAINTING concept was born.
We often see examples of homeowners who have taken an hour-long course at their local home improvement store to learn how to do faux painting. I think they must decide to “practice” on a kid’s room and choose Cookie Monster blue as their 
choice of colors. I’ve seen the Cookie Monster blue way too often in the kid’s room or their bath.
MOM: YOUR KID CAN “GO BLIND” WITH THAT!
While I’ve not tried faux painting, judging by what I see when showing homes, it must be difficult to paint in the corners and against the ceiling. Those areas are where there is usually too much paint compared to the rest of the wall.
When the painters were doing my home, out of curiosity, I asked them if they did faux painting. They don’t. If a homeowner wants it, they call in a faux professional. That should be a clue to DIY’ers that if the professional painters call a faux painting expert, it must not be that easy.
Faux painting can be quite attractive – when done properly. When selling your home, it’s not a deterrent to buyers as wallpaper is, but it must be done very well or it can be a turn-off. So practice, practice, practice until you are skilled to do an entire wall and especially the corners. That way your Realtor® won’t make you paint over it when you decide to sell your home. GOOD LUCK!
Copyright © 2011. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
It’s the end of January. People have been stuck in their homes for 2 months now with this winter. But just as gardeners are scanning through the seed catalogs dreaming of warmer weather, homeowners are thinking of getting their homes ready to put on the market when spring comes. (I’m sure it will arrive … eventually.)
I’ve had several calls from sellers this month to discuss what they need to do now while they’re stuck inside. Might as well start working on the to-do list when there isn’t much else to do except shovel snow and shiver.
Best time to put the home on the market?
I recommend having it ready to put the for-sale sign in the yard at least by the first week of March. Lest you think that sounds far away, it’s only 5-weeks from now. That’s not much time if you have much work to do.
Concerned about a buyer’s home inspection?
If you’ve not kept up with home maintenance or if you’ve done some work without getting proper building permits, you might choose to hire a home inspector to allow you to fix things in advance so they don’t become deal-killers later when you have an offer. If you didn’t get building permits that were required, you’ll have to disclose that on the Residential Property Disclosure Form that must be given to the buyer. Call me for names of some reputable home inspectors.
Is your carpet & paint in tip-top shape?
I just did this fix-up in December, so I can make recommendations if you don’t want to paint yourself. Carpet installation should NOT be a DIY project. While it’s not inexpensive to do these repairs, you’ll get the money back in price or time on the market. Call me for names of companies that will give discounts.
Do you need to de-clutter?
You know it’s got to be done, don’t you? Yes, I know it’s not fun, but … it will need to be packed for your move anyway, so start early. If you haven’t used it for 6-months, make it go away. You can consider giving it to charity or sell it to consignment shops or simply trash it. I called 1-800-GOT-JUNK to get rid of some old, old furniture that I no longer wanted. I can get you a discount.
Not sure what you need to do?
Give me a call and we can schedule an appointment to discuss further. That’s one of the services I do for my clients.
Copyright © 2011. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
I’ve lived in my current home nearly 14 years. I never had a ceiling fan installed even though there was a rough-in for one. After my December makeover, I decided that now was the time.
At the first home I had built, I did the installation. That home also had a 2-story ceiling but the ceiling was flat where the rough-in was. I rented a huge step-ladder, managed to get it home in the sports car I had then, and proceeded to do the installation. For that home I had purchased a Casablanca fan that was heavy. When attached to the extender rod, I couldn’t lift all of it with one hand while making the attachment with the other … and being 14 ft in the air was no thrill either. So I had to go next door to ask my neighbor if I could borrow her husband.
This time I decided to have Lowe’s (Polaris store) do the installation. BTW, I had checked fans at Home Depot but they don’t install higher than 13 ft.
I made a video of the installation. The section of the vid where I speak is hard to see as the light from the windows behind me affected the contrast. Oh well, you don’t need to see me anyway.
View my YouTube Channel for other vids that I’ve made at http://www.youtube.com/reesespeanutteam
Copyright © 2011. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
WALK TO THE SCIOTO RIVER Private & secluded, only steps from the Scioto River. Nestled on 1.2 acres, this 4 BR home will be a welcome retreat from the city at day's end. EZ commute to Powell or Dublin. SOLD FOR $218,000 in 48 days!
CLASSIC WITH CUSTOM UPGRADES Immaculate traditional home with many handcrafted upgrades in Stratford Woods, south of Delaware. EZ commute to Polaris, Powell or Dublin. JUST SOLD FOR $191,700!
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