Strategies for Remodeling Your Kitchen: Part 1

While I have always been a "fix-it" person and over the years had replaced several of the original kitchen parts in my Santee home, I found that everything seemed to be going out all at once.   It felt like a mutiny of the kitchen.  The dishwasher stopped working, the refrigerator occasionly leaked, the garbage disposal growled and moaned, and the oven temperature wasn't correct, as well as the weathered, separating cupboard doors that had survived 4 active sons.  However, the final blow, that pushed me over the edge, was when my sink faucet developed a couple of pin hole leaks from the inside out, spraying me in the face. 

No problem. My son, who is a plumber, could replace the faucet and help me squeeze a little more life out of it, or so I thought.  However, when he looked under my "life-time" sink, he broke the news that it had started rusting underneathe and that the whole sink would have to be replaced.  When I thought about replacing the sink, I had a vision of tiles cracking across the counter in a chain reaction.  It was time! 

So I duct taped the pin hole leaks, and began to do my research.  Besides looking at new housing developments, I scoured Better Homes and Gardens, San Diego Magazine, and Pinterest.  I found lots of beautiful options.  I wanted a kitchen that would be practical, modern and at the same time reasonably priced.  I began taking photos of kitchens that I liked, researching counter top materials, cupboards, and flooring.  With so many choices, I had to figure out what would work for my husband and I.  In the next 8 blogs, I will show you the before and after, going over the kitchen remodel, things to think about and consider:

    1. Budget
    2. Contractor
    3. Color scheme
    4. Counter Tops
    5. Flooring
    6. Cabinets and Hardware
    7. Sink
    8. Faucet

Written by Virginia Hall
                   Keller Williams Realty
                   (619) 258-8585

Twelve Reasons Why Not to be a For Sale By Owner

Considering listing your home for sale, but wondering why use a Realtor when homes are selling so quickly? Why pay someone a lot of commission, when it seems so easy?  Here are 12 good reasons why not to sell your own home:


1. Personal Safety When you open your doors to strangers, you don't know who you are letting in the door. It could be a criminal scoping out your home for valuables or a predator planning to harm you. When buyers come with Realtors, they have normally been screened.
2. Buyers Who Shop "for Sale by Owners" Want to Save Money Most Homeowners who sell their own house sell them at 15% less than if they had used a Realtor.
3. Pricing Property Incorrectly Pricing properties is a science and an art. No one wants to give away their home, but at the same time if you price the home too high, it can increase the market time or lose a sale.
4. Screening Potential Buyers Often time is wasted on unqualified buyers. Sellers have difficulty getting the buyer's confidential information. Escrows tend to fall out at the last minute due to problems that crop up in escrow, that could have been discovered earlier.
5. Disclosure Duties Sellers are required to make all mandated disclosures without an agent to assist them.
6. No Representative for Negotiations The seller is vulnerable when dealing directly with the buyer. Emotions can get in the way of making good decisions and negotiating in your own best interest.
7. Appraisal Problems No one assists the appraiser to get the highest value.
8. Lack of Exposure and Longer Market Times Listing a property for sale with a quality Realtor exposes a property to thousands of real estate agents and their prospective buyers. With less exposure, comes longer marketing time.
9. Lack of Legal Assistance and Experience Most large brokerages have retained experienced real estate attorneys available to consult on challenging situations.
10. Advertising and Marketing The Seller is burdened with getting photos and advertising their home. Where do you begin?
11. Inconvenience and Time Consumption How valuable is your time? Are you available to answer calls and show the property during the week?
12. Quality and Savings of Support Services Selection of escrow, title, termite and other inspections' can be difficult for individuals to organize at reasonable rates.

For more Seller Tips see Sellers.

Written by
Virginia Hall
Keller Williams Realty
(619)258-8585