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| Quick quiz |
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Each month I'll give you a new question.
Just reply to this email for the answer.
What did Thomas Edison invent in October 1879?
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| Ask the Agent |
What is Walkability?
A new contributing factor to your home's value and desirability of its location is a metric called walkability. Depending on individual needs and lifestyles, a good walk score can mean different things to different people.
Walking safety and comfort are key aspects impacting a good score. This can be accomplished by rating any surrounding crime or traffic hazards. Besides being safe, walkways and trails should be well maintained, easy to traverse, and free from noise and air pollution. Good walkability includes enjoyment of the walk.
Having easy connections to local amenities and public transit will also enhance the walk score of a neighborhood. From millennials to baby boomers, most home buyers rate walking to stay healthy and to easily connect as one of their top concerns when searching for a home.
City planners, researchers, and real estate professionals like ourselves find walkability a useful tool in development and marketing. |
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8 Ways to Increase Your Home's Value
without Breaking the Bank |
Elevating your home's value does not mean having to drain your savings. Take a look at these great suggestions.
Under $200
Outdoors are as important as indoors. Liven up your yard by planting a new tree or some native shrubs. Older carpets and rugs can harbor odor-causing soil, so invest in new fresh floor coverings.
$200-400
For a few hundred dollars, you can enhance the first impression of your home by hiring someone to help detail your yard, especially if it is starting to look rough around the edges. Having things clean and fresh will attract even the most finicky buyer, so indulge in a professional cleaning service to scrub your home from floors to ceilings. Visually decluttering your home and giving it a more spacious feeling can be accomplished by changing out bulky curtains with blinds or shutters.
$400-1000
Revitalizing your kitchen and baths with new tile flooring can often be done for under $1,000 and reap far greater rewards. Consider replacing some appliances, a sink, or a plumbing or lighting fixture in these areas and notice how much your kitchen and baths will shine. Take care of the deferred maintenance issues around your home so buyers will have a positive perception of how it has been maintained.
When it comes to increasing home value without breaking the bank, our sellers have always looked to us for guidance and for professional recommendations. Call or email us today and we'll help you choose the options that are right for you. |
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| Want to Sell Your Home Fast? Get My Free Guide |
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Preparing your home for sale can make the difference between getting the price you want - or ending up disappointed.
Discover some easy things you can do by requesting my free guide, "50 Tips to Prepare Your Home for a Speedy, Top-Price Sale."
Just call me and I'll send it right out to you.
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Dr. Kathy Sullivan's Adventures:
From Outer Space to Ocean Depths |
On October 11, 1984, 33-year-old Kathy Sullivan made one giant leap for womankind when she became the first American female to walk in space. But the astronaut's pioneering aspirations didn't start and end in the celestial expanse. Thirty-five years later, the intrepid explorer made history once more by traveling in the opposite direction.
On June 7, 2020, Sullivan also became the first woman to visit the deepest known point on the ocean floor. Harboring a long-held fascination with oceanography, the former NASA geologist realized a lifelong goal when she traveled an astonishing 35,810 feet to the deepest part of the Mariana Trench.
Joined by her colleague Victor Vescovo, Sullivan spent an hour and a half taking photographs from a submersible called Limiting Factor, the first-ever privately built and funded mini-submarine. Specifically designed to
withstand the crushing eight-tons-per-square-inch pressure of the lowest point on the planet, the apparatus has provided scientists with an incredible platform for research, filmmaking, and exploration.
After a four-hour ascent back to the surface to dock with DSSV Pressure Drop mothership, Sullivan took part in yet another world first, initiating a call between the International Space Station and the Pressure Drop to converse with old teammates.
"As a hybrid oceanographer and astronaut, this was an extraordinary day, a once-in-a-lifetime day, seeing the moonscape of the Challenger Deep and then comparing notes with my colleagues on the ISS about our remarkable reusable inner-space outer-spacecraft," said Sullivan in a statement released following the trip. |
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| Wondering What’s Happening in Your Neighborhood? |
How has the price of your home changed in today's market? How much are other homes in your neighborhood selling for? Do I need a house inspection? These are all critical questions that shouldn't be overlooked when thinking about buying or selling your home.
Whether you're curious about prices in your area, whether it's an excellent time to sell, or just need an expert to answer your questions, I can give you the tools and offer guidance through the entire buying or selling process.
Let me know how I can help by simply calling or emailing to set up a time to connect. I won't waste your time - I'll just give you the honest facts about your home, its value, and what's happening in your neighborhood. |
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| Pumpkin Loaf |
| On a crisp autumn day, treat yourself to this yummy (and simple to make) pumpkin loaf. |
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Yields 1 loaf
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 2/3 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp salt |
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour a loaf pan.
In a bowl, mix wet ingredients together.
Slowly add dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour mixture into the pan.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes, then flip loaf out onto wire rack.
Cool for one hour out of pan (if you can wait that long to try it!). |
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| What Factors Impact the Timeline for Selling a Home? |
A number of factors can come into play when it comes to the timeline for selling your home. Let's take a look.
Location and neighborhood desirability have traditionally impacted marketing the most. Good location and community appeal attract more interested buyers and can greatly reduce the number of days your home is on the market.
When interest rates are low and the economy is doing well, there will be more qualified buyers. An often-overlooked factor in the loan qualification process is that the house must also qualify for the sought-after loan. A home with lots of deferred maintenance or significant code violations runs the chance of receiving a negative appraisal for the buyer's loan, potentially causing the deal to fail and the house going back on the market in search of a cash buyer.
A home's age and amenities will influence a buyer's
decision to make an offer. A home will sell faster if it is in move-in condition, with a buyer having to do very little to make it "home."
Your house should "hit the market running" and can do so by having a competitive listing price that comes from a proper valuation of recent comparable sales and active listings. Most buyers have done their homework and will be drawn to those properties that present good value and will appraise near the sales price.
Knowing the market trends of who is buying, what the present supply of housing inventory is, and the demand for that inventory are also key factors that will influence your days on the market.
We want to help you enhance the positive factors so that they can offset those influences that we cannot control. Our goal is to make the marketing time for a home sale as predictable as possible.
If you have any questions about factors that impact the selling timeline, please give me a call or
send me an email. I will be happy to go over them with you. I'm always here to help. |
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| Share This Newsletter |
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If you find this newsletter helpful or interesting, share it with those you care about.
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| A New Era for Commercial Flight: The Electric Age |
In December 1903, the Wright Brothers and their powered aircraft launched the aviation age, a revolutionary epoch of transportation. Now, 117 years later, a new era has dawned thanks to the convergence of high-end technology and a growing industry-wide commitment to a greener future.
Heralding the electric age in flight, the world's largest all-electric commercial aircraft successfully completed its first test trip in May 2020. Designed by electric aviation company magniX and AeroTEC, a leading aerospace testing and engineering company, the all-electric Cessna Grand eCaravan 208B took flight at a test center in Moses Lake, Washington.
Able to carry nine passengers, the eCaravan is not the first electric plane to successfully take to the air. magniX also took this honor with the flight of a six-seater commercial aircraft back in December 2019. But
it's still incredibly significant, as the iconic Caravan has been an industry workhorse in commercial and goods transportation for decades. The arrival of its electric counterpart means a cheap and zero-emission way of operating middle-mile aircraft to and from smaller airports, opening up a whole new way to move people and packages.
According to the Air Transport Action Group, the global aviation industry produced approximately 2 percent of all human-induced CO2 emissions in 2019. That translates to the release of 915 million tons of carbon dioxide. But thanks to this breakthrough in sustainable engineering, the eCaravan will serve as a blueprint for future conversions of additional aircraft to magniX electric propulsion technology. This means existing planes across the world can be retrofitted with the system and, in turn, pave the way for a drastic and necessary reduction in the aviation industry's carbon footprint. |
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| This newsletter and any information contained herein are intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or medical advice. The publisher takes great efforts to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this newsletter. However, we will not be responsible at any time for any errors or omissions or any damages, howsoever caused, that result from its use. Seek competent professional advice and/or legal counsel with respect to any matter discussed or published in this newsletter. This newsletter is not intended to solicit properties currently for sale. |
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