Thomas Simonsen Blog

Your house is an asset that will appreciate in value as time goes by. Of course, a quick glance at Alexandria homes for sale highlights that your home is is more than a financial investment; it's also a home you want to enjoy with family and friends. As you ponder the renovations that will give you the most joy and deliver the greatest return on your investment, the kitchen and bathrooms are where you want to start. 

Kitchen Renovations

Kitchen renovations are common in Arden Hills homes for sale and throughout the region. It is often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home, and indeed throughout history, the home has been built around the kitchen space. Thus, it's no surprise that like a good diet and a little exercise, renovating the kitchen keeps the heart of the home beating strong.

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Settling into the home you chose from  Bemidji homes for sale or Brainerd homes for sale? If your home has a deck, it can be the center of attention for your outdoor parties or for your daily relaxation throughout a good part of the year. But a deck is also a responsibility. Plan to inspect the deck each year to make sure it's safe. A good maintenance regimen can preserve your deck and ensure those who use it are safe.

• Check Your Deck Every Spring
  Now's the time to give your deck a thorough once-over. The North American Deck and Railing Association encourages deck owners to check out the following:
  
  
  • Possible rust on metal sections such as connectors and bolts
  • Possible wood rot, including telltale signs of mold
  • Attachments of decking floor

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Have you decided that it's time to move? You may have been looking at some beautiful Glenwood homes for sale or perhaps the Maple Grove homes for sale and are getting ready to take the leap into a new place. Looking around at your current home, you may decide to hire movers to help. Before you do, there are a few important steps you need to take. 

1. Purge 
   Now is the time to get rid of all of the things you might have a use for someday but can't remember what that is. Organize into toss, donate, sell, and keep. Movers can't make these personal decisions for you. If you don't do it, you'll find yourself taking that collection of fast food cups to your new place.

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It may be a bit chilly yet to starting thinking of spring gardening, but it's high time to start planning a spring makeover of your front yard, especially if you're planning to list your home among Edina homes for sale or Detroit Lakes homes for sale. Start by walking around your property and assessing what needs to be done to boost your curb appeal. Keeping the grass mowed and the shrubs trimmed will help, but adding some color, taking out damaged plants and replacing them in bare spaces with healthy new specimens, and filling in the winter-ravaged ground cover if need be are three projects that can enhance your listed property's looks so potential buyers will stop and take a second look. 

1. Add Some Color
   Planting annuals is an easy, no-brainer way to dress up your property and catch the eye of potential buyers. Perennials are great, but they take time to get established, so you may want to concentrate on bright annuals along sidewalks and in beds fronting the house to dress things up. Paint a picture in your mind with drifts of annuals such as dahlia, calla lilies, various kinds of daisies, salvia, pentas, nicotianas, and many more. Although annuals usually need to be replaced every year, it's worthwhile to plant these big swatches of color for an instant wow effect.

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Spring Market

As the spring market is in full swing and home prices are ticking up, mortgage rates have moved higher in recent weeks as well. Freddie Mac reports that the national average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.17% with an average of .6 points. While rates are still below the average of 3.5% for the same week last year, the year over year comparison has been tightening in recent weeks.

Mortgage Rates

During the course of the pandemic, 'home' has become more important than ever. As a result, strong purchase demand continues—but buyers also outnumber the sellers. Since January, mortgage rates have increased half a percentage point from historic lows and home prices have risen, leaving potential homebuyers with less purchasing power. Unfortunately, this has disproportionately affected the low end of the market, where supply is the slimmest.

~Provided by www.freddiemac.com 03-25-21