Home Life
Reduce Home Energy Costs: Seal Those Leaks
September 1st, 2010 categories: Home Life
Your Chantilly or Centreville home may not be drafty now as September begins, but Fall is just about here.
Pretty soon the cooler temps will be kicking in. It is a good time to consider doing something to reduce air leaks in your home.
The first thing I’d recommend is to listen to our Chantilly Radio series on home energy efficiency. Very informative series. If you are planning on getting serious about saving dollars on energy costs, you will want to listen to this set of podcasts on the topic of home energy efficiency.
You really can save a lot. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, up to 30 percent can be cut from a home’s energy costs just by reducing drafts.
That’s a lot of wasted Chantilly air.
And you don’t have to be a Super Handyman. There are some pretty easy things you can do. Check out the DIY Guide To Sealing and Insulating a home, for a government resource.
Additionally, you can get a 13-page PDF with detailed images, instructions, and recommendation to help you with the work.
If you are talking more than small fixes, of course you may need to hire help. But given the amount you can save, it may be one of the best home improvement investments you will make.
And if you are doing improvements in anticipation of putting your home on the market, take advantage of MARKET SNAPSHOT. And of course we are always here to help you with an analysis of your home’s current market value.
(Image courtesy: US Department of Energy)
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Unclog your sink when Drano won’t do it
August 23rd, 2010 categories: Home Life
Please don’t take this as a reason to not call a plumber when you really need one. But, if you get a clogged sink it may be an easy DIY job.
Check out this Lowe’s video and possibly save yourself time and money next time the sink gets clogged.
And to prevent your home buying or home selling from getting clogged, definitely call us!
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Protecting financial identity and other information online
July 11th, 2010 categories: Buyer Strategies, Home Life, Seller Strategies
With the vast amount of online buying occurring these days (May 2010 Retail Sales at non-store retailers topped $29 billion) we thought this 5-minute video from NBC’s The Today Show would be useful to you.
There are plenty of predators out there, so it always pays to be aware of ways you can avoid fraud. Be careful with your online purchases. This video offers practical strategies and insights.
And of course, if you are home shopping, our Property Search and other tools are always easily accessible to you on our other website. If you are a home seller, you will especially benefit from Market Snapshot where you can get actual sold prices of homes in your Northern Virginia community.
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Save your HVAC and breathe easier: Change air filters
July 8th, 2010 categories: Home Life
Your AC is probably getting some heavy use here in Northern Virginia during this time of year.
That takes a toll on the filter. Lots of complications – and costs – can be the result of a badly clogged air filter. It pays to replace them frequently.
The experts recommend that you not buy the cheap filters.
You pay a bit more for the good ones, but after watching this 1-minute video, you’ll see why cheap may by costly
Airborne particles are smaller than most mesh filters. Pleated filters are recommended instead.
The better filters start around $11 and they can be purchased in bulk from Amazon at a good discount.
The 3M’s Filtrete line of products is a high quality brand carried in most big box stores.
You may want to consider changing the filters out monthly if you have shedding prone pets or special sensitivity to dust.
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How To Use Your Home Fire Extinguisher
July 5th, 2010 categories: Home Life
It is a sobering statistic: In 2006, on average, a person died in an in-home fire every 2 hours, 42 minutes, in the U.S. In addition, someone was injured every 32 minutes.
And in terms of property damage, the number is nearly $7 billion.
It makes watching this 2-minute video from Lowe’s worth your time.
And of course, this is an incentive to have a fire extinguisher to use.
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Selling Your Home in Northern Virginia: How to Hire a Junk Removal Service (Part 4)
June 7th, 2010 categories: Home Life, PODCASTS, Seller Strategies
EPISODE 40 – REAL ESTATE IN CHANTILLY
Getting ready to sell your Northern Virginia home?
If so, listen to this brief interview with 123Junk founder, Collin Wheeler.
We discuss a variety of issues you will need to know about before you pick up the phone to hire such a servic
Among other things, we describe:
• What is the least costly thing you can do to get your home ready to sell.
• How much will a junk removal service cost?
• How do you get the most “bang for the buck” when you hire this kind of service?
• How can you reduce the cost of hiring such a service?
• How can a junk removal service help before you hire a moving company?
• What items will this kind of service not remove?
• What should you be looking for to ensure you are hiring a reputable company?
You can make your upcoming move a whole lot easier, and you can simplify your life even if you are not getting ready for a move.
We’ll cover these and related issues in the four episodes in this series.
If you have any questions on how to best sell your home in the current Northern Virginia housing market, call or email Kathy O’Neal. We are always here for you!
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Selling Your Home in Northern Virginia: How to Hire a Junk Removal Service (Part 3)
June 6th, 2010 categories: Home Life, PODCASTS, Seller Strategies
EPISODE 39 – REAL ESTATE IN CHANTILLY
Getting ready to sell your Northern Virginia home?
If so, listen to this brief interview with 123Junk founder, Collin Wheeler.
Among other things, we describe:
• What is the least costly thing you can do to get your home ready to sell.
• How much will a junk removal service cost?
• How do you get the most “bang for the buck” when you hire this kind of service?
• How can you reduce the cost of hiring such a service?
• How can a junk removal service help before you hire a moving company?
• What items will this kind of service not remove?
• What should you be looking for to ensure you are hiring a reputable company?
You can make your upcoming move a whole lot easier, and you can simplify your life even if you are not getting ready for a move.
We’ll cover these and related issues in the four episodes in this series.
If you have any questions on how to best sell your home in the current Northern Virginia housing market, call or email Kathy O’Neal. We are always here for you!
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Selling Your Home in Northern Virginia: How to Hire a Junk Removal Service (Part 2)
June 3rd, 2010 categories: Home Life, PODCASTS, Seller Strategies
EPISODE 38 – REAL ESTATE IN CHANTILLY
Getting ready to sell your Northern Virginia home?
If so, listen to this brief interview with 123Junk founder, Collin Wheeler.
We discuss a variety of issues you will need to know about before you pick up the phone to hire such a service.
Among other things, we describe:
• What is the least costly thing you can do to get your home ready to sell.
• How much will a junk removal service cost?
• How do you get the most “bang for the buck” when you hire this kind of service?
• How can you reduce the cost of hiring such a service?
• How can a junk removal service help before you hire a moving company?
• What items will this kind of service not remove?
• What should you be looking for to ensure you are hiring a reputable company?
You can make your upcoming move a whole lot easier, and you can simplify your life even if you are not getting ready for a move.
We’ll cover these and related issues in the four episodes in this series.
If you have any questions on how to best sell your home in the current Northern Virginia housing market, call or email Kathy O’Neal. We are always here for you!
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Selling Your Home in Northern Virginia: How to Hire a Junk Removal Service (Part 1)
June 1st, 2010 categories: Home Life, PODCASTS, Seller Strategies
EPISODE 37 – REAL ESTATE IN CHANTILLY
Getting ready to sell your Northern Virginia home?
If so, listen to this brief interview with 123Junk founder, Collin Wheeler.
We discuss a variety of issues you will need to know about before you pick up the phone to hire such a junk removal service.
Among other things, we describe:
• What is the least costly thing you can do to get your home ready to sell?
• How much will a junk removal service cost?
• How do you get the most “bang for the buck” when you hire this kind of service?
• How can you reduce the cost of hiring such a service?
• How can a junk removal service help before you hire a moving company?
• What items will this kind of service not remove?
• What should you be looking for to ensure you are hiring a reputable company?
You can make your upcoming move a whole lot easier, and you can simplify your life even if you are not getting ready for a move.
We’ll cover these and related issues in the four episodes in this series.
If you have any questions on how to best sell your home in the current Northern Virginia housing market, call or email Kathy O’Neal. We are always here for you!
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Video: How to Water Your Garden Just Right
May 26th, 2010 categories: Home Life
There are many good reasons to have a home garden, and it does not have to be time consuming.
But one thing that is necessary: water.
Take a look at this short video from ExpertVillage, Doug Smiddy. He will answer some of the basics on how to do it correctly. You will learn:
- How to determine if plants need watering
- Best time to water outdoor plants
- How to actually water the plant
Basic but vital information, made understandable, make this a must-watch video.
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