Posts in category 'Sellers'

I'm visiting some friends in Colorado this week. I would have written today's article sooner, but I was busy shoveling! Fort Collins got another 4 inches of the white stuff (and yes, it IS April 30th as I write this!). Turns out Colorado's weather is just as persnickety as New Hampshire. That said, I love the snow and it will be more seasonable soon enough. I mention the weather because last weekend I was out trimming some wayward bushes and mowing the lawn.

One of my favorite things to do in the spring, as you may have assumed, is tidying up the yard. As I was mowing and raking I was reminded of a parable I heard eons ago. The gist of it was that god had provided us with plants that could grow in almost any soil, provided food for us and other animals and needed no maintenance. In response...

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When I took a job with the Appalachian Mountain Club a while back, the idea of living in the woods, taking fees from giddy, tired through-hikers and doing trail maintenance sounded like a dream come true. The reality of the day-to-day was a far cry from what I pictured in my head. That is a wildly random intro with the intent of getting us to talking about painting myths! What caught my (only slightly caffeinated) brain this morning was the concept of what we think versus reality. When it comes to painting, I always assume it will be quick and easy. The reality of it always tends to be a lot more work than I expected and it takes a lot more time to be completely done.

With painting, however, there are loads of benefits. This goes double for those of you thinking of listing your homes for sale thi...

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One of my favorite things about snowy, icy, windy, cold days.... is not leaving the house (or my pajamas!). Working from home is one of the best things that has happened to my career since I quit my job and joined the ski patrol over at Loon Mountain! (Of course the ski patrol did nothing for my actual "career", but it was a blast while I was there!) I have heard a handful of people express that they would get nothing done if they worked from home. I think, when your livelihood (and capacity to pay the mortgage) depends on getting things done, the motivation shows itself. For me, I've never had trouble getting to work. Often it is the opposite!

It is not just the "pajama factor" that makes telecommuting so attractive either. Taking one more car off the road is always a plus...

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For those of us living North of the Mason-Dixon line living through cold winters is simply part of life. For most of us, we love the crisp air, countless recreational options and the breath-taking beauty of a snowy winter. Granted, the shoveling and scraping of windshields does get old towards the end of March (or beginning!) but the benefits outweigh the little hassles and we love it here. One of the challenges of living in a northern climate is selling your home while the weather outside is frightful. Today we're going to explore a few of the ways you can take advantage of the winter months to highlight different areas of your home and get those buyers off the sidelines.

A crackling fire is a bit of a double-edged sword when it comes to showing/selling your home. I...

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It is a story I have told dozens of times, but it still is one of those head-scratching things that I'll never understand. Sometimes people are simply unreasonable (or just really numb). The duplex, down in Somersworth, I bought (nearly 20 years ago) had tenants in the downstairs apartment. They had lived there for 12 years without a hitch (according to the owner). He explained the property was going on the market and gave them first right of refusal. At $130K, this was not an extravagant home.

Rather than take him up on the offer (and likely pay the same for their mortgage as they were paying for rent) they abandoned the apartment (full of trash) for the 2 weeks leading up to closing. As a cherry on top, they left their Basset Hound in the unit with food and water for the e...

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