No matter where you live, high moisture in your bathroom makes mold difficult to control. Eliminate moisture by taking these steps: First, after a bath or a shower, squeegee water off the shower walls. That eliminates at least three-fourths of the moisture that supports mold and mildew growth. Second, run your fans during your shower and for a half hour after. Third, seal grout lines annually with a standard grout sealer. To get rid of current mold, scrub with detergent and water, then let the surface dry completely. Or use a solution of 10% bleach and 90% water (a stronger bleach solution will not give better results). If the fans aren't clearing out most of the moisture after 10 minutes, your fans may not be moving enough air. Ask an electrician for the right fan for your size of bathroom. Call us if you need the name of a good electrician to help you buy and install the right fan!  

According to some studies, selling a home can be as stressful as getting a divorce or going through bankruptcy. You can't eliminate stress when selling, but you can minimize it by taking the steps described below. 1. Keep your house 10 minutes away from being "show ready" It is a huge pain to have to show your house. A huge pain. There's no getting around it. And the longer it takes your house to sell, the more painful it is. Solutions for "Showing Stress": Move out first. But if that’s not an option… Pack most of your belongings in preparation for moving. Live minimally in your house. Clean as you go. For some people that's easy. But if you're the type of person who'd rather play than clean house, you may not always have the tidiest of homes. No judgement there, but if that's you, spend a long time getting everything deep cleaned, then close off areas you don’t need to use. Have a plan for leaving the house during showings. If you have a dog or kids, this can be a bit harder to arrange, but is still important. If you can't leave the home, don't "lurk." Buyers can't wait to get out of a house where they feel the seller lurking in the background. Tell the buyers you'll go read on the patio while they're looking, or you'll take the kids for a walk, or you'll be in the front yard, etc. Just remove your "presence" as much as possible. 2. Let go of the house emotionally We've sold a fair number of houses and we understand that no one loves your house as much as you do. You love the gardens you worked so hard on. You think your decorating is great. You adore your cherry wood kitchen cabinets. Your brand new expensive carpeting is the perfect color. But buyers will still want to rip much of it out. You must view your house as a commodity. Buyers are trying to fit themselves into their own house, not fit themselves into your home.  3. Don't be a tour guide Buyer's real estate agents spend hours upon hours with their buyers, going from home to home until they're completely exhausted with trying to make the buyer's dream come true.  The last thing the buyer's agent (or the buyer) wants is for a seller to start playing tour guide. I've been in homes where the seller spent 45 minutes detailing everything he'd ever done to his home. I knew what he was doing. He was certain that his real estate agent wasn't doing enough to "sell" all the special features of his home, so he was taking matters into his own hands. It doesn't work. Or at least it doesn't work any better than typical showing strategies, and takes way too long. A better strategy is to tape a small sign to anything special that you want to call attention to. Then if the buyers are interested in the house, those extras will be a nice touch that can put them over the edge. 4. Know that you WILL hit turbulence on this flight Once you get an offer, let your agent pilot the plane (metaphorically speaking). If you're running up into the cockpit every time there's a bit of turbulence, you'll just distract the pilot...but you won't actually change the turbulence. It's much better to hire an excellent pilot in the first place, so that when turbulence does hit, you are confident he or she will handle it correctly. In real estate transactions there is ALWAYS turbulence. There is never not turbulence. Turbulence will happen. Always. 5. This may sound self-serving, but choose the right listing agent Our industry is rife with agents who don't understand business, don't know how to provide customer service, and don't communicate well. They may "know real estate," but they don’t know how to "do real estate." This is evident from start to finish—from showing homes to closing deals. Conclusion When it's time for you to sell your home, We're on your side, and ready to stand up for you. Together we'll try to control the showings, eliminate problems during showings, manage your time effectively, and stand up to the challenges that will create turbulence during the sale. Experience counts for a lot when it comes to working with a good listing agent. Call us for a listing appointment the moment you start thinking about selling.

Hot water heaters are essential appliances in our homes, providing us with hot water for various purposes, including showering, washing dishes, and doing laundry. However, many homeowners may not be aware of the importance of an expansion tank on their hot water heater. In this blog, we will discuss the reasons why you need an expansion tank on your hot water heater. Firstly, it is important to understand how a hot water heater works. Hot water heaters heat and store water in a tank. As the water heats up, it expands, and the pressure inside the tank increases. When the pressure inside the tank exceeds a certain point, a pressure relief valve opens, releasing some of the excess pressure. However, in some cases, the pressure relief valve may not be enough to relieve the excess pressure, which can cause several problems. For example, the constant opening and closing of the pressure relief valve can cause it to wear out and eventually fail. Moreover, the constant release of hot water from the pressure relief valve can waste water and energy, increasing your utility bills. This is where an expansion tank comes in. An expansion tank is a small tank that is installed on the cold water supply line to the hot water heater. It acts as a safety device to absorb the excess pressure and prevent it from building up in the hot water heater. When the hot water heater heats up the water, the water expands and flows into the expansion tank, which compresses the air inside the tank. As a result, the pressure inside the hot water heater remains constant, and the pressure relief valve is not activated unnecessarily. In addition to preventing damage to your hot water heater and reducing your utility bills, an expansion tank can also extend the lifespan of your hot water heater. The constant pressure changes caused by the expansion and contraction of the water in the hot water heater can cause stress on the tank and shorten its lifespan. An expansion tank can help reduce this stress and prolong the life of your hot water heater. In conclusion, if you have a hot water heater, you need an expansion tank to prevent excess pressure from building up inside the tank, protect your pressure relief valve, save water and energy, and extend the lifespan of your hot water heater. If you don't have an expansion tank, consider contacting a licensed plumber to install one for you.