Susan Terry
About Susan Terry
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THE BIRDS & THE BEES
Turn your backyard into a peaceful sanctuary that buzzes with activity.
Creating a haven in your garden for birds, bees and butterflies takes a little planning but it’s well worth the effort. The following tips will help you turn your backyard into a natural wildlife sanctuary:
Au Naturel
Avoid using pesticides and other harmful chemicals as they can cause harm to backyard wildlife.
Water Works
Install a bird bath or water fountain for your feathered friends to bathe and drink from.
Food & Shelter
Trees and shrubs that bear fruit, nuts and berries not only provide food but also offer shelter.
Bloom Boom
Butterflies are attracted to shades of pink, orange, yellow, red, purple and blue while butterfly larvae feed on dill, fennel and milkweed.
Flower Power
Bees are always busy collecting pollen! Bee balm, echinacea, snapdragon and hostas are some of the flowers they love the most!
Sun Seekers
Butterflies like sunny locations that are sheltered from the wind. A few flat stones will give them a place to rest while warming in the sun.
There’s nothing like lounging around in your very own backyard, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature. With just a few small changes, you can easily transform your garden into a thriving sanctuary for all to enjoy!
HIGH RETURN HOME REPAIRS
Taking care of basic repairs before you put your home on the market is a smart move.
If you plan on selling your home, you’ll want to tackle any necessary repairs ahead of time as buyers will be completely turned off if your home looks as though it’s been neglected.
Buyers will also factor any fix-up jobs into their offer, often overestimating the costs, so it’s best to just take care of them yourself. Here are a few easy repairs that will reap huge rewards:
Curb Appeal
Your home needs to make a perfect first impression so patch up any cracks in the driveway, spruce up your porch and add a bit of fresh mulch.
Out With Grout
The dirty black grout that grows around the tiles in your shower will immediately turn buyers off so apply some new caulking to freshen things up.
Flooring Fixes
Flooring can totally transform the look and feel of your home so replace any cracked tiles and repair scratched hardwood with a touch-up marker.
Gourmet Gains
Kitchens can make or break a sale. Repainting cabinets, adding new hardware or upgrading your countertop are all worthwhile investments.
Fresh Paint
Before you paint, fill in all of the little holes and cracks for a smooth finish. Make sure to also paint your baseboards so they don’t look beaten up next to your freshly painted walls.
Drip Dry
Something as simple as a leaky tap can cause buyers to wonder what other issues may lurk behind the surface so spend a few bucks on a rubber washer to fix the leak.
Buying a home is an emotional experience. It’s therefore important to create an incredible first impression so that buyers can easily imagine themselves living in your home.
Although repairing a home that you’ll soon be moving out of may seem like a pointless hassle, it’ll be well worth the time and money in the end!
GREY BRUCE REAL ESTATE UPDATE – June 2024
Please don’t hesitate to reach out for detailed stats that are specific to your neighbourhood, or even if you’re just curious about what the house down the street sold for – it’d be great to hear from you!
THE PRICE IS RIGH
The way you price your home can either make or break your sale.
Setting the right price is critical to a successful sale as it will help ensure your home sells for the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time.
You only get one chance to make a great first impression, so it’s important to price your home correctly when it first hits the market. Here are a few pricing strategies to keep in mind:
Comp & Circumstance
The best way to determine a home’s asking price is to compare similar homes in nearby areas that have recently sold, while also taking past, present and future market trends into account.
Market Matters
You may have your own opinion of what your home’s worth but it’s important to be unbiased and realistic. At the end of the day, it’s the market that determines your home’s true value.
Buzz Kill
There’s always a huge buzz when a new property hits the market, but if the price is too high, it’ll quickly become stale. Once that happens, buyers lose the incentive to make a swift, strong offer.
Stigma Stymie
If a home sits on the market too long, it’ll start to develop a stigma. We’ve all walked past a home that’s been on the market for ages and wondered, “What’s wrong with it?”
Competitive Edge
Overpricing your home benefits your competition, as buyers will view similar, less expensive homes in your area as much better deals.
Lowball Anxiety
You may be tempted to overprice your home, thinking buyers will still make offers, but many will shy away from making low offers for fear of offending the seller.
Don’t Sit Around
Having your property sit on the market is very inconvenient, as you’ll constantly have to keep it in a show-ready state, which can be extremely stressful, not to mention exhausting.
Costly Carryover
Carrying costs such as mortgage interest, insurance, taxes and utilities can quickly add up if you get stuck carrying two homes at once.
Pricing a home is part art and part science. Market factors such as the economy, time of year and interest rates can all make a huge difference. Balancing these factors while keeping the buyer’s perspective in mind is essential for setting the right price.
Your home only gets one chance to make a great first impression, so it’s important to enlist the services of a highly qualified real estate agent to help you get things done properly from start to finish. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you ever have any questions!
HANDY HOME HACKS
These simple yet ingenious home hacks will make your life so much easier!
Our lives are already busy enough without household chores getting in the way. These handy home hacks promise to simplify your daily routine so you can spend more time doing the things you love:
Towel Tip
Speed up your laundry drying time by tossing a dry towel into the load. This simple hack also helps cut down on energy consumption.
Sharpie Stains
If your child has decorated your hardwood floors with a magic marker, just apply a bit of toothpaste with a damp cloth and watch it disappear!
Blender Cleanser
To tackle stubborn stains from your blender, mix lemon juice and warm water with a dash of dishwashing liquid and then blend for a minute.
Watch Your Step
A slice of bread is like a magnet for tiny shards of glass. Just press the bread gently over the affected area and it will soak the tiny glass fragments up like a sponge!
Wood Whisperer
If your creaky floors make you feel like you’re living in a haunted house, just sprinkle some baby powder between the boards to lubricate the wood.
By simplifying everyday tasks with clever home hacks, you’ll be able to free up your spare time so that you can enjoy the finer things in life, such as spending quality time with friends and family or just relaxing in the hammock!
P.S. Do you have any go-to home hacks that you use to simplify your daily routine? If so, please share!
BANK OF CANADA RATE UPDATE
On June 5th, The Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 per cent. This is the first rate cut since March 2020.
The Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate affects borrowing costs for banks, which means they’re able, but not forced, to lower their own lending rates.
Banks are generally quick to increase their prime rate in tandem with Bank of Canada hikes. However, they’ve been less consistent when rates are on the way down. When the central bank last lowered its rate four years ago, banks followed suit within a day.
Once banks move their prime rate down, it will have an immediate effect on borrowers with variable-rate mortgages, just as they’ve felt the brunt of rising rates over the past few years.
For new borrowers planning on arranging a fixed-rate mortgage, a decrease of a quarter percentage point in interest rates will also translate to monthly savings on their mortgage payments.
For instance, a person with a $500,000 mortgage, a 25-year amortization period and an interest rate of 5 percent would save around $72 a month if their rate dropped to 4.75 percent.
This seemingly small adjustment translates into a substantial saving of around $4,320 over a 5-year term!
Lines of credit are also usually tied to bank prime rates, so borrowers should start to see some savings on that front as well.
The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is July 24, 2024.
GREY BRUCE REAL ESTATE UPDATE – May 2024
Please don’t hesitate to reach out for detailed stats that are specific to your neighbourhood, or even if you’re just curious about what the place down the road sold for – it’d be great to hear from you!
PREPARING TO SHOW WITH KIDS IN TOW
You don’t want to “kid around” when it comes to preparing your home for showings.
When your home’s on the market, getting ready for showings can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, but it’s even harder when you share your home with little ones.
The trick to selling a family home is to make it appeal to buyers who have children as well as those who don’t. Here are a few tips to help you prepare your home to show with kids in tow:
Curb Appeal
Don’t leave toys, sidewalk chalk or bikes strewn outside your home as drive-by viewings can occur when you least expect it.
Depersonalize
Buyers should be able to imagine themselves living in your home, so clear the kids’ artwork off the fridge and take down photos, awards and mementos.
Play Time’s Over
Keep one box of toys on hand and pack up the rest as having too many toys lying around looks messy and can make your rooms appear smaller.
Clean Your Room!
Go through your kids’ rooms and pair down stuffed animals, trophies and toys. Any remaining items should be neatly placed up on shelves.
Behind Closed Doors
Buyers can never get enough closet space so get rid of any clothing items that your kids have outgrown or that are out of season.
Time to Grow Up
Buyers should be able to visualize your playroom as their rec room so get rid of any “kid clutter” so it’ll look large enough for their pool table.
Ready, Set, Go
Have a diaper bag that’s ready with everything you need in case you have to make a quick getaway for a last-minute showing.
Preparing your home for sale is a great opportunity to cut down on clutter and by doing it now, you’ll have less to pack when it comes time to move!
Showings can occur on short notice so make sure you have a system in place that enables you to vacate your home quickly.
Keeping a home perfectly staged with little ones running around can be a challenge, but it’ll be well worth it in the end!
NATIONAL RESCUE DOG DAY
There are so many pets in the Grey Bruce area that need a good home.
For all you dog lovers out there, May 20th marks National Rescue Dog Day which was created to help raise awareness about the huge number of dogs who are currently waiting in shelters for a new place to call home.
Thankfully, the Grey Bruce Animal Shelter has been working tirelessly to rescue and care for animals that have been abandoned, abused or neglected.
They’re extremely overwhelmed and under-resourced though due to the increasing number of animals in need of help, so it’s important that we offer our support.
Helping is easy! For example, consider donating some of your old towels and blankets. They’re also in constant need of pet food, cleaning supplies, grooming tools, leashes, chew toys and, of course, treats!
Having a loyal pet by your side is a great way to fetch joy and chase away loneliness but if you’re unable to take on a dog full-time, there are a variety of volunteer opportunities such as fostering or dog walking.
If you already share your home with a rescue dog, remember to share a pic of your pup on May 20th with the hashtag #nationalrescuedogday, along with a short story of how you and your dog have changed each other’s lives.
This National Rescue Dog Day, unleash some love and loyalty by adopting, donating or volunteering to help turn a tail of woe into a tale of wagging joy!