With the holiday season just around the corner stores are filled with Christmas decorations galore to suit anyone’s style. With a little extra knowledge, this year you can protect your family and home and enjoy the holiday season knowing you are fully prepared!
Trees
When purchasing an artificial tree check that it is “fire resistant” which means it will resist burning and extinguish quickly if it does catch on fire.
When purchasing a live tree it should be fresh- it should look green, needles will be hard to pull off of branches and do not break easily, the trunk bottom should be sticky with resin and when tapped on the ground minimal needles should be lost. Heated rooms dry the tree out so keep the stand filled with water.
Choose a location for the tree away from fireplaces and radiators, out of the way of traffic and not blocking any doors.
Lights
Indoor and outdoor lights should have been tested for safety by a recognized testing laboratory to meet safety standards. Only use lights with fused plugs.
Check old and new lights for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires or loose connections and get rid of any damaged ones. Replace burned-out bulbs with the same wattage bulbs.
Only use a maximum of three standard size strings of lights per extension cord making sure the extension cord is rated for this use.
Never use electric lights on a metallic tree because it
can become charged from faulty lights and electrocute anyone who touches the tree.
Check that outdoor lights are certified for outdoor use and keep your distance from power or feeder lines from utility poles leading into older homes.
Hang outdoor lights securely to protect them from wind damage using hooks or insulated staples, not nails or tacks.
Outdoor lights should be plugged into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI’s). Portable GFCI’s can be purchased where electrical supplies are sold or can be installed permanently by an electrician.
Turn off ALL of your holiday lights when you go to bed or leave your home; the lights could short out and start a fire.
Decorations
Choose non-combustible or flame-resistant materials to decorate your Christmas tree. Stick to tinsel or artificial icicles made of non-leaded materials; leaded materials are hazardous if ingested by children.
Never use candles on a tree or other evergreen decorations. Use non-flammable holders placed where they can’t be knocked over.
In homes with small children, avoid decorations that are sharp, breakable or have small parts that can be swallowed or that resemble food or candy that a child may try to eat.
Fireplaces
-Use a firescreen and keep decorations away from the fireplace and where they can’t fall into the fire.
-Do not burn wrapping paper or other garbage, as these materials ignites, a flash fire may suddenly result.
This is a Joyous Season and sometimes all that glitter and bling we are tempted with gets in our way, and we forget some of these steps that can keep our family and home safe as we Celebrate and Entertain this Season. Enjoy your Christmas and your Home.
By now, you’ve heard a little about our Designer Real Estate. Here is another awesome sucess story. The owner of this 4 bedroom, Twin Brooks bungalow had it listed previously with a big-box brokerage for 2.5 years. Despite price reductions, and multiple re-lists, the property remained unsold.
KENNEDY took the listing and applied their Designer Real Estate formula. Starting with neutralizing the property. The basement was repainted in fresh white, and the rooms were de-cluttered. The second step was to beautify the listing. Professional photography + interior styling + virtual decorating = SOLD. This home was sold for 98% of the list price.
Unstaged listing photos
Fresh paint + de-cluttering = ready to be staged, styled & sold!
Living room virtually decorated
Kitchen virtually decorated
Basement virtually decorated
This informative article was brought to you today by:
KENNEDY Real Estate YourEdmontonREALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager
A case study in Staging…virtual that is! This downtown Edmonton 2-bedroom, 1010 square foot condo was listed during the summer season by a big-box brand name real estate brokerage. Unfortunately, the property was vacant and unstaged. The listing brought no offers and ultimately expired. KENNEDY took the listing and applied their Designer Real Estate formula:Professional photography + traditional & virtual staging + virtual decorating = SOLD. This home was on the market for just 21 days when the owner was presented with multiple offers. The successful offer was accepted for 98% of list price. This is what the condo looked like BEFORE:
Vacant and lifeless
This is what the listing looked like AFTER Designer Real Estate:
Virtually Staged Living Room
Virtually Staged Living Room Option #2
This informative article was brought to you today by:
Foreclosures don’t have to be sad and forlorn looking. This bank-owned property was vacant and in need of a little pick-me-up.
KENNEDY took the listing and applied their Designer Real Estate formula:Professional photography + interior styling = SOLD. This condo was on the market for less than 2 weeks and sold with multiple offers.
The condo BEFORE:
Foreclosure “as is, where is”: vacant and unstaged
Professionally staged & photographed bedroom #1
Professionally staged & photographed bedroom #2
Professionally staged & photographed bathroom
This informative article was brought to you today by:
KENNEDY Real Estate is reinventing Real Estate by leading the industry in innovation. We are looking to add to our awesome Team with some amazing people. Are you ready? We are….
Contact Jennifer Kennedy Broker/Owner direct at (780) 920-0709 for your personal interview.
Welcome to the final instalment of Winterizing Your Home! In Parts I and II we talked about preparing your home heating system, air conditioning, roof, plumbing, chimney, fireplace and insulation for the colder winter months to come. Be sure to get these next simple suggestions added to your list as winter is just around the corner!
Windows and Doors
Reducing infiltration of cold air from leaks around windows and doors is one of the easiest ways to reduce your winter heating bills!
Windows
On a windy day close your windows and feel for air leaks. It can be
helpful to burn an incense and if the smoke trail becomes anything but vertical
you have a leak.
Places to look for leaks- at the edges where the window is hinged, slides
or meets another unit.
Plastic can be taped over the windows, but a less costly solution
that looks better is to use rope caulk weatherstripping. Press the rope caulk
into all the joints where air is leaking.
Doors
Check if your doors already have weatherstripping and check for
leaks along the sides, tops and bottoms of the doors.
Install weatherstripping where it is needed.
Sprinkler System
Don’t overlook this one when winterizing your property!
This should be done before the end of October.
Turn the water supply off and blow compressed air through the
sprinkler lines to clear them of water to prevent freezing and bursting when
the temperature drops.
Landscape and Amenities
Lastly you’ll want to get your yard ready for winter; doing so will save money on expenses in the spring because your outdoor amenities will have been protected!
Cover patio furniture and if possible store in a shed, garage or basement.
If your deck needs it, consider giving it a fresh coat of sealer.
Drain gas from your lawn mower or you can just let it run until it’s out of gas.
Drain any water fountains and unplug the pumps.
When your home and property are properly prepared for the winter months to come, you can rest at ease when the cold weather arrives. It’s important to transition your home between changing seasons and invest a little to avoid sudden big expenses that can sneak right up on you!
Just can’t stress this enough, your home is your castle and investing some extra time and engery in it, you know you have the “pick of the crop.”
10 Commandments for how REALTORS® should treat one another:
1. Thou shalt always identify yourself on the phone when answering your phone or for making calls. 2. Thou shalt only email and not call for feedback. 3. Thou shalt not leave voice mail requesting a call back for showing feedback. 4. Thou shalt not assume the other REALTOR® knows why your commission cheque is late. He or she is not hiding it. You are just not that special that he or she would take the time to try and hide it from you. Patience my friend. 5. Thou shalt notify the listing agent when you cannot make a showing. 6. Thou shall NOT make the seller the showing coordinator. Please note they never notify of pendings or callbacks to confirm. Can you say frustrating? 7. Thou shalt always have your cell number on your feature sheet for showing confirmation. Do you enjoy calling trunk numbers, leaving a message, waiting for a callback only to have shown 10 properties by the time you get a confirmation back? Too late buddy. Too bad for your seller too. 8. Thou shalt clearly convey the location of the lockbox. 9. Thou shalt never go back on your word. 10. Thou shalt never sell yourself short. If you do the above you’ll be worth every penny.
Last time we talked about preparing your home heating system, air conditioning and roof for the colder winter months to come. Here are some more easy steps to follow to ensure the ice, snow and temperature drop won’t take you or home by surprise!
Plumbing
Damage to plumbing and your home during the winter months can be a costly nightmare when freezing temperatures cause pipes to burst. Investing some time and a little bit of money will be well-worth it!
Insulate exposed piping- Any exposed water or drain piping in un-insulated spaces (this includes crawl spaces, attics, outside walls, etc. ), need to be insulated. This can be done by wrapping the pipes with electrical heating tape and then with foam insulation.
Exterior faucets- Called hose bibbs or sill cocks, these outdoor faucets need all water supply turned off from inside the house. Drain all of
the water and disconnect any garden hoses which should also be drained as well. Insulated covers can be purchased to cover the hose bibbs.
Seasonal shutdown- If you are shutting down a summer property for the winter be sure to shut of the water supply and drain the plumbing system.
Chimney (and Fireplace) Checklist
Check if the chimney is clear of nests from birds, squirrels and other small critters.
Check the floe damper operation, that it opens and closes properly and that it can lock in both positions.
Check the chimney draft by lighting some rolled up newspaper; the smoke should rise up the chimney. If it doesn’t a professional needs to be called to clean the chimney of creosote ash and possible debris.
If it has been several years since the chimney has been cleaned then a professional should be hired to do so.
Inspect the fire brick in the fireplace and any open mortar joints MUST be repaired! A fire can spread into the stud wall behind the masonry firebrick through open mortar joints.
Insulation
Here are some extra tips for the cold months to come beyond the basics of insulating your home.
Insulate your hot water tank with an insulating blanket (you can purchase at a hardware store).
Insulate exterior outlets and switch plates with inexpensive foam sealing gasket.
If your fireplace leaks air you can cut a piece of fibreglass insulation and fit it into the fireplace to block cold air from coming into your home. Just don’t forget to remove it when you want to start a fire!
I hope you are well on your way to winterizing your home, because the snow and ice is just around the corner! If you start taking these simple steps to prepare your property for the cold then you can relax when the temperature starts to drop. Stay tuned and next you can learn about winterizing doors and windows in your home, sprinkler systems and your landscape and amenities!
Remember your home is your castle and investing some extra time and engery in it, you know you have the pick of the crop.
A case study in Staging…virtual that is!
