It’s amazing what a simple coat of paint can do to transform the look of a room. It’s hard to convey to first time homebuyers how easy it can be to transform a dark, dingy looking fireplace into something beautiful. Yes, it does take a little bit of “elbow grease” to get the job done but it’s an affordable option that makes a huge impact. The puppy certainly makes a great addition too!
UPDATE! The picture below is the original bathroom. It was tiny, like a 3′ x 4′ space with just a toilet and sink. The owners transformed it into the beautiful space above. The green shelving is actually a Murphy door that opens into the bedroom. It’s amazing they were able to open up this much space that was unused by removing walls and a unused chimney.
So I’m showing this house and come across this in the bathroom. Carpet in the bathroom, yeah gross! But what is this spray hose attached to a toilet? I’m thinking it’s a DIY version of a Bidet. In reality it’s a disaster waiting to happen if you have kids. The funny thing is, this is the second home I’ve come across this feature so perhaps I’m wrong as to it’s purpose. Let me know what you think it is.
Do you know that the listing agent works for the seller? Their goal is to get the seller the highest price in the shortest amount of time. So why would you want to work with the list agent? You should want someone that is looking out for you!
A buyers agent will help you negotiate a realistic price. In a highly competitive market that favors the seller you want to make sure you aren’t overpaying when purchasing. Your agent will also help you through the process of the home inspection and negotiating for reasonable repairs. Your agent will be invested in seeing to your best interests.
Our Dining Room, probably on the last day it was clean, not cluttered. We remodeled it at least 10 years ago in order to address 2 issues we had. The first was the plumbing for the upstairs lies in the ceiling over the dining room. We had a few leaks over the years which always resulted in cutting holes in the drywall to access the water lines. The second issue was an outdated, popcorn-textured ceiling that made repairing the drywall very difficult.
So we removed the ceiling, replaced all the plumbing lines and installed tin panel sheets for the ceiling instead of drywall. This will allow us in the future to remove a single panel to reach any plumbing and then replace the panel easily. There are several options available for ceiling tiles. While we opted for actual tin there are some made of lightweight vinyl. There are options that can replace old fiber, drop down ceiling panels or ones that can be directly nailed over an existing popcorn ceiling. Great options if you are looking to update an ugly ceiling.
As a side note, you may notice the barn door hardware. Our dining room has 2 double door entrances one of which had doors that were left open all the time. Those doors always seemed to be in the way so we decided to remove them and re-hang them using antique barn door hardware from one our barn buildings. Bill Morris did a fantastic job rebuilding the rollers and mounting the doors. I highly recommend him for building and remodeling work if you need a construction guy.
I worked with a family that relocated last Summer from Oregon to Wisconsin. My buyers traveled by car, across country with their two kids and three chickens. They thought they would quickly be able to purchase a home and move in. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and they struggled to find a short term rental to live in, let alone house some chickens.
So I offered to take care of their chickens until we found them that perfect place. I have chickens myself so I it was pretty easy to do. Now, eight months later the “girls” are finally moving into their new home. Yes, I offer free chicken delivery too!
This photo is a prime example of my problem solving skills! This is from the crawl space of one of the homes I had listed. The seller moved out before Christmas and the closing didn’t occur until the beginning of February. Since the home was vacant, I stopped by weekly to check on it. Why? Because Wisconsin winter weather is extreme and constantly changes. Basically, that means anything can and will happen.
Temperatures can fluctuate from below zero to 30 degrees in a matter of days. On a warm day I discovered a water leak, water spraying all over the crawl space where the main water shut off valve is. At 5’3″ tall I had to do a hunched over duck waddle in the pouring “rain” to reach it. Good thing I typically wear boots in winter!
I have a great working relationship with a local plumber, he was out the following day to make repairs. I brought a fan from home to help dry things out and turned up the heat to help prevent any further plumbing problems. Doing all of these things saved the seller from a 3 hour trip to handle it himself. The lesson here, I’m a full service agent ready to get dirty in order to take care of your property.
Liz Walker Real Estate 