Increase Your Home Value on Any Budget Home Improvements: $100 or Less One of the simplest, most cost-effective improvements of all is giving a space a fresh coat of paint. Tip 1: Spend an hour with a pro. Invite a Realtor or interior designer over to check out your home. Many Realtors will do this as a courtesy, but you will probably have to pay a consultation fee to a designer. Check with several designers in your area — a standard hourly fee is normally less than $100. In an hour, a professional can give you lots of ideas for needed improvements. Even small suggestions, such as paint colo ..read more

HomeBuyer’s Advice Homebuyers are getting a lot of mixed messages this year. Interest rates are near record lows, but housing prices are still rising. So should you continue to rent or go ahead and take the plunge to buy? That depends a lot on both your needs and where you live. You may be wanting more space for home offices, play areas for kids, and more.  You may not have to be close to work, which is one reason why there’s a current exodus out of expensive cities like New York City and San Francisco to suburbs or smaller towns. Another reason is cost. According to HomebuyingInstitute ..read more

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Woodmont Realty’s FOREVER CONCIERGE, powered by MoveEasy Woodmont Realty offers clients a lifetime access to the Forever Concierge at no cost. This service will provide a dedicated concierge assigned for the lifetime of your homeownership to help and guide you with all your moving and home management needs. The Forever Concierge provides you with an online dashboard and can be accessible through your Amazon Echo or Google Home device through Android or Apple Mobile Apps at no cost. Your concierge will help you with everything all in one place. You will get: • Ho ..read more

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Woodmont Realty recently hosted a virtual Awards celebration event to celebrate the 2020 achievements of the 150+ team of elite sales professionals in real estate. The event is traditionally held at the City Winery, but due to the Covid-19 restrictions still in place the event was transitioned into a LIVE virtual event. “The craziness of Covid-19 disrupted many of our traditional events, but we knew that it wasn’t going to stop us for acknowledging our team of agents,” said Nancy F. Malone, Broker for the Brentwood office location. Nancy continued to say,” Our a ..read more

If you plan to repaint your interiors this year, don’t forget to pick a hue that will positively impact your mood. While bright red or neon green may be fun, they can subconsciously create stress in the body. Below are five peaceful paint colors to up the “ahhh” factor of your favorite spaces. Violet A dusty purple can promote balance and inner peace. Make sure to pick a shade with more blue tones and less black for a relaxing vibe. Green While a neon green can be alarming, a less bright shade (think forest or grass) can be calming and refreshing. Gray While some may think gray is dull, it ac ..read more

Written by Barbara Pronin for Realty Times. Restaurants and malls are opening everywhere, even as the uneven path of coronavirus continues to criss-cross the nation. Yet many are operating at less than half capacity, as poll after poll shows consumers still wary despite being given a go-ahead. At the same time, brokers nationwide report that business is brisk, with most homes drawing multiple offers and selling for more than the asking price. “We had 847 showings last weekend of 166 listings,” said Colorado broker Joe Clement, CEO and leader of the Joe Clement Team with RE/MAX Properties in C ..read more

Most of us spend a lot of time in the kitchen, preparing meals and cleaning up. In many cases, we spend so much time in our familiar kitchen space that we don’t pay much attention to what it looks like. But the trends, they are a-changin’. Today’s kitchens are sleek and practical. Design experts list seven kitchen looks that are quickly going out of style: Short backsplashes. Backsplashes that reach up to six to eight inches above the countertop are sorely outdated. If you’re up for a remodel, take the backsplash all the way up to the upper cabinets to make your kitchen feel bigger and cleane ..read more

Like the generation it’s named for, millennial pink is all around us. It’s a fun, daring, sophisticated hue that isn’t exactly new, but lately seems to have caught the eye of legions of clothing and décor designers. Not quite salmon, not quite rose and a far cry from traditional Barbie pink—millennial pink can best be described as a soft, subtle pink with some gray tones and a slight hint of peach. It’s hard to miss if you’re browsing the racks for trendy clothes or checking out the newest paint colors. At your hardware or home maintenance store, check out Victoriana or Precocious by Benjamin ..read more

Are you having trouble communicating with your partner, friends or colleagues? Do you forget what your friend just told you only minutes after the conversation ended? In a world geared toward multitasking, it can be hard to drop fully into a conversation and just listen. Below are three tips to help you be more present in your conversations. Ask questions. Don’t just smile and nod. Make your conversation partner feel more heard by asking questions that are relative to what they’re saying. Ask for more details to dig deeper and listen fully. Repeat what you heard. Every few minutes ..read more

Technology seems to mutate with the speed of light, but is your home keeping up with the changes? Smarten it up with a few smart-home electronics that will boost safety, increase comfort and may even save you a few bucks: Video Doorbell The VTech Video Doorbell, about $115, lets you screen and even video chat with visitors before you answer the door. And the system takes a snapshot each time the doorbell is pressed, so you’ll always know who came a-knocking while you were away. Smart Door Lock The August Smart Lock uses keyless technology to keep your home safe no matter where you are. From y ..read more