Question: What exactly increases the price of a home?

Don’t look now, but junk is lurking in your house. Old tools, books, tiles, broken furniture, mattresses, lumber, ancient appliances, fencing and boxes. If you’re preparing to sell your home, one of the first steps in making sure it’s show-ready is disposing of your old and neglected stuff. But sometimes, hauling all these items to the local dump is easier said than done — especially when you’re busy remedying carpet stains and chipped paint. And it seems that charities are becoming pickier about what they’ll accept these days — and even more so what they will pick up from your home.
Fortunately, a fast-growing Canadian-based business has come to the rescue. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is a removal company with franchises across North America. Since its founding in 1989, the company has hauled more than 75,000 truckloads of junk to the dump or to recycling centers. About 60 percent is recycled, according to www.1800gotjunk.com, the company’s Web site. Prices for labor and hauling vary, depending on location. In Washington, D.C., for example, one eighth of a truck full of junk will cost you $129 to haul it away; the whole truck, $478.
If you’re worried that your junk is too strange for a mainstream junk-removal company, fear not. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? once picked up 18,000 expired cans of sardines from a customer.

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Your Home…Talkin’ Tips

A major kitchen overhaul probably doesn’t make sense when you’re ready to sell. But you’ll want to do all you can to make your kitchen look its best.
Paint – A fresh coat is an easy, inexpensive way to brighten and revive any room.
Countertops – If your countertop tile is old, grungy or outdated, how about new tile? Try to keep it neutral.
Faucet – Update the old stainless steel faucet with a new stylish replacement.
Source:realtytimes.com - Real Estate News and Advice

CRS: Only the Best

Buying or selling a home can seem like an overwhelming task. But the right REALTOR® can make the process easier and more profitable.
A Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), with years of experience and success, will help you make smart decisions in a fast-paced, complex and competitive market.
To receive the CRS Designation, REALTORS® must demonstrate outstanding professional achievements, including high-volume sales or a high number of transactions (and often both) and pursuing advanced training in areas such as business planning, real estate investing, marketing and technology. They also maintain membership in the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and abide by its Code of Ethics.
Work with the top 4 percent of agents in the nation. Contact Risa Saltman 407-699-4901, Residential Specialists,who has demonstrated results and shown unsurpassed professionalism.

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Answer: The answer is a mystery no more, thanks to the Value of Housing Characteristics Study, financed by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
Two professors, G. Stacy Sirmans, a real estate professor, and David A. Macpherson, an economist, from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., completed the report, which proves that everything from skylights to ceiling height can affect the value of a home. The study shows each additional bedroom increases the value of a home about 4 percent, while air-conditioning raises it 12 percent. But the real value, the findings show, is in the bathroom. Each full bath adds about 24 percent to the selling price of a house.
Other factors that apparently greatly affect the selling price are square footage, lot size, presence of a den, a fireplace and 9-foot ceilings. The study is based on about 28,000 transactions in the 21-county Philadelphia area during eight years.

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