August 2004
Volume 7 Issue 8
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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This months joke:
Question:Who earns a living driving their customers away?
Answer: A taxi driver.
Your Home…Talkin’ Tips
The recreational value of a deck is obvious, but it also can add to the value of your house at resale time.
• Design the deck as something other than a rectangle. Consider using a laminated safety glass instead of pickets for the railing, so the view is not blocked. Add decorative posts with pre-made copper-topped finials or
post caps.
• Design the deck as an extension of the living space. One can actually “expand” a home, providing additional living space, with hot tubs, grills and patios, and even outdoor showers.
• How big should your deck be? Most people tend to build their decks too small for furniture and for function. Add a couple more feet than you think you’ll need. Every inch will be used.
• A lot of houses especially true Victorians don’t look quite right with a deck. Try a patio garden, pergola or porch. Think about the appearance and size of the deck, determine what you can afford to spend, and obtain estimates.
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The answer is a mystery no more, thanks to the Value of Housing Characteristics Study, financed by the NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF
REALTORS®.
Have questions? email Risa at questions@risa.net or call her at 1-800-699-4901 August favorite
links: Realty Times - EXCELLENT real estate enews
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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