Main Line Homes Blog

I asked a friend Deborah Bettcher of Interiors by Decorating Den to write some blog entries for me on decorating trends. Deborah thanks, great article. You can reach her at her studio:610.964.8403 for a consultation.

Sit by a bare window on a sunny day, and you'll feel the sun's warmth.  Sit by that same window on a cold, windy night, and you'll feel chilled to the bone!  With today's economic concerns, smart homeowners are continually searching for ways to cut expenses and save on their monthly energy bills. 

Naturally, the best place to start is to be sure our homes are well insulated.  But all too often, while overall home insulation is a priority, windows seems to be neglected.  No matter what your climate, bare windows are a primary spot for energy escape.  In cold climates, heat naturally moves toward the cold to escape.  And in warmer areas, outdoor heat moves toward the windows of our air conditioned homes.

Since windows make up 20% of a typical homes exterior, and 40% of contemporary home construction, numerous large uncovered windows can break your energy budget.  This is especially true when these windows face a cold northern exposure in the winter or a sun-saturated west wall in summer.

It's important to know that many window treatment products have actually been assigned an R-Value.  Building materials are assigned R-Values according to each product's ability to resist heat movement.  The higher the R-Value, the better it insulates your home.  Most windows have an R-value of 0.9 to 3.0, and can be responsible for 40 - 70% of heat or cold transfer for an entire home. 

Using multiple layers at your windows, including cellular constructed treatments, can actually increase an R-value by 1 to nearly 5 points!

So let's look at a variety of window treatment options to help you create cozy room, and cut energy costs at the same time.  What could be more perfect!

Duette® Honeycomb Shades:  These soft, elegant looking shades actually increase energy values at the window by 25 to 175%, depending upon single, double, or triple thickness in the air-trapping construction.  Available in nearly 300 colors, and a variety of styles, the R-value for Duette's® can reach as high as 4.8 for the triple honeycomb shade.  They're durable, easy to clean, mildew resistant, and require little to no maintenance.

Vertical Blinds:  Available in hundreds of colors, textures and embossed patterns, vertical blinds can increase window insulation by 37 to 123% AND block 95-99% of ultraviolet light.  R-Values reach as high as 3.92 for vertical blinds when closed over double glazed glass.

Vignette Shades:  These beautiful shades feature the gentle look of a fine drapery, but are made of generously contoured folds of rich fabrics.  They provide a 49% increase in window insulation value and can block 99% of UV light.  They boast an R-value of 2.63 when closed over double-glazed glass, and are available in over a hundred fabric/color options.

Because there are numerous shade options available on the market today, here are three questions you should answer before making your specific product selection:  Do you need special insulation protection?  Which direction does most of your windows face - sun or shade?  What treatment/product will work best with the rest of your room's design direction? 

Most importantly, talk to a professional decorator!  They not only have a vast store of knowledge on which product would work best for your individual situation, but they'll be able to add that all important decorative element to your overall window treatment design.

I was asked by a friend to give a short talk last night at a seminar on downsizing and one of the things he wanted me to touch on specifically was trends in the market,

So turning to Trend I pulled up the most recent statistics for Chester County as most of the attendees if not all were from Chester County. Average price of homes has dropped about $20,000 between the last quarter of '08 and first quarter of '09. There were 470 more homes on the market and this number is expected to increase. Number of homes that sold in the quarter was down by 150 about 16.5%,not surprisingly days on market increased by 13 to 96.

Comparing year to date sales to the end of April for the last three years was again an overwhelming negative view of the market settled units compared to 2007 are down by 40%, average settled price is down by $50,000, median settled price is down also by $29,000, settled volume is down by 48%, with sold price being 91.32% of the asking price. Now this last number is always a little skewed as realtors relist to keep their selling price to listing price high so they do not appear to not know how to price homes correctly, something our MLS has not sorted out yet although days on market is now an accurate number if you look at marketing period.

Whilst this news is overwhlemingly negative there are some positive points, homes are still selling, mortgages are available, mainly to those who truly qualify, another post on this will follow and when priced right and marketed correctly you can get a home sold well within the days on market number shown in the statistics. So don't despair just make sure you use a realtor who is tech savvy, understand internet marketing as more than 84% of buyers are now searching on line before and even whilst using a realtor.

For example we had a customer call about one of our listings because his wife found it on the internet, their agent, who is a good agent said she had shown them all the properties in that development but had missed it in the MLS, they were about to make an offer and wanted to see the home, which we were able to set up for them with their agent that day although there was 24 hour notice. Now let's hope they will like it enough to make an offer.

I recently attended an orientation meeting at our local Regus office complex and hosted a breakfast there for people who might be looking for homes.

What I like about the local office located in Berwyn on route 252 is the offices are modern, well laid out with everything you might need. Plus they have options that if you need to travel on business give you access to offices worldwide. They have a host of office sizes and the most modern data services you might need, you can bring your own copier or use their state of the art model. All in all it is a good deal when you are looking to start a business and need space that looks professional and also gets you out of the office. There are no long term commitments and they are flexible as you grow to adapt to your needs.

If you are inteested in setting up an appointment give me a call and I can make the introductions. Locally they have space in Berwyn, King of Prussia and Conshohocken, each location has their own feel and design and one may appeal to your more than another. I like the Berwyn office but that may be because I am European and the modern design is what I like personally.

We just listed a 2 bed 2 bath inner courtyard 2nd story condo at Old Forge Crossing in Devon. Just steps from parking but with nice views into the courtyard this home has updated baths with ceramic tile to the ceilings, new sinks and toilets they look and feel like a luxury condominium, the kitchen has also been updated with new cabinets and stainless steel appliances. Don't forget the condo fees include pool and tennis fees, plus gas for the dryer, hot water and cooking. But why don't you just watch the video and see for yourself what great value this is for a wonderful location.  

More details available at http://271oldforgecrossing.oldforgecrossing.com.

With Title Insurance being one of the highest in the nation and making a large part of buyers closing costs as well as those refinancing, this week the Pennsylvania Insurance Commission held a hearing to discuss possible reduction of title insurance rates in Pennsylvania.

Prompted by a February 2009 rate increase request filed by the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania, which the Attorney General's Office opposed the Commission met to discuss the issue. Pennsylvania consumers paid nearly $585 million in title insurance premiums last year, but Corbett the Attorney General pointed out that the majority of those premiums - up to 85% - were paid as commissions to title insurance agents.

Attorney General Tom Corbett urged the Commission to reduce the rates, which are some of the highest in the country and to closely review other proposed changes to improve competition and benefit consumers who are purchasing or refinancing homes. He also reported that companies were competing to pay increasing commission rates to agents who guide the purchase of title insurance policies in Pennsylvania.

In the past, the Department has used the Title Insurance Rating Bureau to conduct reviews, which places this industry-controlled board in direct conflict with its agents across the state. Corbett encouraged the Insurance Department to use independent analysts for any review of the current title insurance system.

When did you last purchase Title Insurance? Were most of your closing costs for your purchase or refinance derived from the cost of Title insurance?

Ann Capers one of our team members just took a new listing in Ardmore a two bed condominium on Glenn Rd that is on the second floor of the Carriage Arms building, a great location.

After measuring rooms and taking photos I wandered across Montgomery Avenue to Suburban Square, if you live in the area you know what a great shopping area this is filled with boutiques, art galleries, a great Farmers market and Trader Joe's along with restaurants, a Starbucks, Macy's along with many other specialist small shops as well. All within walking distance like the Main Line YMCA if you need more than a walk.

Continue a little further and you reach Lancaster Avenue with all that it has to offer as well as well as the Ardmore Septa station for access to downtown Philadelphia and points west such as Berwyn and Wayne that both have First Friday events as well as great restaurants.

So call your agent or if you don't have one call one of  us to arrange an appointment to see this great 2 bed condo with westerly aspect, great floorplan for entertaining and a nice large main bedroom. See you soon.

I was speaking at the Chester County Estate Planners meeting last night about my experiences on the Antiques Roadshow and mentioned that because of my back ground in antiques and being a realtor I am a good source for estate planners to contact when they need advice on an estate. Sort of like a one stop resource.

I know auctioneers locally and in large cities including New York, as well as dealers, collectors, and museums around the world. When deciding what to do with an estate there are many options not just selling although this is of course one option but is it best for the estate? Whilst there are the collections to deal with there is of course the real estate as well and we can handle both angles for these planners because of our connections and experience.

We can arrange on site auctions of both the real estate and the collections or have the collections removed and the home staged for sale to bring the best price for the estate. It is all a matter of a little planning ahead and laying out a route with the input of the collector and their family being best when possible.

If you need help with an estate feel free to contact me. This is when the team concept is most apt to handling a transaction.

Cleaning gutters is important because it can affect water penetration in your house. So often when there is water coming in you can find the source is bad grading on the exterior. often that bad grading can be from clogged gutters that overflow and then wash away the soil allowing water to penetrate the home. so keeping those gutters clean is an important issue.

Certainly you can use gutter guards and there are many sorts, some working better than others. But I have found even with gutter guards some seeds and debris finds its way in to the gutter so they need to be regularly cleaned to keep them free and working efficiently. Which is harder with the guard as you have to remove them and re-attach them as well.

It is a necessary evil, cleaning your gutters and a job that I have not found anyone I know to love till now. Why now? I saw this handy new tool that came out about a year ago I believe, see video below. I have not used one but it certainly looks fun and easier than climbing on the roof and inching along getting your hands filthy from all the debris. You still have to get up on a ladder and you would obviuosly need to remove the gutter guards but with this machine it may not be necessary to even have the guards if you use this regularly.

Every home inspection I attend I hear inspectors explain that in their report they will list maintenance that home buyers will need to undertake over the course of their ownership of the home. I watch them explain how to change filters and make sure the buyer understands the workings of their new home.

So why is it that when they come to sell so many homes are in dis-repair? Do buyers ever pick up that home inspection report and look at it after they buy? A home inspection is not a method to just get another few hundred or thousands off the price of the home and then can be tossed aside. It is an important document that you should look over regularly and see what maintenance needs to be done.

Just as you maintain your car with oil changes and required maintenance so you need to maintain your home. You need to spend money on your home to keep it updated, to keep it clean, to give it curb appeal and to keep its value up just like your car. So pull out that inspection report and read through to see what you might need to replace, repair or simply paint.