Main Line Homes Blog

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.

I read a great post this morning aimed towards real estate agents rather than buyers but realize it is also some good information for buyers as well. It was written by Joe Michalski on his blog about What to look for before the home inspection. Joe by the way helped me last week present a seminar for First Time Buyers at our office in Devon, along with Eric may from Prosperity Mortgage, talking about what a home inspection is and what it is not and explaining the home buying, mortgage and inspection process for several first time buyers.

Often buyers are so interested in the home they don't look at the home? It is easy to get distracted by design and decor, furniture and photos but you really need to look beyond all that and see the rooms. Are these room sizes going to work for you. Look not at the furniture but at the sizes, is it the same as yours, smaller or larger? Do you have more chairs? What about lights, are you used to a central over head light as opposed to lamps around the room. I know when we first came to America I found it very hard to see homes with out central overhead lights. it seemed so strange to me and took some getting used to. Many of my overseas clients have the same problem.

When it comes to bedrooms are the beds the same sizes as what you will use, and what other furniture do you have tha needs to fit in the room? Closets, are they really that small and don't get fooled by owners who have put all their winter clothes away in storage so the closets look large and spacious?

So beyond all the rooms is the house a good house, what about the roof and gutters, does the basement seem dry. Look through Joe's list on his blog as it had several great points and is a good list to print out and take with you when looking at homes.

Villanova home with LOW TAXES. Great location. Rehabbed in 2008, all new bathrooms and new kitchen with granite counters, new interior doors, roof new 2006, new heater 2007. Once up the short drive there is plenty of driveway parking and the house sits on a flat piece of land overlooking the valley, front porch has slate floor new in 2007. Two car garage with access to W/O basement with remodelled laundry/mud room with large walk in cedar closet and 2 further finished rooms. Stairs to large and bright rooms on the main level with good flow throughout for entertaining including sun room overlooking flat yard and large new 2007 deck, 24 X 15 with built in benches. Both family and sun room with fans. Eat in kitchen has new cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counters. Private office off hallway for those who need to work from home. Bedrooms are all good sizes with powder room and bathrooms updated in 2008.

As you can see this home has great flow for entertaining with friends and family. For more information on this home click here