Taking Advantage of a Hot Real Estate Market

Getting ready to put your house on the market? There has never been a better time to do it. With city-dwellers flocking to find more space here in Connecticut and more young families looking to find larger living quarters, the demand for real estate in our area is sky-high. So what should you be thinking about to nab the best price for your home? Here are five ideas to consider:

Home Office Space

With so many people working from home for the foreseeable future, a dedicated space to stay focused during the 9-to-5 will be a worthwhile investment. A simple place away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the house where productivity can be maximized will be high on the list for many house hunters. 

Indoor Outdoor Living

Even though it’s getting colder, people will be looking at how they can extend their living space outdoors. With more people spending more time at home, backyards and patios will begin to feel more like retreats with swimming pools, firepits, and kitchen/dining facilities taking center stage. 

Minimal Maintenance

While landscaping is an attractive element to any home, most prospective buyers don’t want to spend all their free time doing yard work, especially if they are moving to the suburbs from the city. Consider simple changes that make your greenspace easier to maintain. Clean beds and maintained grass offer a fantastic blank canvas for novice gardeners.

Nooks and Hideaways

With families spending more time together at home, everyone will be looking for a little bit of quiet and privacy. Window seats, reading nooks, and small dedicated spaces for the kids to play will be in high demand, which is a big departure from the open plan trends of the past decade. 

Bedroom Oasis

Bedrooms often end up last on the list in terms of design and detail, but will less of us going off on vacation, the bedroom is about to get a whole lot more luxurious. From high-end bedding to comfortable seating, bedrooms that can be transformed to feel like a hotel room will tick plenty of boxes on a buyer’s list.

With so much activity happening locally, this fall is sure to break some records and make for an interesting real estate season. Have the effects of coronavirus made you consider putting your house on the market? Has working from home or home-schooling made you think about a move? I’d love to hear from you, send me a message on Facebook at www.facebook.com/odonnellbros 

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Around the House Jobs To Tackle Before the Cold Comes

Now is a great time to get working on any home improvement jobs before the cooler weather sets in. Whether it’s taking preventative measures to make sure the ice and snow don’t do a number on your home or just routine repairs that you’ve been putting off, these next few weeks will be the perfect time to spruce up your house. 

Probably the most important home maintenance job for this time of year is to take a look at your gutters. Before we know it, tree debris will be falling and the leaves will be clogging up gutters and downspouts. If you’ve ever thought about installing gutter guards on your home, now is the time to do it. They will protect your gutters from the leaves and help you to avoid that cumbersome autumn clean-out.

One of my favorite ways to update a home is to install a new entry door. A lot of houses in our area still have wood doors, which are prime for serious heat leakage. Installing a new door made from fiberglass will help to retain warmth and give you a great, contemporary style. They even come in wood grain or solid color finishes to keep with the look and feel of your current exterior.

Now is also one of the best times to look at vinyl siding, which can dramatically improve the appearance of your home while reducing overall maintenance and upkeep. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one-third of new homes in the U.S. are built with vinyl siding, and that number continues to rise every year. Why? Vinyl siding is durable, long-lasting, and comes in a variety of finishes to suit a homeowner's personal style. My favorite part is that it never has to be painted or stained, and you don’t have to worry about rotting or insect problems which can come with traditional wood cladding.

Finally, with winter on the way, it's time to take a look at your windows. When I visit a house, I will often use a thermal camera to see how much heat is being lost, and old wood sash or aluminum windows are both major heat drains. New vinyl windows are great in terms of energy efficiency and heat loss reduction, and at our house, we love the tilt-in sashes for easy cleaning. 

Being a homeowner requires a lot of maintenance, but the investment is worth it to keep you and your family comfortable all year round. Plus, with today’s hot real estate market, any of these updates will help you to get a better price if a sale is in your future plans. 

What is your favorite tip for giving your house a facelift? I'd love to hear from you so send me a message on Facebook at www.facebook.com/odonnellbros. Happy Labor Day everyone!

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

It's Time For Gutter Maintenance

It’s already the last week of August and soon we’ll be seeing the sure-fire signs of fall. Every homeowner’s favorite job, leaf maintenance, is officially right around the corner.

Starting soon and for the next six or eight weeks, leaves, branches, and other debris will begin falling onto your roof and down into your gutters, building up over time. As winter approaches, this buildup can contribute to the formation of ice dams, a heavy mass of ice that settles on the edge of your roof where your gutters are installed.

The main job of a gutter is to create a pathway for water to move away from your house and through a downspout to deposit in a safe place away from your home’s foundation. This system is vital because it ensures that water can flow freely and not cause leaks in your roof, attic, and walls. If your gutters are blocked up, the water has nowhere to go and has no choice but to flow over, creeping up into your roof shingles and down through your siding. This kind of damage is both costly to repair and entirely preventable.

I always recommend giving your gutters a good clean now and once again in late October or early November before the snow comes. I get lots of calls to clean gutters and install gutter guards starting in August and this year is no exception. If you’d rather tackle the task yourself, here are a few tips - just be very careful and don’t get on a ladder if you’re not comfortable being on a roof.

Get prepared with your ladder, a lawn bag or bucket, a small hand rake (or scoop), and a hose. Don’t be tempted to spray debris down the downspout with water; it’s likely that branches and leaves will get stuck inside, clogging it up and leaving you with a whole new mess to deal with.  Start at the downspout opening and work your way backward, collecting gunk away from the downspout and disposing it into your bucket. Work in small sections and don’t let your bag get too heavy – it could throw you off balance and land you in the emergency room. 

While you’re making your way around the house, check for any gutter damage, such as sections coming loose. You want to make sure you get those fixed while the weather is good. Once you’ve finished the cleaning, you can give each section a good spray with the hose to check and make sure the water is running through and you don’t have any hidden build-up in those downspouts.

If gutter cleaning is a job you’d rather not take on, hire a contractor to complete the maintenance and then speak to them about putting gutter guards on your home. These wire or mesh overlays are installed on top of the gutter and prevent debris from entering the channel in the first place. They offer a great solution to a messy job and will provide you with peace of mind for years to come. You’ll want to get them installed now before the first signs of autumn to make sure your home is prepared for the onset of fall leaves.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.