Sellers

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Upgrading your outdoor spaces? Here are upgrades that landscape architects rate as most popular.

If you’re thinking of sprucing up your yard, install what you love; but also pick upgrades that will increase your home’s value and, someday, attract buyers.

The new "2014 Residential Landscape Architecture Trends Survey" by the American Society of Landscape Architects clues you in on what outdoor features are trending up: 

1.  Outdoor lighting (98.3% of architects rated this as very popular): With today’s solar and LED lights, it’s a low-cost upgrade, too. 

2.  Terraces, patios, and decks (97.7%): Adding any of these features is like adding another room to your home for much of the year.

3.  Low-maintenance landscaping

Plan ahead.

Develop a master to-do list so you won’t forget something critical heading into moving day. This will also help you create an estimate of moving time and costs.

Discard items you no longer want or need.

Ask yourself how frequently you use an item and how you’d feel if you no longer had it. Sort unwanted items into “garage sale,” “donate,” and “recycle” piles.

Pack similar items together.

It will make your life easier when it's time to unpack.

Decide what you want to move on your own.

Precious items such as family photos, valuable breakables, or must-haves during the move should probably stay with you. Pack a moving day bag with a small first-aid kit, snacks, and other items you may need before unpacking your “Open

There are no dumb questions to ask a real estate agent.

Home buying seems simple enough: Find a house you like that’s close to work or school, tell someone you want to buy it, and move in.

But there's more to it than that. You’ll have to find and get approved by a lender who will let you borrow a few hundred thousand dollars, lock in a mortgage rate, figure out how much house you can afford, put in an offer that will entice the seller, get an inspection and an appraisal, pay closing costs and sign a whole bunch of paperwork.

Phew! We need a break just thinking about all the questions to ask when buying a house.

Your real estate agent can help you understand the process. But if you don’t ask questions or get your agent to clarify something you

Homes don’t clean themselves. But these easy-peasy rules (wake and make!) will make you feel like they do.

Here's a thing you may have noticed about houses: They don't clean themselves.

Which is unfortunate, because if houses cleaned themselves, you could spend less time cleaning yours and more time doing something more fun.

A few simple daily habits could make it seem like you've got a self-cleaning house.

Rules like . . .

#1 Dedicate 20 Minutes a Day Every Day

You don't need to set aside 20 hours one day to get things in order. You only need 20 minutes every day.

Focus on tackling clutter in just one room. You might only pare down a single drawer or shelf, but "it will make you feel accomplished at the end of the day. And at the end

Like cleaning your siding — just be sure to start from the bottom and go up.

Could it really be summer?!

Tackle these five summer maintenance tasks during June's longer days and better weather — and save yourself time and money this winter.

#1 Update Outdoor Lighting

In June, winter nights are probably the last thing on your mind. But early summer is the perfect time to plan for those "OMG it's only 4:30, and it's already dark " moments by adding or updating landscape lighting.

The most energy-efficient, easy-to-install option is solar lighting, but it won't perform as well on dark or snowy days. For light no matter the weather, install electric.

LED bulbs last up to five times longer and also use less energy than comparable bulbs.

#2

Want summer comfort but hate the AC? Follow these tips on how to keep your house cool without frosty air conditioning.

These tips will help you cool a house without AC, which will save energy (and avoid AC wars with your family).

How to Cool a Room Without AC

When sunlight enters your house, it turns into heat. You’ll keep your house cooler if you reduce solar heat gain by keeping sunlight out.

Close the drapes: Line them with light-colored fabric that reflects the sun, and close them during the hottest part of the day. Let them pillow onto the floor to block air movement.

Add awnings: Install them on south- and west-facing windows to reduce solar heat gain by up to 77%, says the U.S. Department of Energy. Make your own by tacking up sheets

Here’s how to price your home to sell fast.

Your home is more than just a bunch of rooms under a roof. It’s the space where you watched your daughter take her first steps, hosted Super Bowl parties, and celebrated holidays. Those memories are priceless. But when sell your house, the warm and fuzzies can't factor into the question: What is the value of my home?

You aren’t selling your memories; you’re selling a house.

This is where an agent can help. You’re the one who will set your listing price, but your agent has the expertise and local knowledge to advise on how to price your house so it doesn't languish on the market.

#1 Don’t Go High Out of the Gate

You think your house is great. The problem is sellers often think their house

Don’t open the windows. That spring breeze is no help at all.

Once there's even a glimmer of spring, you're ready to throw open your windows and let the breeze blow away the winter funk. Well, you might want to rethink that spring cleaning ritual this year.

If you're an allergy sufferer (and who isn't?), that's the last thing you want to do, says Dr. Neeta Ogden, a spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "It will allow pollen to settle in your home."

If you really can't skip that spring breeze, avoid opening windows in the morning, when pollen counts are highest. They decrease late in the day and at night.

That's not the only common spring-cleaning mistake homeowners make. Here are eight more to avoid:

#1

To manage your biggest asset, create a financial plan that covers repairs, upgrades, mortgages, insurance, and taxes.

Do you pay each home-related expense as it comes? If so, you’re missing opportunities for upgrades, or much worse, heading into a financial crisis when a slew of surprise maintenance items hit. So take a holistic look at what it costs to operate your house and set up a home financial plan.

Use our home financial plan budget worksheet, and start by writing a list of expenses, such as:

• Mortgage
• Taxes
• Home insurance, including liability
• Repairs and maintenance, such as new furnace, roof, painting
• Voluntary upgrades, such as a swimming pool, a premium range, a new powder room.

What Will You Learn From This Home

Ugh. Mold. It’s ugly. It’s tenacious. It’s the uninvited guest that keeps visiting — no matter how rude you are to it. But, unwittingly, you may be setting up the perfect conditions for mold’s return: a food source, lots of moisture, and a pleasant temperature.

“You’ve got to eliminate one of those three legs of the stool so mold won’t grow,” says Pete Duncanson, director of system development for ServiceMaster Restore. “And it’s always easier to prevent than to remediate.”

Assuming you like warm showers and a comfy thermostat setting, there’s not much you can do about the temperature mold loves. But you can get rid of mold — and permanently prevent it — by controlling the other two factors: food and moisture. Here’s how.

Starve It Out

Mold is