By Michelle Portesi
We here at ‘Your Friend in High Places’ have talked a lot about the importance of sprucing up your house and yard along with good staging when trying to sell your property. We haven’t however, discussed the importance of taking good real estate photos after you’ve put in all that elbow grease and effort.
As the saying goes, A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words. Nothing gives a potential buyer a more enticing incentive to call about seeing more of your property or a sense of your home’s features than good photos.
So when I ran across this website of ‘Epic Real Estate Photo Fails’, not only did I get a good laugh out of it, but they were certainly prime examples of what NOT to do.
For your viewing enjoyment, here are a few examples:
.
One Question Remains…WHHHHYYYYYY? Is this ‘indoor pool’ considered a feature?
.
Really? A pig AND a piano? I’m rather confused as to this room’s actual intended use.
.
I’m not sure how they managed to do this, but it feels vaguely like the photo equivalent of one of those cubist Picasso paintings.
.
For more photo amusement, some of which were in such poor taste I didn’t dare post them here, go to this website: https://www.thoughtco.com/hilariously-terrible-real-estate-photos-1924229
…and then call Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places. She would NEVER take photos like these to sell your home!
.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
.
.
Hopefully you have power by now and you can check out the 2016 4th quarter real estate stats and also the years 2005 – 2016 bar graphs.
For the 2016 4th quarter market stats, go here: yourfriendinhighplaces.net/north-lake-tahoe-truckee-real-estate-market-stats/
For comparative Market stat graphs overall for the years 2005 – 2016, go here: yourfriendinhighplaces.net/market-results-2004-2013/
And…
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
.
Be safe out there. Mother nature has been packing a wallop with a series of major storms. Bluebird days predicted for this weekend!
.
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
.
By Michelle Portesi
.
.
THE HOUSE
October was a month of heavy precipitation with both rain and snow. The ski areas are anticipating opening before Thanksgiving, and before you know it, winter will officially be here.
The Sierra Sun has a wonderful article on getting your house ready for the season. Among their suggestions were these tips:
* Get your chimney swept out. Nothing puts a damper on the season like a chimney fire. And if you haven’t ordered your wood yet (Whoa! Are you late!!!) best get that lined up ASAP.
*Check your roof and clean out your gutters.
* Check your furnace and put in new air filters.
For more of their home winterizing suggestions, go here: sierrasun.com
.
.
.
THE YARD
Getting ready for winter isn’t just about your house though. If you want your yard to survive and thrive next spring, you’ll want to take care of a few things outside as well.
* Fall is for planting. Now is the best time to get those plants, shrubs and trees in the ground. Planting in fall allows the plant to put down some roots during the winter so that when spring arrives, they’re acclimated and ready to burst with new growth. While you can still plant in the spring, it can send the plant into shock just as they’re starting their growing spurt, so best to do it now. Landscapers are crazy busy this time of year for just this reason, so call around to make sure someone has time to put you on their schedule.
* Now is also the perfect time to throw wildflower seeds around. Rake up your ground a bit, cast your seed and then spread seed cover over them. They will lie dormant until the spring snow melts, giving them a germinating shot of water to get them started once the ground warms up.
* Get some gardeners tape and wrap up your shrubs and immature deciduous tree branches into tight columns. Winter’s heavy snows can break branches and destroy years worth of growth. Do the same with any potted plants and move them away from roof lines to avoid large, damaging dumps of snow on them.
* I’ve had a horrible time with aphids on my columbine and lupine, and as it turns out, it’s because of what I didn’t do in the fall. I’ve just let the plants die back naturally and that’s actually the worst thing you can do. Aphids lay their eggs in the leaves in the fall for hatching in the spring. So if you’re having trouble with aphids, be sure to cut plants (any that normally would die back in winter) below the leaf line and throw it in the garbage.
*Remember to detach all your hoses and put them in a dry place. Hoses attached to the bib can freeze and that can lead to freezing and a break in the line. And turn off your sprinklers and drain the system if it doesn’t automatically drain.
Here is more advice on how to protect your plants with mulch and ‘heeling in’ anything that’s still in pots. smartpots.com
.
.
Photo from Truckee CHP Facebook page
.
THE CAR
And don’t forget about your car. With this weeks early snow and heavy rain, both I-80 and Hwy. 267 were closed down for hours because of accidents. Pete Bansen. chief of the Squaw Valley Fire Department has an informative (and highly amusing) article about preparing for winter driving: Don’t be ‘That Guy’.
.
YOU
Find your snow shovels, car snow scrapers and brushes, mittens, hats, winter boots and jackets and have them at the ready so you’re not fumbling around looking for them when you need them the most. Invest in a car Snowhoe if you don’t already have one. It makes getting snow off of your car ten times easier.
Be Safe and Have Fun This Winter!
.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 