You contemplating a home renovation because your home is outdated or you're just bored with it? Did you know an average remodel can cost anywhere form $10-$60 a square foot? By room the average cost are: Kitchen $32,000 Bathroom $15,000 Basement $20,500 Living Area $8,000 Those numbers are intimidating but there are a few ways to lower those cost when you're on a budget. You need to evaluate which room to start with and access what needs to be done within that room. You'll need to access your own finances to see what you can budget whether paying for cash or using a credit option you will need to set an amount. The amount you set needs to be a set amount that is not budged. Another consideration is can you do the work or do you need a contactor? If you need a contractor make sure read over everything from who provides material to what they will be doing with reviews on work. Rent your own dumpster and do the initial clean up, this saves from hiring someone to do it. Make sure what ever area you'll be working in has a temporary area while the work is being done. Remodeling the kitchen can be done in a more cost efficient manner if you're able to do a little extra work and have good "bones". Repaint your cabinets if they're in good shape but need a little lift. Add backsplash to give your kitchen and a new feel. Updating appliances can become costly. If you need to replace appliances look for deals available, shop around, and maybe check the scratch and dent discounts. If you're changing the countertop consider quartz over quartzite, quartz is durable and a little better pricing. Bathrooms are smaller but can be quite costly to remodel. This projects cost will really be based off if you need a full remodel or a little face lift. Access what really needs completely replaced vs what just needs small adjustments. For instance: The cabinets can be painted, the hardware replaced on the sink and shower instead of new, paint on the walls, etc. Avoid layout changes if possible as this can lead to extra cost on plumbing and electric. If you absolutely need all new items look for bundle options. Living area are a center piece within a home. Opening the space could cause it to not look so crowded and more open. Taking out a wall could really help this, double check the wall is non-weight bearing prior to taking it out. Tear up carpet, this really helps if the carpet is worn and damaged. Hardwood floor a relatively simple option for replacement flooring. You can find discounted options and discontinuing deals that could save money. You can install this flooring yourself as well and avoid paying someone else to do it for you. New flooring creates a completely different look within a room and can make it look completely new. Rearrange the furniture then clean it up or reupholster the furniture and refinish any wood. There are many more hacks I'm sure I've missed! Just remember its the simple differences that really can make the biggest differences.

Always wonder how Airbnb's get started? Well here is a run down on how to start an Airbnb: If the home needs repaired or upkeep those issue will need resolved. Fully furnish the home. This is where you will need to evaluate what style area you will have. Is this a cabin with bare necessities or a home with everything possible upgraded to the full extent? Linens, utensils, cookware, cups, etc need to be purchased. Some get the bare necessities while others ensure that there is everything possible needed. Keyless lock makes things more efficient for entry purposes. You can set/reset the code for each guest to ensure that only authorized people are allowed inside. Find a Co-host. Most owners opt to allow a host to assist in taking care of guest needs and booking locations. This will cause less stress in ensuring guest have everything needed before and during a stay. Set guidelines/ rules for the home. You will need to set guidelines to make sure your home is well taken care of. Take a look around the area and see what would attract a guest to that location. This will be what you need to highlight to attract guest to your home. Set a nightly minimum and maximum rate. You'll want to average other home prices within the area. Make sure to take into account if you have a hot tub, how big your location is, what you have to offer. Take professional looking photos. Your photos need to show an accurate view of the home but in its best light. Make sure to add a layout of the home as well. Determine who will clean the home. You can hire a cleaning crew or do it yourself. You can charge the cleaning fee straight to the guest so it won't come out of the amount owed to you. Post your listing and be available to answer any questions. There will more than likely need to be changes made as you gain more guest.

There are many reasons people may need to consider selling a home as is. The home around you may be outdated, you may have outgrown the home or the home may be to large for your needs, the upkeep may be too much, or life events may be making it difficult to stay where you are. If you're ready for a fresh start or simply need to relocate continue for tips on how to sell an as-is home. Basic Tips on how to sell an as-is home: Focus on the best features of the home Historic value Unique designs Location in relation to surrounding areas Size of property- can be a large property with room to roam or a small property with easy upkeep Emphasize value/ investment opportunity The value of the home may appear low currently but with updates will increase Investing in a run down home now may mean a higher resale later Clean up the exterior of the home If anything is in the front especially move them to a different location Clean up any trash Do landscaping if possible The first impression comes from curb appeal Promote the neighborhood Safe neighborhoods are idea, if your in a low crime area point this out Showcase local amenities- shopping centers, parks, playgrounds, etc. If the prospective buyer has kids mention the school district Appeal to the lifestyle of your audience Gardening, landscaping, do-it-yourselfers, etc. Ex: Large plot of land could be idea for someone who wants to plant their own garden or a family who wants the extra land for kids to run on. Find the correct price Look at surrounding home values Take into consideration that the buyer will need to put work and material into the home Overpricing can detour people from taking time to actually look at the potential Don't underprice, make sure you get the value but be willing to negotiate Prepare for inspections Even if you're selling as is the buyer may want multiple inspections to ensure they know what they're purchasing Look at the property from a buyer's perspective This is the best way to know how to market the home and what the buyer is going to focus on the most Target the correct buyer You can target specific crowds while you're marketing your home Each crowd will look for different points within the home Finding the correct crowd will significantly increase your chance of selling

Living on the farm always brings stories to tell, here is another one you might enjoy! We raised chickens and always allowed them to free-range during the day. That means they were free to roam anywhere during the daylight hours but must be penned up each night. They soon learn this routine and would squawk like crazy if you were late, the girls didn't need a rooster, they could make enough noise for an army invasion. They also followed the daylight hours, so outside more in summer than winter. All you have to do is open the henhouse door and they come running and pushing their way thru the door to spend a wonderful day roaming all over the farm pecking and eating whatever they like. They do stay together which I always found interesting. It didn't matter which breed or size they were, the gals all stuck together and eventually seemed to elect leaders, guards and tattlers. Now the leaders would be the ones who decide where to go roam that day, usually always within eyesight of the peoplehouse. They loved roaming the barn and the gardens. I liked it because they kept bugs population to nearly zero and snakes rarely came around the house because these hens would go after it just like it was a tiny bug. One of their big treats was when we began cutting firewood. They would hang around eating the fresh sawdust and all the ants we found within the wood! We enjoyed watching the antics and the battle for a given ant or bug. Now the guards were the ones sent to the outer edges of the flock and their job was to set off the alarm if predators or anything worrisome appeared and that they did faithfully. It was the squawking of those guards that would send us flying to their rescue from the hawks, raccoons, coyotes and other predators that were always nearby. Once the alarm was sounded they would all gather together and run for a safespot. The last group was the tattlers, or maybe leaders? They would be the gals that would run up to us when we came around, gather around us and all talking at one time but the two in front of the group seemed to always be the same and look at us while talking constantly with different sounds and gestures telling us of something important. Perhaps a giant bug someone found, or a intruding snake or perhaps something that happened that day. We would stand there and listen and make comments like "Oh really - that was awful - " or just nod our heads like we understood and when they felt that we had understood, they would return happily to their roaming. And that is how our lives went every day. We so enjoyed their conversations. But one day something happened. We had to go away for the night and needed to have our friend come and put them up for the night in their henhouse, closing the door so nothing could get in. He had chickens so he knew exactly what to do and we were not worried about leaving them to his care. That morning we let them out and made sure all the feeders and waterers were full so that all that needed done was to pen them up that night. For this story, I will call our friend Bob. The next afternoon we returned to find everything fine but when we got out of the truck, the hens all came running as fast as they could and all chattering at once with the leaders peering at us and stretching their necks to tell the story. This is what they said (or so I gathered). "Some strange man came and chased us all around, trying to grab us as we tried to go into the henhouse. He even took a stick and tried to hit us so we couldn't wander around. He didn't pick us up and cuddle us or give us a goodnight kiss. His voice was loud and scared us so some of us ran and hid but he came after us with that stick and grabbed some of us and tossed us into the henhouse. We were all terrified and one by one we managed to get into the henhouse and hide from him. He growled and snarled and slammed the door and left. We were all shaking and scared he would come back and couldn't sleep a wink last night. When he came back this morning we all tried to hide from him in the henhouse so he just grumbled and left the door open and went away. We didn't dare come out until we saw your truck. Oh it was so scarry!" And I swear that is what I heard ...so after consoling them and seeing them off to their roaming, I called Bob and told him what they said about the nights events, he laughed himself silly and said it was just about true. They had come to the henhouse but were roaming all around it rather that going in to it so he picked up a long stick we use to corral them and tried to corral them but a few decided no way and ran away. (after all you have to remember they did not know Bob, he might have been a big predator). He had to chase after them and corral them to get them into the house and actually had to catch a few and toss them in! So the chickens hadn't lied and Bob had done what he should have done, but they interpreted it differently. All is well but Bob is still laughing about the story I told him and they told me .....

Around 4:30 am my brother woke up because his CPAP had stopped working and he had to go to the bathroom. Quietly he got of bed, still half asleep, headed to the nearby bathroom and quickly returned to bed trying not to awake his sleeping wife. He pulled the CPAP back over his face but noticed it still did not work. Routing around he checked the plug and switches but all was well, why wasn't it working? This all woke his wife who looks over at him to find out what all the noise was about and to her shock flames are pouring out of the bathroom floor vent! She quickly realized the house was on fire but my brother was slower at realizing what was going on . . . smoke was rapidly filling the bedroom. They needed to get out and now, no fooling! My brother quickly remembered his phone, wallet and keys were by the door and decided to grab them and go . . . still in underwear and yelling to his wife "go. . . get out now" and they did. As they entered the dining room, they passed by a door leading outside and headed for the "usual" door used everyday thru the garage. The smoke was getting harder to breathe and finding their way in the house they knew very well became more difficult. They had to get out as fire was now showing up everywhere. They managed to get to the garage and head out the people door and headed to his truck which was parked too close to the garage but alas, he had the keys. He dials 911 and the rest is history. When you look back over the scene, if that CPAP had been working, he would not have waken nor would his wife ..they simply would have died of smoke inhalation or worse. But in looking back you also realize it was the fire that had turned off the electricity and thus the CPAP stopped working and thus he couldn't breath and thus he awoke and caused his wife to wake. But why did he manage to go to the bathroom and never see, hear or notice the house was on fire, the very same room that minutes later his wife points out the flames? Or why did they walk right past the exit door to travel through a smoke-filled, fire flaming house to find the door they "always" used. But thankfully they did do all this and saved their own lives. They sat in their truck awaiting the fire department and watching as their lives were changing and that the lovely home they once owned, no longer exists. All those memories gone. The fire department came and did their best but the house was lost. They eventually determine the fire began in the basement just underneath where they were sleeping and quickly spread thru the house. Thank goodness that CPAP "quit working" as my brother says, for that saved their lives!

With all the news stoking your fears, should you put off buying that house now? Or what about selling your house? What to do, oh what to do! The first thing is look around you - the nightly news is for the entire country, so maybe your area isn't having the issues the rest of the country is. Are you seeing a lot of home building going on in your area? Lots of empty building or deserted homes? Is your job (hopefully) secure in such times and do you have the funds to buy now. Assuming yes, lets move forward. House prices have been trending upwards rapidly but maybe they will slow down that rise a bit. Let's think this over and see what you might consider. Let's go with yes, let's buy a house now. First off, the home prices might have softened a bit but not likely that much. More likely the number of buyers per house has softened and that is in your favor as you won't be in a price bidding war. Also if the number of buyers has softened, then there will be less buyers so that opens up more houses for you to buy. Remember, houses come up for sale for many many reasons such as job changes, divorces, deaths, downsizing, upsizing, first time buyers and so on - so you can see that these things will continue to happen and houses will still come up for sale. The interest rate hike does hurt you in the sense that your monthly payment may be more but consider if you can get the house a bit cheaper than you thought, you save money and thus your monthly payment will be lower than you planned since you are not borrowing as much. Also consider if you are renting, those payments are going to go up and you are not getting any equity building. If you buy a house, you start building equity and can someday borrow back some of that money for any of a multitude of reasons. Consider it a safety net in many ways. Realize too that whatever rate you borrow at today, they may go up in the future and thus you saved by buying now before that rate hike or they may go down and you can simply refinance. Rates are not locked in forever, they are constantly changing both up and down. The news would have you believe that once they go up, you will never ever have a chance to borrow again at a lower rate . . . simply not true. Shop around for rates and offers from various banks and private companies and even government agencies that make mortgage loans. Today you have more choices than ever . . . shop around. Also watch out for "add-on" to your mortgage; check on what fees they might charge you or paperwork that might cost you more. These can inflate your costs and sometimes are not worth it, again, shop around! But sometimes, they are worth it and you can either pay those fees ahead or ask that they be added to your monthly payment. Don't just call the bank you have always done business with, they might not be your best option. Also there is the possibility that home prices may drop and that would seemingly be another bad fear. But think about it, if you live in that house for 5-10 years, it will surely go up in value and if you do some upgrades, it can go up considerably. So you still do better by purchasing a house today and building equity, having a home to call your own, and opportunities to do many other things. Of course, we wish the rates would not go up but when they do, the house purchase should not be put off, just shop around and find a house that suits you. Maybe you can buy a cheaper house now while building equity to be a stepping stone to your next "forever" home with the equity you build! The house you buy today does not have to be the only one you will ever own...it's just the beginning!

Every Fall on the farm, we would harvest the various fruit trees bounty, freezing for the winter to come. We felt we took care of the trees all year and they, in turn, would take care of us through the winter months. This was our source for pies, turnovers, ice cream topping, jellies and jams - you can almost smell them cooking can’t you! Several years ago we decided to add Apricot trees to our list of peaches, apples, grapes, raspberries, black berries and cherry. We bought two trees but alas after a few years, one died but the other survived and flourished. According to the tree tag and on-line research we should have a small crop in three years and we did, so small all you could do is get a taste of what they would become, nothing to spare. I must say they were delicious and we looked forward to the following year’s crop. But to our shock, we got nothing the following year, not a single apricot. Now this made me mad and I threatened the tree with cutting it down if it didn’t produce the following year an abundant supply. Now jump forward to 5 years. Spring arrives and the tree is covered with fragrant blossoms and bees were doing their pollinating. Guess that tree took me serious (actually I was). There were literally thousands of beautiful apricots growing. Every day on my way to the barn I would stop by and tell it what a wonderful job it was doing and how grateful we were that it produced such an abundance! Then came the day when they were nearly ripe, surely tomorrow would be picking day followed by canning and freezing. That night my husband and I went out to look at the apricot tree and sampled a few, yes they were ready and I had never tasted fresh apricots - what a difference, mouth water flavoring to die for ..seriously, we were just “a day away” as the song from Annie says. So bright and early the next morning I headed out to the barn and passed by that apricot tree, thinking about getting some buckets from the barn. But after a few more steps it dawned on me that there were NO apricots on the tree, what! That’s impossible - where did those thousand apricots go! Surely my eyes are playing a trick on me so back I went and it was true, not an apricot or even a pit on the ground! How is that possible? To this day I don’t know what happened to all those apricots but this is my best guess: Last night Ricky Raccoon doing his nightly rounds, decided he too would look at that tree and see if things were getting close to ripe. But what he saw astonishing him and he let out the loud animal whoops call for all to come and feast tonight. A party would begin at midnight and you could have all the apricots you could eat and carry. Why even a few possums and chipmunks, squirrels and deer were likely to show up to join the party that would go until that magical hour of dawn when they all headed back home to sleep off their drunkeness and no doubt a bit of digestive problems! Wouldn’t you like to have seen them climbing all over that tree, eating, tossing, hanging from branches trying to reach the next apricot and all the little fellows below gobbling them up as fast as they hit the ground! Deers helping the small ones reach the limbs while others tossed the apricots on the ground for them to eat too. What a feast it must have been but you know, they even cleaned up any debris so by the time I got there absolutely nothing indicated a party had been held, not a trace!

CLEAN UGLY STAINLESS STEEL KITCHEN SINK

While out walking around the farm tending to fence chores I noticed a large stick sticking out of the ground and didn’t want it to hurt one of our horses, so I went over to the fence and leaned over to pull that stick out of the ground it had buried itself into - or so was my intentions. Turned out it was a black snake’s backend sticking out of the ground with his head buried down into the hole and apparently he couldn’t get backed out! He was squirming and twisting but things were not going his way. Pondering the situation I decided that it was best if I left things alone because grabbing a snake by his tail and pulling him out did not sound like the wisest move. So the moral of this tale is just because a door is there, you should check before you leap …it just might be too small! It was approaching evening and a storm was on its way so I went to the barn to get the horses inside As I slide the barn door open, much to my shock a fat skunk was in the entryway and took one look at me and headed down the barn aisle away from me as fast as his little feet could carry him (thankfully). When he reached the far side of the barn he turned back and saw I was still there so he headed over to one of the closed stall doors and ducked under it, but ouch, he didn’t fit, he was stuck! Now I didn’t dare go over there so I just stood in the doorway and watched. He squeezed and squeezed and his little pink toes dug into the dirt pushing and pushing but that fat little belly refused to fit under that doorway. All I could see was the backend - can you imagine how funny it must have looked from the other side of that door. I can just “see” his eyes closed and grunting as hard as he could to try to squeeze through but alas nothing was happening. What was he to do? I watched for a while and decided the best thing for me was to simply leave. I didn’t want to smell like a skunk and I certainly couldn’t help plus if I left him alone maybe he could back out or at least relax enough to think his way through the situation. I’ll never know how he did it but he was gone an hour later and the horses were safely put into their stalls to weather the storm. So the moral here is that no matter how hard you try sometimes things just don’t go the way you want! And the final tale is about a silly squirrel. I was out riding my horse in the woods just enjoying the spring unfolding with all its beauty when I noticed a squirrel sitting on a log way over the far side of the woods. Now this squirrel is a long way away from the trail. There was a wide creek filled with large stones between him and I. Yet that silly squirrel took one look at me and charged across the log, the creek, the trail and crossed in front of me and dashed up the tree beside me on the trail! What in the world was he doing? He was just fine where he was and why come charging me and my horse as well? Who knows what squirrel’s think. Ever heard the expression “a bit squirrelly” ? Even my horse seemed equally puzzled as she watched the event. Now the problem comes that the hole in the tree that he had made the mad dash for was too small! He couldn’t fit inside, so there he was, arms and head inside the hole but body, back legs and tail outside the hole and those feet trying hard to squeeze into that hole but it was not working. He twisted and turned and shoved and pushed but there was no chance he was going to fit. From time to time he would stop squirming and you could see he was really breathing hard. Again, there was nothing I could do and I certainly wasn’t going to grab that tail either and pull! Moral of the story, think hard, maybe where you are is where you should stay.