Rosemary West's (rosemarywest) Blog

How to Enjoy Your Fireplace...Safely As we enjoy this holiday week and invite friends and families to our home, the fireplace often serves as the iconic focal point of our get-togethers. In fact, according to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), approximately one-third of Americans use fireplaces...

10 Maintenance Tips for New Homeowners Moving into a new home is indeed one of the most exciting times of your life. That’s why it’s important to start out on the right foot and start caring for your home—and protecting your investment—right away. As a Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®...

Tips for Saving on Heating and Cooling With the holiday season now in full swing, you are undoubtedly busy ... whether it's shopping for gifts, preparing for guests or gathering with friends. What you probably won't notice through the hustle and bustle of the season is your heating bills rise. Di...

How to Maximize Year-end Tax Planning As another year comes to a close and we make our plans to ring in the New Year, it behooves all of us to put some time aside for important tax preparations. A few simple steps taken now can leave you in a much better position by the time April 15 rolls around...

Top 5 Tips for First-Time Home Buyers Today's real estate market presents many unique opportunities for first-time home buyers. From low interest rates to foreclosure properties and short sales, the current economic climate puts homeownership within reach for many who might have thought they coul...

6 Ways to Get Your Home in Tip-Top Shape Understandably, the goal for any home seller is to sell their property quickly, while investing as little as possible in renovations. With a limited budget and a little effort, you can greatly increase your home's appeal by focusing on what prospective buy...

How to Rent Your Vacation Property ... Fast If you have a second home or vacation property you're looking to sell, this market may prove to be exceptionally tough. That's why leasing your property, at least for now, is something you should seriously consider. With the winter months upon us, now i...

What the Dodd-Frank Act Means for You In an effort to restore consumer confidence while laying a foundation for future economic security, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act seeks to put systems and laws in place to prevent the likes of our recent economic crisis from ev...

5 Great Tips to Close the Deal In our market, competition for buyers is high and sometimes the seller may need to look at sweetening the pot, so to speak, to get the deal done. As a member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, sellers often ask me what they can do to help make their home stand ou...

If your home is currently on the market, you may be considering whether or not to work with your real estate agent to host an open house. You may have heard that open houses are ineffective or "old fashioned" in today's world of online marketing. As a Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, ...