John Watts's (zwatts1) Blog

When Spring arrives, there is a lot of work that needs to be done so you can be proud of your lawn and enjoy its beauty the remainder of the year.  This is the time to get the lawn ready for the growing season.  The exact timing depends on the climate in your region.  An indicator is when trees a...

Homeowners have a year around job fighting weeds in their yard.  In addition, they sometimes have beautiful flowers that are present in the yard, but most people prefer the flowers to grow only in their designated areas.  Controlling weeds is best done in the fall and early spring.  This allows t...

Currently mortgage rates are low, this is providing savings to people who are shopping for a new home or wanting to refinance their current home.  The mortgage process is not well understood by many borrowers. Borrowers should take some time to understand the mortgage process.  This could save th...

Many times, buyers who are purchasing a home need to decide whether they need or should setup a mortgage escrow account when they close on their new home.  The purpose of a mortgage escrow account is to allow the mortgage company to pay the homeowners property taxes and homeowners insurance premi...

The day you decide to purchase a house, this is the day you need to start preparing yourself financially.  For many homebuyers, this takes time to prepare yourself for this financial undertaking.  First, you must develop a plan how to handle the most expensive undertaking of your lifetime.  Below...

In todays’ market, home buyers are becoming more creative with their offers to make it stand out to sellers.  This is due to increase number of homes sold causing home prices to rise.  This may be good news for non-sellers who are not in the housing market, but not great news for buyers with mode...

Home buyers need to be award of the short comings of virtual tour when they are unable to do a physically tour of a house.  There are things within a house that are more difficult to identify as potential problems when using a virtual versus touring a house.  This may be overcome somewhat by the ...

A home needs to be more than a place where you live.  It should be a place that is a retreat, and where you can relax.  Sometimes this is not the case which causes more stress and reminds us of more things that need to be done when we step into the house.  Our goal here should be to steer ourselv...

Prior to putting your home on the market, home sellers’ need to ensure their home is well lit, clutter has been removed, painting and updating of home has been completed.  This all needs to be completed prior to photo shoot.  House photos are normally first thing potential buyers see, and they ar...

Most homeowners are interested in increasing equity in their home.  Value is increased through neighborhood appreciation, remodeling, redecorating, and adding additional storage.  When marketing the home these updates and appreciation tend to stand out to potential buyers.  Prior to making update...