Kendra Ruminer's Two Cents of Real Estate

Take A Peek At Los Alamos, New Mexico

Month: June 2020

50 Shades of Greige

June 26, 2020 /

Yes. Greige. It’s a thing. A cross between gray and beige. It’s an indicator that the range of taupe and beige colors we used to see in the last decade have been fazed out in favor of the new, hot color or “lipstick” for your home. Gray.

I can see you scratching your head right now. Gray lipstick? Sure. It seems absolutely ridiculous, but interior and exterior home colors are a big deal when it comes to the real estate market.

Your Home. Your Rules. Your Color Choices.

Hey, you know what? If you want that purple wall in your bathroom, that is all up to you. Until you sell your house. That’s when it becomes an issue because buyers have a difficult time thinking about anything other than your design choices. In my last blog post, I talked about the benefits of staging a house for sale. What many people don’t realize is that your paint choices are all part of the staging. A BIG part.

White, Gray, & Neutrals with a splash of color are best.

What The Cool Kids Are Doing

I know what you’re going to say.

“Kendra, Los Alamos is a seller’s market. I could paint the interior of my house periwinkle and people would still buy it!”

You’re not wrong, of course. What you’re missing is the nuance of the seller’s market. The tweaks and extra effort that someone selling their home can make in order to turn their house around and get it sold in a week instead of six months. Not just sold, but sold for a top dollar price that will make it possible to maximize the investment made when the home was purchased.

The other part of selling a home in Los Alamos is that many of you bought your homes during a previous boom when the prices were sky high. Our property values fluctuate based upon things like Laboratory contracts in ways that are absolutely unlike anywhere else. If you are one of those homeowners and you’re finding the need to move either because you’re upsizing, downsizing or you’re moving to a new place to start the next chapter in your life, you’ll need to squeeze every penny out of your house to save your initial investment and hopefully come out ahead.

This means hiring a professional painter or rolling up your sleeves and doing a DIY job on your home’s “lipstick”. This can be the difference between meeting your goals or consistently getting offers that are below what you’re comfortable with.

Space Still Sells

A beautiful light gray is cool and peaceful. It can make a smaller room look spacious and it highlights the natural light from your windows. Considering a good number of the homes in our community have rather odd dimensions and unique floor plans that have undergone numerous renovations over the years, gray can be the answer to making your space look cool, modern, and inviting.

Taupe is another neutral color. And before you start reminding me that I just said brown was out, keep in mind that taupe doesn’t have to lean toward brown. There are many modern shades of taupe that maintain the warmth of a brown tone while bringing in grays, blues, or even lavender for a sophisticated result that complements our Southwestern style quite nicely.

White. Not institutional white mind you, but something that has a nice undertone that sticks with the cool, restful, and spacious theme you want to set in your home. Absolutely avoid yellows in your white. There was a yellowish off white color in the nineties called Navajo White that wound up in a huge number of homes here in Los Alamos. Using an off white with yellow undertones will immediately make your home look dated. So, it might be white. But you’re still going for blue or gray tint in order to keep things modern.

Simple. Spacious. Modern. Even if its not your style, it sells.

We All Like Cool Inviting Spaces

Even if you’re not selling your home and you’re looking around wondering why you feel so cramped and tense in your living space, consider lightening your color scheme with grays and blue tinted whites. You might be surprised how a bit of fresh lipstick can help you feel differently about the home you have. Stick around and keep checking my blog for new ideas to make your home not only a place you love to live in, but a solid investment for the future.

All of Life (and Real Estate)is a Stage

June 19, 2020 /

Staging is a term that we use a lot in the real estate market. If you’re a buyer or a seller and you’re wondering how that applies to YOU, stick around and let’s talk about how staging can help a house put its best foot forward, figuratively speaking of course!

Does this bedroom look lived in? Or, does it look like a dream come true?

Staging to Sell

You might be thinking to yourself that the idea of hiring a professional company to stage your home for sale is a preposterous idea. You might be right. Sort of. The market here in Los Alamos is almost certainly a seller’s market. But even in a seller’s market when there are buyers lining up to get a peek at your house before you’ve got the sign fully planted in the yard, staging could still be the difference between having a bidding war that gets you top dollar and just selling your house.

Now. If you’re not interested in hiring a pro to fully stage your home for sale because you’re still living there and your stuff is still necessary for your day to day activities, there are still some things that can be done to make your home really shine.

Buyers Buy Space Not Stuff

You’re moving, remember? Pack your out of season clothes and store them somewhere else. Let your closets look emptily huge because let’s face it, we don’t have a ton of closet space in the Los Alamos area and whatever we do have needs to look amazing! That goes for any built in drawers, cabinets, or other spaces too. Staging is all about space. Space is inviting. Buyers want to be invited. Therefore, help your home by showing off every single room to its spacious advantage.

Make Them Envision Themselves At Home in Your Home

The other part of staging is doing everything that you can to make that buyer want to live in your home. Leave a folded newspaper on the coffee table with a tray that makes it look as though someone is about to sit and enjoy a fresh cuppa. The kitchen should be clean and ready for the preparation of a gourmet meal. The entire set up of furniture should encourage flow. Flow from one room to another. Encourage your potential buyer to wander through your space in a way that invites them to imagine their idyllic life if they should purchase your home.

Your Grandkids are Cute, but Not Helpful to Buyers

It’s been proven time and time again that photos and personal items are a distraction. You want any potential buyers to keep their mind on your house. The beautiful space, the light, the spacious rooms, the amount of storage, those hardwood floors you just refinished, whatever your home’s selling point, don’t let buyers get distracted by your family photos. Remember, you’re selling the house, not your stuff. So all of the things that make it uniquely yours have no place in someone else’s fantasy.

Buying a Staged Home

Now, when you’re on the buying end of that staged home, please don’t forget that you’re buying a space and not the furniture. Remember that your stuff is going to be taking the place of that beautiful lounge chair in the cozy reading nook and likely all of your kitchen gadgets will be cluttering up the countertops.

This is not to say that you’re not to love the idea of a quiet morning cup of coffee on the deck staring out across the valley at the Sangre De Cristos. You can! But take a look around when you walk through a beautifully staged home and focus on what they’re trying to get you to focus on. The space. Take that opportunity to picture YOUR stuff in the rooms. Imagine how well you and your personal items would fit. That is what you’re trying to discover. Right? A new place to call home.

What’s Appealing About a Curb?

June 12, 2020 /

Curb Appeal is probably one of the most common things people think about when it comes to buying or selling a home. But curb appeal isn’t just for homes on the market. It’s about showing your home at its best to anyone who passes by. Most importantly, its about maintaining your home value. If that sounds important, here are a few things you should keep in mind.

Have you ever pulled up to your house and parked your car after a long day at work and thought to yourself that you should really put away the lawn mower? I’ll bet there’s something that catches your eye. Something negative. Here’s a thought. Your neighbors probably sense that negativity too. So do people passing by. They just don’t immediately zero in on the lawn mower or the pile of branches you pruned three months ago and never did anything with. Curb Appeal is a perception, remember? So, let’s talk about how to swing it toward the positive.

But that’s not the only question, is it? Your home is a huge investment. And especially here in Los Alamos, you’re probably buying a house that was built several decades ago. Our unique town isn’t just about single family homes. We have condos, apartments, duplexes, and quads and we toss around real estate terminology that doesn’t exist outside the area. All of those things add up to one important fact. You want your home to maintain its value and you want it to look not just nice, but singular in comparison to the others on the street.

Let’s start with Contrast. It’s actually an artistic tool. If you’re living in a quad or a duplex here in Los Alamos and the whole thing is painted one of those total quad colors we all love so much… Raise your hand if your house is brown, yellow, or stucco! Sometimes you might feel as though your house is already starting off on the wrong foot.

Begin With Contrast & Balance

So, what exactly is contrast? Contrast is what draws the eye. A bright turquoise pot against a warm pink stucco wall. A lovely copper carriage lamp against the yellow siding beside your front door.

And speaking of that front door. Paint it. Or your screen door if you have one. Use a snappy color that contrasts with the exterior paint and really sets off the front of the house. Or paint your porch. No. Not a fresh coat of brown. Try charcoal or white. Something that tones down the brown. And if you have garage doors, paint them too! It might take a little research to discover if they require a bit of a primer first, but a fresh coat of paint can do wonders for your home.

Once you’ve beautified the doors or the porch, try adding a splash of color with potted plants or even a perky flag announcing your alma mater or your favorite sports team.

Next, tackle the lighting. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Choose to highlight your walkway with simple lights from a hardware store. They can even be solar powered if you’d like to boast about your eco friendliness. Homes with a welcoming path to the front door look welcoming. Period.

Balance is also an artistic concept. Think window boxes on both sides of your porch or a flower bed with a zen feeling to it. Balance is that sensation you get when you look at something peaceful. Besides, when it comes to curb appeal, balance gives the viewer a sense of stability and timelessness. It’s inviting and welcoming to the eye and if you were trying to SELL your home, it would most certainly create a space that potential buyers want to see more of.

If you need some ideas for sprucing up your yard, check out last week’s blog post about Summer Gardening Ideas. But in Los Alamos, a good place to start balancing your yard is probably with the Juniper. If you have some, there’s a good chance they’re a little on the shaggy side. Or there’s even the possibility that they’ve entirely taken over your yard.

And of course, Regular Maintenance. Hmm. Funny how we all need a reminder about this. But then, we live in a town without formal HOAs and with a populace that argues constantly about what the county can and can’t tell us to do with our properties. I believe at one time, there was a house in White Rock with a Chinese Elm sprouting from its gutter.

Come on friends and neighbors in Los Alamos! Stain those windblown, sun bleached fences, weed your side yards, take last year’s tree trimmings to the transfer station, and love your home! If and when you sell your house, this one is critical. Never allow a potential buyer to approach your house when the fixture on your front porch has rusted to the point that you can’t actually replace the light bulb.

On the other hand, if you’re feeling frustrated that the house next door is sporting three leftover vehicles from the mid-sixties and a mailbox that’s leaning precariously to one side, take heart. The more you love your home. The more you spruce up a few things. The more you think about your property value and your curb appeal. The better your house will look when compared to the neighbors’. Remember. Contrast, right? So go out there and take a fresh look at your house and find a few simple ways to make it shine.

Summer Gardens In The Desert

June 6, 2020 /

You may be scratching your head at my title because anyone who has been around Los Alamos County in the summertime knows that by the end of June, the sun has become like a laser beam in the sky. Monsoons are right around the corner and even the promise of rain doesn’t mean an easier time of it for anything resembling a garden. But there is plenty of beauty in the desert. So, here are a few ideas to perk up your yard this summer!

Bring the Beauty of the Desert Into Your Own Yard

Colorful Accents

This could mean a few flowers, but if you’ve got any interest in water conservation, it doesn’t have to mean growing things at all. Ceramic planters in shades of bright red. Maybe a pot of chili peppers strategically placed near the front steps. Or even better, find some large turquoise colored tiles and work them into your flower beds. The Southwestern color palette has dozens of bright blues and reds to work with. Get creative and let your inner artist out to play!

Grass

Okay. Let’s talk about grass. Nothing says summer like a sweeping green lawn bordered by leafy shrubs and a welcoming patio where you can fire up the grill and hang out with friends. And if you’re still longing for big areas of grass in your front or back yard, don’t despair. Artificial turf has made huge strides. You can buy rolls of turf and install them yourself if you’re into DIY projects. There are even specific varieties designed for your pets to use and abuse.

Here’s the catch. Artificial grass isn’t the cool green carpet it appears. Distributors of artificial grass will openly tell you that when the heat rises, so does the temperature of your artificial lawn. Real grass is cool to the touch. Artificial turf is not. You can purchase fill products to lower the temperature of your artificial lawn, but that’s probably not going to help when the UV factor crawls toward the “ohmigod I’m gonna die” zone. So to increase your green and maximize the coolness factor, use patches of grass placed in shady spots protected from the afternoon sun and interspersed with areas of rock and flowerbeds. Because you know what else can be hotter than artificial grass? Yep. You guessed it. Rock.

Dry Creek Beds

If you’ve lived in and around Los Alamos County for any period of time, then you’re plenty familiar with this idea of rock in the yard. Xeriscaping is super popular with water conservationists and it can look rather attractive. The problem is that it’s also HOT! Instead of carpeting your yard with contrasting colors of rock, try using shrubs, flower beds, rock beds, and patches of grass for a result that will really add value to your home.

Rocks are a great conductor of heat. If you’re looking for the most attractive and functional landscape ideas, try forming a dry creek bed around your patio area. Following the natural terrain will allow the “creek bed” to act as a channel for all of that crazy excess rain during monsoon season, as well as the spring melt. Having a rock barrier around your patio means that at night when the temperature plummets and the stars come out, you might enjoy some of that residual heat coming off the rocks as you lounge with friends on the patio for drinks and conversation.

Water

Yes. Water. Sometimes water can be a wonderful and refreshing way to liven up your landscaping when there’s not a cloud in the wide blue sky.

Circulating fountains are a great way to add a peaceful, cooling atmosphere to your outdoor area without using too much water. It doesn’t have to be a huge fountain either. You could purchase a simple pond form from a hardware store and place a few lights and a pump inside it. Prop the pond up on landscape bricks or utilize some of the hilly and rocky terrain that’s so prevalent around Los Alamos to stage your homemade water feature. Then plug it in and enjoy!

No matter what you choose to do with your outdoor living space this year, remember to group any plants by water requirements to keep them healthy and thriving, and don’t forget the Water Rule here in Los Alamos County. If you’re living in an odd house number please water before 10AM or after 5PM on Sun, Wed, and Fri. If you’re an even house number, your days are Tues, Thurs, and Sat. Nature is a huge part of living in Los Alamos. Whether its in your yard, around one of our beautiful public spaces, or out enjoying the National Parks that border our county. Get outside and ENJOY!

© 2024 Kendra Ruminer's Two Cents of Real Estate

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑