Tips From The Property Shop for Listing Your House

Property Shop Team Selling Real Estate

Spring is a time for new beginnings, and you may find yourself ready to exchange the home you’re in for something better suited to your lifestyle and needs. If you’re considering putting your house on the market, or if you’ve already done so, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your listing in the Roaring Fork Valley.

1. Fix the Little Things

Before you put your house on the market, take the time to walk through it to see if there are any areas that need improvement. Minor issues such as loose electrical sockets and leaky faucets can make a home feel dated and in need of too much work. Now is the time to attend to any small repairs, replace light bulbs and check the batteries in smoke alarms.

2. Consider Curb Appeal

Potential buyers often drive by a home that’s on the market before making an appointment to see it. This means the outside of your home is the first thing they will see. Pay particular attention to the side of your home that faces the street, taking the time to clear away any junk or overgrowth. Consider giving the front door a new coat of paint or adding some potted flowers for a splash of color.

3. Depersonalize

Buyers need to imagine themselves and their belongings in a house before they’re willing to make an offer, but that can be difficult for them to do if your things are in the way. This is an excellent time to purge unwanted belongings or pack some away in storage. Remove anything too personal, such as family photos or memorabilia, to give potential buyers a blank canvas to envision their lives.

4. Deep Clean

Nothing gives a house an instant face-lift like a thorough cleaning, so spend some time on this. Shampoo carpets, repaint dingy walls and scrub every surface. Pay particular attention to high-use features such as doorknobs and light switches, which collect grime over time. Clean windows to allow more natural light to filter through, and remember to wash or replace old curtains or blinds.

5. Price It Right

To determine your asking price, take some time to look at comparable homes that have recently sold or are currently on the market in your area. Pricing your house too low may move it quickly but will reduce your payback. An inflated price can leave your home sitting on the market without serious buyer interest. Also consider the current market and how it relates to your own needs. If sales have slowed but you need to sell quickly, you may find it worthwhile to set your asking price below the home’s current value. If it’s a seller’s market, however, you may be able to increase the asking price without penalty. This is where The Property Shop comes in. We offer integrated sales and marketing strategies to help you get the best possible price in the shortest amount of time.

6. Consider Hiring Professionals

While a seller can handle most everything necessary to list a house, hiring a real estate professional can save you time and headaches, help you navigate the sales process, and advise you on ways to get the most value from your home. Professional cleaners have the equipment and knowledge to remove stubborn stains and ensure nothing gets missed, and a staging company can enhance your decor and highlight your home’s best features. For more flattering listing photos, consider hiring a professional photographer who knows how to make real estate look its best. A little up-front investment can mean a faster, smoother sale and additional money in your pocket.

Best wishes as you continue to explore listing your home in Glenwood Springs and beyond. We’re here to help. Meet the girls and contact us to learn more.

New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home from The Property Shop

Home Resolutions

 

It’s a new year and a great time to set resolutions from your home in 2019. We are excited to share our 7 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home.

1. Get Organized

Winter is our favorite time of year to get organized. It is time to declutter and create more space to enjoy in your home. Take a systematic approach to getting organized this year so that it isn’t overwhelming. Go room by room. You can then enjoy each space after its been cleaned out and is living at its best. Before you go shopping for more containers, shelves and storage, first clean out and assess your needs. Pass along anything you don’t need anymore to charity. Need more inspiration? Check out Roaring Fork Valley local Evan Zislis and get inspired to get organized.

2. Lose Weight

Reduce the carbon footprint of your home in 2019. The Community Office for Resource Efficiency is your resource for saving energy. From rebates and grants to home energy assessments and do-it-yourself tips, CORE has you covered.

Start with an easy one – consuming less water. Did you know the average home consumes 400 gallons of water a day? Simple changes like low-flow shower heads go a long way towards conserving water. As does changing your consumption pattern such as taking a bath instead of a long shower to warm up on a cold winter day.

3. Learn a New Skill

Your home is a great place to learn new skills. Continuing education builds confidence, inspires and is great for your overall well being. Perhaps you don’t consider yourself handy around the house. In 2019, learn a new skill. Ask your neighbor to teach you how to mow the lawn. Turn to YouTube to learn how to clean the gutters or fix the sink. You’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment and you’ll save money.

4. Volunteer in Your Community

We live here, we give here. It’s one of our core values at The Property Shop. Volunteering in your community is a great way to give back and is part of our New Year’s Resolutions. Get involved in the Roaring Fork Community. Volunteer for a local non profit, help in the community garden. Or, simply take a walk around your neighborhood and pick up any trash you see.

5. Get Stronger

Did you know that an hour of mowing the lawn burns 300 calories? Or an hour of gardening burns 200 calories? Sometimes it is hard to fit in exercise during a busy work week alongside the to-dos of homeownership. The good news is that basic home maintenance such as lawn mowing, gardening, building a fence, and cleaning the gutters all help you maintain and build fitness.

6. Quit Smoking

Improve the air quality in your home. Your home contains dust, mold spores, pollen, and viruses. Yikes! In winter, this can be worse because our doors and windows remain closed. Start improving your indoor air quality by replacing your furnace filters and having your HVAC system regularly maintained. Use low-VOC paints and cleaning products that are good for the environment and good for you. We are also lucky in Colorado to have the occasional warm winter day. Crack a window when the temperatures allow and enjoy a bit of fresh air in your home.

7. Stay on a Budget

Most homeowners are reactive when it comes to budgeting for their home. They pay for services and parts when something breaks. Instead, create a 2019 home maintenance budget. U.S. Census Bureau notes that average annual maintenance and home improvement expenditures are $3,300 for every home. Review your receipts from 2018 and forecast your home maintenance and improvement budget for 2019.

Happy New Year! These are resolutions we can all keep to make ourselves and our homes healthier and happier. Make sure and call The Property Shop for all our real estate needs in 2019.

Family Holiday Traditions from The Property Shop

The Property Shop Team Photo

The holidays are here! Our team is exceptionally grateful to our customers and community for a wonderful 2018! As we reflect on our gratitude at year end and get ready to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, we asked our team to share their favorite holiday traditions. Enjoy!

Kathy – My Mom always made oyster and sliced chestnut stuffing. Her generation loved it and thought it exotic. The X’ers and Millenniums think we’re crazy! So now we make doctored up Stove Top Stuffing! My Dad would make oyster stew on Christmas Eve. Basically a rue, milk, and oysters! My Nana made “Tom & Jerry’s and would only use brown farm eggs. Rum & brandy are added and it’s served hot. My cousins still carry on this tradition using the original Tom & Jerry punch bowl and cups.

Kathy's Bowls

Wendy – In the Harrison family, we made traditional family cookie recipes, like scotch shortbreads, fruit tarts, and pecan butter cookies. Christmas Eve, the kids were given 1 gift to open, it was new PJ’s, which they still looked forward to way after they were grown up 🙂

Haddie – Growing up, and still to this day, Christmas is not Christmas without lasagna. In my Italian family, we have never had a Christmas without lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. The smell of homemade sauce simmering in the big pot on the stove all day makes you so hungry! By the time the lasagna is assembled and cooked, you are ready to eat! Sitting around the big table, surrounded by family and friends, and sharing a delicious meal is my family’s Christmas tradition.

Amy – One of my favorite things about the holidays is our Christmas book tradition. We have a collection of Christmas books that we have collected over the years and each year, at the end of November, I wrap each of the books and put them all under the tree. Each day in December, each of the kids gets to unwrap a book. Even though we have seen all of the books before, the process is fun and exciting because everyone has family and personal favorites that they can’t wait to open and read again. The messages and illustrations in some of these books are so powerful and special. Every year, I purchase a new book for each of the kids and put their school picture in the front and list some of their interests for the year and the books are added to the collection. It is so much fun and special in so many ways. Once the kids are grown, they will have their very own collection of books to carry on the family tradition.

Laura – We celebrate the holidays by making the favorite cakes, cookies, candies, tamales, and posole that we both grew up with from our grandmothers. We also attend Christmas Eve services with family, this is truly a special time together and is the reason for the season.

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From our family to yours, happy holidays! We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year! If you are in the mountains, here’s to also celebrating snow and the outdoors. Best wishes from The Property Shop!

Turkey Time Tips From Your Friends At The Property Shop

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The Team at The Property Shop is feeling thankful for our wonderful customers and our community. As we get ready for the holiday, we would like to share a few turkey time tips.

How to Prepare a Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

Step 1: Select the right size turkey for your guests. We recommend selecting the higher weight for each group size below to allow for plenty of leftovers.

Adults to Server // Pounds 
2-4 adults // 8-12 lbs
5-7 adults // 12-16 lbs
8-10 adults // 16-20 lbs
11-13 // 20-24 lbs

Step 2: Thawing Time. If you purchase a frozen turkey, refrigerating it is the safest method for thawing.

Turkey Size in Pounds // Thawing Time
8-12 lbs // 1-2 days
12-16 lbs // 2-3 days
16-20 lbs // 3-4 days
20-24 lbs // 4-5 days

Step 3: Roasting Times. The cooking times below are calculated based on an oven temperature of 350 degrees and assume that the turkey has been prepared without stuffing. The target temperature for turkey is 165 degrees.

Turkey Size in Pounds // Cooking Time
8-12 lbs // 2.75 – 4 hours
12-16 lbs // 4.25 – 5.25 hours
16-20 lbs // 5.5 – 6.5 hours
20-24 lbs // 7 – 8 hours

We asked our Team to share their favorite Thanksgiving tips.

– Start Early: Not just early in the morning, but start your Thanksgiving preparations the weekend before so that the day off is more relaxing and fun.
– Share Fun Facts: Have your guests guess how many pounds of cranberries are consumed on Thanksgiving (the answer is 770 million). How fast can a turkey fly? Up to 55 miles per hour!
– Serve Your Favorites: Choosing a menu can be overwhelming as it is common to worry about your guests’ preferences. This year, serve your favorites. It’s likely these dishes will be loved by all.
– Keep the Kids Busy: Plan ahead for the kids with a Thanksgiving art project. Just Google “Thanksgiving art projects for kids” for great ideas. Our favorite, cover the table in brown packing paper and have the kids decorate the table and write what they are thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at The Property Shop!

Bundle Up Your Home for Winter

Winter is in the air in the Roaring Fork Valley with yellow leaves on the trees falling under the weight of fresh snow. The team at The Property Shop created our Fall Home Maintenance Checklist and are excited to share tips for getting ready for winter in Colorado.

Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

Outside Maintenance

Start with the outdoor to-do’s as winter is quickly approaching. The maintenance items below ensure that your home will be winterized for the coming months and that when spring arrives, you’ll be ready to enjoy all it has to offer with fresh flowers and a green lawn.

  • Store hoses and turn off outdoor water
  • Drain and turn off sprinkler system
  • Clean out gutters
  • Trim trees and perennials
  • Plant spring bulbs before the first freeze.
  • Fertilize lawn

Inside Maintenance

Our inside maintenance to-do’s focus on safety, warmth and energy efficiency. And just like you need to rotate your car tires from time to time, did you know you need to do the same with ceiling fans? Jump on this list today and be ready for winter.

  • Change and test batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
  • Get your heating system serviced and change filters.
  • Reverse ceiling fans.
  • Seal any gaps around windows and doors with weatherstripping.
  • Inspect and clean out dryer vent.

Live. Work. Play. It’s our motto. Our tips for home maintenance take just a bit of work, and ensure you’ll get to enjoy playing this winter in Glenwood Spring and the Roaring Fork Valley.

Grand Avenue Bridge Tour with The Property Shop!

What an excursion we had with the knowledgeable public information team from the Grand Avenue Bridge project!

Here at The Property Shop – we look for opportunities to stay informed about community projects so we can guide our clients with as much information as possible. Just as the new Glenwood bridge construction connects the north to the south, we would like to connect you to your new home – we would like to be your bridge home in 2017.  Make The Property Shop your “PLACE” to shop for property and let us help you sell or buy real estate!

Model of Grand Avenue Bridge Project at Glenwood Springs City Hall | The Property Shop, Inc.
Model of Grand Avenue Bridge Project at Glenwood Springs City Hall | The Property Shop, Inc.


Our tour started at City Hall, checking out an overview of different project phases as well as a visualization of the project outcome with the miniature model. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you should. It is a wonderful way to see what the final product will look like.

From City Hall, we had a look at the project from several stopping points around the project. While you can see a lot of the progress from the road, the views and information we took in on our walking tour brought a much more holistic perspective and understanding of the massive scope of this project.

Construction Crews on 7th Street | Grand Avenue Bridge Project | The Property Shop, Inc.
Grand Avenue Bridge Project Construction Crews on 7th Street | The Property Shop, Inc.

The Property Shop, Inc. brokers learn about the Grand Avenue Bridge Project | View south from GAB job site on north side of the river
The Property Shop, Inc. brokers learn about the Grand Avenue Bridge Project | View south from GAB job site on north side of the river

Our Take

In many ways, the Grand Avenue Bridge is a gateway to our area. Sometimes, it can be hard to see the challenges and the advantages of what this new bridge will bring. Construction is always tough on communities, and our city will be no different. This bridge and the impact it will have are unprecedented. In our small town, we’re not used to waiting in a line of cars seemingly not moving. The big trucks don’t add much to the nerves either.

We love our Glenwood Springs home and we believe that the new pedestrian and traffic bridges will add to our community – they will be well worth the wait! Glenwood Springs and our valley is on the cusp of a new era. We see the evidence all the time, not just with the Grand Avenue Bridge project, but in all the new investment and development planned for our area. We foresee great potential for reinvigorated prosperity and opportunity in Glenwood and the region. It is going to be great!

If you or someone you know wants more information on the region or Glenwood Springs real estate, please contact us. This is our community and we can help you make your best decision.

>> Shop Glenwood Springs Homes for Sale
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Thank you to the GAB Public Information team for the tour! | The Property Shop, Inc.
Thank you to the GAB Public Information team for the tour! | The Property Shop, Inc.

What We Are Excited About

Multimodal Connectivity

One aspect of this project we are particularly excited about is the accommodation of multimodal transportation, including busses, pedestrians, and bicyclists. The new layout will help to provide, safer and easier access from one side of town to the other.  The pedestrian underpass on River Street will give pedestrians access from the north side of the Colorado River through beautiful Two Rivers Park to the Rio Grande Trail.

The New Pedestrian Bridge

The Phase II Fact Sheet describes the new pedestrian bridge as a “steel girder bridge with lookout points, dual elevators, and red brick exterior. The bridge will be 16-feet wide and accommodate both pedestrian and bike traffic”. It will have spectacular views of the Colorado River, Glenwood Canyon, the Hot Springs Pool and west to South Canyon. It connects the 6th Street and the historic hot springs district to 7th Street and the rest of our charming downtown.  The new pedestrian bridge is set to open for public use this year and is considered one of the most important assets of the approximately 95-day detour.

The New Traffic Bridge

For starters, the current traffic bridge is more than five-decades old. The Grand Avenue Bridge Fact Sheet states, “Replacing the GAB provides a long-term solution to numerous issues, mitigates all clearance issues and best serves the public as a whole. The current traffic bridge was constructed in 1953 and is considered “functionally obsolete” by the threshold in the National Bridge Inventory.”

We have long heard of plans to replace the bridge and it is so exciting to see the project move forward.

Hard to conceive now, both bridges will add beauty to our town as iconic features for many years.

Picture Album from The Property Shop’s
Grand Avenue Bridge Tour

Use the arrows to see more pictures from our tour!

 

Other Handy Information We Learned

According to a January article by Tom Newland, GAB Public Information manager, “Pedestrian and business access will continue to remain open throughout the project. Phase two will be completed in March… Phase three work will be completed this spring and summer. Phase three is all construction activity prior to the bridge detour, scheduled to begin Aug. 14, 2017.” In preparation for the detour, our community will have to be thoughtful and work together to be successful.

Keep an eye out for the updates in the Post Independent including the team’s weekly Monday column, Answer Man. Be sure to sign up for project updates and reach out to the project team if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.  There is a lot of information out there designed to keep you in the know.

Additional Information

For more information regarding the Glenwood Springs Grand Avenue Bridge Project:

Click here to sign up for project update emails.

Helpful Resources

Silt 4th Quarter 2016 Market Snapshot

Silt, CO finished strong for 2016 – check out the 4th quarter Market Snapshot results. Call the ladies at The Property Shop to see what they can do for YOU!!!

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New Castle 4th Quarter 2016 Market Snapshot

Beautiful Day in the neighborhood!!! New Castle’s Market Snapshot results for 4th Quarter are here! Check it out and call us at The Property Shop with any questions.

Q4 2016 Market Snapshot - New Castle

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Glenwood Springs 4th Quarter 2016 Market Snapshot

Take a peak at the Glenwood Springs 4th Quarter 2016 Market Snapshot – we had a great finish to the year! Stay tuned for the next market feature!!

We continued to see a decrease in the number of active listings from Quarter three, but the number of listings is slightly more than in 4th Quarter 2015.

Glenwood Springs inventory is still low – it is a great time to sell.

If you have any questions about this market snapshot or if you would like more information about your market, please contact us. We love helping our clients understand the complexities of our local market. This snapshot provides a great overview, but every neighborhood is different.

Q4 Market Snapshot 2016 - GWS

 

Click here to learn more about the Glenwood Springs community.

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The Property Shop, Inc. Celebrates Launch of Sleek, Refreshed Website

property-shop-launches-updated-websiteNovember 2, 2016 – Glenwood Springs, Colorado: The Property Shop, Inc. is proud to announce the launch of their updated website, PropertyShopInc.com! The refreshed design helps reinforce The Property Shop’s dedication to providing superior service and resources to their clients and community. The clean design of the website features many valuable real estate tools and resources and – bonus – it has a completely mobile friendly layout, perfect for anyone to use on the go!

Among the site’s most impressive features are streamlined and user-friendly property search tools that allow the site’s visitors to view Colorado homes for sale with information directly from the Aspen/Glenwood Springs MLS. These tools include standard, advanced and map based search options. For heightened customization, users are even able to draw directly on maps to create user-defined results. Visitors will also enjoy the convenience of setting up custom searches that can email updated results as the MLS changes, giving users an edge in this face-paced real estate market.

In addition to the extensive search capabilities, users have the ability to learn more about The Property Shop team and their role in the community. Both locals and those thinking about relocating to the Roaring Fork or Colorado River valley are encouraged to take advantage of all the site’s complementary resources and tools. Whether you are currently thinking of buying or selling property or you are just curious about the real estate market in the region, The Property Shop is ready to assist you online or in person.

About The Property Shop, Inc.
Hands down. The best in real estate. The Property Shop, Inc. is a local, all women-owned real estate office lucky enough to serve the picturesque Roaring Fork and Colorado River Valleys including Glenwood Springs, New Castle, Silt, Rifle and Carbondale, Colorado. The expert brokers of the Property Shop take the well being of their customers and communities seriously. They offer more than complete real estate service. The team aims to exceed expectations with their local knowledge of the area and the market, based on years of experience.

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The Property Shop, Inc.
1117 Grand Avenue
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
970.947.9300


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