Landscaping for Curb Appeal

Chip Plumley

Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS^®

A well-landscaped yard creates curb appeal and helps your property retain maximum value.

A beautiful yard is a head-turner, no doubt about it. The good news is that even if you can't tell a tulip from a turnip at the garden center, you can still create eye-catching curb appeal by paying attention to the basics of good landscaping. Ignoring your yard--or doing something that's out of character with the neighborhood-can jeopardize the assessed value of your home. Poorly maintained landscaping can be as much as a 5 or 10% deduction.

Appraisers are quick to praise the allure of a well-tended lawn and good-looking landscaping when it comes time to sell your home, but most do not assign any specific increase in monetary value for upkeep.

Landscaping is going to add to the appeal of the property and it may sell quicker, but it's hard to determine value. You need to have a number to compensate someone if you drove into their tree and killed it, but is it really market value? Probably not.

Nevertheless, most professionals agree that curb appeal and a well-maintained appearance prevent your property from losing value. Here are the top suggestions from real estate agents, appraisers, and landscape designers for boosting the curb appeal of your yard:

Green up the grass

If your house has a front yard, make sure it's neat and green. You don't want bare spots, sprawling weeds, or an untrimmed appearance.

It's so simple to go to Lowes or Home Depot, buy fertilizer, apply it every six weeks, and water it. It will green up.

If the yard looks really scruffy, you may decide to invest in some sod. According to the National Gardening Association, the average cost of sod is 15 to 35 cents per sq. ft. If you hire a landscaper to sod your yard for you, labor will add 30% to 50% to the total cost of the project.

Another alternative is to plant low-maintenance turf grasses. Turf grasses are durable and drought-resistant. Expect to pay $18 to $30 for enough turf grass seed to plant 1,000 sq. ft. of lawn area.

Add colorful planting beds

Flower beds add color and help enliven otherwise plain areas, such as along driveways and the edges of walkways. In general, annual flowers are a bit cheaper but must be replaced every year. Perennials cost a bit more but come back annually and usually get larger or spread with each growing season.

If you're not sure what to plant, inquire at your local garden center. Often, they'll have a display of bedding plants chosen for their adaptability to your area. Also, they'll be inexpensive because they're in season. Try pansies in the summer, and asters and mums in the fall to add vibrant color.

Add landscape lighting

For homeowners who have made a sizeable investment in landscaping, it makes sense to think about adding another 10% to 15% to the bill for professional lighting. You can't see landscaping after dark and buyers are not always looking at houses on a Saturday afternoon.

The cost of a system runs from $200 for a DIY installation to more than $4,000 for a professional job. If you're doing it on your own, the key is to light what you want people to see, such as mature trees and flowering shrubs.

Plant a tree

The value of mature trees is particularly difficult to determine. In most major markets, mature trees contribute as much as 10% of a $100,000 property's overall value. In addition, a properly placed shade tree can shave as much as $32 a year on your energy bills.

You can make your own initial assessment of the value of your property's trees by visiting the National Tree Benefit Calculator. For example, a mature Southern red oak tree with a diameter of 36 inches in the front yard of a house in Augusta, Ga., would add $70 to the property value this year, according to the calculator.

Chip Plumley can be reached at (610) 444-9090 or (610) 357-8635. Prudential Fox & Roach is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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10 Tips for Saving Energy in the Kitchen

Chip Plumley

Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS^®

Maintaining your large kitchen appliances is part of a smart home energy efficiency plan.

Spending less money on utility bills doesn't mean you need to rush out and purchase a whole new suite of Energy Star appliances. With occasional light maintenance and good habits, you can greatly improve the energy efficiency of your large kitchen appliances-up to about $120 annually-without sacrificing convenience.

Refrigerator/freezer

Energy-efficiency experts tell us to focus our efforts on the biggest energy hogs in the house, and that definitely includes the fridge. Because it cycles on and off all day, every day, the refrigerator consumes more electricity than nearly every appliance in the home save for the HVAC systems. The average refrigerator costs about $90 per year to operate, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The good news is that a few simple adjustments can trim roughly $38 to $45 off those utility bills.

1. Adjust the thermostat. By setting the thermostat colder than it needs to be, you might increase your fridge's energy consumption by as much as 25% on average. Adjust the refrigerator so that it stays in the 37-40 degrees F range. For the freezer, shoot for between 0-5 degrees F. You could save up to $22 per year. If your model doesn't display the current temps, invest in two appliance thermometers (one for the fridge, one for the freezer). They cost roughly $3-$20 apiece at online retailers.

2. Clean the coils. As dust accumulates on the condenser coils on the rear or bottom of the fridge, it restricts cool-air flow and forces the unit to work harder and longer than necessary. Every six months, vacuum away the dust that accumulates on the mechanism. Also, check to see that there is at least a 3-inch clearance at the rear of the fridge for proper ventilation. This routine maintenance can trim up to 5% off the unit's operating cost, saving you about $4.50 a year.

3. Use an ice tray. Automatic ice makers are a nice convenience, to be sure, but it turns out the mechanisms are energy hogs. An automatic ice maker can increase a refrigerator's energy consumption by 14% to 20%, according to Energy Star. By switching off the ice maker and using trays, you can save about $12 to $18 off your annual electricity bill. Most units require little more than a lift of the sensor arm to switch them off. To reclaim the space remove the entire unit, a simple DIY job on many models.

4. Unplug the "beer fridge." Many homes have an extra fridge that runs year round even though it's used sparingly. Worse, these fridges tend to be older, more inefficient models. By consolidating the contents to the main fridge and unplugging the additional unit, you eliminate the entire operating cost of a fridge. The second-best solution is to make sure the extra fridge remains three-quarters full at all times. The mass helps maintain steady internal temps and lets the fridge recover more quickly after the door is opened and closed, according to the California Energy Commission.

Ovens and ranges

"Green" cooking all comes down to proper time and space management. By using gas and electric stoves more effectively, you can painlessly save a few dollars a year.

5. Cut the power early. As anybody who's ever bumped a burner on an electric stove can attest, those heating elements stay hot long after they've been switched off. Put that residual heat to work by shutting off the burner several minutes before the end of the cook time. The same technique can be applied to the oven. The savings can add up to a couple bucks every month.

6. Match the burner to pan. When a small pan is placed on a big burner you can practically see the money disappearing into thin air. By matching the burner to the pan, electricity won't be squandered heating the kitchen rather than the food. The reverse is true, too. A small burner will take considerably longer to heat a large pan than would an appropriately sized burner. For gas stoves, don't let the flames lick the sides of the pot. Follow these tips and watch the utility bills shrink by a few dollars a month.

7. Do away with preheating. You can save about $2 a month by not preheating your oven (20 cents per hour to operate electric oven; eliminate 20 30-minute preheats a month). Many cooks agree that the practice is wholly unnecessary for all but a few recipes, namely baking breads and cakes. This approach may add a few minutes to the overall cooking time, but it eliminates all that wait time on the front end.

Dishwasher

As with washing machines), most of a dishwasher's energy needs go to heating the water. Still, says Lane Burt, an energy policy analyst with The Natural Resources Defense Council, a 10-year-old dishwasher can be made nearly as efficient as a newer model simply by knowing when and how to run it. Follow a few simple tips, and you can reduce your annual utility costs by roughly $35-$54.

8. Manage the load. Most dishwashers use the same amount of water and energy whether they're run full or half-full. You can cut your operating costs by one-third or one-half by running the machine only when it's full. It costs about $54 to run a pre-2000 model dishwasher per year, based on government data. Proper load management can save up to $27 each year.

9. Activate energy-saving features. A dishwasher's heated dry cycle can add 15% to 50% to the appliance's operating cost. Most machines allow the feature to be switched off (or not turned on), which can save $8-$27 per year, assuming an operating cost of $54 annually. If your dishwasher doesn't have that flexibility, simply turn the appliance off after the final rinse and open the door.

10. Use the machine. Many homeowners believe they can save water and energy by hand washing dishes. The truth is that a dishwasher requires less than one-third the water it would take to do those same dishes in the sink. By running the machine (when full), you can cut down the operating time of the hot water heater, your home's largest energy hog. Not only will you save a buck per month, you won't have to do the dishes.

Chip Plumley can be reached at (610) 444-9090 or (610) 357-8635. Prudential Fox & Roach is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

ChipPlumley.com

12 Tips for Saving Energy in Your Home Office

Chip Plumley

Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS^®

Cut your power consumption, lighting, and heating and cooling costs when you work from home.

With roughly 34 million telecommuting adults in America-a number slated to double by 2016, according to Forrester Research-adjustments to your home office power consumption, lighting, and heating and cooling can impact the environment and your wallet-up to about $200 per year in energy costs.

Down-shift your power consumption

1. Activate power-management settings.

Home office electronics have multiple power modes: active (or "on"), active standby ("on" but consuming less than 100% power), and passive standby (or "off"), according to the nonprofit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, which promotes energy efficiency to consumers and government policy makers.

You can instruct your computer to move into lower-consumption modes automatically when you've stopped using it temporarily-during a lunch hour or phone call, for instance-yet also wake up when you're ready to resume working. Such tactics can reduce your computer-related electricity costs by $25 to $75 per machine annually, says Energy Star.


Energy Star-rated power management features are available on Macintosh and Windows platforms (XP, Vista, 2000). Energy Star offers tips for how to adjust settings on different platforms.


Other providers offer help, too:
Software vendor Verdiem offers a power management set-up tool called Edison and EnergyStar offers a similar tool called EZ Wizard, both of which guide you through the process of setting up power management.


If you're uneasy launching power management protocols yourself, you can pay software companies' IT pros to log on to your computer remotely and adjust your settings. Symantec, for instance, charges about $20 for its "Green PC" service.

2. Use a power strip for your computer, printer, copier, and other peripherals.

If you plug office electronics into a power strip, you can switch all of them fully off (versus leaving them in"standby" mode) with one button. Power strips cost around $3 to $12 from online retailers. Standby power-the energy that's wasted by electronic devices that are plugged in, but not in use-represents about $100 per year in the average household's electricity costs, says Energy Star. Assuming your home office equipment represents about 4% of your electricity bill, you could save up to $4 a year.

3. If you're investing in new computer equipment, look for Energy Star-rated computers, small servers, copiers, fax machines, and adapters.

Energy Star estimates that using these rated electronics in your home office can save $115 over the products' lifetimes.

4. Consider a laptop over a desktop.

Laptops use one-third the power (22 watts) of a typical desktop (68 watts) when in active mode, according to ACEEE. Annually, a laptop could save you about $19 compared with a desktop.

5. Opt for a flat-panel vs. CRT monitor.

A cathode-ray tube monitor consumes about 70 watts of power, while an LCD or flat-panel eats only 27, according to ACEEE data. That's about $1 in savings over year.

Reduce lighting costs

6. Replace traditional bulbs with compact fluorescents.

By replacing one 60-watt incandescent bulb with an equivalent compact fluorescent in a home office where lights are on for eight hours per day, you could save up to $15 per year, according to Energy Star.

7. Buy CFL versions of halogen lights.

If you like the look or brightness of halogen or torchiere lamps, the The Edison Electric Institute recommends buying compact fluorescent versions that consume less than 25% of the power (55 to 65 watts) of conventional versions (300 watts) and cost about the same.

8. Consider task lighting.

Opting for a desk lamp versus whole-room lighting lets you use fewer bulbs concurrently, according to The Institute.

9. Locate lamps in corners.

The adjoining walls will magnify the light across the room.

10. Turn off lights when leaving a room.

Keep heating and cooling costs at bay .

11. Lower thermostats 10% during the day (to 62, for instance, from 68).

This can save up to 10% on annual heating and cooling bills, according to the DOE, or about $100 per year. Supplement with thick slippers and sweaters in winter and keep windows open in summer, with shades down in the afternoon.

12. Use a space heater in winter and a portable or ceiling fan in summer.

Both room-specific solutions cost far less than running whole-house systems at maximum capacity. Using fans or space heaters will eat into your savings for lowering the thermostat, but not nearly as much as using a central heating or cooling system throughout the house. Fans can run $25-$150; space heaters, $10-$80 at online retailers. If your office is one-third the size of your house or smaller, you can safely estimate that space heating will be more cost-effective than heating the entire home just for the sake of the office, according to NYSEG, a utility company in Rochester, N.Y.

Optimizing your home office for maximum energy efficiency requires little effort, but can help lower your home's overall energy consumption and annual utility bill without hampering productivity.

Chip Plumley can be reached at (610) 444-9090 or (610) 357-8635. Prudential Fox & Roach is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Chip Plumley can be reached at (610) 444-9090 or (610) 357-8635. Prudential Fox & Roach is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

ChipPlumley.com

Ah, Spring … Make Sure Your Property Is Ready for a Warmer Market

Chip Plumley

Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS^®

Spring is a season of renewal – this year in particular.

Just as the birds are chirping and flowers are starting to bloom, the U.S. economy is moving forward with real estate sales percolating in many markets. Indeed, the days grow longer in spring, allowing more time for consumers – especially those motivated by current, historically low interest rates and attractive home prices – to shop for their American dream.

If you’re considering selling your property this spring, now's a good time to complete some spring maintenance to make sure your home is in tip-top shape. Even if you aren't planning to sell your home, you should still add these chores to your list to help preserve your home's value and help avoid major repairs later on.

Walk Around the Outside

Check for any damage caused by winter's cold weather. Look for those sagging or loose gutters, window frames or siding. Is your roof missing any shingles, or is there any water damage under the eaves? Promptly schedule repairs for those items you can't do yourself.

Over the fall and winter, leaves, mud and debris may have accumulated in your gutters. Check your gutters for clogging and damage and schedule an appointment for cleaning.

Walk around your yard as if you were a first-time visitor. What impression does your home make? Be sure to clear away fallen branches and leaves. Loosen the soil around perennials, plant annuals or a vegetable garden. Prune shrubs and trees.

If your water supply has been off for the winter, turn it back on. Test your automatic sprinkler system or connect your water hose and check for cracks and leaks. Replace old washers or sprinkler heads.

Don't forget the backyard! Is it time to condition your deck? Be sure to hammer in any loose nails, or replace them with galvanized deck screws. Replace any broken boards or rails. Consider renting a power washer to clean dirt and mildew from the wood, and then apply an all-weather sealer or stain. Then dust off that patio furniture you kept protected over the winter.

Repair any broken fence boards and paint or seal them as needed. Clean the pool if it has been covered all winter. Wash windows, screens and windowsills; repair any winter damage.

Take a Tour Inside

Start making a list of things to do in each room. Then go to work. Dust walls and ceilings to remove cobwebs and wash any grimy areas. Wash window curtains or remove drapes for dry cleaning. Deep clean rugs and carpets. Dust and polish wood or laminate floors.

Clean fan blades using mild soapy water. Check the central air-conditioning unit for debris and obstructions; vacuum the main condenser coil on top of the unit. Check the operating condition of window air-conditioning units; remove and wash filters in mild soapy water.

Make sure all exhaust fans and vents are clean and clear. Don't forget to remove the lint buildup from the clothes dryer vent.

One often-overlooked area is the fireplace. Be sure to sweep ashes carefully into your fireplace's ash pit or into a dustpan. Clean and lightly oil fireplace tools. Remember it's springtime, so you may want to decorate the fireplace or wood stove with a large silk flower arrangement.

Look around for clutter. Are there items you don't use any longer? If you are planning on moving, what items will you not need? Consider having a garage sale and then either donate or trash the remaining items.

And lastly, don't forget to replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. A good time to change them is when you change your clock for daylight savings.

Although performing these spring chores may be dreaded task, they go a long way in maintaining and even enhancing the attractiveness and quality your home. With more buyers out and about, you must be sure your property is ready for its next new owner!

Chip Plumley can be reached at (610) 444-9090 or (610) 357-8635. Prudential Fox & Roach is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

ChipPlumley.com