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Questions To Ask When Shopping For A Home.

Questions To Ask When Shopping For A Home

By Skylar Ross, of Innovative Materials.

Welcome to the best online resource for trending projects to increase your home’s value. Call or text (225)-234-0022 for more information!

When working with a realtor during the home buying process, many buyers expect the realtor to have all of the answers. While most realtors are undoubtedly valuable resources with a wealth of information about all of the properties in the area, there are some items they simply forget to cover when providing a rundown on a house. As a result, it is important for the buyer to ask the following essential questions to avoid unwanted headaches after purchasing their home!

1. How old is the roof?

When shopping for a new home, people often focus on the interior elements, like trendy kitchens, spacious master bedrooms, or luxurious bathrooms. While these elements are important, they do little to tell you whether or not the home has “good bones”.

The roof is a far less exciting element that often gets overlooked when shopping for a home, it is absolutely essential in maintaining the home’s structural integrity. In addition to enhancing a home’s attractive aesthetic, a good roof should also provide a solid insulative element to help control energy bills and prevent the unwanted flow of air, moisture, noise, and debris into and out of the building.

Most roofs, such as asphalt shingles and wood shakes, tend to break down after about 20 years, so it is important to ask about the age and condition of the roof. For homes that are having roofing issues, an asphalt or shake roof repair may be an option for tackling the problem area if the roof is still relatively new. However, if the roof is over 15 years of age, a repair will likely be nothing more than a temporary fix, and it is worth considering the advantages of upgrading to a modern composite roof and seeing if the seller will make provisions with you as part of the home closing.

2. What framing materials were used during construction?

Quality homes have quality building envelopes – those elements that help keep the conditioned, interior air separate from the unconditioned, exterior air. Some important elements of the building envelope include the roofing, siding, insulation, and framing.

In terms of house framing, many modern developers are taking advantage of the benefits of insulated concrete forms (ICF) over traditional oriented strand panels. ICF provides an airtight barrier with elite thermal mass, which aids in regulating interior temperatures and keeping energy bills under control. It also has excellent mold-, insect-, and fire-resistant properties ensuring that the house’s construction is not undermined by the forces of nature. Therefore, be sure to ask about the framing materials, and weigh in on their value to the home.

3. When was the garage door last serviced?

The average American household opens and closes its garage door about four times a day. Given this rate of usage, the torsion springs that lift and lower the door will wear out in about seven years.

In addition to old torsion springs becoming slow, inefficient, and potentially dangerous, the face of the garage door is likely to accumulate damage, detracting from the home’s curb appeal. As a result, it is important to find out as much as you can about the garage door’s history from the realtor, looking at all of the modern and rustic garage doors that can help give the property a boost.

Working with a realtor is a great way to stay in the loop on local property updates when shopping for a home. Nonetheless, it is still a great idea to remain proactive throughout the process to ensure that all your concerns are alleviated. By asking your realtor these three questions mentioned above, you can feel confident that the homes you are considering are of the highest quality.

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Skylar Ross is a contributor to the Innovative Materials blog. He is a content writer for the construction and home improvement industries with an interest in landscaping, outdoor remodeling, and interior design. Skylar is focused on educating homeowners, contractors, and architects on innovative materials and methods of construction that increase property value, improve sustainability, and create a warm and welcoming ambiance.

We want to help you with all of your real estate needs, so if you want more staging tips, want to know your home’s value, or have any questions, call us at (225)-234-0022 or click the button below!

5 Winter Staging Tips That Will Get Your Home Sold!

Welcome to the best resource for 5 Winter Staging Tips That Will Get Your Home Sold. Call or text (225)-234-0022 for more information!

Follow these tips for some ideas to get your home staged in the best way during the winter, and get your home off the market as quick as possible!

1. First Impressions are key

First impressions make or break what someone thinks of your home, so it is important to make a good one! Keep both the interior and exterior of your home looking nice and presentable. Curb appeal is an important feature, some things you can do to make your home’s exterior looking nice is to keep the yard clean, clear any clutter like toys, and keep trees or bushes neatly trimmed. You can hang a colorful wreath on your door or put a new doormat out. If you want to go all the way, you can even repaint the exterior, update your mailbox, or replace your house numbers!

2. Turn up the heat

This one is simple, take advantage of the colder weather by turning up the heat! This will keep potential buyers who are touring your home want to stay inside longer.

3. Lighten it up

Now that it is getting darker earlier in the day, have your home well lit both inside and outside to give it a more delightful and homey feel. Outside you can hang some string lights around trees or bushes, or even add some lighting along your walkway to make it better lit up. On the inside, clean your light bulbs or even replace them if they do not look bright enough. Also, open the curtains and blinds during the day to allow lots of natural light to come in.

4. Clean the house

Have your house looking spotless, and make sure there are no unusual odors lingering around. Clean the floors, curtains, furniture, and dust all your fans, shelves, or any other spots that easily collects dust. Also, creating a scent appeal will help make the home seem more pleasurable to potential buyers. Comforting scents like vanilla or cinnamon will help create a scent appeal, but try to use candles instead of sprays. Click here to view a list of more comforting scents you can buy to help create a scent appeal in your home!

5. keep it cozy

Potential buyers like to be able to imagine themselves living in the homes they are looking at, so decorate your home in a way that will allow them to do this. If you are wanting to decorate using a specific color scheme, try using warmer colors. For these colder months, lay out some accent pillows and fuzzy blankets in the living room to make it seem more inviting. Have your furniture facing each other, seated in a circle, rather than having them all pointed towards one object. If you have a fireplace, decorate it! Style it up by adding flowers or plants, framed photos, candles, or any other cute, smaller decorations. In your kitchen, set up a coffee or tea area, this will allow potential buyers to imagine picture themselves sipping their hot beverages and warming up. Click here for more tips on how to make your home cozier!

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Why You Should Work With A Real Estate Team

Welcome to the best online resource on Why You Should Work With A Real Estate Team. Call or text (225)-234-0022 for more information!

The decision to buy, sell, or invest in real estate is one that can be very stressful for some. You should not have to work alone throughout a process like this. There are many reasons why you should work with a real estate team to buy or sell a home, but we are going to highlight the top 5 benefits of working with one.

1. We know the inventory

Agents know what the market is like, and what to expect in the future, for the most part. Agents know what is selling and what is not getting as much traffic. We hear your wants and needs when looking for a home, and we will work to find exactly what you are looking for.

2. We have a more available schedule

Working with a real estate team means that you do not have to do additional work on top of your full time job. Working with real estate is a full time job in itself. When working with a team, you will not have to make time to schedule an appointment to have people come look at your house when you could be relaxing. Agents can show your house with the convenience of you not even having to be home! Agents can work around your when scheduling showing appointments.

Also, a team will take care of all the paperwork, marketing and other time-consuming yet necessary processes to get your home sold. They will host the open houses, talk to the families that look at it, and collect and share all feedback.

3. Days on market is lower

Homes are more eye-catching to the public when they are fresh on the market, so the longer that a home is on the market, the less people become interested in it. When listing your home, agents will work with a multiple listings service to get your home sent out to many buyers agents, which makes it easier to find buyers who are looking for exactly what your home offers.

4. We take care of negotiations

Who doesn’t love getting more than what they were originally wanting?

An agent wants to get you the best deal possible when buying or selling a home, so we will practice negotiation tactics to ensure we are capable of working through all negotiations – no matter how tough they are. Also, experienced real estate agents have already gone through a plethora of unique negotiation situations that also improves their skills. They know what to say and what not to say so that the negotiation goes as smooth as possible.

5. We get your home staged

Like we have said before, agents know what is being sold and what is not. Real estate teams usually have connections with top tier staging companies who can make your home look desirable to all potential buyers on the market. If a part of the home is not as attractive, we can add all the right touches to make it look better!

Whether you are looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate, it is always better to work with a team! We want to help you with all your real estate needs, so just reach out to us by calling (225)-234-0022 or click the button below!

Cooking Picadillos Houk Style

Welcome to the best online recipe for cooking Picadillos Houk style. Call (225)-234-0022 for more information!

One of Tim’s military friends taught him the perfect Picadillos, see below for the recipe! Check out this video to be taken back to Cinco De Mayo! We want to see your creations, so post a picture on your Facebook or Instagram and tag us on it!

Ingredients:

2 medium sized potatoes
2 jalapenos
1 onion
1 lb ground beef
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
Home made taco seasoning OR
1 small can of green chilies

Instructions:

Cube the potatoes & dice the onions and jalapenos.
Saute the potatoes in olive oil for 10 minutes on medium heat. Make sure to toss and not let them get too brown.
Add the onions, garlic, and jalapenos & saute until soft. Add water if necessary to keep veggies moist.
Add the ground beef and cook until well and browned, drain meat and return to pot.
Add ¼ cup taco seasoning (or can of green chilies), ¾ cup water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook for 5-7 minutes.

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The Houk Group’s Favorite Local Restaurants

The Houk Group's Favorite Local Restaurants Welcome to the best resource on The Houk Group’s Favorite Local Restaurants. Call or text (225)-234-0022 for more information!

During these times, we want to do our part to support local businesses, so we chatted with Realtor Chris Galloway to see what his favorite local restaurants are! Dive into Chris’ world and see what his top 5 local restaurants are!

1. Gino’s Restaurant:

A staple of the Baton Rouge Restaurant Community, Gino’s specializes in traditional Italian food, seafood, and steaks. Growing up, Chris and his family would always eat at Gino’s for his birthday, and it was also where he went on his first date with his girlfriend! Chris loves to start with the Arancine, then order the Seafood Cannelloni as his entree!

2. Mestizos:

Featuring modern, Mexican cuisine in a festive atmosphere, Mestizos is the perfect spot for lunch or dinner! Chris loves that Mestizos offers a Keto friendly menu, although sometimes he will order from the regular menu! He loves the Crabmeat Queso and the “Cancun”, which includes a shrimp & crab enchilada, crawfish & spinach enchilada, and a crawfish taco.

3. Albasha:

Serving delicious Greek & Lebanese food since 1992, Chris’ favorite meal to order from Albasha is the Spinach Salad with Chicken Shawarma! When he really wants to indulge, Chris will get the Combination Platter with Gyro and Chicken Shawarma!

4. Rouj Creole:

Located in Baton Rouge, Rouj Creole likes to make their menu as innovative as possible, including tastes of Italy, Spain, Germany, France, the Caribbean, and New Orleans!

5. Reginelli’s:

Chris’ final local eatery is the amazing pizza place that takes great pride in providing memorable meals in a comfortable atmosphere since 1996!

Click here for a list of more, amazing local restaurants, or here for additional ways to help local restaurants during these times.

Here are list of homes in Baton Rouge if you are looking to move closer to these restaurants. If you have any questions on buying, selling, or investing in real estate, do not hesitate to reach out, we would love to help!