07-15-2020 Real Estate Weekly

JULY 15, 2020 • Volume 15 • Issue 29

RE WEEKLY RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE • FARM • COMMERCIAL • AREA DEVELOPMENT 515-233-3299 • 317 5th Street, Ames • All REALTOR® ads within are REALTORS® licensed in the State of Iowa

Online at www.AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly

Page RE2 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, July 15, 2020

HOME HELP TIP OF THE WEEK

DECORATING TIP

CLEANING

KEEP YOUR MATTRESS IN GREAT CONDITION

USE LAYERED LIGHTING

REMEMBER TO CLEAN YOUR KNIFE BLOCK

A mattress is a big investment. Like any other major purchase, you’ll want to treat it well to ensure its longevity. Here are some tips from BobVila.com to keep your mattress in good condition throughout its lifetime: • Use a mattress protector to keep dead skin cells, dust mites, body oils and sweat from accumulating in your mattress, which can cause bacterial growth and unwanted odors.

• Rotate your mattress from the foot-end to the top of your bed about every three months.

• Clean your mattress every three months, when you rotate it. Using the upholstery attachment, vacuum the entire surface — sides, too. Pay special attention to seams and buttons where mites can hide.

• When changing your sheets, let your mattress air out for a few hours before covering it with clean sheets.

• Linens should be changed once a week (every other week at minimum). This will help keep dead skin, sweat, crumbs, etc. from accumulating on or in your mattress.

Remember your blankets, comforter and duvet covers, too!

Light can transform a room. There should be three types of lighting in each room, according to ThisOldHouse.com.

“Every room should have three kinds of lighting: ambient, which provides overall illumination and often comes from ceiling fixtures; task, which is often found over a kitchen island or a reading nook; and accent, which is more decorative, highlighting, say, artwork.”

This Old House recommends using uplights, which shine up onto the ceiling and make the room feel larger.

Your kitchen is full of nooks and crannies where dirt, crumbs and germs can hide. While most of these dirty locations don’t contain important cooking tools, your knife block is an exception.

To keep your knives free of germs and grime, you must clean inside the block’s slits. “To get in there, first shake the block upside-down to dislodge any loose crumbs,” recommends BobVila.com. “Next, wash the block with hot, soapy water. Use a small brush to catch the particles stuck inside the slots. Once you’re done cleaning, allow the block to dry thoroughly to prevent bacterial growth.”

More Content Now

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, July 15, 2020 • Page RE3

Page RE4 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, July 15, 2020

DEAR MONTY

How to evict a relative from a rental property

RICHARD MONTGOMERY

R

eader question: My father doesn’t know how to evict a relative from a rental property.

It was to be temporary, but it has been four years now. I know that they didn’t sign a lease, and they don’t have anything that says how long they can stay.

What can we do to get them out?

Monty’sanswer: Until he asks his relative to move, what he has to do is unclear. When he asks them, they

may move. The eviction law on a rental property is different from state to state. The path to take is relatively simple if they are not paying the rent.

Not paying the rent on time, not taking care of the property, disturbing the neighbors or circumstances of that nature are also solid reasons to evict. Your father gives them a written notice to vacate by a specific date.

Is the relative still there because of low rent? Raise the rent 10% above the market, and they may move out on their own.

Delivering the notice Setting the stage for the written notice depends on the relationship between them. If your dad and his relative are friendly toward each other, it may be best for your father to meet personally with him/ her. Then, confirm the conversation

with written communication.

If they are not on speaking terms or your dad does not feel safe around the relative, then another tactic should be considered. Your father can write the letter and send it registered mail, or he can engage an attorney to write the letter for him. Many states require a 30-day written notice. My home state requires the notice to be 30 days from the rent due date.

The message matters While your father is not required to give a reason, the truth is often the best reason. On the other hand, sometimes people do not want to hear the truth.

If your father does not want to share the real reason, there are many valid reasons.

For example: • I am going to sell the house to get liquid, and I have to fix it up first.

• I have a chance to invest in a larger building and need the equity.

Relative won’t go One needs a court order to evict a relative from a rental property when they refuse to move. Typically, the local law enforcement serves the eviction notice and follows up to ensure the move-out takes place. If this becomes the case, consider seeking legal counsel.

Richard Montgomery is the author of “House Money - An Insider’s Secrets to Saving Thousands When You Buy or Sell a Home.” He is a real estate industry veteran who advocates industry reform and offers readers unbiased real estate advice. Find him at DearMonty.com.

Don’t see your home in the

RE WEEKLY Then contact a Realtor® today, because you are missing out on over 37,000+ potential buyers seeing your property for sale.

DIRECT MAIL + ONLINE AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, July 15, 2020 • Page RE5

Don’t see your home in the

RE WEEKLY Then contact a Realtor® today, because you are missing out on over 39,000+ potential buyers seeing your property for sale.

STORY TY COUN

PMENT ERCIAL • AREA DEVELO GE • FARM • COMM RESIDENTIAL • ACREA Street, Ames 99 • 317 5th ® licensed in the State of Iowa 515-233-32 are REALTORS ® within All REALTOR ads

RE WEEKLY

JANUARY 11, 2017 Volume 12 • Issue 2

JANUARY 4, 2017 1 Volume 12 • Issue

RE WEEKLY

STORY

COUNTY

RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE • FARM 515-233-329 9 • 317 5th • COMMERCIAL • AREA DEVE LOPMENT Street, Ame ads within are s

All REALTOR ®

w w. A m e s Tr Online at w

ib.com/rea

lestatewee

Don’t see your

REALTORS ®

licensed in the State of Iowa

kly

home in the

RE WEEKLY

® because Realtor today, Then contact a 00+ potential out on over 39,0 you are missingO nyour l property for sale. buyers seeing i n e a t

DIRECT MAIL +

wE w w. A m e ONLIN s Tr i b

lestateweekly

AmesTrib.com/rea

.com/re

alestate

weekly

DIRECT MAIL + ONLINE AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly

Page RE6 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, July 15, 2020

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, July 15, 2020 • Page RE7

How to get

▲

color in a

shade garden

Hosta blooms make a dramatic show.

By Betty Montgomery

for years, but they do not bloom until fall. Wild Swan blooms in the summer and over a longer period of time. unny borders with bold, bright Hardy begonia is a must for a long blooms catch the attention period of either white or pink blooms. of everyone, but if you have a The flowers stand up above the intergarden with shade, do not worry esting foliage and add lovely color. I — these areas can be lovely, too. There have some growing in damp places as are perennials that boast exotic flowwell as drier areas. If it is happy, it will ers and others with pretty leaf color. seed about and give you a real show.

Some of my It comes up later favorite perennithan other plants, als for the shaded so do not disturb area have beautiful the ground in early flowers, and others spring or you will I grow for the stunlose these lovely, ning foliage. Both charming plants. have great qualities, Hostas are at and when choosthe top of the list ing plants for this of most shade situation, you need gardeners. The Aureola, a Japanese forest grass, under a to think about difarray of textures, maple tree. ferent textures and shapes and sizes of foliage color. You do hostas are amaznot want to choose ing. You can find plants that all have dark green foliage. some hostas that are quite large Add a splash of cream, golden or white and others that are tiny. foliage to make the garden come alive.

Two large ones that come to mind If you want something new, Wild are Empress Wu and Sun and SubSwan, a Japanese anemone, produces stance. A true focal point for any shade masses of white flowers with attractive garden, these giant forms are very lavender-blue bands on the reverse of impressive. Empress Wu can grow 4 the petals. One outstanding feature is feet tall and 7 or 8 feet wide with leaves it flowers over a long time, blooming well over 15 inches wide. Some of the continuously from early to late sumsmall hosta plants do not get over 5 mer. It typically grows 16 to 24 inches inches tall with leaves an inch wide. and makes a clump almost as wide.

They do flower and can be dramatic, The flowers are gracefully carried on while others are quite fragrant. wiry stems above the deeply divided, Brunnera Jack Frost is a real windark green foliage. I have grown sevner in my book. It has lovely clouds eral other Japanese anemones such of tiny, pale blue, airy flowers in the as Honorine Jobert and Whirlwind spring, resembling forget-me-nots.

More Content Now

S

Pink blooms of hardy begonia stand above the foliage. [BETTY MONTGOMERY PHOTOS]

I grow this for the handsome foliage that lights up a shady spot in my garden. The heart-shaped silver leaves are edged and veined with green that remain attractive throughout the growing season. They form a dense and lush mound, which deer and rabbits resist.

One last flower that I want to mention is not too showy but is exotic — toad lily. It has small, intricate flowers that are born on upright, arching stems.

Foliage varies with the cultivar, as do the flowers. The blooms remind me of a small orchid and the foliage is really interesting and often two tones of green.

When I hear people talking about ornamental grasses, I never got excited until I started growing Japanese forest grass All Gold. It forms a mound of small, arching gold leaves that grow to about 18 inches, a perfect size to go under a maple tree or to line a bed. Since its color is from the foliage, it goes well with darker foliage plants, looking pretty all

season and brightening up the garden.

You cannot beat ferns for a lovely airy look for the shade garden. They lend a natural appeal to a shade spot and are very disease- and pest-resistant and require little care. Ferns are great companions for other perennials, and they come in all sizes.

One of the first things to know when planning a shade garden is to understand what kind of shade you have. Light shade or dappled shade means you have some sun but it is filtered or only sunny a few hours of the day. Deep shade is when you have large trees that block out direct sunlight. These conditions will determine which plants are best for you to grow.

Betty Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery40@gmail.com.

Page RE8 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Realtors, do you want to reach a wider group of potential buyers?

Advertise in the RE Weekly.

In print and online.

Call Ali Eernisse 515-663-6956

RE WEEKLY