SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 • Volume 12 • Issue 39
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
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DEAR MONTY
Picking the best agent from three finalists
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
R
eader question: We have obtained opinions of value from three agents. Each agent chose three different comparables, and there is a 30 percent difference between the best price and lowest price when including all nine comparables. This difference
equates to over $60,000. How do we know which estimate is the most accurate comparison to our home? Monty’s answer: Unfortunately, the vast majority of real estate agents do not take the time required to evaluate comparable sales data properly. A significant segment of the evaluation process is the selection of the best comparables and documenting the value of the differences between those comparable sales and your home. Tips to identify the most accurate value • The best comparables are homes that require the fewest adjustments. When all the features of the
comparisons are very similar, there are minimal changes. For example, if your home is a ranch style home with 2,000 square feet on the main floor, and every comparable is a ranch within 100 square feet of your home, no size adjustment is required. Here is a link to an article with a schedule of features for adjustment that adds perspective: http://bit.ly/featureadjustments. • The feature adjustment calculation totals on each comparable should not exceed about 15 percent of the anticipated value of your home. If the adjustments are greater than 15 percent, the comparables are not suitable. For example, if your country home does not have a costly
horse barn but a chosen comparable does, a significant adjustment for the outbuilding should eliminate that comparable from consideration. • The subtle nuances of features in the link above that are harder to judge can enhance or reduce your confidence in the preparer. Features such as quality of construction, the value of the surrounding neighborhood, and school districts, to name a few, require rational judgment in addition to routine calculations. Send Richard Montgomery questions at DearMonty.com.
TIPS OF THE WEEK Yard projects to tackle as the weather cools off
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Fall lawn care packs plenty of work into a few short months. Make it a bit easier by applying the following tips from Lowe’s and Greenworks: Stimulate your lawn. Look for brown, tan or white patches on your lawn and apply a lawn fungicide to halt mold growth. Blow those leaves away. Try a lightweight, batterypowered leaf-removal solution that’s easy to use and effective. Seed and sod. Reseed small portions of dead grass in your yard and look into sodding options for more comprehensive coverage.
REAL ESTATE Scents that sell are simple and clean Forget the potpourri and baked cookies, simple scents like orange or vanilla may help sell your home quicker. Houzz, a remodeling and interior design site, suggests using a reed diffuser to a subtly scent a room or briefly burn a candle before an open house starts. Also stick to organic scented products since they give off less of a chemical smell. — Brandpoint
Grow veggies in the fall with a cold frame Summer’s end doesn’t mean it’s time to say farewell to fresh garden veggies. Now is the perfect time of year to build or purchase a cold frame. This small protective structure for your yard surrounds plants in the ground, absorbs sunlight and heat by day, and offers a barrier to frost and snow by night, according to the National Gardening Association.
PALRAM
RENOVATIONS Kitchen upgrades to make your inner host flourish What do you do when you’re built to entertain, but your kitchen is not? Renovate! Here are some upgrades that can help, according to Beale: Give yourself some space. Consider opening closed-off kitchens to the home’s main living area. Upgrade appliances. You can find appliances to help with every aspect of entertaining, such as dishwashers that eliminate the need to pre-rinse. Create an island paradise. An island can serve multiple entertaining purposes, from providing extra work space to giving guests a seat closer to the action.
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Grow where grass won’t Golden moneywort/creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) USDA zones: 4-8 Care: Grow in a moist, but well-drained d soil, rich in organic matter. Soil should not dry out in summer. Full sun or partial shade, but color is best in full sun.
Blue star creeper
Propagation: Sow seed in containers outdoors in spring. Divide in spring or autumn.
Ajuga chocolate chip
Ground covers
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS PHOTOS
These plants may be the answer for trouble spots
By Linda Cobb More Content Now
T
he best part of any garden is making it look charming and tied together. Ground cover plants are great for tying things together, but they are rarely discussed. I called my friend and fellow gardener Julia Burnett, and we sat down over a cup of coffee to chat. Julia has an incredible garden that is a tapestry of greens. There are bold greens, woven with silvers and all tied together with the best use of ground cover plants. Julia says that she loves the softness that ground cover plants create when they mingle together like a fine tapestry. Ground cover plants function as a living mulch over areas that are sometimes hard to plant. They are living carpets that are full of color and sometimes even bloom. They can help control soil erosion, prevent weed growth, and can be clumping, running, or evergreen. A favorite planting idea for ground covers is between stepping stones. Julia’s favorite is blue star creeper (Isotoma fluviatilis). She has planted it in the area of her fairy garden. It is a fast grower and quickly fills up the space between the stepping stones. Blue star creeper has tiny green leaves that quickly form a green mat between stepping stones and around ponds. Tiny blue star-shaped flowers bloom in the early spring. Another type of ground cover is strawberry
begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera), which is a small plant that grows to 6 inches. Every spring it has a haze of white flowers on thin wire stems that seem to float above the plants. It grows in shade to part shade and the foliage is evergreen. Strawberry begonia sends out runners or offsets that can be detected and spread around other areas of the garden. For stone walkways, chartreuse green creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) makes a powerful statement. If used as a carpet under dark green English boxwoods, it makes the two opposite greens work together. Julia uses it as a filler between her stepping stones. Creeping Jenny grows to only about 2 inches tall and loves full sun to keep that brilliant chartreuse color. This plant quickly forms a thick carpet. A final wonderful ground cover is ajuga chocolate chip (ajuga reptans “Valfredda”). This tinyleafed clumping plant likes to grow in part shade and blooms a vertical blue flower stem in May and June. The leaves are chocolate brown and a delightful ground cover, as well as an accent plant. Ground covers deserve an in-depth look as a possible add-on to your garden. They will grow where grass will not grow and tie all the edges together. Linda Cobb is a master gardener who lectures, teaches and does garden design in South Carolina. She can be reached at lindacobb@charter.net.
Problems: Rust and leaf spot are possible, sible, but generally no serious disease or insect problems. Can be invasive. Note: Considered invasive in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Illinois, Connecticut and Tennessee
Ajuga chocolate chip (Ajuga reptans ‘Valfredda’) USDA zones: 4-9 Care: Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Propagation: Sow seed in containers in fall or spring. Divide in early spring or fall. Problems: Crown rot, particularly in the humid conditions of the deep South and in heavy soils. Avoid planting in wet, heavy soils, provide good air circulation and divide when clumps become overcrowded. Also avoid planting near perennial beds or lawns where its spreading nature could pose removal problems. Note: It can even grow under black walnut trees. It can be invasive if runners are consistantly pulled.
Strawberry begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera) USDA zones: 6-9 Care: Grow in moist, organically rich, light, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade Propagation: Detach individual rosettes and root as cuttings in late spring or early summer. Divide in early spring. Problems: Root rot may occur in poorly y drained soils. Aphids, slugs and spider mites may appear. Note: Edible and relished in Japan when parboiled or fried and used in salads.
Blue star creeper (Isotoma fluviatilis) USDA zones: 6-9 Care: Grow in moist, well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. Propagation: Divide in spring or fall. Problems: None Note: Wear gloves when handling this plant as it releases a sap that can be a skin irritant. Source list: Missouri Botanical Gardens, Fine Gardening magazine, US Department of Agriculture
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