Sacandaga Home Inspections

from We Call This HOME magazine Second Edition

A Few Words of Advice about Fostering a Pet

Chad M Agerter, Owner/Operator • License No. 16000112510 P.O. Box 29, Caroga Lake, NY 12032 Email: chagerter@gmail.com

518-866-6331 www.sacandagahomeinspections.com

For many of us, it can be very confusing when we get ready to sell our home. What matters the most? What steps should we take to best prepare? Here, Robert Gordon, NYS Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker at Inglenook Realty, Inc. has some answers.

6 items to consider to "bullet proof" your listing when placing your home for sale

If you've read any blog post about preparing your home for sale or watched a recent episode of your favorite HGTV show, you've probably heard that pricing, decluttering, cleaning, and depersonalizing are the most important things you can do when preparing your home for sale. While this is undeniably true, there are several things you may not be aware of that; if addressed before you list; could save you time, aggravation, and potentially even your closing.

1. Complete a walk through with an experienced Real Estate Professional - Hire an experienced *Realtor to come do a preliminary walk through and make recommendations where your money would be best spent on improvements. Don't take their advice personally. You may love full wall murals which is personalized decorating, but it may not be something that's appealing to 99% of your potential buyers. To have the best opportunity to sell, the home needs to appeal to the majority of the market rather than a speci c buyer.

2. Consider having a pre-listing structural inspection - A large percentage of the homes that fail to sell were actually previously under contract to be sold, only to have their sale fall apart due to an inspection or appraisal condition issue. By having a pre-listing inspection, you can address the issues up front that may prevent your sale from occurring down the line. Important items to look for include health hazards such as mold in the attic or basement and asbestos, electrical and plumbing issues, and foundation issues. Many problems are minor and can be taken care of by the homeowner; things like uncovered junction boxes, cracked windows, hand rails, and pressure relief valves on water heaters. The larger issues you should have completed by a professional that can certify in writing that the issue has been addressed.

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3. Get your home Government Loan ready - In the market area of Fulton & Montgomery counties in the last 12 months as of the date of this writing, roughly 29% or just under 1 out of 3 of the homes that sold were sold under a Government loan. To make sure those buyers have an opportunity at purchasing your property, be sure to prepare your home to be sold under their loan terms. Scrape and paint areas of peeling paint both inside and outside of the home including outbuildings. If you have country property, know and mark the location and the distance between your septic and well. Dig out your paperwork for age, depth, and gallons per minute if you can nd it. Add that missing extension pipe to your water heaters pressure relief valve. Make sure you have handrails on all steps and any potential safety hazards have been addressed. That raised patio block may seem insigni cant to you and to the buyer, but the fact that it's a tripping hazard could cause you problems down the line if you get a tough bank appraiser.

4. Test your well for contaminates & have your septic checked - If you have well water, bring a sample of water in to test for Coliform, e-coli, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Lead. Coliform is the most common bacteria found on an inspection and if discovered you can then take appropriate steps to remediate. By inspecting and pumping your septic up front, you can address any potential issues with broken covers and ba es as well as clogged leach lines before the buyer has it inspected.

5. Find and update your abstract of title - While in some areas of the region it can be a buyer expense to update the abstract, in much of our market area it is a typical seller expense to update. If you are able to nd the abstract it can save you money in title/legal fees and if you update it up front it can save you time in the end. You will be looking for a roughly 11 x 14 packet and inside will be a stack of deeds which is the history and chain of ownership on your property. Make sure any liens against the property are paid...i.e. you forgot to pay the plumber and they placed a mechanic’s lien on your home, and any back taxes.

6. Sell the home “Certi ed Pre-Owned” - I’m sure you have seen the car commercials that say to buy their cars that are warrantied and have gone through a multi-point inspection. You can do the same thing with your home. Pre-inspect it and repair the issues, have it appraised up front by an independent third party, and sell it with a home warranty to cover the major mechanicals and systems within the home for the potential buyer.

The best home, in the best condition, and for the right price will usually result in an o er rst. But, by completing the six items above you can almost assure yourself that you will close rst & with the least hassle.

If you have questions or would like to talk about getting your home ready to list, call Bob Gordon at (518) 852-4408 - Cell

Have you been thinking about getting away?

Whether it’s for the day or longer...

Column by ﬁne arts photographer and wanderer Sue Clark. M.Ed. (AKA Mustang Sue)

Destination: Tribes Hill Heritage Center

Hello all.

Let me introduce myself properly. Sue Clark is my name. An M.Ed. degree explains my stylea combination of storyteller and fine arts photographer. I’m also a car enthusiast, a twin, a writer and a wanderer. That’s the short list. I find many “out of the way” places through my wanderings... and record said wanderings/ discoveries with my trusty camera beside me, whether that be my Canon DSLR or cell phone camera. Believe it or not... the advances in cell phone camera picture quality simply blow me away nowadays, so I find myself using the cell phone camera more often than not. Editor/owner, Linda Palmieri and I discussed taking on a travel column about my local wanderings in the Palmieris new adventure, this magazine! Done!

I’ll start my new “Let’s Go!” column with the name of the local destination, post hours and contact information, give a little history about the destination, and include some photos. BTW... it’s always good to call ahead to any travel destination to confirm hours of operation. Yes. Linda said I would not get rich producing this column... yet. OK then. I’m doing it for the fame. I’m not a historian by profession. My writing style will be more like a storyteller/educator/entertainer. So pour yourself a glass of your choice, and come along for the ride. We all could use new places to visit that won’t break the bank.

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If you enjoy learning about Native American history and enjoy viewing native artifacts from tribes across the USA, then the Tribes Hill Heritage Center (THHC) is your destination. Founder Marjorie Ann Dancing Wind Heacock and Co-founder Terrie Robbins have created a beautiful showplace set inside an old church to display an outstanding collection of Native American artifacts and crafts which you will see nowhere else.

As a retired award winning educator, Marjorie Ann Dancing Wind Heacock can easily walk you through the extensive collections on both ﬂoors. When you are through, you’ll be able to share your new knowledge with others. Easily.

I myself love looking at old school silver and turquoise jewelry. The THHC houses one of the ﬁnest collections around in these parts, bar none. Then there is the rare pottery, rugs, baskets, bead craft, bear skin and ... so much more. Dance shared that she and her husband traveled all over the USA and collected rare pieces of Native American craft for many years. Sadly her husband has passed on and is certainly missed. He wanted her to continue with their dream

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Continued from page 30 of opening a show place for their collection. Dance has not only been able to secure and stabilize a building in Tribes Hill, NY to house their collection and art work of others, THHC had since been granted non proﬁt status. Dance hopes to host classes for families and schools in the near future.

Current indigenous art made by many artists can be purchased at THHC. Lorraine Steﬀen’s exquisite feather work was on display during my visit. She is known as a Master feather-smith. The photos I provided will give a hint of Lorraine’s exquisite featherwork, and that of other artists work presented at THHC. Stop in and be prepared to be mesmerized by the collection of beauty that is the Tribes Hill Heritage Center.