Jason Roshek

Use Good Fence Manners on Your Colorado Home | Colorado Relocation Group

Whether it’s for privacy, more curb appeal, or to keep the kids safe, you’ve decided to fence in your Colorado home. Before you begin, here are some tips to make sure that your neighbors will appreciate the new addition as much as you do.

One absolute must is to know and stay within your property line. Study the plot plan of your Pikes Peak property or have a new survey done, because going even one inch onto your neighbor’s land will mean tearing the fence down and starting over.

Make sure you (or your fencing company) have obtained a permit and know the local zoning laws for height, placement, or other restrictions. Typical height limits are six feet for back and side yards, and four feet for front yards. Corner lots may have different rules if the fence will inhibit the visibility of drivers. To build over the limits, you’ll have to apply to your zoning board for a variance. This generally means a hearing where neighbors can voice any concerns.

If you’re part of a homeowners association, their rules actually come before the local laws and can include specific style, height, and maintenance regulations. Remember that a fencing company may not know these requirements, so it’s your job to tell them.

If a neighbor damages your fence, document with pictures and try to work it out. If not, small claims court is your next likely stop.

There are also some non-required but nice things to do to keep your neighbors on your side.

• Tell them about the fence before installing it, and make sure everyone agrees on property lines.
• While not a must, it’s common practice to put the nicer, finished side of the fence facing your neighbors.
• Do maintenance on both sides of the fence whenever needed.

A fence is defined as anything that creates a barrier, including trees or hedges, and the same rules of zoning and neighbor etiquette apply to a “living” fence.

With a little knowledge and consideration, you can stay on the good side of your Colorado Springs neighbors—even after the fence goes up.

Whether you’re buying or selling, a qualified real estate agent will help you make the best deal. When you’re ready to buy or sell a home in the Pike’s Peak Area, call The Roshek Group! We are ready to help you with all of your real estate needs.

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Colorado Living ...Where Dreams Come True

The Roshek Group

719-687-1531

PikesPeakRegion.com

via coloradorelocationgroup.com

Give Colorado Listing Photos Curb Appeal

There are two words that every Colorado home seller should know: curb appeal. The better this is, the higher your chance of enticing a buyer the minute they park in front of your house. But the curb appeal also needs to show up in your on-line listing photos, since most buyers will see this before they view the actual property.

To put that pizazz in your photos, try these three simple, no cost options.

• Take Down Window Screens – Most home exteriors can look pretty
  dull, and screens generally make windows look dark. You can shine up door knobs
  and lighting fixtures, but these changes won’t show up in your external photo.
  To spice up your photos and add some dimension, take down window screens on the
  front windows before shooting—but remember to keep and reinstall them after the
  home sells. Buyers likely won’t miss the screens during a showing, but they
  sure will once they’ve moved in!
• Water Your Bark Mulch – When mulch is first put down, it looks
  great and creates a nice clean look in your garden or yard. Old mulch looks
  dull and is a big turn-off. Watering the mulch makes it darker so it contrasts
  with your greenery and makes it seem more vibrant. So pull out the hose and wet
  down your mulch before taking the picture as well as before an actual showing.
• Make The Walkway Stand Out – Turn the front walkway of your Colorado dream home
  into a “runway.” Make sure it’s clean
  and clutter-free, and then dress it up with potted plants, lights or statues. Make
  sure it shows up in your photos by standing on a small ladder to take the
  picture looking down on the property. Or shoot from an angle rather than
  straight on.

The goal is to have your home call to potential buyers whether they see it on the Internet or drive by in a car. And living in a beautiful area like Pike's Peak makes the job even easier. Look around for anything you can do that will make your home stand out among the myriads of other listings so that a buyer’s very first impression will be, “Oh, how beautiful! I’d love to call that my home.”

Along with great curb appeal, you need an agent who’ll bring a steady stream of buyers to your door. When you’re ready to buy or sell a home in the Pike’s Peak Area, call The Roshek Group! We are ready to help you with all of your real estate needs.

Staging : Not just for the interior of your Colorado Home | Colorado Relocation Group

When people speak of staging their home, they are typically referring to the inside of the home – decluttering, de-personalizing and sprucing up the interior living areas to make the home more inviting to potential buyers. However, people often overlook the importance of staging the exterior of the home. While often referred to as “increasing curb appeal” this aspect of staging a home is just as important as ensuring the inside is ready. Remember, people will see your driveway and front porch of your Colorado dream home before they see what the interior has to offer.

Here are ten great tips for ensuring that the outside of your Colorado Springs home sets the stage for a quick sale:

1. Create a “to do” list: Stand at the curb in front of your house and scan your front yard. Jot down anything that catches your eye that needs attention: edging, chipped paint, dirty walkway, etc. Then, have a friend perform the same task and add their items to your list
2. Fresh paint: Exterior walls, eaves, doors, shutters, and visible wood should appear freshly painted or stained.
3. Clean entryway: Clear any clutter from the entryway to your Colorado Springs Home, store snow boots and shoes and sweep leaves and spider webs away.
4. Ensure exterior lights are working: This includes any fixtures on the home, security lights and landscape lighting. If you have a dark entry area, consider adding a new light.
5. Utilize the outdoor living space: Add an outdoor rug if space allows. If you have a large porch, add a swing or bench that faces the best view from your Colorado dream home.
6. Keep the lawn mowed and neatly edged: If the yard is in very poor shape, consider laying sod.
7. Clean the flower beds: Keep them free of fallen leaves and weeds. Consider adding a layer of mulch – it’s cheap, easy to put down and instantly makes the front yard look fresh and cared for.
8. Add colorful flowers: Weather and season permitting, plant or pot some fresh flowers outside the front door. Consider adding potted plants, especially flowers with yellow blooms as they draw the eye’s attention and makes people feel at ease.
9. Trim bushes and trees: Make sure trees and shrubs aren’t hiding windows, or infringing on walkways. Also, trimming tree canopies will help ensure this season’s snow doesn’t topple them onto your home.
10. Power wash the driveway, walkway, shutters, siding, doors, etc.

In today’s competitive market, staging your home is an important part of the selling process.  With the high number of homes on the market, your home needs to stand out to potential buyers as well kept, a good value, and ready for their family to move in. A well-staged Colorado Springs home appears inviting to potential buyers and allows them to see the home as a place their family can live and make memories.

 

When you’re ready to buy or sell a home in the Pike’s Peak Area, call The Roshek Group!  We are ready to help you with all of your real estate needs.

via coloradorelocationgroup.com

Your Garage is More than a Storage Space | Colorado Relocation Group

When you walk into the garage of your Colorado home, what do you see?  Is it a safe haven for your car with clean floors and neatly stacked shelves?  Or, is it a storage space full of packing boxes, Christmas decorations, and the extra furniture you no longer have room for? For many of us, the latter is true, especially when we are staging our home in preparation for selling it.  What you may not realize, however, is how important a well-organized garage can be when selling a home.  While an updated kitchen and fresh coat of paint can go a long way in selling your home, don’t underestimate the importance of a spacious, organized, clean garage.  As you prepare to sell your home, keep the following tips in mind for making your garage a selling point:

1. Lighting:  You don’t need crystal chandeliers to make a statement, but trading the small single bulb for a more industrial fluorescent strip light can add tons of light and make the garage feel larger and more useful.  These inexpensive additions can be purchased at almost any home improvement store and can be easily and quickly installed.
2. The Floor: Your garage floor should be clean and in good condition.  If you have numerous stains, consider putting a floor coating down.   After a good cleaning, you can apply an epoxy resin-based pain to the floor that will cover old stains and make cleaning new spills easier.  This newly finished floor will make your garage seem brighter and larger!  Add a welcome mat in front of the door to the home to assist in keeping dirt out.

1. Finish It:  If your contractor left the space unfinished, prime and paint the walls.  Repair damaged walls, clean any windows, and add base trim if there is none – remember a finished space sells better than an unfinished one. 
2. Storage:  If your ceiling is high enough, a loft-style storage area is perfect for storing bins of holiday decorations and other items that aren’t commonly used.  If you don’t have the space for a loft area, consider placing shelves high on the walls for these items—this will keep floor and lower space free for cars and commonly used items. In addition, ceiling hooks are great for storing bikes, skis and other recreational items.
3. CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!  It is important to clear the garage of unwanted items and sweep/clean the floors. If you have windows, wipe them down.   Don’t allow clutter to build up – either use it, store it, or throw it away.   In addition to being more appealing to potential buyers, a clean garage will eliminate any spider webs and minimize unwanted pesky critters.

The garage is a very useful, but often overlooked space in the home in regards to selling a home.  Nevertheless, in today’s competitive market, it is important to take advantage of every selling point in your Colorado home – including the garage.  Fortunately, most garages don’t need a costly makeover; they just need a good cleaning and some TLC.

Selling your home can be an emotional experience, especially in today’s market.  Buyers are looking for the best possible deals, and are willing to wait for them.  Let us help ease your stress and get you the best possible price for your home.  When you’re ready to buy or sell in the Pike’s Peak area, call the Roshek Group! We are ready to help you with all of your real estate needs.

via coloradorelocationgroup.com

Edging your Yard will give your Woodland Park Home more Curb Appeal | Colorado Relocation Group

There’s no denying that summer has arrived in Woodland Park and with it, comes the job of sprucing up your yard and curb appeal. One easy way to increase your curb appeal and highlight areas of your yard is with edging.

Edging is a material that keeps two different ground covers separate in a garden landscape. It is most often used to keep grass from encroaching from a lawn into a garden bed or to keep two types of mulches from mixing.

It may seem pretty standard but with edging there are so many options from where to place it to colors and types that will match your style and home color, it can become overwhelming if you don’t take one section at a time.

Where to Edge

First, look to which areas and beds in your landscaping may even need edging. Edging typically keeps grass from moving into your garden beds. When you install it, make sure the top edge is flush with the soil surface. This is a great first step at ensuring a lower maintenance garden.

Even if your beds don’t need separation from grass or other spreading plants, you may want to look at edging for either keeping mulch within its borders or for purely esthetic reasons.

With all that said, let’s review edging material options:

Metal Edging

This is inexpensive and easy to use for keeping turf grass where it belongs and looking tidy. It comes in brown and green so it will blend into its environment. You can also use smaller curved pieces to use around trees.

Usually this type of edging comes in 10 foot sections, so making the length or curve of a bed is entirely up to you depending on where you’d like to cut the steel.

Bender Board

This edging is made from recycled plastic. It’s easier to cut to size than its metal counterpart and can be easier to work with where there is a grade change. Although more expensive than metal, It is safer for children and animals who may explore within the garden beds.

However, improperly installed, it can quickly become an eyesore where pieces do not line up properly or become unearthed. In our elevation, with warm summers and colder winters, look for cracking and color fading as well over time.

Stone

One option to stone edging is a round cobble. Although it may look natural, it often comes out looking messy. You can, however, match it to the stone of your home and, with care during installation, can come out looking quite nice.

Pavers and Bricks

Brick is nice but can turn into too formal a look for Colorado gardens and the natural surroundings of our area. It may be more conducive to give a more feel that blends with the natural surroundings of the Pikes Peak region.

If your home garners bricks currently, it may be nice to highlight a couple garden areas with matching bricks or pavers. However, using it up against grass will cause the grass to grow in between the cracks and eventually make its way into your garden beds.

Finding the edging option that works best for you is a matter of taste. Obtaining samples of everything you are interested in to see how it blends with your plants, ground cover, and home type is a great way to make your decision. An edging should just add a finishing touch to your Woodland Park home that gives a nice curb appeal and makes people want to see more of your home.

If you are looking to sell your Woodland Park home this spring, contact The Roshek Group to help you sell your home quickly and for the right price. If you looking to upgrade within the Pikes Peak Region, our experience and love for the area will help you find your perfect new home.

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Colorado Living ...Where Dreams Come True

The Roshek Group

719-687-1531

PikesPeakRegion.com

via coloradorelocationgroup.com