Dog Trouble in Yardley
For as long as I can remember, we have owned dogs.
Our lovable American Eskimo, Quincy
We have had Goldens, Burmese Mountain Dogs, and currently have an American Eskimo, Quincy. We are very fortunate in the Yardley area to have a wonderful array of very qualified, and caring vets to choose from.
We have recently been dealing with very troubling, and confusin,g symptoms with Quincy. Unfortunately, we learned firsthand about a local emergency care service, that does an absolutely amazing job caring for all sorts of pet emergencies and diseases.
Quincy had Lyme disease a number of months ago, and was treated without further incident. He looked and acted normally, until about 10 days ago. He suddenly became very lethargic and wasn’t eating the way he normally does. Our local Vet ran several tests, but we could not find a cause. We ended up taking him to a place called Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center. I can’t say enough good things about how caring they are, and how amazing their service is.
Quincy had to stay there for a couple of nights, while they ran additional tests. All of the staff at VSEC are incredibly caring and respectful. We were able to visit Quincy whenever it was convenient, and they are wonderful about following up, and keeping owners informed about what is happening. VESC is a wonderful resource for pet owners in the Yardley, Langhorne, Newtown area, and for anyone owning pets in Bucks County and beyond. It is a place that you would like to avoid, but when necessary, it is just a fabulous resource.
At this point, Quincy is doing better, but we are still searching for a final diagnosis, although it is possible that his symptoms will resolve, and we will not know what caused his symptoms. We are hoping for that.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |Stop Drafts in Your Yardley Home
Cold weather is right around the corner! Did you know that the average Yardley home loses up to 30% of its heating and cooling energy through air leaks? The worst leaks tend to occur around windows and doors. To stop air leaks and prevent your home heating dollars from vanishing in the wind, it’s important to seal any air leaks around windows and doors. Follow these handy tips from houselogic.com:
First, check for air leaks. With windows and doors closed, hold a lit stick of incense near window and door frames where drafts can sneak right in. Watch for smoke movement. Note which areas need attention.
Next, seal air leaks around windows. If you have older windows, caulking and adding new weatherstripping goes a long way toward tightening them up. The easiest to apply is the self-stick plastic type, but it doesn’t last very long. Bronze weatherstripping ($12 for 17 feet) lasts for decades, but is time-consuming to install. A good compromise is adhesive-backed EPDM rubber ($8 for 10 feet), which is rated to last at least 10 years.
Now, seal air leaks around doors. Check for leaks, and replace old door weatherstripping with new. Foam-type tape has an adhesive backing; it’s inexpensive and easy to install. If it comes loose, reinforce it with staples. Felt is either adhesive-backed, or comes with flexible metal reinforcement. It must be tacked or glued into place. It’s cheap and easy to install, but it has low durability. Be sure to check exterior trim for any gaps between the trim and your door frames, and the trim and your siding. Caulk gaps with an exterior latex caulk ($5 for a 10-ounce tube).
Finally, seal door bottoms. If a draft comes in at the bottom, check the condition of the threshold gasket. Replace worn gaskets. If you can see daylight under the door, you may need to install a new threshold with a taller gasket ($25 for a 36-inch door). Or, install a weather-resistant door sweep designed for exterior doors ($9). Door sweeps attach directly to the door and are easy to install.
Keep your Yardley home toasty warm this winter by taking steps to stop drafts now!
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |Five Great Reasons to Have Your House on the Market in Yardley Over the Holidays
It is REALLY hard for me to believe that we are just a couple of weeks from Thanksgiving…we have already seen snow this October! The holidays and winter are just around the corner.
I have spoken with several people over the past few days who are planning on selling their homes, and are planning on starting the process just after the new year. So, the question I am often asked this time of the year is, “Why bother putting my house on the market over the holidays, since no one will be looking?”
In fact, I’d like to offer a number of very good reasons, as well as some suggestions for selling homes over the holiday season.
1. You’ll have less competition.
Since the overwhelming majority of sellers feel the same way, there will generally be fewer homes on the market this time of the year. This holds true even as we head into the winter months. Although as sellers, we would love to see more buyers looking, if you put your home on the market now, there will not be as much competition as what you are likely to find in the spring.
2. People generally feel more festive this time of the year.
Much of the process of making real estate decisions is psychological, and generally people feel more festive this time of the year. I have found that fr0m a psychological perspective, this can make buyers more likely to make offers at this time of the year.
3. Buyers who are looking over the holidays, are generally motivated.
This is something else that I have found over the years that I have been working with buyers and sellers. People who are out looking at homes this time of the year tend to be serious and motivated. With all of the social obligations that the holiday season brings, when people take time to look at homes over the holidays, they tend to be very serious buyers. I have seen this over and over, in the experiences of the dozens and dozens of home sellers that I have helped who have sold their homes at this time of the year.
4. Homes look better this time of the year.
I will offer a few brief suggestions below for helping to enhance the showing experience during the holidays and as we get into the winter season. Remember, if proper steps are taken, homes can look better at this time of the year than they do at other times of the year. As I will explain, don’t overdo the holiday decorations…but you can make your house look warm and festive, which will help the showing experience.
5. More corporate relocations this time of the year.
This is something else that people often lose sight of when considering whether to put their house on the market over the holidays. Companies which are not in retail often use the period of time between Thanskgiving and New Year’s to do corporate relocations. For non-retail types of businesses, that period of the year can be the slowest time, which offers the best chance for relocating employees to deal with the relocation process. Clearly, relocating executives can be the most serious and motivated buyers. If you are considering selling your house, you definitely don’t want to miss out on any of those buyers.
So, if you are going to sell your Yardley, Newtown, or Bucks County home, don’t fear the holidays. Embrace the opportunity. Here are just a few suggestions to help your house show as well as it possibly can over the holidays and into the winter season.
1. Always, always, always, price your home competitively, and do not overlook your curb appeal. Rake the leaves, clean the yard, etc. Make it stand out from the moment the prospective buyer pulls up to the front of the house.
2. Warmth, warmth warmth. Make sure the heat is operating properly, so that those looking at the house are comfortable. If you have a fireplace, get the fire going for showings. Obviously, if you are going to be out for any length of time, use discretion. If you have a gas fireplace, use it for showings.
Staging may be even more important than usual during the holidays and winter. I can suggest fabulous stagers who will help ensure that a home will show as well as it possibly can. I also have a report, 450 Ideas to Help
Get Your Home Sold Quickly, (which I can email to you), that offers great suggestions for staging a home. Just email me at Marty@MartinMillner.com to get your copy of the report.
3. It seems obvious, but when snow hits, make sure that the walkways are clear.
4. Light, light, bright!!! When there is less daylight, combat the feeling of gloom. Your house needs to be absolutely as bright as possible. I suggest to sellers that they turn on every light in the house for showings. Open blinds, drapes, shutters, etc. to allow as much natural light into the house as possible. Outside lighting should be on, as well, so that the house is visible during evening showing hours.
5. Holiday decor should be tasteful, and understated. Nothing wrong with holiday decorations, but they should be soft, and understated, and not overdone. This will add to the festive mood and help enhance the showing experience.
Enjoy the holidays, and if you are going to sell your house, do not fear the holidays. Use them to your advantage, and you can very effectively get your house sold!
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Repair Your Wood Floors and Erase Ugly Scratches
Here in Yardley – like everywhere else – it’s a fact that dogs chase kids, pans drop, chairs scrape…and soon you must repair wood floors and erase scratches that make them look a mess. Here are some great tips from houselogic.com’s Jane Hoback, who is a veteran business writer.
A professional floor refinisher will charge $1 to $4 per sq. ft. to apply a new coat of finish. No worries. We’ve got inexpensive ways to remove wood scratches and repair deep gouges in a few easy steps.
Camouflage scratches
Take some artistic license to hide minor scratches in wood floors by rubbing on stain-matching crayons and Sharpie pens. Wax sticks, such as Minwax Stain Markers, are great scratch busters because they include stain and urethane, which protects the floor’s finish.
Don’t be afraid to mix a couple of colors together to get a good match. And don’t sweat if the color is a little off. Real hardwoods mix several hues and tones. So long as you cover the contrasting “white” scratches, color imperfections will match perfectly.
Homemade polish
Mix equal parts olive oil and vinegar, which work together to remove dirt, moisturize, and shine wood. Pour a little directly onto the scratch. Let the polish soak in for 24 hours, then wipe off. Repeat until the scratch disappears.
Spot-sand deep scratches
It takes time to repair wood gouges: Sand, fill, sand again, stain, and seal. Here are some tips to make the job go faster.
- Sand with fine-gauge steel wool or lightweight sandpaper.
- Always sand with the grain.
- Use wood filler, which takes stain better than wood putty.
- Use a plastic putty knife to avoid more scratches.
- Seal the area with polyurethane, or whatever product was used on the floor originally.
- Apply the polyurethane coat with a lambs wool applicator, which avoids air bubbles in the finish.
Fix gaps in floor
Old floorboards can separate over time. Fill the gaps with colored wood putty. Or, if you have some leftover planks, rip a narrow band and glue it into the gap.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |It’s Apple Festival Time in Bucks County!
The fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year in Yardley, and all over Bucks County. With gorgeous scenery, and all kinds of great things to do, it is a wonderful time of the year to experience the beauty of Bucks County.
This weekend marks one of our favorite fall festivals in the area, the apple festival at Peddler’s Village. If you have never been to Peddler’s Village, you are missing out on a treat. With unique and unusual country stores, as well as fun activities for kids and adults, Peddler’s Village is a fabulous destination for the entire family.
The apple festival offers incredible apple treats, including apples dipped in caramel! There will be live entertainment, and you will totally enjoy this wonderful, traditional, fall celebration. The festival takes place on both Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm, and free (parking is free, too!). Live entertainment and apple pie-eating contests add to the festivities of this traditional autumn celebration.
Peddler’s Village is located at Routes 202 & 263, Lahaska. Need more information? Call (215) 794-4000.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |Yardley housing market update
Let’s look at the real estate market in Yardley, and see where we are, through September. This review also covers real estate in Lower Makefield Township. As I mention in virtually every real estate post for Yardley, or anywhere in Bucks County, real estate is a very local business. Please remember that, when you read the national press.
I am also including with this post an appreciation (or depreciation) chart for Lower Makefield Township housing, starting with the year 2000. If you follow the numbers, you will see that our area has lost about 15% of value since the height of the market. The real estate market in virtually all of Bucks County has held up considerably better than many other parts of the country.
Real Estate Update for Yardley/Lower Makefield Township.
Inventory:
- Houses for sale at the end of September 2011 246
- Houses for sale at the end of August 2011 254
- Houses for sale at the end of September 2010 214
Inventory is up by about 15% from last year at the same time.
Pricing:
- Average price of a home on the market September 2011 $475,000
- Average price of a home on the market September 2010 $521,000
Based on average pricing, the asking price of a house on the market in Lower Makefield Township, is down by almost 9%. Could sellers be getting a bit more realistic?
Units Sold:
- The number of homes sold, year to date in Lower Makefield Township, through September 2011 was 222
- The number of homes sold, year to date in Lower Makefield Township, through September 2010 was 253
Buyers are getting approximately 8% off of the original asking price, on average. This is very slightly higher than last year at the same time. Most importantly, there is an 11-month supply of houses on the market in Yardley, and the average days on the market has increased, as well. All of these factors show that the market is still weighted in favor of buyers.
One statistic that was interesting to note, though, is the number of pending real estate transactions for all of Bucks County, was up by more than 18% at the end of September, compared with the same time last year. That is the best forward-looking trend line. A pending sale means that the seller has accepted an offer, but the house has not yet gone to closing. I would expect to see this reflected in the number of houses in Bucks County that go to closing over the next few months.
Again, please keep in mind that houses are bought and sold every day of the week. There are buyers looking, and if you are considering buying, there are absolutely great opportunities in the market right now. You can reach me at 215-519-1399 to get any additional information.
Housing appreciation schedule for Lower Makefield Township
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