HOLY HEAT INDEX BATMAN!

PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM THE SUN

Lawns

Many lawns, including bluegrass, fescues, and ryegrass, naturally go dormant (turn brown and stop growing) during periods of high heat and drought. The easiest thing to do is just let nature take its course. Once temperatures return to normal, and the lawn starts getting adequate moisture, it will green up again.

During long droughts of heat avoid mowing your lawn as well.

Trees and Shrubs

Newly-planted trees and shrubs (less than two years since planting) can be hit particularly hard by heat and drought. To keep them alive and healthy:

• Water in the morning before if possible.  Even better is watering over night which allows trees to absorb more of the water.
• Give them between two and four inches of water per week during very high temperatures (heat index above 100 degrees) and drought.
• To water, a long, slow trickle is best. This will allow the water to soak deep into the soil without running off, ensuring that the water is going to the root zone where it is needed.
• Shrubs can be misted several times per day to increase the ambient moisture -- this will prevent the foliage from drying out too much.

Your Homes Foundation

In areas where you have more clay in the soil a drought can cause movement and damage foundations.  A simple tip during long runs of drought water around your house.  The money you spend in water will be worth it compared to the $6000 - $7000 bill you could have to fix the foundation of your home.

Protecting YOU!

The CDC offers a brochure on personal safety during drought and high heat indices.
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/publications/Drought.htm

✿ Top Trees For Landscaping ✿ Eye Candy for Your Yard ✿

Seasonal Picks

First let me say this is my opinion, and know there are several other nice trees out there.  I am dividing these up by what season they they seem to really add value to your property.  Also I live in Missouri, the trees are typical to this area - but have a wide growth area over a majority of the U.S.

Pink and White Dogwoods

Summer

Dogwood - this is one of my overall favorite trees - it actually hits many season, flowers in the spring, has interesting growth patterns, is a smaller tree, and has nice fall colors. 

Japanese Maples - These can add great color to your lawn, Bloodgoods have nice leaves and is one of the hardiest of the Japanese Maples and typically still smaller then their American brothers is on of the taller Japanese Maples.

Maple in the Fall

Fall

Maples - This is the season where Maples really show off and there are a variety of colors available.  The bonus of a maple is there broad leaves are great shade providers.

Winter

Winter is ruled by the Coniferous group, Pines and spruces, a personal favorite is a nice deep Blue Spruce, and these are not just for Winter, they look nice against a green background as well.  Plus they give you something to decorate at Christmas.

Spring

This dominated by the flowering gang...

Redbuds - Beautiful pink flowers, a unique reddish bark, and the flowers give way to big broad heart shaped leaves.

Crabapples - Come in a variety of colors, usually white, pink, and red. 

Blue Spruce

Magnolia - Magnolia trees are among the showiest flowering landscape trees.

My goal in my yard is to have year round beauty, so I have a few of each of these in my landscape.

FSBO vs. Hiring a Professional

It's Time To Sell My Home - I Can Do That, Right?

Your Home is typically your most prized possession - or at least it is one of the most valuable.

The benefits that most see to a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) is that they may save money not having to pay commission.  The other reason is that they may have had a bad Realtor in the past and it left a bad taste in their mouth - or due to their ineffectiveness the homeowner feels they can do what that person did.  Another reason is that they work or worked in sales and feel they can sell their property.

You can sell your own home, but the odds are against you!  You talented agent is Internet savvy - because over 80% of the homes are first found on the Internet.  This isn't throwing it on website - this is throwing it on tons of websites - including social media sights.  In some cases re-posting multiple times per week to promote your home.  So sure you could do that but it is time consuming!

Next Problem - It's YOUR House!  Think of the last time you had a garage sale, do you remember your clientele.  The wheeling and dealing, no one was willing to pay what you had it tagged for - remember?  When your home does not have professional representation, you are essentially putting it up for sale at a garage sale.  It will be very hard to separate emotion from the process as well.

Are you available for a 2nd Full-Time job?  Many showings happen on short notice, especially for you because odds are good the only way they see your house is when they drive by, and then want to see it right away.  When you have a Realtor they take of the showing schedules and let you keep living your life.

Who sells the most homes in your area - Realtors - there is little motivation for them to show your home because there are too many risks.  They can't research your home, they can't tell from the outside if it fits what their buyers are looking for.  Finally, you wouldn't work for free, neither would they.  If there is an unknown on commission, or the risk of no income they will avoid your home as well.

Exposure - Good Realtors sell your home to the Real Estate community - Agent tours are a strong tool to introduce your home to the agent community that work directly with buyers.  Good agents also communicate via e-mail in promotion of your home to other agents. 

The final issue is the paperwork involved in the actual sales - Offer - Counteroffer - process, experience helps here - the forms are not simple and are many in number.

When selecting an agent - do some homework - you are hiring them to sell one of you most valuable possessions - See how many listings they have - look or ask to see how they market those listings.  You can interview multiple agents as well - pick who you think is going to do the best job for you - and it is not always the one who agrees with you on everything.  You want you agent to be honest with you - from staging to pricing!

Author - Will Klein is a Realtor in St. Charles County, Missouri serving the cities of Cottleville, Weldon Spring, Saint Peters, O'Fallon, Wentzville, Warrenton, New Melle, Winfield, and Lake St. Louis, with homes for sale in most.

Raising the Value of Your Home! How?

As a Realtor there are several things that I see can add value to your home.  My first suggestion is think long term - look at you home as an investment over the course of your ownership.  Many try to do "hurry up" additions and updates when they go to sell.  Doing the additions over time like a sun room allows you to enjoy it as well and add value to your home when you go to sell.

First Impressions

What is your curb appeal?  Too much landscaping can be bad and so can too little.  You may plan to live in your home for many years - but one day comes when things change and you decide to sell.  What draws people to older homes is mature landscaping - so if you lot is bare, add some trees.  Buy good trees, avoid messy trees or trees with deep route systems near the home.  Avoid Silver Maples, and trees that drop alot of seeds/fruit.  Willows, Oaks, Maples are good but plant away from the foundation.  Try not to block the view of the entire home from the curb appeal.
Get the trees in now so that 5 or 10 years from now they are mature and provide benefit to the future home owners.

Here is a list of other areas to consider to add value...

110 Yr Old Home - Modern Kitchen

Update the Kitchen

Update the Bathrooms

Make sure the basement is dry.

Master Bedroom Suites - spacious walk-in closets

Architecture style roofing - if you replace the roof it is a small amount more to get that style.

Storage - if you can add more storage that helps - over sized garage, more closets, leave space in finished basements.

Flooring - Have a plan - avoid having every room in the home having a different unique flooring.

Home for Sale at 504 Knaust - Beautiful Oaks Shading the Home.

Will Klein is a Realtor in St. Charles County Missouri, with homes for sale in St. Peters, O'Fallon, Wentzville, Weldon Spring, Cottleville, New Melle, Lake St. Louis, Winfield.
http://www.postlets.com/res/5730468

Weathering the Storm!

The Sky is Falling!



Hail as big as his eye!

 In the St. Louis are we have recently been and still are in a series of bad weather patterns.  We have had multiple hail storms, tornadoes around the area, other high winds, and excessive precipitation.  Just because your house didn't get knocked down doesn't mean you didn't have damage.  I could throw a golf ball or a baseball at your house and it would cause damage, now drop that same golf ball from the clouds above and there is some potential for serious damage.

The point I am trying to make is to give your home a good once over after each major storm.  A small unnoticed bit of damage can turn into a huge problem if it causes leaks somewhere in your home.

4 years ago we had a bad storm go through our neighborhood.  I thought we had come away with no issues, later to find that the wind had sucked 10 pieces of my siding straight up and off my chimney and threw them all around my yard.  This was an inexpensive fix, but I didn't notice it for several hours based on the location.

Finally, after storms be a good neighbor and look out for other damage that may have happened in the neighborhood.  Just the other day I enjoyed helping a neighbor remove a downed tree after the storm.

Time to plan your yard projects - some great tips here!

How to Schedule Yard Work

By an eHow Contributor

Some garden chores, such as mowing the lawn are routine, and others are infrequent, but inevitable. Keep steady with expected work and plan ahead for the unforeseen.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 1
   First, divide your garden into distinct areas or plant types, then develop a maintenance plan for each. For instance, break your yard down into the lawn, trees and shrubs, vines and ground covers, rose and vegetable gardens. These are some of the more common landscape areas that gardeners work with, but tailor your areas to the makeup of your lawn.
2. 2
   For lawns in spring time, fertilize them with commercial lawn fertilizer according to the directions on the label. If crabgrass is a nuisance, apply a pre-emergence herbicide in midspring. (If you live where forsythia grows, apply crabgrass preventer when it blooms.) In the summer, mow regularly, raising the cutting height slightly if necessary to prevent cutting the lawn too low. If a drought extends longer than a week, be sure to water deeply enough to soak 6 inches (15 cm) into the soil. In fall, apply fertilizer high in potassium to help strengthen the lawn for winter. Seed or over seed the lawn if it's weak, thin or headed into winter dormancy. Mow less often in winter, and higher where lawns continue growing. Avoid walking on frozen lawns that aren't covered by snow.
3. 3
   Refresh the mulch of trees and shrubs in spring and apply organic or controlled-release fertilizer over the plants' drip line, and water thoroughly. Prune spring-blooming shrubs after flowers fade. During the summer, keep the area around the plants weed-free with mulches or cultivation. Shear hedges after flush of new growth. Prune faded blooms from spring-flowering shrubs (such as lilacs). Plant most varieties by early fall or mid- or late-fall where hard frosts don't threaten. In cold regions, mulch after the soil freezes. In the winter, water if rainfall is light. Wrap the trunks of young trees to protect them from rodents. In late winter, prune shrubs or trees that flower later in summer (such as crape myrtle, butterfly bush andhydrangea).
4. 4
   For vines and ground cover in spring, lightly cultivate and renew mulch and fertilize both plant types with organic or controlled-release fertilizer. Thin out overgrown and tangled vines by removing oldest stems to base of plant. Cut back and trim edges of the ground covers to encourage new growth. In the summer, water as needed. Prune spring-flowering vines (such as wisteria) after blooms fade. Groom and trim edges of ground cover beds. In fall, water and lightly fertilize plants to make sure they enter winter in optimum health. Plant ground covers. In the winter, In mild winter areas, fertilize lightly with a nitrate-containing fertilizer (it's active in cold weather). As soon as the soil is workable in late winter, plant cool-season annuals (such as pansies, primroses and snapdragons).
5. 5
   Prune most roses in early spring, just before growth begins, cutting out old and damaged branches and shortening remaining branches. Watch new leaves for aphids and wash them off with water when or if they appear. In the summer, prune off the flowers--cutting just above a leaflet, at least a foot (30 cm) below the flower--to enjoy indoors and promote repeat flowering. During fall, leave faded flowers in place and allow seed pods to develop in order to help plant move into dormancy and become more tolerant of cold. Where winter temperatures dip to 10 degrees F (-12 C) or lower, mound soil or mulch over graft union to protect it. Prune to remove dead and damaged branches and to thin the center of the bush in late winter before spring growth resumes.
6. 
   6
   Prepare planting vegetable-garden beds in the spring by cultivating and adding organic matter.Plant cool-season crops (such as broccoli and radishes) as soon as the soil is workable. Plant warm-season crops (such asbeans, corn and tomatoes) after the soil is thoroughly warm. In the summer, mulch the crops with straw or similar material to conserve moisture and cool the soil. Harvest frequently to prolong the crop. Harvest vegetables in the fall, before they are cut down by frost (green tomatoes can ripen indoors). Clean up garden residue and add compost to soil. Test soil pH and use dolomitic limestone or sulfur to bring into optimum range of 6.5 to 7.0. In early winter, plant a soil-improving cover crop of rye grass where winters are cold. Where winters are mild, plant mustard or fava beans.

Read more: How to Schedule Yard Work | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_137807_schedule-yard-work.html#ixzz1GXk6bC7Q

Don't Be Too Anxious To Do Yard Work