Recently, researchers discovered that the lighting in your home can have a much greater impact on your health and well-being than originally thought. Better lighting can boost your energy, help you sleep better, and even enhance healing.
So, it pays to make sure the lighting in your home has a positive impact on the health of your family.
Start by enhancing sources of natural light, such as windows and skylights. Study each room of your home and replace as much of the artificial light as possible with sunlight. For example, reposition a favourite reading chair next to a window.
Consider dimming the lighting in your home during the evenings. If your home is very bright when it’s dark outside, it can affect your body’s natural rhythms, resulting in disturbed sleep.
Avoid over-lighting, which is common in rooms where there are few windows. Over time, excessive light can cause headaches and even mood changes. Lighting that is sufficient to see everything clearly is all you need.
Estimating Your Selling Costs
When the time comes to sell your house, you’ll want to determine roughly how much you can expect to net after the sale. To figure that out, you’ll not only need to know how much your house will likely sell for, but also the selling costs you are likely to incur in the process.
The costs of selling vary depending on a number of factors. Here’s a general rundown of what to consider:
Repairs. You will want your house to look its best to buyers. That may require you to get any needed repairs done before listing. You don’t want a buyer to see a dent in the wall or a dripping faucet.
Renovations. It might make sense to get a few improvements done to make the house more attractive. For example, you may want to replace old and worn kitchen countertops.
Legal fees. Selling a house requires a lot of legal work. You’ll need a good real estate lawyer to take care of that for you.
Commissions. This is usually calculated as a percentage of the sale price.
Moving costs. Once you sell, you’ll obviously need to move! So, factoring in this expense is a smart idea.
Although this may seem like a long list, selling costs are fairly easy to estimate. Once you have that number, it’s easy to calculate how much money you’ll have available to put towards your next home.
How to Quickly Improve Indoor Air Quality
There are many reasons why the air quality in your home may not be at its best. A faulty furnace or an aged carpet are just two potential culprits. Until you get those issues addressed, how can you make your indoor air healthier – today?
Here are some ideas:
Check the furnace filter. This is one of the most overlooked maintenance items in the home. Any furnace repair person can tell you stories about filters they’ve seen caked in dust. Make sure those aren’t yours. Air passes through those filters before circulating throughout your home. Replacing a filter takes less than five minutes.
Clean the drains. Drains are a surprisingly common source of odour in the home. Most people only clean them when they’re clogged, but they should be flushed thoroughly with a good-quality cleaner at least once a season.
Turn on the bathroom fan. Not only do bathroom fans remove odour, they also reduce moisture build-up. About 50% of air pollutants originate from some type of moisture. Mould is the worst of these pollutants. Professionals recommend you keep your bathroom fan on for at least 30 minutes after a shower.
Clean your doormat. Even if your doormat doesn’t smell, it can be a source of air pollutants. When people wipe their shoes, they transfer outside ground pollutants from their shoes to your mat.
Of course, you can always open a window. That’s the most popular and easiest way to freshen the air, and it works.
WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING!
“I was referred to Mike Bolger by a friend who said he was amazing to work with. My wife and I are looking for an investment property. We are very happy with his service offering. Mike has communicated with us frequently about prime investment opportunities and arranged several showings. Mike is great at negotiation too and he helped us make an offer. Our investment property needs a bit of maintenance and Mike referred us to a couple of trusted professionals that can help us. We are excited about our first investment property. Thanks again for everything that you do!”
Brian W.
“Just amazing service by Mike. He helped us get our beautiful first home. He helped us throughout everything as we were new in the housing market. He thought us alot. He was really friendly and kind that we were able to talk to him about all our questions and concerns. He had patients to deal with us after viewing and offering on so many houses. He even took care of half of the things for us. His recommendations are great and worked out really good for us.
I would definitely refer and suggest to get in touch with Mike for any of your real estate needs. The house we got I only had time to view at late night and Mike made it happen for us and we decided to buy it. So thank you very much for going above and beyond for us.”
Serenity M.
“I met Mike through a family friend expecting to be provided good service, when Mike went above and beyond all of my exceptions by keeping me updated daily with all the information I required. The fact that Mike made himself available to me 24/7 was truly reassuring to my wife and I. I would highly recommend Mike to anyone thinking of making a move. His knowledge and commitment as a Realtor really put me at ease throughout the whole process. Mike and I stay in touch even after our transaction, he is much more than I ever expected from a Realtor!”
Joseph B.
“We bought our first house in a rapidly changing market. Mike was very knowledgeable and gave us great advice on how to get the house we wanted without overpaying. He kept us constantly updated on new listings and comparable houses. He was great at keeping communication and negotiating between us and the sellers to ensure we were successful. Mike indeed went above and beyond and we would 100% work with him again. – Henry Silva”
Henry Silva
“We just purchased our second property with Mike Bolger. What we like best about Mike is that he’s always been responsive and had the right answers for us. Actually going with Mike put us in a right direction of our real estate investment goals and has been really effective in our financial situation in an awesome way! Thanks Mike and your team for your great advice.”
Britt A.
“Mike made the purchase of our first home an amazing and stress free experience. His knowledge of the kw area and thorough understanding of our needs led us to quickly find the home we really wanted. Mike customer service and follow up was always available with fast, sound advice throughout the entire home buying process. I would highly recommend Mike!”
Zoey Barrett
“It was a great experience working with Mike Bolger from Coldwell Banker. He was very helpful, reliable, and professional. My wife and I ask a lot of questions. Mike’s response to our questions and concerns was quick and he kept us well updated throughout the entire process. We received five star service and we will be recommending Mike to our family , friends and our network. Thanks again!”
Lenny S.
“I was looking for a home in the waterloo region. It was such a positive experience working with Mike Bolger. He is talented, smart, and resourceful. He left no stone unturned and got my family a sweet deal on a beautiful home. He is so elaborate and honest in dealing that he seemed a family member. Surely will recommend him to my friends and family. BEST REALTOR!”
Alice Brooks
“I called Mike to help us find a new home and he recommended that we join his VIP home buyers program. We joined and are very happy with everything. Mike found us lots of properties and we visited lots of open houses. What we liked best about Mike is that he is knowledgeable about the area that we wanted to live in. I would recommend Mike because he is always working hard to find us listings and open houses. Overall Mike, treated us really good and we will be using him again.”
