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!
“Mike is very helpful as I was weighing the options of selling vs renovating my home. He is very knowledgeable in either field. I appreciated that he is not pushy, but carefully explained the pros and cons of each option. Knowing and understanding my needs was a priority. I can only give Mike highest recommendations. I would turn to him anytime that either buying and/or selling were in my future.”
Dieter R.
“Style, panache, exuberance, and friendliness in taking you from sale to sold. Highly recommended, especially if you want to understand today’s market and your best place in it.”
Peter Gugeler
“I found Mike on a Google search for agents in the KW area and liked what I read so thought I’d bring him in as our “third” appraisal in selling our home. After meeting him we were impressed with his knowledge, personable nature and professionalism, we decided he was the guy for the job and not just an appraisal! Mike sold our home in 2 days above asking with an early closing date! Would not hesitate to hire Mike again. Thanks Mike!”
Catherine Glass
“Amazing experience working along side Mike, from the moment we met he took care of every detail of my real estate venture! Mike made very valuable suggestions for updating my home that I feel made all the difference in getting our family the best price for our home! The buying experience was also impressive booking us viewings that always worked for our schedule and always kept us top of mind thinking of us and suggesting homes that fit my families needs perfectly. I would highly recommend contacting MikeBolger.ca for all your Real Estate needs.”
Mary Lou Armstrong
“Mike has already helped us buy and sell twice. He is the only agent we would ever consider using. Swift, smart, and fun to work with. Mike’s sense of what it takes to promote a property has worked for us each time, plus his use of new promotional technology sure helped move our second property fast. Good going Mike.”
Kevin Stumpf
“I got a recommendation from a friend to work with Mike Bolger. I must say this guy is on the ball. I was looking for a condo and he did all the work to set up all the showings for each of them. He also helped me connect with a great mortgage broker and a lawyer. Mike knows a lot of people and that made my life a lot easier. I will use him again when it’s time to move into a house. Thanks Mike, you are the best!”
Todd Z
“Mike is one of the best real estate agents I have had the pleasure of working with. He’s always networking in the community and growing his network. He’s very ambitious and I like that about him. He found my family a hidden gem in Waterloo and we got it before a bidding war.”
Flint P
“One of the best realtors in Waterloo. Mike made buying our condo easy. He did all the work and found us the perfect condo.”
Karen Turnbull
“My wife and I decided to move to Waterloo from Toronto. When we were looking for a Waterloo realtor he was easy to find on Google. We contacted him and he replied quickly to set up an appointment for a meeting. We just required an agent to find a home for us because we were just renters in Toronto. Mike understood our requirements and found us the exactly what we were looking for. Mike Bolger is one of the smartest real estate agents I’ve ever met. He is well-versed in technology, real estate economics and customer service. He is truly one of the most innovative agents that I have had the pleasure working with.”
