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!
“Working with Mike Bolger has been a great experience. I really like his drive to succeed. He also goes over and beyond! I highly recommend him to anyone who wants service.”
Stephen M
“My husband and I recently purchased our first home through Mike Bolger and couldn’t have had a more positive experience. We truly cannot express enough thanks to Mike for his ongoing support, professionalism and overall industry knowledge. Mike truly went above and beyond for us and we couldn’t be more appreciative of all of his efforts. Mike is honest, thorough and overall a great person to work with. We really lucked out!”
Jen Hicks
“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 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.”
Norah G.
“Mike is an amazing person, responds very fast and helps even when there is no profit for him, that goes to tell he is invested in people and not just in for the money. Thank you for your help and definitely looking forward to working with you in the future.”
Voicu G.
“Mike helped us with the sale of our house, he did open houses, provided great marketing materials and got us the best possible price. Once again thank you Mike.”
Ron Alphonso
“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 worked with Mike in the past. Recently we experienced some roof damage as a result of bad weather. We reached out to Mike to see if he knew anyone. He went straight to his network and referred us to a roofer who was able to help. Not only is he a great realtor, but he’s got lots of connections and referrals for homeowners. Thanks Mike!”
Holly Morgan
“We are so very pleased with Mike Bolger. Mike is always courteous, and is very knowledgeable. He helps you to make an informed decision. He doesn’t pressure you, he has your best interests at heart. I have used Mike to buy and sell homes. Plus I have recommended him to many friends and relatives. They were all very pleased with Mike too! Can’t say enough about Mike. He’s an excellent Realtor!!!”
