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 was absolutely fantastic throughout the whole process, we brought him a list of places we were interested in and he totally went above and beyond and found us the perfect home. Somehow he read our minds and once we saw our (now) home, we knew we would make an offer. Mike helped us get a great deal and even helped us out with finding an internet provider! The whole process was super fun and exciting, Mike was so enthusiastic and made the whole thing stress free. I’ll be recommending him to all my family and friends!”
Emily S.
“Mike has an excellent customer service and very friendly. His guidance and recommendation was very much appreciated. Mike went above and beyond to update our house and sold it in a few days. We would highly recommend Mike!”
Shahnaz yazdani
“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.
“If you are looking for a great realtor in Waterloo give, Mike Bolger a call. I can say that he is a highly skilled and capable realtor. Mike is willing to help guide you into making wise real estate investments. He’s on the ball when it comes to finding you investment opportunities. What I like best is that he sends us daily listings and follows up to book viewings. I also like that Mike is friendly, outgoing and willing to go over and beyond. I highly recommend Mike to anyone who is looking for a great realtor.”
Carrie L.
“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.
“Our agent Mike gave us exceptional service during our home buying experience. Mike provided us with genuine care and concern during every part of the home buying negotiation and process. Mike worked hard searching for our home and he took us out weekly for showings. Also, your assistant is stellar and deserves a special shout out. Everyone on your team cares greatly about your experience. I would highly recommend Mike for all your real estate needs. Thank you!!!!”
Bella C.
“I want to thank Mike for trying to help us to find a home in the KW region. He did a lot of work to search for our ideal home and gave us lots of options. He sent us daily emails of homes that matched our requirements. Mike did find us the perfect home. However, we lost out on the home because of a bidding war that went beyond our budget . …… Until Mike surprised us by searching through his own list of personal contacts to find us an off the market home that we managed to save a tremendous amount on the purchase of our new dream home. We are forever grateful for the amazing work, professionalism, dedication Mike showed us throughout our home search! Our family truly recommends the Mike Bolger Real Estate Team!”
Ted C.
“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
“Great experience dealing with Mike. He really knows his local market well and had plenty of great advice to offer regarding property sales.”
