How to Make Your Home a Wellness Haven Without Breaking the Bank

Even with the pandemic winding down, it’s still essential that we do all we can to make our homes a wellness haven. Luckily, there are several ways to increase the health of your living space without breaking the bank. Today, Rivero Realtors is here to guide you through the process.

Declutter Your Home

Excessive clutter in any room makes it hard to clean the space effectively to get rid of germs and bacteria. It also affects your mental health by overstimulating your brain and cluttering your mind, leading to a lack of focus and memory problems. Tackle the messiness head-on by sorting through your possessions and donating or selling those items you no longer need. Then, commit to keeping all your rooms clean, tidy, and organized going forward.

Add Some Color to Your Walls

Obviously, the appearance of your home can have a big impact on how you feel being there – but for some, the prospect of painting (and repainting) walls is a little daunting. Luckily, there are other options. Assuming you aren’t renting (or your landlord doesn’t mind), wallpaper is an easy alternative. You can even choose a wallpaper design from an artist across the globe. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes!

Reduce Indoor Air Pollution

You may be causing pollution in your home without even realizing it. The American Lung Association reports many household products and cleaning supplies contain volatile organic compounds that release into the air and cause allergies, headaches, and respiratory problems. These harmful products include air fresheners, liquid dish detergent, rug cleaners, furniture polish, glass cleaner, and any aerosol spray product.

The ALA recommends using warm water and non-VOC soap for general cleaning and baking soda on any surface you need to scrub. Clean your glass with a simple mix of water and vinegar in equal proportions.  Replace your air fresheners with an essential oil diffuser.

Buy a Water Filter

Filtered water is safer for you to drink as the impurities harmful to your health are removed. Filtering pitchers are inexpensive to buy and use and are an easy way to get clean drinking water. If your budget allows, have a home water filtration system installed by a plumber to give you cleaner water out of every faucet and tap. These are especially helpful in hard water areas as they help protect your appliances from excessive mineral deposits.

Create an Outdoor Oasis

Relaxing outside in a natural setting allows your mind to unwind and your lungs to breathe in the fresh air. No matter the size of your yard, patio, or balcony, you can create an outdoor oasis to chill out in after your hours spent indoors. For starters, purchase a couple of comfortable lounging chairs and a table. Next, toss in some throw pillows and a couple of ottomans so you can prop your feet up.

Plant an Organic Garden

Organic fruits and vegetables aren't treated with chemical pesticides and generally have a higher nutritional value. Most people agree they taste better, too. Now is a great time to plant an organic garden in your backyard so you can skip the higher prices at the supermarket.

For the best results, hire a freelance landscape architect to ensure your garden is beautiful and functional and a place you will love to work in. A professional can determine the optimal place for the garden so it gets enough sun and has the best soil and room enough to grow. The architect can show you a 3D picture of the proposed garden so you know in advance exactly how beautiful the finished plot will look.

Adopting any of these ideas helps to refresh your home into a healthier space to live in during this pandemic. More than that, they can turn your house into a wellness haven where you will love to hang out.

Rivero Realtors are dedicated to providing the most up-to-date market data in the area. Our team is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you with the home buying and selling process. Reach out today to get started!

Blog By: Marcus Lansky

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How to Smoothly Relocate Your Business

Has your business outgrown your current facility? Did you purchase a new building? Is your rent too high? Regardless of your reason, moving a business to a new location takes careful planning; you don’t want to lose productivity or customers, and you want minimal disruption for everyone.

Every business has varying needs, but all companies can benefit from these tips.

Create a Relocation Plan

Move.org knows there are many steps to a move; they advise making a checklist. It might include:

•        Schedule for key tasks

•        Packing and moving timelines

•        When to order new business cards, furniture, signs, and equipment

•        How to notify vendors and clients

•        Funding needs

•        New permits or licenses

Obtain Funding

Your company may need additional funding to purchase new equipment, hire movers, or make improvements to your new property before you move. Create an accurate budget, then seek funding options if needed.

Consider Overlap

For many businesses, it’s virtually impossible to close a location one day and begin operations in the new location the next day if both sites aren’t fully functional. You need to provide expected services or goods to customers wherever you are.

Many companies move as much inventory and fixtures as they can into their new facilities well ahead of time while still leaving enough at the current place to serve their clients. That way, once the new location is operational, things can be moved from the old one.

Communication Is Key

Retail businesses are different from factories or wholesale companies because many customers may frequent your store. If you don’t effectively communicate your moving plans to your customers in plenty of time, they might show up at your store one day and wonder what happened to your business.

Retail companies might hand out refrigerator magnets to their customers with the new location address and moving date. All businesses should inform their employees, clients, delivery companies, and vendors about your plans. Vendors and delivery people will need to know what door they should use to enter your new premises before you move to avoid confusion.

Order New Furniture or Equipment Early

Order new inventory, equipment, furniture, and supplies for your new location early enough to account for product availability issues and shipping delays.

Put It in Writing

People read about your business in different places: your website, social media pages, advertising, and business cards. You might also have pre-printed invoices or other materials that include your address.

When you know that you’ll be moving, make an announcement for your online outlets. Tell readers when you’ll be moving and the new location. That way, people will be on the lookout and not be caught by surprise if they show up at your old site after you’ve moved.

Designing new business cards or other printed materials is quick and easy. You can design a personalized business card using customized pre-made templates and choosing your font style, color schemes, and finish, along with adding images and text.

Put up signs at your new location as soon as you’re able, and try to arrange to leave a “We’ve moved” sign at your old property.

Make It a Smooth Move

Although moving a business can be a significant undertaking, it can be a smooth process if you make a thorough plan and follow a timeline. Give yourself as much time as possible to get ready, and remember that communicating about your move is critical for continued success.

When you’re ready to find the perfect Maryland home, realtor Debbi Rivero is ready to help with exceptional real estate services. Call 443-386-1306 to schedule an appointment!

Blogger: Claire Wentz

Before the onset of the pandemic, many buyers were interested in remodeled homes.  The nicer the kitchen, the more a buyer would pay for the house.  Although you always have some hot buttons like garages, basements, primary bedrooms, kitchen remodels were really leading the market.  If you had remodeled your kitchen, you could assume you would get one of the highest prices in the neighborhood. 

Photo by Mark McCammon from Pexels

Then, COVID came.  As we tried to market to the buyers during this time, we emphasized mostly all the extra rooms that families could use or convert into living space so every family member could have a place to go for their Zoom meetings in school and work without having to be imprisoned in their own bedrooms.  We tried to find the need of the buyer and assumed that larger houses and homes with extra spaces would definitely be the most desirable for the majority of the buyers in the market.

Photo by energepic.com from Pexels

Now as we head out of the pandemic, the most desirable area seems to be the outdoor living space.  Homes with outdoor kitchens, elaborate decks and patios are the new HOT button.  Buyers are in biding wars with homes with "pretty" outdoor spaces, and most of them don't care about the interior.  Considering identical houses,  one house with outdated kitchen and nice outdoor living space will fetch an easy 10% more than the same house with updated kitchen and just a standard deck or patio.  As a seller, this is critical to know.  If you are considering selling in the near future and deciding to do some upgrades prior to putting your house on the market, you need to know what will fetch you top dollar!

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Spend more of your money in making the outdoors more inviting and you will win over the buyers!  Need some ideas or tips?  Reach out to us, we are here to help!

Post by Debbi Rivero

This article provides a simple breakdown of key moving tasks for people who plan to relocate for work.

You’ve just been offered a fantastic job opportunity - but it’s quite far from where you currently live. Moving for your career is a big decision, but with the help of Rivero Realtors, you can find the perfect new home! Here’s how to execute a long-distance move for your family.

Choose the Right Neighborhood

To narrow down your choice of neighborhoods, consider the location of your office, the local school systems, your price range, and any features you want in your home. If you’re interested in buying a home rather than renting, your choice of neighborhood is especially important. You’ll want to work with a real estate agent who can recommend areas you like!

Find a Rental

Looking for the right home for your family can be challenging, especially when you’re searching from far away! That’s why using an online rental search platform is a smart choice, whether you’re looking for Denver, CO apartments or apartments in Ellicott City, MD!

Whether you want to live in an apartment or a house, you can use a platform like this to look up rentals in your price range in cities like Ellicott City or Denver, where the average 2-bedroom apartment costs approximately $2,531 per month. Just enter the amenities you want and your preferred number of bedrooms and bathrooms! You can also look for rentals near your office to shorten your commute. Be sure to check out listings with 3D tours included so you can visualize the space.

Avoid Common Moving Mistakes

Trying to complete your whole moving to-do list on your own is inadvisable. Instead, create a moving timeline in advance and hire movers to assist you with lifting heavy furniture and relocating your belongings. You should also stock up on moving supplies, like cardboard boxes, label stickers, and packing tape!

Hire Professional Help

With so many moving companies out there, how should you decide which one to trust with your belongings? NerdWallet recommends looking for a full-service moving company, which will load, drive, and unload your belongings - sometimes, they’ll even help you with unpacking! To narrow down your choices, check out local reviews to make sure their other customers were satisfied.

Start Packing

Packing up your home will probably take longer than you think, so it’s important to start this process with plenty of time to spare. And to make things easier, get your older kids actively involved. Give them pre-labeled boxes for their belongings, and encourage them to pack up their own rooms. If you have a pet, make sure to put their items in a designated box that you can easily access while you’re on the road.

Relax and Settle In

To unpack quickly, Neighbor recommends unloading all of your boxes in the correct rooms and then going room by room to unpack. You can assign your family members to different rooms so that the process goes by faster!

Once your belongings are unpacked, you can finally relax and unwind. This is also a good time to figure out exactly how you’ll be getting to work, whether you’re planning to drive or take public transport. When you have a plan for the first day in the office, you can head out the door with your family and start getting to know your new area! Feel free to stop by the house next door and greet your new neighbors, too.

Relocating to a new city and starting a new chapter in your career is exciting! But navigating this process is definitely not easy, especially when you have a family. By laying out a blueprint for your move, you’ll be able to minimize your stress as you make your way to your new home.

Need help searching for your new home? Turn to Rivero Realtors for guidance! Fill out the contact form on our website today to start looking for the perfect place.

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Blog written by Claire Wentz

Expanding Your House and Your Life

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While many retirees are focused on downsizing, you may be one of a select group who's actually looking to expand your house and your life by incorporating new hobbies, visitors, and maybe even a new business. If this sounds like you, read on for some tips and tricks from the Rivero team to help you find the perfect home for your ideal life.

Incorporating New Hobbies

Now that you're retired, you finally have time to pursue those hobbies you've always wanted to try. But you also need the space in which to do so, and this may mean buying a larger home. Perhaps you've always wanted to plant a huge garden and grow vegetables and flowers. You need a significant piece of land to be able to follow that hobby. You may also need an upgraded kitchen so you can cook or can your produce.

Maybe you have a special love for arts and crafts. In that case, you may want studio space so you can spread out and create. If you're a musician, you may long for a music studio where you can practice and record. If you're into model trains, you need a large room to create your dream layout.

Welcoming Visitors

If your hobbies aren't your primary focus, you may instead want to concentrate on welcoming visitors to your larger home. You may be longing to surround yourself with your children, grandchildren, friends, and members of your extended family. In that case, you need plenty of bedrooms for your guests as well as entertainment spaces where your loved ones can gather for food, fun, and conversation.

Starting a Business

You may also need a larger home if you're planning to start a home-based business. Whether you're planning to teach music lessons, practice interior design, try your hand at farming, or freelance as a writer, editor, or tutor, you need enough space to start and pursue your business interests. This may mean you need a dedicated room for an office or studio, or maybe you need more land.

If you're seriously considering starting a business, you might decide to form a limited liability company (LLC) to benefit from its tax benefits, flexibility, and limits to personal liability. Do your research ahead of time, though, as rules and regulations vary by state. If you don't feel up to doing all the paperwork on your own, you can save time and lawyer fees by hiring a formation service to make sure everything is in order.

Buying the Right House

When you've decided that a bigger house in Ellicott City is exactly what you need, you must then take a close look at your budget and determine how much you can spend. Also, write up a list of priorities with your hobbies, visitors, or business in mind and determine what you absolutely must have in a new home. To smooth out the buying process, consider hiring a real estate agent to help you with your search, negotiations, and closing.

Enjoying Your New Place

When all is said and done, you can settle back into your new, larger home and pursue your hobbies, entertain your visitors, or start your business. So contact Rivero Realtors today, and get started.

Image via Pexels

Post by Claire Wentz

Buying a house was challenging for many buyers in 2021, but especially for first-time buyers. Competition and prices were high, and inventory was low, and while some predictions suggest things will loosen up a bit in 2022, buyers will still need to have an aggressive strategy heading into the new year.

According to this REALTOR Magazine article, first-time buyers are optimistic about their chances in 2022, and many are changing their strategies to increase their odds of success.
The most notable changes in strategy were:

• Making an offer within 48 hours of seeing a home
• Offering above asking price
• Being willing to compete in bidding wars
• Going over their budget
• Making offers on houses without even seeing them first

Making offers quickly, being willing to go above asking and compete in bidding wars are all advisable strategies in this market.

Going over budget on the other hand…well, that depends. If “going over budget” means still within their comfortable financial means, sure! If not, it’s a recipe for future struggle and financial trouble.

And making offers on houses without seeing them in person first isn’t the worst thing to do given technology, but it isn’t ideal.

What wasn’t on the list, and would likely make the biggest impact for first-time buyers, was to choose and work with a great real estate agent. Working with a trusted buyers’ agent can enhance any of the above strategies, if not make them unnecessary. Their awareness of the market, perspective, advice, connections, and negotiation skills can often give first-time buyers an edge, yet many first-time buyers don’t put a lot of emphasis on choosing and working with one.

So, if you’re a first-time buyer looking to edge out competition in 2022, by all means be prepared to do everything on the list other buyers are planning on. But, to truly tip the scales in your favor, make sure you’re teaming up with a buyers’ agent you connect well with and trust.

Sometimes the scariest thing in the job of a real estate agent isn’t a mile long inspection report detailing foundation issues, or seeing your buyer pull up in a new car before their mortgage is approved. From the just plain weird to the downright freaky, the crazy situations agents find themselves in would surprise anyone who hasn’t been in the biz.

Below is a curated list of stories from fellow real estate agents who dared to share the spookiest, creepiest things they’ve come across when out listing and selling homes. Some can probably be explained away, while others are just downright funny…and a few will leave you scratching your head and wondering about the existence of “the other side”…

1. Out of the mouths of babes

2. The creepy canine

3. Getting ghosted

4. Head-scratching headstones

5. Nothin’ but knockin’

6. Even the ghosts are too busy in NYC

7. Again!? Does “he” do this often?

8. Maybe it just had great “central heir”!

9. Movement that’ll make you wanna move

10. Time to consider new construction

On the House: Debt Management for Would-Be Homeowners

There are a number of obstacles standing between potential buyers and their new properties, but according to research, none hinder purchases as often as unpaid debt. It’s believed that a whopping 48% of undergraduates have put off buying a home due to their loans. The question arises, then, how can debtors rein in finances to secure a property of their own?

RE/MAX Advantage Realtors Debbi and Richard Rivero outline the following methods for reducing debt so you can realize your dream of homeownership.

Pay High-Interest Debt First

An often-overlooked key to paying off debt is to focus first on paying off your high-interest loans. Experts call this the avalanche method: The less you pay in interest, the more you put towards repayment of principal. This may not work for everyone as some other loans require more immediate action but it can certainly help to avoid high-APR credit cards from draining the money that should be spent moving you forward. To get a clear overview, draw up all of your loans and identify any with high or rising interest rates.

Stop Adding Debt

This may seem like a no-brainer but, through mismanagement, it is common for those seeking to pay off debt to increase it further. If possible, your first step towards avoiding this should be to reduce credit card usage to its minimum percentage. This will help improve your credit score and ensure manageable monthly payments. It goes without saying that you should also be avoiding additional lines of credit and auto loans. A big purchase may prohibit you from making one for a house.

Create a Financial Plan

Most people can’t afford a personal accountant but that doesn’t mean your finances should go unreviewed. It’s worth spending a couple of evenings during the week building a financial overview so that you can track purchases and debts and estimate budgets and spending. To help with this, there are a number of useful apps that can be used from a smartphone so, if you’re busy, you can check in on the move. Make sure to keep all of your excel sheets and paperwork filed securely to be used as reference when applying for a mortgage later. 

Negotiate Lower Rates

If you’ve been doing everything right so far, you’ll find the game is balanced asymmetrically. That means a good credit score may qualify you for lower interest rates on your credit accounts or loans. Oftentimes, the longest-standing loans (if paid off at a steady rate) are the most eligible for this tactic — reliability is an important factor for most issuers. Make sure to tell the truth about your circumstances. Failing this, consider asking for an altogether break. Even if your credit card issuer is unwilling to grant one, you may receive a reduction of some percentage points.

Review Loan Options

When buying a property, it’s very important to understand all of your options before you lock yourself into one for an indefinite amount of time. Conventional fixed-rate loans are an excellent choice for steady earners but, for those still working through debt, there are alternatives. FHA home loans, for example, require a much smaller down payment and are applicable to those with a shorter credit history. Although these types of loans are typically inflexible and charge mortgage insurance, they provide opportunities for first-time buyers with a limited budget.

Work a Second Job

There is some comfort knowing that, with enough hard work, it’s possible to get out of almost any financial strait. Whether it’s a side hustle, a part-time role, or a temporary position, if you can spare the time and it doesn’t affect your day job, another source of income could alleviate a lot of your financial worries. This lifestyle, of course, comes with serious drawbacks. While it may work to pay off debt in the short term, you should not stake long-term plans on a two-job income.

In some cases, managing your money is as important as earning it. If you’re looking to buy a property within the next year, make sure that poor financial organization isn’t the reason stopping you. And when you’re ready to take the leap, turn to RE/MAX Advantage Realtors Debbi and Richard Rivero to find your perfect first home. 

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Written by: Sharon Wagner

Home Office vs. Traditional Office

Our “new normal" in the working life for many of us (thanks to COVID) has been more and more home offices, working from home, while teaching our children at home and doing household chores.  Although this can seem fun for a while, there are also many downsides and possible future harm.  Let’s dwell deeper..

While this might have been a pleasant year of working from home without the stress of daily traffic to and from your place of work, there are other issues with a strict work from home routine.  First, many home workers are seeing less exercise and therefore weight gain as they sit in front of their computers for hours.  Second, the psychological effects of non-interaction with fellow workers.  And some are realizing how difficult it is to work from home with children or spouses around, and still some cannot find that quiet space for themselves to be most productive.  Only time will tell how this "new normal" will pan on society.  If you are looking to be most productive at home, revisit my blog How to set up a home office. To find out more about pros and cons of working from home, check out this article "Working from Home vs. Office"

As we are starting to migrate back to the workplace or some sort of hybrid of that, you may see a huge impact on your finances as well.  John Egan has written an article for Bankrate entitled "How returning to the office can impact your finances".  John gives great tips and savings recommendations.  I would recommend reading and seek additional advice for your particular situation and finances.

If you prefer the working from home format, you might find that you need to expand your living space to make some more private spaces to separate work life from family life.  If that is the case, we have your remedy!  Start your search for a new home on line.  If you also have a house to sell, reach out to us so we can guide and advise you the best way to buy and sell with the least amount of stress and disruption to your life.

We will all make it through these crazy times, but know we are here to help and advise anyway possible.