Did you know the average house produces over 5,000 lbs. of trash each year?

You can reduce your household's impact on landfills by recycling glass, aluminum, paper and plastic. Call your local waste management department for details.

We are lucky that here in Vermont, most of our towns are able to pick up or take in recycling for free! For locals, check out www.cswd.net for more information.

Does your house have a "vampire problem"?

Items like your coffeemaker, computer and television, often referred to as "vampire devices", still use energy even when they're turned off. Simply unplugging them cane save an average household about $100 per year.

Sometimes also called "ghost appliances". For more energy saving tips, visit www.greenmountainpower.com.

Do you know how to save 10,000 gallons of water this year?

If every person shaved 2 minutes off their shower time, each would save 10 gallons of water. With an average of 3 people per household and one shower each per day, that's over 10,000 gallons of water!

Again, living in Vermont, we are somewhat lucky that water is plentiful here. However, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to save water whenever we can! Water is a limited natural resource. For more information on how to save water, visit www.savewateramerica.com.

Don't let looks deceive you, many homes with great bones have a "rough" exterior!

The Appeal of the "Fixer-Upper"

Maximize Investment: People purchase "fixer-uppers" because they are a great way to maximize investment. The strategy behind the "fixer-upper" is: purchase the home at a lower cost, put time & money into the house by renovating it, and then sell it for a profit. If the home is in a sought-after location, chances of making a profit are increased.

Creative Freedom: "Fixer-Upper" homes allow the buyers to really make the house theirs. They can add their own personal touches and theyhave a greater amount of design freedom. Most new build homes are already pre-planned and don't allow for many homeowner personal touches. The "fixer-upper" can become the owner's personal environment.

The Disadvantages

The Potential "Money-Pit": The owner's worst nightmare is that he/she buys the "fixer-upper" and finds that they are constantly putting more and more money into unforeseen problems that were not originally budgeted for.

Chaos of Renovating: The renovation project can cause a significant amount of stress:

1. • Many people can not concentrate or sleep in a house filled with disorder and dust.
   • Relationships often times take a back-seat to the renovation project. The time consuming nature of the renovation might create a strain on any relationship. On the other hand, if a couple is working together on the project, the late-night teamwork might lead to crabbiness and arguments over the slightest little issues that seem big at the time.
   • "Fixer-uppers"can take weeks... months even to complete. That is a lot of night and weekend hours dedicated to a labor intensive project.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Make Sure the Home is Worth Saving: Walk through with a contractor or architect and get their professional opinions. Take a look at the surrounding houses and see if they're in good shape. If the neighborhood is nice or going through a renovation itself, your chances for making a profit are good.

Coming Up with the Money & Financing: You can either save the money yourself, or finance it from a bank. If your mortgage is for less than the house is worth, a home equity loan could help pay for the materials that are needed to give the home a makeover. Another good strategy would be to finance the renovation in stages which would make the payments more affordable. However, it is essential to make sure the stages will, in the end, add value to the house. Otherwise, the financing is a waste of money.

Quality of Work: It is less expensive to do the labor yourself, however the work needs to be up to code otherwise future buyers won't want to buy the house. Before purchasing, create a plan and budget that will detail how much money is spend on materials, what labor you as the owner will do yourself, and how much money can be spent on professional help.

For more advice on buying a home, from fixer uppers to bank owned and beyond, contact Geri Reilly at Geri@BuyVTRealEstate.com or 802-862-6677 x 1.