Ellen Zdyb

Ellen has 8 years of experience as a Realtor in Vermont, holding her Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designations. Ellen has a 10 year background in finance, marketing, project management and investments and looks forward to helping you find the home of your dreams!

You can contact Ellen at 802-862-6677 x 8 or Ellen@BuyVTRealEstate.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.

For many of those in Vermont, the recent snow storm came as an unwelcome and dangerous surprise. Snow froze quickly into ice making it difficult for even those with snow tires already on their cars. For everyone else it was a wakeup call to just how severe the upcoming winter may be. Read on for helpful tips to ensure safe winter driving.

All Season Vs. Winter Tires

Look for this symbol when buying Winter tires.

If you're looking to buy some more weather appropriate tires you may be wondering if All Season tires may be the efficient fit. If you're living in a place that gets a lot of snow and ice, like Vermont, experts warn against this seemingly cost efficient option. The primary problem is that All Season tires are meant to be adequate for all weather, and optimal for none. The tread won't be as aggressive as that on a Winter tire and the rubber used in them will not be as flexible in the cold.

Winter tires use specialized rubber compounds designed to stay flexible in cold temperatures and deeper treads that are less likely to fill up with snow. Tests show that cars with Winter tires consistently stop ½ to a full car length shorter than those with All Season tires, even at a mere 15mph.

4 Wheel Drive

I have an SUV with 4 Wheel Drive, doesn't that make me safer? Unfortunately not. 4WD will help you get started from a dead stop and will better accommodate tight corners but will not help the car slow down any faster or smoother.

Picking Quality Tires

So how will I know if I've found a good Winter tire? Certain tires are designed for severe winter conditions and better traction on snow. Tires meeting the strictest standards are marked with a peaked mountain symbol. The right time to install your Winter tires is once the temperature holds regularly at or below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Take them off when the temperature holds at higher than 50 degrees. Keep in mind that waiting until the first snow lumps you in the same category as most other drivers and will cut down on the amount of inventory and savings that will be available to you.

Picturesque and potentially dangerous. Enjoy peace of mind while driving by making sure you're prepared and safe!

Studs

Many Winter tires accommodate studs, something you may pay extra to have added. Studs are ideal if you intend to spend much of the winter driving up mountains, such as for skiing, or on back country roads. For city driving they are an unnecessary expense.

Safe Winter Driving

Whether you have decided to employ Winter tires or not, there are some winter driving tips you should keep in mind.

1. Be prepared during tough snow driving and keep the following in your car: jumper cables, tire chains, flares, blankets, food, gloves, boots, a flashlight, a cell phone, a first aid kit, an ice scraper, and a towing cable.

1. Driver slower, especially when encountering corners and downward hills.
2. Check your brakes and steering when you first get on the road, be wary of black ice that can unexpectedly form on bridges, overpasses and intersection.
3. Don't use cruise control or follow other cars too closely.
4. If you feel yourself start to skid, release the accelerator and gradually steer in the opposite direction in which you're skidding. Do not use your brakes. If you end up overcorrecting and skidding in the other direction then gradually steer back the other way.
5. If you get stuck in snow and want to try to get yourself out, first clear snow away from around your tires. Then gain traction by laying sand, salt or traction mats wherever you will be driving, not just directly around your tires. You should not try to drive out - slowly. Trying to accelerate too quickly will dig a deeper hole around your tires and pack snow into the wheel well. Try rocking the car back and forth if you are having difficulty just driving out.
6. It's always a good idea to have a tow or roadside assistance service on speed dial, AAA is a relatively inexpensive service that you may find yourself returning to all year round.

Keep up on your local weather forecast and try to avoid driving in especially serious conditions. The best strategy for staying happy and safe during a brutal Vermont winter is to always be mindful, careful and prepared. We wish you a joyous holiday and winter season!