Hi! I hope everyone enjoyed the 4th of July weekend! I'm not sure yet if I enjoyed mine, but it was productive! I did enjoy it, watching fireworks with my son and good friends and cooking out, BUT WAIT, there's more! I also installed new wood laminate floor in my living room and master bedroom.

I have a good friend, Michelle, who has remodeled her own homes each time she's moved--and looking at her work, you KNOW she's a perfectionist. She's a plethora of knowledge, so I asked her if she'd help me with my new floors. I've never put down wood laminate, and didn't think having my 9-year-old help was quite enough. One thing I've realized (yet again), is that there is nothing like putting in your own floors to realize why it costs so much for a professional to do the same thing. We spent 2 full days putting in the flooring, taking out carpet and moving furniture. I'm not as young as I used to be!

With that said, the question came up about buying and selling homes, and work needing to be done on them. Of course, as a Realtor, and helping both buyers and sellers, I see benefits of different scenarios. When I talk to sellers about selling their home, I do explain that most buyers do want a home that is move-in ready. Most homebuyers are scrimping to get IN to that new home to begin with, and for whatever reason, may not have extra funds to pay for work necessary to be done, or the know-how (or WANT) to do it themselves.

SO, that said, as a seller, the best case scenario is to have your house as move-in ready as possible. If you're not sure everything that needs to be done, try walking in to your home with the mindset of a buyer. Sometimes that is not so easy, so you can ask a friend, relative, neighbor, Realtor, OR hire a home inspector to do an inspection. A home inspector won't necessarily comment on cosmetic issues, but can identify other things you can't see (loose shingles, faucet leaks, electrical issues, etc.). If it's not possible as a seller to make updates or repairs, you can give an allowance as part of the sale, or else adjust the price and sell "as-is" as a fixer-upper, depending on the condition of the home.

As a buyer, if you know your level of comfort on your new home is that you do want it to be move-in ready, there are a lot of homes that are ready. And there are also many that require different levels of work (I've seen some gutted to the studs). If you don't have the funds, know-how, experience, or just don't want to do the work, then don't waste your time on looking at homes that do require work. If you're comfortable with doing some of the work yourself, then some homes that need "TLC" usually only require paint and carpet/flooring. I've put down wood laminate now, and in the past carpet, vinyl tile and ceramic tile. The one I WON'T do again is carpet. But know your level of comfort on doing the work before jumping in to it!

Neither a buyer or seller, but want to do the updates? This is the position I'm in, and changes that I wanted to make. I know how expensive it is to lay flooring, so when I can, I try doing the work myself. The nice part about being in this position is that you don't have to be in a hurry because you have to sell. You can work at it at your own pace, one project at a time. And this is what makes it more YOUR home, and not what someone else's preferences are/were. Whatever your scenario, by doing the right updates/upgrades to your home, you are increasing the value--which is always a good idea!

The one thing I really enjoyed about putting down my new floors is that because Michelle is such a perfectionist I knew it would be done right (THANKS MICHELLE!), and it was a lot of fun watching it go from the aqua painted cement floor I had (I took out the living room carpet last summer and painted the floor), to the Rustic Pine we put down. It looks awesome and I love it...now we just have to put the baseboards back!