Are Your Kitchen And Baths Ready To Show?

Kitchens and baths are magnets that can sell potential buyers on your home. When your home is on the market, these areas have to look their best. Even though you may be living in your home while it's for sale, you have to make a mental switch: The home is no longer the center of your family's life, but rather, a property. To make this property truly show its value, you'll need to do some work. By their nature, kitchens and baths are prime targets for clutter, grime, mildew and mold. Think about the kitchen and the buildup of clutter, for instance. What other room do we fill with gadgets the way we do a kitchen? And, hard-working bathrooms may suffer from too much use and too little cleaning. In this issue, we'll give you great tips on how to make these rooms shine.

Stash Or Trash

Clear all small appliances from the kitchen countertops--even the coffee maker. While your home is on the market, consider stepping out for your java each morning or find an easy storage place to move Mr. Coffee before leaving for work. (You may want to purchase an appliance garage--an add-on cabinet that hides all your small appliances from view.) If your microwave oven isn't mounted above your stove top, you may need to store it away as well. Clutter--even if the counters and floors are clean--makes a kitchen look smaller.

Shine On

Once you've cleared out, then clean up. Cabinets collect plenty of grease and grime, but we don't generally see it. Give your cabinets a good cleaning and replace any outdated or worn cabinet knobs. After cleaning, buff and shine the cabinets with a wood treatment; just be sure the polish matches your wood finish.

Next, remove everything from your refrigerator door--everything! Pack up the magnets, calendars, to-do lists, photos of family and friends, and calendars made from photos. Put them in a special box marked "Refrigerator Decorations" so you can find them again after you move.

Don't forget to store away all the stuff from the top of the fridge, as well. Then mop the top down with a wet cloth and mild soap. While you're at it, this would be a good time to clean out the refrigerator. You're going to throw out all the excess food, sauces and miscellaneous items when you move anyway, so why not sooner than later? Skip this step and you could lose the overall effect of a sparkling kitchen when a potential buyer opens the refrigerator door to find mustard and ketchup stains.

Attack The Bath

Bathrooms are also a clutter zone just by the nature of the room. Even if you clean up the bathroom, it can still look "used"--after all, we're talking about the place where you hang your toothbrush. Visit a new model home to see how appealing an immaculate bathroom can be.

Mold and mildew are your first enemy in the bath. Get rid of it with the appropriate cleaners. There are several from which to choose at your nearest supermarket. While your home is on the market, switch from bar soap to a liquid hand soap and body cleanser. There's nothing more "icky" than a bar of soupy soap with the remains of dirty hands on it.

Potpourri or air fresheners are an idea--go all out for these to help make your bathrooms even more pleasant. If your towels have seen fluffier days, replace them with a brand new set just for home showings. Consider throwing out the shower curtain and getting a new one, as well.

If your tub does double duty as a toy box for the kids' bath toys, set up a space in the linen closet or vanity to quickly stash these items when your home is shown. Of course, you may need to throw away some of the items in your linen closet, but that's a good move anyway.

Details, Details

Consider a few of these quick spiff-ups for your bathroom, too: new throw rugs, an updated faucet set, new toilet seat or a new storage rack for your toiletries (but keep that in the linen closet or under the sink). Don't wait to start clearing and cleaning. Your best buyers are the ones who come through the home as soon as it hits the market. Don't let clutter and everyday dirt scare them away.

Spring Is A Good Time To Review Property Insurance Needs

For many people, their home is their greatest asset. Yet studies show that 59% of today's homes are underinsured by an average of 22%. The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) recommends homeowners protect their investment by updating their insurance regularly to reflect improvements, major purchases and increased rebuilding costs.

"A major home alteration or addition, even a lifestyle change such as marriage, or a family member moving in (along with his or her belongings), should trigger a call to your insurance company," says Jeanne Salvatore, senior vice president and consumer spokesperson for the I.I.I.

The cost of building or repairing a home has increased dramatically in recent years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, homeowners spent over $218 billion on additions, alterations, maintenance and repairs in 2005, up from $201 billion in 2004. Materials like lumber, cement, gypsum and structural-steel products have become scarcer, not only because of the devastation from storms in past years, but also because of increased global demand.

To properly insure your home, the I.I.I. recommends you ask your agent or company representative three key questions:

1. Do I have enough insurance to rebuild my home?
   Your policy needs to cover the cost of rebuilding your home at current construction costs. Unfortunately, some homeowners simply purchase enough insurance protection to satisfy their mortgage lender. Others confuse the real estate value of their home with what it would cost to rebuild it. Quite simply, you should have enough insurance to rebuild your home in the event that it is completely destroyed.
   
   
2. Do I have enough insurance to replace all of my possessions?
   Most homeowners insurance policies provide coverage for your personal possessions for approximately 50% to 70% of the amount of insurance you have on the structure of your home. So if you have $100,000 worth of coverage on the structure of your home, you would be covered for $50,000 to $70,000 worth of the contents of your home, depending on the policy.
   
   The best way to determine if you have enough coverage is to conduct a home inventory, which details everything you own and the estimated cost to replace these items if they were stolen or destroyed by a disaster. You can download the I.I.I.'s free home-inventory software at www.KnowYourStuff.org.
   
   
3. Do I have enough insurance to protect my assets?
   Homeowners insurance doesn't just protect the structure or contents of your home, it also provides liability protection. This covers you against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that you or your family members may cause to other people. It also pays for damage caused by pets. Liability insurance pays for both the cost of defending you in court and for any damages a court rules you must pay--up to the limits of your policy. Most homeowners insurance policies provide a minimum of $100,000 worth of liability insurance, but higher amounts are available.
   
   It is important to purchase enough liability insurance to protect your assets. If the standard liability coverage in your homeowners policy is not sufficient, you may need an umbrella policy, which provides additional coverage over and above what is covered in your home (and auto) insurance policy.

Tips To Help Adjustment

Children of different ages experience anxiety about moving in different ways. Here are a few things you can do to help make all of them more comfortable:

• Arrange previews of schools, playgrounds, malls, etc. so the kids get to know the new home before the actual move. (Show videos and photos if you can't take them there in person.)
• Let the kids spend moving day elsewhere, with friends or family, unless they indicate a desire to be involved.
• Make time for your children to say a proper goodbye to friends and neighbors, making sure older children get contact information to keep relationships alive.
• Plan a return visit even before you leave.
• Pack your children's things last and unpack them first to minimize disruption and speed adjustment.

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