10 Ways to Make Your House in Ludlow VT More Saleable

1. Get rid of clutter. Throw out or file stacks of newspapers and magazines. Pack away most of your small decorative items. Store out-of-season clothing to make closets seem roomier. Clean out the garage.

2. Wash your windows and screens to let more light into the interior.

3. Keep everything extra clean. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates. Mop and wax floors. Clean the stove and refrigerator. A clean house makes a better first impression and convinces buyers that the home has been well cared for.

4. Get rid of smells! Even if you think you house does not have smells, spring for a good carpet and drape cleaning to eliminate any possible cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Keep the windows open when possible (if road noise is not an issue).

5. Put higher wattage bulbs in light sockets to make rooms seem brighter, especially basements and other dark rooms. Replace any burnt-out bulbs.

6. Make minor repairs that can create a bad impression. Small problems, such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet, may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression that the house isn’t well maintained.

7. Tidy your yard. Cut the grass, rake the leaves, trim the bushes, and edge the walks. Put a pot or two of bright flowers near the entryway.

8. Patch holes in your driveway and reapply sealant, if applicable.

9. Clean your gutters. Remove any debris such as pine straw that has accumulated on the roof.

10. Polish your front doorknob and door numbers. Remember, the door is the first part of the home potential buyers see!

For more information about real estate and selling your home in Ludlow, VT please call me at 802-353-1983 or visit my Web site http://www.isellvermontrealestate.com/. I would love to help make your home more saleable!

Summer Fun in Ludlow, VT - Part 2

In continuing with the theme of curing kids’ summertime boredom, I’ve compiled a list of ways to get your children outdoors and exploring the beautiful natural surroundings of Ludlow, VT:

1. Go on a Bug Hunt Equip your child with a baby food jar or bug jar and encourage them to look for natural life around them. Look under leaves & stumps (be sure to turn them back over), on tree trunks & leaves and in flowers. Handle the bugs gently and let them go when you are done. Name your favorite bug according to its colors, the way it moves or something different about it.

2. Listen to the World Around You Have your child sit and listen to the sounds of nature by closing their eyes, and counting on their fingers the different sounds they hear. Compare natural vs. unnatural sounds. Try this in several different habitats such as in a field, near a pond and in a forest and compare the kinds and numbers of sounds heard.

3. Look at Nature Before a visit to a park, have your child decorate two toilet paper rolls. Staple them together to make mini-binoculars. Take them outside for a game of "I Spy" looking for items from nature. Look for things near by, in middle range and far away.

4. Get a New Perspective Have your child lie face upward under a large tree. Have them look into the branches. Can they see the top branch? What patterns can they see? What other things are present? They can pretend to be the roots of the tree in the soil. What do they feel like? What animals can they see moving around in the tree?

5. Use Imagination Choose an area with natural ground coverings such as leaves, cones, wild grass etc. and sit down. Give your child 6 short pieces of straw or toothpicks. Have them pretend to shrink down to the size of an ant with you. Their job is to lead a nature walk for creatures the size of an ant by choosing 6 interesting things along a one meter stretch of ground. Encourage them to use their imagination!

6. Wet Noses Wet the underside of your child's nose with a small wet sponge. This improves their sense of smell just as it does for deer and rabbits. Find familiar smells such as flowers to try, then go on to other things like rubbing a leaf between your fingers and smelling or scratching a pine needle. Also try moss, bark, pitch or grabbing an handful of leafy soil etc.

7. Discover Color in Nature Get 10 old paint swatches of various natural colors from a paint store. Cut them into individual squares and take these and your child to a natural area. One at a time, have your child look for each color in nature. You will be amazed at what colors you can find if you really look!

8. Touching Nature Blindfold your child and lead them to a tree to get to know it by feeling the bark texture, finding branches and any other way to recognize a specific tree without looking at it. Still blind-folded, lead your child back to where you started. Now take off the blindfold and have them try to find their tree using their sense of touch to confirm it. What other senses helped them to locate their tree? (sounds, sense of balance, smells, warmth etc.)

9. A Night time Experience Go with your child to a safe natural place at night. Cover your flashlight with red plastic so you won't startle the animals. Try out some of the ideas above to learn about plants & animals of the night. It takes about 20 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust from bright light to darkness.

10. A Rainy Day Experience Dress to stay dry but with your hands free (no umbrellas) and go out on a rainy day with your child. Peek into puddles. Llisten for bird & frog calls. How many kinds of raindrops can you see? Can you find plants with a drip tip? Try to find out where animals go when it is raining.

For more information about living and real estate in Ludlow, VT please call me at 802-353-1983 or visit my Web site http://www.isellvermontrealestate.com/.

Summer Fun In Ludlow, VT – Part 1

Summer is in full swing and as the novelty of being out of school begins to wear off, most parents are bracing themselves for the inevitable “I’m booooored” that is just bound to come out of their children’s mouths soon. Luckily, beautiful Ludlow, VT has more to offer than just wintertime fun!

Below are links to several fun things to do with your children this summer to get them outside and enjoying this perfect time of year in Ludlow:

• State parks in southern Vermont
• Places to hike in south/south central Vermont
• Places to fish in south/south central Vermont
• Museums to visit in Vermont
• Factory tours in Vermont
• Go on a llama hike in Vermont!

For more information about living and real estate in Ludlow, VT please call me at 802-353-1983 or visit my Web site www.ISellVermontRealEstate.com. Happy trails, and here’s to an exciting second half of the summer!

Irene Earns Quality Service Certified Recognition!

I am pleased to announce that I have recently completed the requirements to earn Quality Service Certified professional recognition. What does this mean for you? Well, in a nutshell it guarantees that the service you receive from me will be consistent, reliable, responsive and exceptionally satisfying. It also means:

• I participate in a service process that results in the best real estate experience possible for you. To earn the Quality Service Certified designation I have met training and performance standards, and I maintain those standards on an on-going basis.


• My services are spelled out in the Quality Service Guarantee that shows you exactly what to expect—from an initial counseling session to after-sale service follow-up.


• I will remain accountable to you throughout the home finding or selling experience to do everything I promise. That includes giving you the opportunity to evaluate my service through a Quality Service Assurance Survey © conducted by an independent research firm.


• If you are contemplating buying or selling a home, you have a lot to think about, and the last thing you want is confusion and uncertainty. You can have greater confidence and peace of mind knowing that I will be with you every step of the way.

To experience the Quality Service Guarantee for yourself, or to find out more about Ludlow VT real estate, please visit ISellVermontRealEstate.com or give me a call at 800-659-1819, ext. 103. I’d love to show you what true quality service is all about!

Vermont Homeowners Insurance & The Fire Station

So what does the location of my Vermont home have to do with the fire station?

Most insurance companies will ask the proximity of your home to the nearest fire station or fire hydrant. The closer together they are the cheaper the insurance.

The theory behind this is, if there were to be a fire, the closer the house is to the fire station, the faster the response time and the less damage done to the house.

Often, your insurance agent will ask you how far the house is from the fire station and if you are like most new home buyers, you don't have any idea. This link shows the name and address of all Vermont fire departments. After locating the fire department for your town, you can map the distance from your house to the fire station.

For more information about homeowners insurance or Ludlow VT real estate visit ISellVermontRealEstate.com or give me a call at 800-659-1819. I'm glad to help!