Posts with tag 'For Owners'

A lush green lawn can be a great way to attract attention when you list your home among Mansfield or Ashland homes for sale. Green grass is a real eye-catcher, so you won't want to neglect nourishing the green in your lawn this summer. 

So how do you get there, transforming your thin, sparse, weedy lawn to a perfect, uniform expanse of healthy-looking green? Follow the tips below, and you'll see some big improvements this summer.

Tips for Getting a Greener Lawn

1. Improve your soil
   A greener lawn starts with improving your soil. You can determine your soil's pH with a testing kit. Talk to a lawn care specialist about what amendments you'll need to bring your soil up to the right pH for the kind of grass you want to grow.

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Our community has been blessed with many exquisite mature trees, some of which have gracefully shaded our towns for more than a hundred years. Many of the most beautiful Mansfield and Ashland homes for sale boast the majestic beauty of giant white ash trees or red oaks. As you seek to add value to your property, investing in trees is a wise option. But before you buy, there are some important options to consider, from what you plant to where you plant it. This handy guide may help you begin:

• Northern Red Oak
  These magnificent beauties will grow at least 2 feet each year for at least 10 years. At their full maturity, they will reach a height of at least 60 feet offering a canopy of shade about 45 feet in diameter. It should reach a height of about 20 feet in 10 years. It loves direct sunlight and tolerates drought, although it thrives in moist, well-drained soil. Since its roots will readily tolerate compacted earth, it is often the choice for newly constructed homes. Blue jays and squirrels may put up a fight over the tastiest acorns.

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Since the COVID lockdowns began last year, almost half of U.S. employees shifted to remote work. The dining table was fine for some time. But as weeks turned into months and months into a year, we started looking for working spaces out on the patio, in the kitchen nook, or behind closed bedroom doors. Now more than ever before, people are saying goodbye to open floor spaces and seeking to find designated home office spaces from which they can be as efficient and productive as possible. And so the "cloffice" trend re-emerged. According to the 2021 Pinterest trend report, there has been a two-fold increase in the volume of searches for "cloffice ideas" on the platform over the past year.

If you're unfamiliar, a cloffice is a closet that has been converted into a functioning office space. It offers a functional yet design-savvy way to create a feasible workspace at home when square footage is tight. Here are tips for creating a stylish, affordable cloffice as recommended by our REALTORS®.

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Your home is more than a place to live; it's an asset you want to protect. Whether you're remodeling a room, building an addition, or simply changing an appliance out, our REALTORS® strongly advise all of our clients to vet and question any potential contractor thoroughly. Asking the following five questions will help ensure that the contractor you hire will get the job done efficiently and to the highest quality standards.

1. Are You Licensed & Insured? 
   Never hire a contractor that isn't licensed and insured. Licensure helps ensure the contractor will adhere to all building codes, fire codes, etc. It is more than an indication that they have sufficient knowledge of their trade to perform the necessary tasks. Additionally, never hire a contractor that isn't insured. If something happens and the contractor doesn't carry insurance, you could end up footing the bill for injuries.

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We're all thrilled when the winter storms are gone and it's time for the spring thaw. But with that warmer weather comes a multitude of pests, both in our yards and sometimes our homes. 

To prevent pests in the house you've chosen among Mansfield and Ashland homes for sale, follow the tips below.

Keeping Pests Out of Your Home

Not surprisingly, most of the pests homeowners in our area are quite common, rather than some of the newer, exotic species that have just begun invading the South and the West, such as certain species of exotic ants and mosquitoes. Here are some of the main ones to be on the watch for.

1. Mosquitoes
   There are several species of mosquitoes in our region, and like anywhere, they are mainly a problem during warm, rainy weather. The best preventative is not allowing stagnant water to collect in containers, birdbaths, or ponds. Water in a pond or birdbath is fine as long as it's being aerated or changed frequently. Remove old flower pots or containers and store them away. Cut back on dense foliage, where mosquitoes like to hover during the heat of the day. If you decide to spray, talk to your pest control specialist about measures that won't kill beneficial insects such as butterflies and other pollinators.

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