7 Holiday Events that Better Your Community

7 Holiday Events that Better Your Community

By: G. M. Filisko

Published: November 25, 2009

Make friends and influence your property values by creating neighborhood holiday traditions that build community spirit.

In turn, you’ll help foster higher property values, strong schools, and lower crime rates in your neighborhood, according to studies by Dennis Rosenbaum, director of the Center for Research in Law and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Start strengthening your neighborhood with these seven holiday events:
1. Sing songs

Home owners in the Clinton Hill neighborhood near Brooklyn, N.Y., have been caroling together since 1967. They only missed the event once for a pretty good excuse: It was below freezing.

Their advice for a successful neighborhood holiday event? Identify neighborhood streets heavy with holiday decorations. Festive residents will likely be most receptive to carolers. Ask volunteers to print song lyric sheets, post fliers announcing the event in advance, and bring a thermos or two of hot cocoa.

Residents have come to look forward to the neighborhood holiday song fest. “Sometimes we’re invited in, and some people even plan their parties so we’re the entertainment,” says resident Marge Othrow.
2. Holiday parties with a purpose

New Orleans' historic Strachan House is the site of the Coliseum Square Association’s annual Christmas party, where the highlight is an award ceremony honoring emergency first responders who’ve made a difference in the city's Lower Garden District neighborhood.

The CSA spends about $1,000 for the food and the several-hundred-dollar cash awards for the first responders, says CSA President Matt Ryan. The holiday event not only thanks first responders, but builds neighborhood spirit, he says.
3. Swap holiday food

With a holiday cookie or dessert exchange, no single neighbor bears the burden of providing food for the entire neighborhood. Audra Krell of Scottsdale, Ariz., uses Evite and Facebook to manage her annual holiday dessert exchange where friends each bring one tray of any kind of dessert.

Managing the neighborhood event takes Krell less than 10 hours, but the good feelings the event generates last all year long.
4. Organize a search party

Families compete in a neighborhood-wide holiday scavenger hunt in Maineville, Ohio. Tracie Watkins, who runs this fun event, comes up with a list of holiday items, like tinsel and candy canes, and gives everybody a half hour to collect them.

The family that comes back first with everything, or has found the most items when the game ends, gets a $50 gift card. She’s had as many as 15 to 20 neighborhood families join in the fun.
5. Share holiday giving

In Logan, Utah, Jenny Johnson and 50 to 60 of her neighbors forgo giving holiday gifts and goodies to each other, instead purchasing gifts, food, and personal hygiene items for three to four needy families through the Sub for Santa program. The average family’s financial contribution runs about $30, and the families get together at a neighborhood party to wrap the gifts they’ve purchased.
6. Feed your friendly neighbors

Hold a progressive holiday dinner party at neighbors’ houses. On the Sunday before Christmas, Margee Herring of Wilmington, N.C., and her neighbors eat their way through three host homes. Each home owner foots the food bill for about 100 guests, but you can share the cost by asking neighbors to sign up for a potluck dish.

Create a twist: Announce a different theme each year, or ask home owners to prepare the holiday cuisine of a different country.
7. Light up the holiday

Many neighborhoods come together to line their streets with candles on Christmas Eve. And this effort doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Save milk and water jugs throughout the year, and put 12-hour votive candles inside the jugs.

Setup and removal take 30 to 45 minutes. An alternative to luminaries is a neighborhood holiday lighting contest in which neighbors vote on the home with the best holiday display.

Tips for adding Curb Appeal and Value to your Home

The way your house appears from the street can make or break a sale. If it's attractively maintained and landscaped, it can add value to your house. But which projects pump up value the most? Some color goes a long way, as does some spit and polish!

Wash your house's face!

A bucket of soapy water and a long-handled, soft-bristled brush can remove the dust and dirt that have splashed onto your wood, vinyl, metal, brick, and fiber cement siding. Power washers (even if you have to rent one) can reveal the true color of your sidewalks & patios.

I recommend washing your windows inside and outas well! You'd be surprised how many houses need their windowsills dusted. Prospective buyers look at these parts too when they are getting serious. You want to make sure they think you've been taking care of all the little things as well...so swipe cobwebs from the eaves, and hose down the downspouts. Don’t forget your garage door, which was once bright and clean. If you can’t spray off the dirt, scrub it off with a solution of 1/2 cup trisodium phosphate—TSP (available at home improvement centers and hardware stores), dissolved in 1 gallon of water.

Freshen the Paint Job!

The most commonly offered curb appeal advice is to freshen the exterior paint job. Buyers will instantly notice it, and appraisers will value it (or not). Many clients have asked if they can just give a "paint allowance." My experience has been that you will sell the house for much more than the cost of doing the work if you can swing it. Even though the cost of the paint and supplies is "X," buyers will discount the price by "Y" often due to the lack of ability to visualize it as complete.

Neaten the Yard!

A well-manicured lawn with neatly trimmed bushes and freshly mulched garden beds will boost the value of your home. I recommend fertilizing the lawn to assure a full and healthy lawn and using a broadleaf weed killer on the lawn to rid it from dandelions, clover, and other fast growing lawn weeds. You may have to mow the lawn every 5 days at first, but this will make your house stand out from the competition! Ask my husband, a turf management graduate. He literally mowed our lawn prior to most showings for that clean, crisp appearance.

Add color!

Add a few potted plants with seasonal color to freshen up the outside look!

Spruce up the mailbox!

How about a fresh coat of paint on it? I see many nice homes in upscale neighborhoods with dingy looking mailboxes, often leaning one way or the other. While you're at it, put some fresh house numbers on the house and/or the mailbox. Make sure the size on the house meets occupancy code requirements, 4 inches in Moberly, MO. Hope these tips get you thinking on the right track...

The key to (my) success

I try to put myself in the place of a consumer wanting to buy or sell a home.  Often in a small community, they call on the person whose name is "on the sign" or their relative who the know is licensed.  Word of caution...choose an agent who has a reputation of good communication.  I've learned in almost 21 years in business how important it is!

You must always strive to be someone who routinely explains contracts with thoroughness until a client fully understands; someone who reviews the market with them one-on-one; someone who answers and returns phone calls.  I remember an ad once that said... "how hard IS it to return phone calls?"   You must never be the agent who leaves his or her client in the dark. A client would rather work with a REALTOR® who finds answers quickly than with one who knows the answer but doesn’t communicate them properly.

What is the key to being a successful REALTOR?

As a REALTOR, whether you are new to the industry or have been in the real estate business for 25 years, I have a little gem of advice that is applicable to everyone.

Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer for a moment. Think about the house you are about to buy or the last house you did buy. Who represented you? Would you choose him or her to represent you again? What characteristics make up a truly great agent? If you had to boil it down to one word, what would the most essential characteristic be?

I am going to venture a guess and say that most people would have completely different answers on this topic. However, in my experience, I have found one significant common denominator that unites all descriptions of a successful agent and amplifies the possibility of future business:

Communication.



No, it's not about being the “local expert” or the agent with the most listings. The most important quality to possess is communication. You must always be someone who routinely explains contracts with thoroughness until a client fully understands; someone who reviews the market with them one-on-one; someone who answers and returns phone calls around the clock. You must never be the agent who leaves his or her client in the dark. A client would rather work with a REALTOR® who finds answers quickly than with one who knows the answer but doesn’t communicate them properly.

This can be compared to when you walk into a store to purchase something.  How often are you not even acknowledged?  Studies continually show that customers who are not acknowledged by an employee when first entering a store will wait on average only a few minutes before leaving. Why don’t most of these neglected customers stay? Because people want to know you care. That’s all they need to know and the rest will work itself out. What’s worse than the professional you’ve trusted with the largest transaction of your life not being there for you?

My goal in my real estate business is to communicate with the buyers and sellers I work with; to keep them informed every step of the way.  Sometimes I don't have the response they are wanting, but I tell them I'm checking on it for them and will let them know when I do.  And I do.  That's why we at Advantage Real Estate continue put in writing a guarantee for service satisfaction for each property we help sell.  Because communication matters!

You can view our service satisfaction guarantee on our website:  www.AskAdvantage.com



Increase your home's value by good use of lighting!

If you are getting ready to stage your home for selling, keep in mind the role light plays...be it the natural type or artificial.

The easiest way to light a home is with natural light.  The owners of this home loved the natural light as shown here...

or here...
Just love this wall of windows!  You can see the reflection on the far wall!

Every home may not have the abundance of lighting as this one.  In that case, well appointed artificial lighting, recessed lighting, and lamps do the job well.

The lamps in this room really help show it's best features...

Even basements can be upgraded to reflect more than light...an individual homeowner's personality!

When preparing your home for sale, don’t miss the simple advantages that light can bring to your home. Accent the positive with lights and downplay the negative by taking the focus away from it. Show off what made you fall in love with your home and you’ll hopefully help a buyer find that same attachment!

Remaking the American Dream

Perhaps you've been on the sidelines for some time now...living in an apartment or with your relatives.  It may have been six years or so since you encountered the big "F" word with regard to your home (foreclosure).   

I'm here to tell you there's hope! 

There's others out there in similar situations as you may be, and hopefully you've been working on rebuilding your credit and saving up for a downpayment.  I've learned in my brief life that most everyone has something in their credit story that they aren't proud of...that they don't want the world to know.  So you're not alone out there.  What matters is that you make positive changes and don't go back to what put you in the situation that caused you to hit rock bottom.  That is, if it's within your range of possibility.  In some situations it may not. 

If you haven't yet looked into Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, I'd highly recommend  signing up for his class, either online or in person if it's offered in your area.  The cost for materials is $89 plus shipping, but his teachings will revolutionize your financial life, that is, if you want to make positive changes for living within your means.  www.daveramsey.com/fpu



The rest of the "hope" story is that there are loans out there with as little as 3.5% down payment once you are 3 years out of foreclosure (and sometimes 2 years, depending on the circumstances).    You need a REALTOR who can walk you through the steps...it's a step-by-step process to prepare for the day you can return to the market.  You've been hearing about others getting their "good deals."   

To prepare for the day you can re-enter the market, keep paying down your debts, pay your bills on time, save money and watch the market.  Your local REALTOR will guide you through the steps to getting you pre-approved for your next place to call HOME.

Fascination Moberly

I've always been fascinated by renovated homes from the 1920's...

There's a mix of open areas between the living room/dining room

There’s a mix of both open, awe-inspiring spaces and cozy, intimate ones.

But my favorite part is the kitchen, completely renovated from top to bottom!

Check out the tin ceiling in the kitchen...

The owners love the respite of this screened in porch with updated slate tile...it's a favorite place to sip their favorite beverage after a long day!

Speaking of favorite places, who wouldn't love to take a shower in this updated bathroom?

Check out the floor plan and virtual tour for this quaint home, compliments of Advantage Real Estate:  http://www.flexmls.com/share/61m9/21-WINDSOR-Place-Moberly-MO-65270

Have fun with this colorful indoor teepee

I remember when my kids were young, how they loved to make indoor "forts!"  Take a look at this weekend project that involves no sewing...

Wouldn't it be fun to read books, play with your toys (for the young at heart), or have an indoor sleepover inside this?  Here's what it looks like with Christmas lights strung inside the teepee.

Here's a link to making this...

The Handmade Home

I have a cute listing in Moberly with a similar idea...a "book nook!" 

Here's how the owner transformed a simple closet into a fun kids' corner...

I hope this spurs new ideas for you and your family!
Here's where you can see this in Moberly:  http://www.flexmls.com/share/5jSz/939-W-REED-St.-Moberly-MO-65270

Country at Heart?

I meet so many people who want a place in the country, but for some reason can't find what they are looking for.  Often times it's price related!  Let's face it, there's only so much of America that is available, and they aren't making any more.  It makes rural properties more of a commodity.

Well, check out this recently transformed home...

It's got a huge backyard with views of country in back.  Plenty of room for the kiddos to play...room for a large garden, and whatever you'd like to do (well almost!).

One of my favorite rooms is the kitchen...it's one of the largest kitchens I've seen in this price range.  Room for all the furniture you'd dream of putting there.  I'd probably have a little "den" setup here...or maybe a spot for the kids to do their homework, where you could keep an eye on them.  What would you do with all this space?

And stainless steel appliances are included!

My other favorite room is the master bedroom...you could change your bedroom furniture around on all the walls!  It's HUGE!  Plus a very large walk in closet.  And did I forget to mention the nicely refinished wood floors?  Immaculate!

Here's a floor plan image of the main level, the office could be a small bedroom if you'd like. Upstairs are two bedrooms and another bathroom.

 Here's the transformed bathroom.  A nice cedar lined linen closet too...

The living room ...

If you'd like to see more, here's the listing:  http://www.flexmls.com/share/5dze/700-ST-CHARLES-St.-Moberly-MO-65270

Thanks for stopping by!

Love all that natural light...

Oh...do you love those "older" homes all fixed up?  Well, check this one out...

It's had a facelift on the inside with new floors, walls, ceilings...
Here's what greets you when you first walk in...

 Then the dining room is next

This set of windows really makes the rooms come "alive!"

 Love the quaint kitchen which opens up to the rest of the house as well as the back deck.

Here's the downstairs master bedroom with lots of light.

Upstairs there are two bedrooms with dormer style ceilings...both have good sized walk in closets!

What little girl wouldn't love this window seat in her room? (and storage cubbies under the pillows)

This main level office area with stairs to the upper level.

This is the entrance to what the owner's call the "book nook."

Here's what's inside at the top of the stairs...

A great area to relax and watch the family fun from the back deck...

Interested in more information?  Here's the listing... http://www.flexmls.com/share/5bhh/939-W-REED-St.-Moberly-MO-65270