IMPORTANT! Improving your Fairfield County, CT home that was built prior to 1978

If your home was built prior to 1978, there is a good possibility that there are lead based substances in your home. When you sell your home, you are required to disclose any lead based hazards that you are aware of, and the buyer needs to acknowledge that disclosure. But what if you're not selling right now? Why would you care about that?

What a lot of homeowners don't know is that the EPA passed a regulation in 2008 that became  effective in April of 2010. If you want somef urther details, See the EPA  website for details. 

There is a lead renoavtion pamphlet available as well. You can read the brochure here  (Requires adobe  .pdf reader)  It is very important that you make sure your contractor is Lead-safe certified through the EPA.  THIS IS A FEDERAL LAW AND NOT OPTIONAL for your contractor. It is a requirement!

There are a few reasons why you should be very cautious when remodeling, or even painting your home that was built prior to 1978.

When it comes time to sell your home, standard legal language that is incorporated into the sales contract includes the subject of home improvements, and whether permits were taken out on the work performed at the house. Some attorneys are already requiring that any work completed after 4/22/2010 was performed by a Certfied Lead Safe Contractor, if it falls within the regulation guidelines. A basic rule of thumb for the regulation guideline is that if more than 6 square feet of lead based material is removed or disturbed, that  a Certified Lead Based Contractor must perform the work, and that contractor has to submit paperwork  to that effect. So there will be a paper trail on your renovation. Let me put this into perspective for you. Six square feet!  That's about the size of an average window in your home. This  regulation applies to painters, too. I am not an attorney, nor a specialist in EPA regulations, and I cannot advise you legally. I can, and will suggest to you  to look into this regulation as it pertains to you, and contact an attorney if you have questions.




What should you do with your pet during a home showing?

When an agent is showing your home to prospective buyers, you want all conditions to be as favorable and friendly as possible. We all love our pets, but we all know people who are not animal lovers. Suppose your prospective buyer is afraid of dogs?  Trust me, they will be way too nervous to look at your home and think about buying it, when all they can think of is ,"I hope that dog doesn't bite me".

People can get very nervous around cats, too. I've had dogs, and I've had cats, too. No problem with me,  but I do remember one seller client that  I had a number of years ago, who had a pretty vicious cat. A very experienced agent who was only previewing the home, called me in utter panic from her cell phone, and told me that the cat had cornered her. She  shrieked on the phone for me to come save her. I still have a very solid visual of that event.  I walked into the house, and saw the agent literally shaking with fear while she was standing on a chair. I did  all I could not to laugh, and it really wasn't funny at all to her. She was truly scared. No matter how harmless you know  your pet is, please remember there is always someone who is petrified of that pet.  And, no..  that agent never stepped foot in that house again. She was a very good agent,, too. My client lost an opportunity with all of HER prospective buyers. So yes, some agents are afraid of animals, too. Don't risk losing a showing because of it.

Some people are so allergic to animals that they couldn't step in your house without bringing an epi-pen, Well, they won't be prospects for your home, but many people do have allergies to dander and will be uncomfortable minutes or hours after they see your home.  So, do two things religiously if you have a cat or dog in your home, and it's on the market. 1) Remove the pet from the house before showings- that could mean putting your pet downstairs in the cellar for a short time, outside on a leash, removing the pet altogether from the premises, or putting your pet in a crate. 2) If your pet sheds, make sure you vacuum more than usual, so as not to distract an allergic buyer.

It's time to de-clutter!

I don't know know about you, but I have seen some of the worst cases of home clutter known to man during my career. I can be conservative and  estimate that I have been in more than 30,000 houses and I've seen more than you are probably interested in hearing about!  Even if you are not planning to put your home on the market for another week, another month, or sometime in the near future, take advantage of the nasty weather we're having right now and do something for you that will actually make you money when you sell.

DE-CLUTTER.

In a kitchen that means, take off all the magnets and pictures from the refrigerator , keep the counters clean (so you and prospective buyers can see that you have a lot of counter-space) and get rid of the extra stuff  that seems to accumulate in the kitchen.

Your living room is another place to get the extra "stuff" out. Unfortunately, that means getting rid of all, or almost all of the family photos on the wall besides getting rid of extra furniture to make the room look bigger.. You may ask why  remove personal photos?...Because it does not allow the buyer to imagine the home as his/her own when they see it. That's a subliminal message, but a VERY important one.

I'm happy to come out to your home,  give you the staging advice that you need, and assist you in the process. (Okay, another shameless plug! ) As always, feel free to call, text or email me, as well as post a comment on the blog if you like. All are welcome!