Healthier, Easier Cream Cheese Wontons

Are you looking for recipe for healthier and easier wontons? One time that doesn't require a deep fat fryer? Wontons a six-year-old can make almost by herself? A recipe that is almost all pictures? A recipe with only 3 ingredients?
You found it!

10 things that may Negatively affect your Home's Value

This is a great read for both buyers AND sellers. Sellers - this helps you price correctly. Buyers - consider these things when choosing your next home!
See Also 11-Things-That-Negatively-Affect-Your-Home-s-value

1. Bad location. This can come down to freeway noise, power lines, you name it. See: Location Issues That Make it Hard to Sell

2. No garage or small garage. Unless you're living in a condo, retirement community or historical or in-town neighborhood, most buyers will look for at least a two-car garage.

3. Garbled floor plan. Small rooms and bathrooms, an inconvenient floor plan or a layout that requires you to access bedrooms or bathrooms through other rooms will detract value from your home.

4. Outmoded appliances or systems. Who wants an electrical system or plumbing system incapable of handling modern conveniences? Would you buy a home if the appliances were worn or broken?
Phipps remembers walking into one house with clients who casually opened the oven door -- and it fell off.

5. Stale or overly personal decor. Sure, [insert color] is the hot wall color right now, but for how long?  What is more important? Letting the buyer see your home or photos of your kids?

 6. A bad roof. Roofs are expensive to replace and a good roof is considered standard equipment in a house. If your roof has problems, expect to take a hit in the price.

 7. A pool. Forget what you might have heard. An in-ground pool in most parts of the country doesn't automatically raise the value of your home.
Having a swimming pool will automatically limit your market when it comes time to sell, he says. It's constant upkeep, they get cracks, the equipment goes down and it's expensive to replace, and the liability is high.
Consider your home value and location. In a million-dollar house, not having a pool is a detraction but will not necessarily increase your value.

8. Poor maintenance. If you've got an old roof and deteriorating exterior paint/siding/trim, I don't care if the home is immaculate inside, you won't even get the buyer out of the car. If the curb appeal is in disrepair they buyer starts out on a negative note thinking about what else may be poorly maintained.

9. Environmental hazards. Besides being a danger to human health, lead, mold or asbestos can kill home value.

10. A laundry list of needed improvements. A list of must-dos just to conduct everyday life will scare off a lot of potential home buyers. Especially with first-time buyers since most of them are already scraping cash together just to close.

Look for ways to increase your value? Check out these ideas:

Most Important Home Selling Tips

Tips for Building New or Remodeling

What the heck is so great about your house?

Are Online Home Value Estimates Accurate?

How to Correctly Price Your Home 

Words of Wisdom and Memorable Quotes - WEDDING

"A perfect marriage is just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other."

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" - When Harry Met Sally

"If a friendship lasts longer than 7 years, psychologists say it will last a lifetime."

Connect with me and see more great inspiration!

Ultimate closet organization tips!

When the open the door to your closet do you groan? 

Do you feel like the door is there to hide a disaster? Would you love being able to open your closet door and immediately find everything you need? Then check out these great closet organizing ideas!

You're probably wondering how closet organizing is going to save you money? When you can easily find and access products and supplies, you can prevent yourself from letting products expire or buying duplicates of things you already own. :-)

Looking for more great ideas? Follow my closets board on Pinterest!

Follow Sarah's board closets on Pinterest.

(I do not own any of the images shared here.)

[Set the Record Straight]

Sometimes I just need to vent!

I am a full-time, high-producing REALTOR (R). I bring much, much more to the transaction than just driving people around to look at houses, or in the case of a seller, more than a sign and MLS listings. The many things I do may not be apparent or visible to a seller/buyer. Many of my buyers and sellers swear that they would not have succeeded at getting through a sale or purchase without me personally handling their transaction, even though they may be unsure what my "magic" was, but they know I did it. I have been able to do some remarkable things because of my experience and persistence. After having sold many more properties annually than the average agent, I know more than a few strategies that benefit my clients.

I utilize my many contacts (hard won contacts in some cases) and reputation to help market a property. This is far more effective than newspaper ads and open houses (I seldom do either one unless it's right for that audience).

I keep tough transactions together if at all possible, and get them to the closing table with everyone having been treated fairly, decently and without ugly confrontations, because I'm a pro.

I work long, hard hours at the expense of my own life to provide the best service I can to a client because I'm in this career for the right reasons.  Case in point: I spent my personal, planned family vacation in WI Dells on the phone and email negotiating a deal for some sellers that I had been working with for over a year that REALLY needed me to get the house sold so they could move on with their lives.  I did get the property sold for the price they needed (but much less than they paid) in just weeks in a tough market - only to have an appraiser kill the deal by coming in low (and then another appraiser say the first appraiser was unfamiliar with the area an off base - oh for stressful!)

I deal with inexperienced buyers, sellers, and agents (and apparently appraisers) every day, and try to keep everyone out of "transaction trouble".

As to the myth that agents are being "highly paid", I have no salary, no sick leave, no paid vacation, no paid holidays, no retirement, and no benefits. I pay for my car and its upkeep, my signs, my lockboxes, my mls fees, my license and required education expense, any specialized education I feel would benefit my clients, my errors and omissions insurance, my office expense, my computers and continual upgrades needed, my office supplies, my camera, my cell phone, my web site (that I use to sell your house or provide you with free listing browsing access), the food and gifts for any open houses I may do, my business cards and any other printing, such as flyers and brochures, any advertising done on your house, advertising I pay just to get my name in front of buyers and sellers in hopes to generate enough business to get through any "slumps", not to mention my health insurance, and taxes, and hope there is enough left over for housing and life support for myself and my family. We are all sharing in the economic hard times and booms. However, our expenses don't fall or change in relationship to the market. How much do you pay for your job?

If an agent drives a nice car there are a couple questions you may ask yourself. Based on what I know from the paragraph above, is this agent A) married to somebody with money, B) continues to successfully scam people in a relationship/network based business, C) obviously so good at their job that they are able to have enough clients to support that lifestyle/car. Try asking. :-)

As to absurd internet comments about a Realtor not being willing to put their own money and time into homes before marketing or even a contract: Why would I pay to improve your property when you haven't seen fit to do so? Do you pay for your employer to improve your workplace or the product you produce? Do you expect a doctor to swing by you house for a quick check up because you might be sick? All other service professionals get paid for their time and efforts whether they succeed or not (doctors, attorneys, etc.). Realtors only get paid after the fact and IF they succeed. If we fail to produce the sale we get nothing, no matter how much time, effort, and marketing expense we may have put into it. So we should pay for you to do what needs to be done to your property with no guarantee of ever getting paid for our work? I don't think so.

As for the "expectation" of the uninformed that I should be responding instantly to their online requests at all of the day an night to gain their business, I beg to differ. Your need for instant gratification is a poor way to choose your service professionals.

Yes, some For Sale by Owners do succeed nicely. However, they are also exposed to many errors and liabilities, not to mention possibly criminal incidents, that cautious, experienced agents can usually buffer them from. We can't afford too many mistakes and stay in business.

I do love my work, enjoy my clients, and wouldn't want to do anything else, as is obvious by my dedication. I'm proud of my successes in helping people accomplish what they want or need.

Am I an asset to my clients? Am I worth what I'm paid? You bet I am! Probably more!

Want to read more about the job of an agent?
11 Shocking Facts You May Not Know About Real Estate Agents