Contingent Offers—To Accept or Decline?

Dave,

We recently, about a month ago, turned down an offer on our home that was contingent upon them selling their current home. They asked us to take our home off the market for two months while we waited for their home to sell. They had already had their home on the market and we decided we did not want to risk having our home off the market while we just waited for their home to sell. We asked our Realtor last week if they had sold their home yet and found out they did have it under contract, but have decided to purchase a different home. 

We are very frustrated and feel like they should have come back and put a contract on our home, as they said they would surely bring us another offer when their home was sold. We just feel like we have been left at the alter and now are starting over. What should we have done differently? 

Jake and Laura, Grand Junction

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Jake and Laura,

This is one of those classic darned if you do and darned if you don’t, that is the lesson learned from contingent offers.  When we receive a contingent offer, it boils down to a calculated risk. You have to work with your agent and determine, to the best of your ability, how probable it is that their home will sell? If the buyer is coming from the Denver area, it is HIGHLY likely their home will sell quickly, so the risk is VERY limited, as that market is very hot! When deciding to take a contingent offer, it also is dependent on how good the offer is. If it is a good offer, then sellers are generally willing to take on a little more risk. As it is with every contingent offer, you must decide if the probability of their home selling outweighs the risk of taking their offer and waiting to see if their home sells. Remember, you always have options.

Your first option, the option you chose, is to not accept their offer with a contingency and count on them coming back when/if their home goes under contract. My experience is that few people come back after they have been spurned. Remember, buying a home is an emotional process and you want to capture that buyer while they are emotionally invested in your property. When you turned down their offer, they may have felt like they had been spurned and started to look around again at competing homes, in essence, looking for a new partner. Bad analogy, I know, but you get my point. I have found it a better option to find some common ground to work with them on, which indicates that you want to sell the home to them, but you also need them to recognize your need to continue trying to sell your home if someone else comes along and wants to buy it.

“ I have found it a better option to find some common ground to work with them on, which indicates that you want to sell the home to them, but you also need them to recognize your need to continue trying to sell your home if someone else comes along and wants to buy it.”

This leads us to other options, the 48 hour and 72 hour first right of refusal. This means that you continue your efforts to sell and if you get another offer, they have 48 or 72 hours, you determine the length of time here, to remove the contingency on the sale of their home. If they cannot remove the contingency, then you can sell it to your new prospective buyer. Most buyers appreciate the fact that you, like them, are looking to sell your home and understand your need to take the first ready, willing and able buyer who will meet your terms for sale. You have now shown them that you want to sell your home to them and they are likely to receive this response in a positive fashion. They are now still emotionally connected to your home and feel like the next showing on their home may deliver a contract and get them into your home. They are still invested and still working toward the goal of getting their home sold, so they can purchase yours. Again, it has to make sense and it is a calculated risk.  

The key to everything is the ability to continue marketing the property and solicit other offers. There are several creative ways to create a win-win for the buyer and seller and have everyone involved, agents included, working toward a common goal. 

Remember, you turned down their offer, there is nothing that says they can’t change their mind and that is exactly what they did. You ran that risk when you turned them down and played hard ball. I do, at times, recommend taking a contingent offer, but often leave the seller with the contractual ability to continue to sell their home should they receive another offer and in my mind this is key. Sometimes you have to be willing to take on a little risk, as long as it does not leave you out of the game. I hope this helps and I am hopeful another offer is right around the corner.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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3 Golden Tips for Home Buyers and Sellers

Dave,

I know you have a ton of experience in real estate and you give great advice in this column every week! So I’m just curious: If you could only give one piece of advice to someone who is about to start the home buying process, what would it be? And on the flip side if you could only give one piece of advice to a home seller what would it be?

Thanks in advance for helping me sound smart the next time my friends and I talk real estate!

John, Grand Junction

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John,

Thanks for the compliment, at least one of us can seem smart when hanging with our peeps! That is a very interesting question and one that takes some thought! I am sure that if you ask me this question in six months at least one of these will change! I am not sure I can keep it to just one thing for each, but I will try. As my friends will tell you, I am pretty verbose. As my mom used to say, he rattles like an empty wagon! With that being said, let’s tackle the buyer advice first.

For the answers here I turned to our two most experienced buyers’ agents, Jan Kimbrough Miller and Cyrie Wortmann. They both work extensively with buyers and know the buying process better than anyone I know. Remember, every agent will have varying answers, but these two are awesome! 

“Make sure you have no weak links in your team of lender and agent...one without the other is no good.”

— Jan Kimbrough Miller, Buyer Specialist

Jan’s one thing was, “make sure you have no weak links in your team of lender and agent...one without the other is no good.” Let me tell you, this is awesome advice! If you have the best lender and are ready to purchase, but have a half devoted agent, you will likely miss the perfect house. On the flip side, if you have the most aggressive agent who is Johnny on the spot, but your lender stinks and you fail the loan process then you will also miss out on the perfect house. The quality combination of your lender and agent are your key to success.

“Remember there will always be compromises. Avoid the trap of overthinking or paralysis by analysis and learn to trust your gut!”

— Cyrie Wortmann, Buyer Specialist

Cyrie has more experience than anyone on our team and her advice is equally important! “Remember there will always be compromises. Avoid the trap of overthinking or paralysis by analysis and learn to trust your gut!” Again, this is timely and sage advice. As our market becomes more and more competitive being hesitant can be the difference between getting your dream home or letting someone else get it! God gave you a gut feeling, trust it and go with it! Both of these are awesome!  

“Clean means more money and less time on market.”

— Dave Kimbrough, Listing Specialist

Ok, moving on to sellers...Since I am a listing agent, I did not solicit anyone’s advice on this answer and I will avoid the temptation of jumping on the low hanging fruit of making sure you choose the right agent! That one is too easy! My number one piece of advice would be that “clean means more money and less time on market”. Who doesn’t want more money and who doesn’t’ want to sell fast? Duh! Make sure to have your home completely dialed in and show ready. A clean house makes a wonderful first impression and the first impression is the most important. When you are dialing things in, make sure not to forget about the outside. Listen, if the inside sparkles but the outside is ugly or neglected, forget about it. Buyers will pass you by. Make sure you have the full package of inside and out ready to go! Next, remember that 92% of buyers start their search online and their first impression of your home will almost always be from your electronic footprint. If your home’s photos (both drone and still), virtual tour, website penetration, Facebook and Instagram presence are not top notch, it will cost you showings and limit your ability to sell. I see it all the time, bad photos and a lame virtual tour… there is no excuse in today’s day and age. If your home has a bad/subpar electronic footprint then you are entering a street fight with a patch over one eye and one arm tied behind your back. There really is no excuse for a poorly executed electronic presence, but you would be amazed at how bad some are. Your homes electronic footprint has to be spot on! 

Hope these help and although there are many more super important tips, these will ensure that you get off to a great start when buying or selling and also make sure you seem super smart and keen to your friends! Lastly, it is Fathers Day! Time to thank dear old dad for all he has done over the years. Remember, its hard work being a dad and none of us came with an instruction manual. Stop long enough to say “I love you” and “thanks for being my dad” and I bet by doing so it might make the day for both of you! 

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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We've lowered our home's list price, but it still won't sell. What now?

Dave,

We placed our home up for sale almost 3 weeks ago. Our Realtor started out $10,000 higher than what we had suggested and what the community comps had shown. We have had 8 showings and one open house, of which she said had been one of the best she had had in a long time. After much discussion and listening to reviews, we lowered the price and even added a $2,000 concession for counters. Ours have not been updated and we wanted them to be able to pick. That was after it had been on the market for two weeks. Our Realtor has brought no one in to see the house and we are just really frustrated as to how we can help ourselves.

Debra, Grand Junction

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Debra,

I understand your angst, but you must realize that pricing can be more difficult than one would think. It’s not always hard, but sometimes the right price can prove to be quite elusive! This is the classic “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” pricing scenario and I can totally relate with your agent. It’s our job to get you (our sellers) as high a price as we possibly can and still remain within the limits of the market. We each do our best to read the tea leaves and come up with a price that will sell quickly (I generally try to anticipate no more than 60 days on market), but also maximize your money! Keep in mind that our real estate market is, depending on the price point, moving rapidly and prices are climbing!

The scenario you have laid out is actually quite common. Your Realtor starting out $10k above some of your community comps may very well be understandable and actually responsible depending on your price range and how old the community comps used were. Let’s say your home comps out at $250,000. Let’s also assume that price range is appreciating 10% each year (this is very realistic, if not a bit conservative, given our current trend) then your home is gaining nearly $2,100 each month in value. If the comps were 3 months old and you calculate a market time on your home of 60 days, then you have 5 months or $8500 in added value...which now makes a list price of nearly $260,000 quite reasonable given the time of year and the activity in the market. And let’s be honest, as agents we run into very few sellers who are not interested in maximizing the price on their home when selling and we are clearly in a sellers’ market. Let me point out the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” aspect of pricing. Had you put your home on the market and received 7 offers the first day (and this has also happened to me) you would likely be writing in (or at least thinking it) about pricing the home too low and leaving money on the table. No agent likes to be the one that gets 7 offers the first day and no agent likes to have only 3 showings in the first 2 weeks. It’s a fine line that we walk! 

“From what you are describing you and your agent are working together to be proactive and stay ahead of the curve on this one. You are counting your showings, listening to your feedback and reacting promptly and decisively and that is what matters at this point. ”

From what you are describing you and your agent are working together to be proactive and stay ahead of the curve on this one. You are counting your showings, listening to your feedback and reacting promptly and decisively and that is what matters at this point. Your agent has already done an open house and that shows she is willing to work to get your home sold. Remember open houses are great at generating traffic, but not great at generating contracts. Also, try not to hold it against her that she has not brought anyone to see the home, you hired her to generate traffic (regardless of who shows it) and 8 showings in 3 weeks is not great, but not horrible traffic. Sometimes my team will show one of our houses 4 out of 10 times and sometimes 0 out of 10, it's just how the numbers work out sometimes. You are on the right path!

Try to focus on what is in front of you, not what is in the rearview mirror. What has happened over the past 3 weeks is in the past, let it stay there. You have made proactive steps to get your price more in step with the market and offered a good incentive to entice potential buyers. Everyone assumes that if it does not go under contract in 3 days that something is wrong. Sometimes it just takes a little time to find the perfect butt for the saddle and a little patience, a couple deep breaths, and a good night sleep make things look better. Average days on market this year is right about 90 days! That’s average from list to close...21 days is still early in the game. Hang in there! I bet an offer is just around the corner. Remember, your outlook can change in just one showing! Best of luck.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Can we add to our home value by including furniture in the sale of our home?

Dave,

We are considering selling our home and downsizing. We would prefer to sell it fully furnished, as we have purchased furnishings specifically for this house. All our decor has been professionally done, hand selected and very nice. I am sure that it would add value to our home and then we could leave it in the home it was chosen for. What experience have you had with sales such as ours, fully furnished and what advice can you provide? Thank you.

Loretta, Grand Junction

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Loretta,

Sounds like you have a wonderful home and I would bet you have done it beautifully. To be honest, I have not been involved in many sales of fully furnished homes. Selling a home fully furnished can potentially be a good thing, but do not expect to get any real value from your furnishings. Most people would love to have your beautiful furnishings, but will likely be unwilling to pay any “real” sum of money for them, but this also depends on the price range of your home and frankly, the buyer who is purchasing your home.

Often times, when a buyer comes into a home that has been professionally staged and decorated, the furnishings can be distracting because it is so nice! Most buyers say, “This is beautiful, but our furniture and decor is not near this nice...this looks like it is out of a magazine.” They know once the furnishings are removed the home will likely not look nearly as good and they assume (probably correct) and that it will cost them a fortune to get it looking that good again. If your home fits this description then leaving the furniture could be a great move, as long they are not too personalized or will narrow your buyer pool significantly. If everything is done in a western motif, this will appeal to some, but rule out the vast majority.

Remember that if you leave the furniture, you need to be aware that it is considered personal property, which can easily be removed from the home, and the cost of the furniture will not be added into the value of your home. This means that if you are selling your home at market value and leaving what you believe to be $30,000 in decor, the added $30,000 will not be reflected in the appraisal, your appraisal will not be $30,000 more because you left the furniture. The appraisal is used to evaluate the real estate, not the personal property included in the sale. Any personal property included in the sale will have to be given a nominal value as to not impact the appraisal value.   

“A best practice, or one we typically use, is to have your furniture and decor itemized and priced so a prospective buyer can purchase them from you separate from the sale of the home. ”

A best practice, or one we typically use, is to have your furniture and decor itemized and priced so a prospective buyer can purchase them from you separate from the sale of the home. Keep in mind, if you make the list and make it available to the buyer prior to them writing an offer on your home, many of the items on the list are likely to show up in the offer as part of the deal and given no added value. We suggest letting buyers know that you are willing to sell some or all of the furniture and you will make the list available to them after you come to contract terms and you are past the inspection. This will help the negotiating of the contract and your inspection remain centered on the real estate and not the personal property.  

It is NOT a best practice to have family room furniture with a used street value of $1,500 getting in the way of a home sale of $250,000. Adding furniture and personal items to a contract for sale on property often leads down a bad road, where the furniture becomes a problem and all the energy is concentrated on who is going to get the couch and not the home! Best practice is to leave all personal items, including furniture, out of all negotiations until after the home is under contract and you are past the home inspection phase of the transaction. After the home is under contract and both parties have agreed upon the sale price of the home, you can open the door to furniture negotiations. I hope this advice helps make your decision easier and provides some clarity. Best of luck.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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We've had 20 showings, but no offers. Should we hire a new agent?

Dave,

We have had our home for sale for nearly six months with no offers and approximately 20 showings. Our current contract with our real estate agent expires in a couple weeks and we are considering changing agents and going with a new agent and company, although we have enjoyed working with our current agent. We are currently weighing the pros and cons of making a change and are looking for some outside insight to help us make the right decision. Thanks for your help.

— Josh and Brenda, Grand Junction

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Josh and Brenda,

Many times this is a very hard decision to make, especially if you like your current agent. Let me be the first to say, there are times a new agent, new sign and new energy are needed, regardless of how much you may like your current agent and want to stay with him/her.

If you have been on the market for nearly six months, several during winter, and had 20 showings, I would say that your traffic has been pretty good (although that does depend on your price range). It does not sound to me that you can blame your agent for lack of traffic. If you have good traffic, but no offers, it does not directly mean you need a change of agent.

Listen, you hire a real estate agent to drive traffic to your home in the form of showings and it appears he/she has done a good job. Statistically speaking you should get an offer within 12 showings (this is just a guideline I use and a national statistic) and I have found over the years that it really is a pretty good measuring stick as to where my properties stack up in the market. I have found it to be a very good predictor of home pricing vs. the market and if we have had 12+ showings and no offer, it generally means it is time to start considering a price adjustment.

“The good news is, you are getting showings, which means your agent must be doing a good job of marketing your home and that you are not likely very far off.”

The good news is, you are getting showings, which means your agent must be doing a good job of marketing your home and that you are not likely very far off. You can most likely resolve the issue with a moderate price adjustment and scare up an offer fairly soon. If you were not getting showings, this would indicate that the price is probably considerably above market tolerances and will require at least one price reduction of significance.

I will say, there are times a listing just needs new energy and it really can make a difference by changing the agent and or company and pumping some new energy into the property and marketing of your home. It has happened to every agent — the listing that will not sell and you have no idea why — no matter how hard you try, no matter how hard you pray, no matter how hard you beg all the agents who have shown it, sometimes you have one that just will not sell. You will know when your agent has given up, you will not see any advertising, you never hear from them or their staff, your flier box will stay empty etc. You will know at a gut level if you need a change. But if you still enjoy working with them and feel they are doing a good job, stick with them and let them stay on the hunt for a buyer...as long as they are earning it!

Considering you are getting good traffic and you have enjoyed working with your agent, I would suggest you stick with them. I would also suggest you have an open and honest conversation about where you go from here and what the game plan is going to be moving forward to get your home sold. Remember, showings are what you hire your agent to produce! Showings lead to offers and unless there is a pricing or condition issue you should have probably received an offer by now. Best of luck — sounds like you have a good agent doing a good job

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team - REMAX 4000 Inc.

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What do I have to disclose in my Seller's Property Disclosure?

Dave,

A few years ago we had some significant water damage that was done because our next door neighbor left his irrigation sprinklers running overnight and the water flooded his lawn and ran down into our yard and into our basement. We have discussed selling several times since this happened, but are just not quite ready! When discussing this with one of my friends, he said that I would have to disclose the flood when we do decide to sell. I am still not sure I agree with him, as the neighbor's insurance paid the claim and we did not have to file anything with our insurance carrier. Even if the flood was not our fault, was not due to any problem with our house and did not impact our insurance, do I still have to disclose it when we go to sell?

Jerry

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Jerry,

As common practice, I too do not always buy what my friends are selling, however, in this case, I am going to side with your buddy. I have found that the only thing worse than being wrong is being wrong and my buddy being right! All kidding aside, in my opinion, you do need to disclose the flood when/if you decide to sell your home, even if it was not caused by a defect or problem with your home.

In the state of Colorado, each seller is asked to fill out a Sellers Property Disclosure and it is designed to be and give a historical snapshot of your home to a prospective buyer. You should always fill it out to the best of your knowledge and not omit any significant event, even if it was caused by an outside event of which was not related directly to the home. Many problems are caused by outside events, like wind, hail, some fires, floods etc. Look at it like medical records. If you were in a bad car accident at one point in your life, it was the other driver's fault, but you were fully recovered, it would still prove prudent and valuable to your doctor to include this point in time in your medical history. Same is true for your house. The good news, in this instance, the event is easily explainable and apparently has not re-occurred, but most importantly it COULD re-occur and that possibility of re-occurrence is important to relay to a potential buyer. 

“Many sellers are afraid to tell about problems they have had with their home. It is quite similar to kids, no parent wants to disclose that they have had problems with their kids, but all of us have had problems and amazingly in spite of us parents, our kids grow up to be productive members of society even with a few bumps along the way.”

Many sellers are afraid to tell about problems they have had with their home. It is quite similar to kids, no parent wants to disclose that they have had problems with their kids, but all of us have had problems and amazingly in spite of us parents, our kids grow up to be productive members of society even with a few bumps along the way. Very few of us want to disclose that we have problems with our kids or our homes, but we all have problems here and there and it is okay. If you have owned a home for any real length of time and have not had any problems, then you are without a doubt in the minority. On any property disclosure you want to answer each question to the best of your ability and make sure that you provide how each transgression happened and most importantly, how it was repaired or remedied. The solution and fix is more important, in my mind, then the problem. Buyers understand that problems happen and almost always are fine with them as long as the fix was proper and professionally handled. 

The buyer is going to want to see that the problem has been remedied professionally and in the solution there has been some corrective action taken to prevent it from happening again, even if the neighbor is forgetful. This might include a French drain or some kind of grading between the two homes that would divert water out on either side of your home to the street. The bottom line, disclose. If you are wondering if you should disclose, then you probably should disclose. I am sure you can relate to this. If I am wondering to myself, should tell my wife, then I probably should tell her and deal with whatever the repercussions may be up front. It is always easier that way even if it does not always feel easier. It may not be on that same level, but I am sure you see where I am going with this. I hope this helps clear up how to treat disclosure.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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What are common closing expenses for sellers?

Dave,

We are currently in the process of selling our home and it just went under contract—yay! We want to know what to expect financially from this point forward. What are common closing expenses for sellers?

Thanks!
Cheryl, Palisade

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Oh my gosh, this is such a great question and one that I get ALL the time! As a seller you have the privilege of paying the sales commission you agreed to with your listing agent, assuming your home is listed with a Realtor. Costs associated with selling your home that are the seller's responsibility are varied, but you can almost always calculate an additional 1% if your sales price is UNDER $300,000 and .7% if your home is over $300,000. If you calculate it that way you will, almost always, come up with a slight overestimate of your closing costs. 

The most common cost that is overlooked is your property tax. What most people don’t fully realize, as I did not prior to becoming a real estate agent, is that our property taxes are paid in arrears. It’s probably something most folks just don’t think much about and it often times is a bit of a surprise. How it works is, the title company will pro-rate the current taxes from January 1 to the day of closing and you will have that amount debited on your settlement sheet. The two largest debits you will see (outside of real estate commissions and your mortgage payoff) will be the taxes and the title insurance policy. Title insurance simply indemnifies that the title to the property will be passed from you to the new owner in good standing and free of any liens. For a $250,000 home you can expect this expense to be in the $900-$1000 range. These costs are on a sliding scale based on purchase price.

The most discussed fee on the seller's settlement statement is often the charge for water & sewer. The bills for water and sewer, if left unpaid, can be held as a lien against the property and thus MUST be settled at the time of close to ensure the passing of a clean title (as discussed above). In order to ensure that the amount that is owed is covered, the title companies always hold out an amount significantly over (generally around $200) your typical water and sewer bill. This ensures there is enough to pay it off and they will refund the difference back to you shortly after close. This one always creates a fair amount of discussion about how you never have had a bill that high etc., but believe me they will refund you the difference in short order. Always remember that your other services like gas, electric, telephone, television etc. are your responsibility and you should call 24 – 48 hours prior to close and let them know you will be moving and the service will be transferring to a new owner on the date of close.

One last tip. Your mortgage statement always provides a payoff for you to reference, however, the day it is printed you start accruing interest so your payoff is always higher than what is printed on your statement. I always tell our sellers to just add one extra payment to the amount on the settlement statement and that will provide a safe payoff amount. In my experience when closing day comes people are happy they overestimated and get a little money back, rather than under estimate and have to go digging for that little extra! I hope this helps and by following these guidelines you should have a safe estimate of your closing costs. Congratulations on getting your home under contract and best of luck on your new journey!

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Affordable Landscaping Tips with Big ROI

Dear Dave,

I have about $5,000 saved up to do some landscaping around my house this spring/summer. I'm trying to decide what my focus should be for my yard/house. I am only planning on staying in this house a couple more years, so I want to make improvements that add the most value. I would really appreciate your advice on the most important landscaping elements in a yard - front and back. They both need work - I just don’t know where to start or where to focus with my funds.

Thanks,
Bobby - Fruita, CO

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Bobby,

The yard is one of the most overlooked elements of any home, when it comes to potential buyer appeal, so you are wise to pay it some attention and focus some of your resources on your yard. A study done by the University of Michigan showed that buyers valued a well landscaped home by 11.3% more than a home with poor landscaping. Another study done at Virginia Tech determined the value may increase by as much as 12.7% for a home with good landscaping vs. one with minimal or poorly designed landscaping. Here is one more number to ponder…you can expect a 150% return on your landscaping investment. That is what I would call good ROI (return on investment)! Regardless of what number is right and how much of your investment you can expect to get back one thing is very clear, all this data clearly points to the fact that your landscaping is VERY IMPORTANT!

“Regardless of what number is right and how much of your investment you can expect to get back one thing is very clear, all this data clearly points to the fact that your landscaping is VERY IMPORTANT!”

Let’s be honest, $5,000 is not an exorbitant sum of money to invest in your landscaping, but if done wisely can make a big impact on your home’s value and overall appeal and easily provide you with a great ROI! The old adage of, “go big or go home” needs to be in your rear view window, as we are going to be swinging for singles and doubles. Most of these things are not expensive, but will make a significant impact when done in conjunction with one another.

For your front and back yard we are going to mostly keep it simple. Step one is to make sure your yard and beds are weed free and create cleanly defined lines between your grass and beds. Cleanly defined lines make keeping your yard maintained much easier and are pleasing to the eye. With your budget let’s go with the metal edging to help create those boundaries and keep your costs down, but make sure when you do it to edge nicely along the grass for a clean line. Also remember to create a clean edge around your walk ways and sidewalks. Next, make sure to put down good weed barrier and add new rock to your beds to freshen it up. You may have to remove what is there to lay down new weed barrier, but it is likely you can recycle the medium you remove and just add new to it. Again, let’s go for the clean look, but go cost effective by using a small (1/2 – 3/4 inch) river rock or some type of mulch. This will look great and keep your costs down. Next, add some pops of color to your flower beds or by using potted planters around your front door and walk ways. Most homes lack good color in the yard and that is a mistake. Color is what makes the world go round and using it wisely can really help make your yard stand out. 

If you don’t have many/any trees, don’t be afraid to do a little budget splurging on slightly larger trees. I believe spending a bit more on a larger tree (15 gallon size) can help give your yard some dimension and you don’t have to wait as long to see some results. Trees can also be great to help hide or obscure something that you don’t want to see. They can be very good screens to create privacy. 

Lastly, try to keep aside $2,000 (of your allotted $5k) to create something special. Creating an outdoor living or entertaining area is the “wow” factor you need to really take it to the next level. It DOES NOT have to be expensive. It can be a small flagstone or paver patio with fire pit or small water feature. You could build a small raised party deck with some nice lighting that extends your patio and creates some back yard magic! Don’t be afraid to get creative and use resources like Pintrest or Houzz.com to find cool outdoor patio or entertaining area ideas. 

Have a blast with it and send me a picture of before and after! Hope this helps and it turns out great.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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