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6 ways to makeyour garden Spring-ready–
PLUS 5 things to consider before renting your home

Now is the time of year to let your garden "Spring"to life!  

1. Lawn Care. Rakeup all the "thatch"–that's the dried dead grass and weedsmingling with the live grass. Thatch prevents water and nutrients fromgetting into your lawn and stops new seeds from taking root. Next, setyour mower blades high for the first mow, to trim off just thetops. Lastly, if the lawn needs feeding, spread fertilizer, using onewith a weed killer if it's necessary.

2. Prune Trees and Bushes. Trimall limbs and branches that were broken or damaged during the Winter.

3. Weed. Take outweeds before they go to seed. Some weeds produce up to 10,000 seeds, sogetting rid of them now saves you fromdealing with lots more later on. Tip: weeding is much easier when thesoil is wet.

4. Spread Compost or Manure. Whenthe soil has dried sufficiently, work in some manure or compost.

5. Check for Aphids. Asnew spring growth comes in, look for aphids on the underside of leaves.If you see them, find out what to do from the National SustainableAgriculture Information Service by clicking here.

6. Brighten Up. Lookfor places to add some bright new flowers. Perennials that have had atleast a full growing season can be worth the extra cost. They'reheartier and more likely to survive.

THINKING THROUGH RENTING ISSUES

If you're considering renting your home, here are five things to thinkabout:

1. Current Condition. Ifyou've just spent money renovating, you might not want to risk having atenant trash those new upgrades. If you go ahead anyway, collect ahealthy deposit and a rent that protects your investment. On the otherhand, if your home needs fixing, rent it the way it is, then upgrade tosell it.

2. Homework. Talk torental agents and property managers to see what your rental rate would be. Thencalculate how that income would cover your monthlyobligations–mortgage, property taxes, insurance, maintenance,management costs. Ask the experts if there are any rent- oreviction-control ordinances. These laws can sometimes make it veryexpensive to evict even non-paying tenants.

3. Screen Tenants. If youdecide to rent, consider hiring a rental agent or property manager witha strict tenant screening process. Network witheveryone you know. Renting to a friend or a friend-of-a-friend canboost your chances of a good experience.

4. Tenant-Proof. Minimizethe cost of tenant damage by replacing carpet with tile, nicelighting fixtures and window treatments with more ordinary optionsand high-end appliances with bargains from Craigslist. Of course, ifyou're renting a luxury home at a premium, you'll have to keep thosehigh-end features tenants expect.

5. Think About a Lease-Option.Today, a lease with an option to buy can be great for everyone. Youmight get more money, and the tenant gets time to decide. Andlease-option tenants tend to take better care of your home.

If you want to know more about home financing, the housing market inyour area or have anyother related questions, please call or email us. We're always here tohelp.... Have a great day!

PS  Experts saythe housing market appears to be turning around in many places. Mortgage ratesare at historic lows and home prices are very affordable. So this could be a greattime to upsize, downsizeor refinance. Please call or email usnow todiscuss your situation.