Real Estate Information Archive

The fifth annual Hasbrouck Heights Street Fair is slated for Sunday. Rain or shine, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, the Fair is a wonderful way to spend the day with family and friends. As always there will be rides and amusements, top entertainment, street performers, children's stage, and many other features - all FREE! The following video was from the 2011 Fair.

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This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

The idea of living in a castle might sound medieval to most people. But for those with a zest for adventure and extravagance, your next home might just be a castle. And you don’t have to move to Europe to find an available castle, either. There are American castles, and some of them are on the market today.

For example, a mere $4.85 million will put you into a 24,000 square foot replica 18th century Spanish palace, complete with a small-scale version of the Bristol Speedway NASCAR track. The castle is located on 13-acres in Johnson City, in Eastern Tennessee. The estate features nine bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, a billiards room with an imported English pub, a theater, and a master suite with his and her closets and bathrooms.

Austin, Texas is home to another fine example. This 16,722 square foot villa features Gothic arches and touches of Tuscany. Seven bedrooms, ten baths, seven fireplaces, a huge swimming pool and a nine car garage are included. Located in the prestigious Barton Creek subdivision, this castle will only set you back $9.7 million dollars.

If you’d rather be on the West Coast, there’s always the circular stone fortress on 20 acres of forest northeast of Seattle. The interior is an open floor plan, with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a hot tub and a sauna.  All at a much more reasonable $1.395 million dollars, too!

A little closer to home and much more down to earth, finding the perfect house can be a perfectly medieval quest if you’re not prepared. There are a lot of factors that have to be taken into account to make a wise choice. If you’re finding the process to be overwhelming, let me help. You may only buy a few houses in a lifetime, but I've had lots of experience helping families find a new home. Working together, we can formulate a plan that covers all the important aspects of finding a new home. These include, but are not limited to:

• Neighborhood characteristics and amenities
• Local schools
• Traffic patterns
• Shopping areas
• Restaurants and shopping districts

After deciding what’s important for your family, it won’t be long until we’ll be looking at the possibilities.  And while it might be fun to say you live in a castle, it’s even better to say you found the perfect house and got a great deal. Let’s make that happen for you!

This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

​If the art of dance is your ticket, you don't want to miss the stunningly beautiful choreography on stage this weekend in Newark. The New Jersey Performing Arts Center is presenting a Mother's Day weekend special engagement with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. There are shows scheduled for 8pm Friday and Saturday, and Sunday at 3pm.  Tickets range from $29 to $90 and can be purchased on the NJPac website.

This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

Many people who love fresh herbs and vegetables find themselves jealously watching their neighbors working in their gardens every year. We don't all have available or suitable ground for our own gardens. Factors including a lack of space, soil quality and too much shade can keep would-be gardeners out of business every year.

Of course, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And if you just can’t stand the thought of not growing your own veggies and herbs during the summer, you might have to consider some unconventional gardening techniques.

One of the most popular options for gardeners with no ground space is container gardening. Some folks build their own wooden containers to suit their needs, while others simply buy large enough containers at a garden supply store.  Enterprising container gardeners will base their crops on wheels, and move them about to get the best sun on a daily basis. Purpose-built containers, nicely painted or stained, can be a permanent addition to your landscaping features. Smaller containers and pots can be moved to places where they get both good light and add to the beauty of your home.

Other gardeners turn to hanging their growing treasures for porches and roofs.  Tomato planters that hang upside down have been popular for years. You can buy them ready to go, or even make your own. Hanging planters filled with basil or oregano instead of ferns are also popular. The convenience of stepping out onto the porch for a few snips of parsley is nothing to be dismissed in the deep heat of summer!

Hanging gardens do require a bit more focus than a traditional garden. Because they are above ground, plants in containers dry out far more quickly than if they were in the ground. This means you need to monitor the moisture in your hanging gardens on a daily basis. Carefully read the guidance on each plant in your hanging garden to make sure you keep its individual watering correct. It might become a bit tedious, but it won’t take much to stress the plants, or even kill them, if it isn't watered properly.

There are a lot of benefits to gardening in these ways. Not the least of which is the added beauty of green, growing plants and the delightful aroma of fresh herbs. They’ll always make a positive impact on potential buyers, and so they should not be overlooked for that purpose. It's just one of many ways we can make your house stand out on the market. Contact me today and let's sell your house!

This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

​As we ease into warmer weather, we approach the terrible discomfort of allergy season. Every Spring, millions of Americans suffer through the sneezing, itching, wheezing and coughing cause by allergies to pollen, mold and dust-mites, among other things. They turn to their doctors and pharmacists for help dealing with the symptoms. But what can you do to make your home allergen free? As it turns out, plenty!

Bedrooms

• Keep the windows closed.
• Vacuum carpets twice a week with HEPA-Filter vacuum.
• Wash bed linens once a week in hot water, and blankets and mattress pads twice a month.
• Wash curtains and blinds once a a month, or replace them with shades.
• Cover beds and pillows with dust-mite and allergen-impermeable covers.
• Dust with a damp rag - You want to capture dust particles, not stir them up into the air!
• Change your air filters every month to six weeks.
• Keep pets out. Pets are magnets for dust and they'll undermine all your other efforts if you let them in the bedroom.

Bathrooms

• Make sure you run the fan when you shower.
• No wallpaper. It's a perfect place for mold to hide behind.
• No wall-to-wall carpet. Bath mats washed once a week
• Wash bath towels once a week in hot water.
• Wash shower curtains once a month.
• Clean your toothbrush holder!

Kitchens

• Don't leave food or dirty dishes out.
• Clean refrigerator spills right away to avoid mold.
• Run the exhaust fan when cooking to reduce moisture.
• Replace carpet in the kitchen with tile or hardwood floors.
• Scrub the garbage can and deodorize your garbage disposal.

More Help

This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

The 6th Annual Waldwick 5K Run & 1 Mile Walk takes place Sunday, hosted by the Waldwick Chamber of Commerce. Race registration starts at 7:30 am at Waldwick High School. The 5K Run starts at 9:00 am and the 1 Mile Walk starts at 9:30. There are multiple prizes for overall and age group winners, and the David Dunne Memorial Spirit Award will be given to the first place winner of the 5K Run. Over the past few years, the Waldwick Run has become one of the most popular road races in Bergen County. This event attracts participants from Waldwick, as well as runners from throughout North Jersey and beyond. This year they are anticipating 1,000 runners and walkers to take part in this exciting community event.

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This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

​The New Jersey Association of Verisimo Opera presents an afternoon of opera this Sunday at BergenPAC [map]. I PAGLIACCI is set in Calabria, where an actor's passions end in tragedy when intertwined with deadly real life consequences. GIANNI SCHICCHI is a dark comedy full of snobbery, humor, and grasping behavior - all efforts to change a dead man's will! Tickets range from $25 to $55 and can be purchased at TicketMaster.

This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

There are ten good reasons you should consider pressure washing your home this spring. Those ten reasons are: Mold, mildew, wind, rain, hail, dirt, tree sap, insects, rodents and birds. All of them take a toll on the exterior of your home, from the top of the roof to the foundation.  You can certainly hire someone to do the work for you, but you might be able to save money in the long-run by investing in a pressure washer and doing the work yourself.

Pressure washers can be powered by gasoline or electricity. They can be had for around $100 up to thousands of dollars. A washer costing $200 to $300 will be just right for a normal home. You might only use it a couple of times a year, but after a couple of years, a quality pressure washer will have paid for itself.

Pressure washing is great for a variety of exterior treatments, including siding, stucco or brick. Each type requires a different approach. A good overview of the process can be found on the Lowe’s website or the WikiHow site.

Of course, make sure to close windows and doors, cover external lights and plants before you start. If your house is painted with a lead-based paint, you should not pressure wash it. If you’re not sure, contact a professional for an inspection.

Pressure washing should be an essential step in staging your home for potential buyers.  If you’re thinking about selling, contact me and we’ll talk about other important elements of staging your home.

This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

Friday night, the Hackensack Riverkeeper's will be roasting Riverkeeper Captain Bill Sheehan. The steak dinner event also includes a raffle and special guest NBC Correspondent Brian Thompson. The Fundraiser is being held Friday night at the Empire Club at 136 Mehrhof Road in Little Ferry. Tickets are $60 at the door, $50 in advance.

And then on Saturday, it's time to get to work. The Hackensack Riverkeeper 2013 Clean-Up Season Kick-Off gets underway at 11:00 a.m. at Losen Slote Creek Park on Mehrhof Road [map].

For more, see the website at http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org/.

This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.

​When you put your house on the market, you're inviting people to consider what living in your home might be like for them. And you need to make that experience as positive as possible. Home Staging is the process of doing just that: Giving the buyer a great first impression. I can help you assess what needs to be done, but here are some of the most important things to remember:

Keep it Neat and Spacious

Most of us just can't help ourselves, and over time we accumulate more and more stuff. Unfortunately, finding a place to store stuff can be a problem. Before a buyer walks in your front door, you need to find a place for as much of your stuff as possible, and that place should be somewhere besides your house. Put almost everything you don't need for day-to-day living in a rental storage space.

Keep it Light

Pull back the curtains and open the blinds. Let the sun fill your home with natural light and bright open spaces. Make sure all your lights have working bulbs. 

Keep it Clean

You need to be vigilant about keeping the entire house clean. Even people who can't keep their own homes clean will notice that yours is dirty if they're walking through as potential buyers. After you've cleared out the non-essential clutter, you may want to invest in a deep cleaning service. 

Keep Yourself Out

One of the most common staging mistakes is leaving all of your personal photos, keepsakes and mementos out. You may have a great life your home, but a potential buyer doesn't want to see how you live. They want to imagine themselves living in your house, with their own furniture and their own stuff.

Home Staging is an important part of the process of selling your home. Whether you hire an expert or do it yourself, taking the time and energy to make a great first impression can be the key to closing the deal.

This blog is maintained by Michael of Kim Hughes & Company.