2. What you show is what you get!
Faded walls and worn woodwork will reduce the look of your home. Why try to tell a buyer how your home could look, when you can show him how great it does look? Want a quicker sale at a higher price? Invest in some minor redecoration like wallpaper in the kitchen or bathroom. It will pay dividends for you.

3. Let the sun shine in.
Open those drapes and curtains all the way, so the buyer can see how your bright and cheerful home.

4. Fix the leaky faucet
Dripping water discolors sinks and suggests faulty or worn out plumbing. A little effort now will pay off later.

5. Little things mean a lot.
Take a few minutes to check to be sure that your doors don’t stick or have loose knobs on them. Don‘t forget windows and cabinet drawers. Taking care of minor details now will keep your home’s value.

6. Safety first and always!
Keep all visitors safe by making sure stairways are clear and clean. Take care of those slippery area rugs and low-hanging lights to avoid injuries around your home.

7. From top to bottom.
Display your attic, Basement, and other utility space (including crawl spaces) by removing all unnecessary articles. A coat of paint can do wonders if your basement is dark and dreary.

8. Big closets
Make them look bigger by having them neat and well organized to show that your home has ample storage space.

9. Bathrooms sell homes
Make your bathroom sparkle! Check and repair any damaged or discolored caulking in the bathtubs and showers, and be sure that the towels and area rugs are bright.

10. Bedrooms shouldn’t sleep
Keep these rooms bright and cheerful. Remove any excess furniture and be sure and use attractive and colorful bedspreads, and fresh curtains.

11. Shine on
Your home’s illumination can be a welcome sign to that prospective buyer! Turn on all of your outside and inside lights when showing your home at night and they’ll feel a glowing warmth.

12. Two is a couple and threes a crowd
Don’t have too many people present during a home inspection. Buyers could feel uncomfortable and want to hurry through your house.

13. Music soothes the savage beast
But not the buyer. When showing your home, turn off that blaring radio or television. A quiet atmosphere will let your Keller Williams Agent and buyer talk more freely.

14. Curb your dog
A dog is “man’s best friend,” but not when showing your home. Keep all pets out of the way and not underfoot.

15. Silence is golden
Be courteous and friendly, but don’t try to force conversation with a potential buyer. Let them view your home without distraction.

16. Be it ever so humble
There’s no place like home. Never apologize for the appearance of your home. If any objections or derogatory comments are offered, let the experienced Keller Williams Agent answer them – that is their job.

17. Stay in the background
Your Keller Williams Agent knows the buyer’s needs and desires and can better emphasize the virtues
Of your home when you’re not “tagging along.” If there are any questions, he will call you.

18. Don’t put the cart before the horse
Trying to sell to the buyer any of the furniture or furnishings which you’re not taking with you, before they’ve purchased your home, can often lose the sale.

19. Word to the wise
Let your Keller Williams Agent discuss the selling price, terms, possession and other factors with the buyer. They’ve been trained and have experience, so let them bring your negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion.

20. Go ahead and use our agent
We recommend that we show your home to buyers only by appointment through our office. This will help us make the sale more quickly and easily. You’ll appreciate our results..

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The Springs Summit Group is powered by Keller Williams Partners Realty, specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate, Briargate Real Estate and Fort Carson Real Estate.

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When choosing an insecticide, look for one that can be equally effective against a variety of insects.

(NAPS)—Controlling insects can often be easier than many homeowners realize. The key is knowing how to inspect for signs of trouble and what steps to take if there is a threat to your home. Many find that the onset of warmer weather can be an excellent time to begin their annual inspection—both indoors and out.

“Prevention is the best solution for warding off unwanted pests,” said Larry Coltharp, director of insect control research and development with Black Flag. “Spray early in the spring, reinforce protection in the summer during peak insect season, and seal homes in the fall to keep bugs from seeking shelter.”

Here are some tips on what to look for and how to keep pests under control:

• Check walls for cracks and crevices where spiders and ants can enter.
• In the kitchen, check for open containers or water leaks under the sink and other sources of food and water. It’s also a good idea to occasionally check your paper grocery bags to make sure they don’t contain any uninvited guests.
• In addition to attracting mold and mildew, cardboard storage containers can make an attractive shelter for many insects such as roaches, silverfish and scorpions. Some insects will even feed on cardboard. Check yours regularly.
• Using caulk, expanding foam or steel wool, seal up spaces around pipes and any place where electrical wiring enters the home.
• In the house, keep trash in a closed container until it goes outside.
• When it comes to choosing an insecticide, one size rarely fits all. Often, insecticides are developed to address a specific pest or type of insect. One exception may be a powerful household pest control formula that offers home protection against more than 40 different types of insects.

According to Coltharp, the advanced Home Insect Control system offers homeowners an effective and affordable solution for pest control. Said Coltharp, “Black Flag Home Insect Control features our exclusive pump spray that delivers up to 10 minutes of continuous spraying after just a few pumps. It’s unique formulation characteristics will keep the insecticide particles on the surface of treated areas to give better insect control. Homeowners can cover more area in less time and with less effort.”

For maximum protection, Coltharp recommends applying the spray around the perimeter of the house, indoors and out. In addition, he believes do-it-yourselfers will save more than $100—the average cost of using a pest control service for treatment.

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The event is held in Memorial Park off Pikes Peak Avenue between Hancock Ave. and Union Blvd near the shores of Prospect Lake. Mass ascensions with over 100 balloons are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings with a Balloon Glo® scheduled for Saturday and Sunday evenings. Each year a variety of concessions are available and entertainment is provided during each event.

The Colorado Balloon Classic (a division of Colorado Springs Balloon Classic, Inc.) was organized in 1977 and has grown to be the largest and the longest continuously running hot air balloon festival in the Rocky Mountain Region as well as the State of Colorado. The Colorado Balloon Classic is an annual family event – admission is free – held each Labor Day weekend.

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1.    What look are you going for?

What’s your style and how do the latest flooring trends fit into that style? Is your home’s decor casual, formal, exotic? Do you want a luxurious traditional look?
You may be able to achieve a luxurious look for less with affordably priced flooring products. For example, laminate is no longer the only wannabe flooring product out there. Many of the replica floors debuting this season look so close to the real thing, you may have to get on your hands and knees to determine authenticity.

Let your imagination run wild. If you want to go glam, consider gold leaf marble tiles. If you want to go green, there’s renewable bamboo and cork flooring in dynamic textures and brilliant hues, including pinks, greens, blues and even purples.

To determine what’s right for you, use helpful resources such as WFCA.org, the site created by the World Floor Covering Association.

The new site showcases an ever-changing lineup of content including design articles and advice from Annette Callari, A.S.I.D., the latest in floor trends, as well as consumer-relevant industry updates.

It also features a cutting-edge interactive design tool, Virtual Designer by EcoColor, that allows visitors to view hundreds of different floor styles in rooms that resemble their own. The tool allows visitors to match grout color, lay down an area rug over their newly designed floor, and change cabinets and wall and ceiling colors from a selection of Benjamin Moore Paints.

2.    What will the room be used for?

Carpeting may be just the thing in a bedroom or guest room, but will it remain pristine in the playroom? Highly trafficked areas or rooms—such as the kitchen or bathroom—where the floor is exposed to spills and must be cleaned often, may be better suited to ceramic or porcelain.

Another option for kitchens and bathrooms is resilient vinyl flooring. Easy to keep clean, it’s durable, water resistant and doesn’t fade, stain or dent.

Since resilient vinyl flooring comes in sheets, planks and tiles (VCT, or Vinyl Composition Tiles), there’s lots of room for self-expression. Resilient vinyl floors are flexible and soft to walk on—and, like carpet, can go on a subfloor that isn’t perfectly level.

3.    What flooring materials are available?

Learning more about available flooring products may offer a surprising selection. For example, tigerwood-look bamboo offers eye-catching contrasting shades by combining both natural and carbonized strand bamboo.

A popular trend these days is international woods. You can find them in their authentic format as well as look-alike products such as ipe, wenge, merbau and teak.

4.    What’s your budget?

Figure out how much you can spend. Are you planning on doing the labor or do you want someone to install the flooring for you? If you decide to hire a professional in­staller, get more than one es­timate before finalizing your budget. Ask for referrals.
Factor in the cost of floor preparation, furniture removal and replacement. You may be able to use an online calculator to arrive at a working estimate.

5.    What’s the best way to clean your new flooring?

Before you invest in new flooring, ask about the best way to clean it.

6.    How green can you go?

There are many renewable and recycled materials you can use for flooring. Besides bamboo and cork, a new greener alternative—that also offers cost savings—is thinner hardwood flooring, which uses up less of the tree and can lower the cost of the floor by about 20 percent.

For the well-worn look, woods are being sourced from old barns, sheds and mills, where it has been naturally weathered over decades and even centuries.

7.    Is my flooring installation DIY or should I hire a professional?

You can find answers to all these questions and learn how to master all the stages of flooring at www.wfca.org. The WFCA is the floor covering industry’s largest advocacy organization representing specialty floor covering retailers, cleaners, in­stallers, manufacturers and distributors around the globe.

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Number of Homes sold in Colorado Springs = 517
Average sold price in Colorado Springs = $219,705
Homes sold for about 97% of their asking price.
Average days on the market = 87

This report is for all single family homes sold in Colorado Springs.

A bit of a drop in the number of homes sold and the price compared to last month.

The market is getting better. Now is a great time to buy a home.
Buy now while the rates are still low!

Search for homes for sale in Colorado Springs
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*Days on Market = How many days the home was actively for sale before the home sellers accepted an offer.

Related articles

• Colorado Springs, real estate market report for May 2011 (springssummitgroup.wordpress.com)
• City of Colorado Springs, real estate market report for June 2011 (springssummitgroup.wordpress.com)

Click HERE for more information on this property or send an email to learn more!

Click HERE to view this Listing’s Website.

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26 August 2011 08:00 AM to 05 September 2011 12:00 AM

The Colorado State fair has been an annual tradition since 1872. The exposition operated with varying degrees of success at the Lake Minnequa grounds and soon after the turn of the century, somewhere around 1901, moved the present 80-acre site.

At this time the show was operated by the State Fair Association, a non-profit organization owned by Pueblo people who were anxious to see the exposition survive. These folks, in 1903,
were successful in getting a state appropriation to pay the agriculture and horticulture premiums. This assistance meant much to the struggling exposition and it was able to carry on a few more years.

The campaign to secure additional state assistance with a degree of success, at least encouragement, in 1915 when the state legislature voted an appropriation for the State Fair. Governor Carlson went into office on an economy platform, however, lopped a $10,000 appropriation from the State Fair, via he veto method, and the exposition received another set-back.

Real action came in 1917, when the late Senator W. O. Peterson, Senator Frank H. Means – who is now manager of the fair, Perry Dunlap and other fighters succeeded in getting a State Fair Commission created.

Pueblo Folks deeded the 80-acre tract to the State. The fair, in addition to receiving official recognition by the appointment of a commission, received a mill levy of .01 of a mill for operation and maintenance.

And that was the real beginning of the State Fair. Its growth and development since that time – especially in recent years – is well known to most persons…

The State Fair of today, with its 80 acres packed to the brim with something doing every minute…its paved streets and concrete sidewalks…its fine buildings…its shady parks…its splendid program and national reputation, stand as a monument to those men who, in 1879, decided that the products of this vast empire should be displayed to the world.”

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Neighborhood: Stratton Meadows

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Related articles

• Colorado Springs, Fort Carson real estate market report for June 2011 (springssummitgroup.wordpress.com)

Click HERE for more information on this property or send an email to learn more!

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The Springs Summit Group is powered by Keller Williams Partners Realty, specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate, Briargate Real Estate and Fort Carson Real Estate.

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Related articles

• Colorado Springs, Fort Carson real estate market report for June 2011 (springssummitgroup.wordpress.com)

Click HERE for more information on this property or send an email to learn more!

Click HERE to view this Listing’s Website.

Thank you for reading our Colorado Springs Real Estate blog!

The Springs Summit Group is powered by Keller Williams Partners Realty, specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate, Briargate Real Estate and Fort Carson Real Estate.

Give us a call today!719-651-0085