Tips for Fall Home Maintenance

Continue to mow your lawn until the first frost. Remove the leaves when your grass has stopped growing.

• Those falling leaves will eventually clog your gutters and downspouts. Not cleaning your gutters can damage your homes foundation. Schedule gutter cleaning with a professional before winter arrives.




• Clean your outdoor furniture, and refinish it if necessary, to prevent rust and damage from freezing. If you store your outdoor furniture inside for the winter (which is recommended, if at all possible) allow for some airflow. Encasing the furniture tightly in plastic could lead to moisture damage.




• Schedule any indoor painting you need done. The weather is usually ideal for leaving windows open for ventilation.




• Properly discard or store paint, caulk or adhesives in a heated area to prevent them from freezing. Call your local hazardous material removal service for instructions on discarding products that could be toxic. Drain all gasoline containers, including lawn mowers and other gasoline-powered tools.




• Check insulation in your attic, basement and other areas for any dirty spots, which often indicate air leaks into or out of your home. If you find any holes, seal them with caulk.




• You can save 10 percent or more on your energy bill by reducing air leaks in your home, so take a look around for drafts around doors and windows and seal those you find. One easy way to test for air leaks is to hold a lit stick of incense around windows and doors. Drafts will cause the smoke to drift with the current. Pay special attention to any airflow beneath your doors, as opening and closing often causes door sweeps to wear out.




• With dark days ahead, exterior lighting is very important. Check all your bulbs and consider using timers to turn lights on at dusk and off in the morning.




• Before you light the first log, get your chimney cleaned and make any necessary repairs. Fireplaces that are used regularly during the season should have an annual cleaning to prevent chimney fires.

List is from http://www.diyclick.com/ or http://www.angieslist.com/

Mum's the Word

If you're like me, you love the colors of fall mums, but can't keep anything alive! I would love to plant some fall flowers but let's be honest, with my luck, they're dead in a week. That's why I think I've decided to buy some potted mums for my front door, to bring in a little color! For some reason I feel like I can keep a potted flower alive for longer and I don't have to get my hands dirty!

I found a great article in the Oklahoman today by Rod Moesel that says, "Hardy mums are stars of the fall garden. Many varieties are bursting into color, and most will stay showy until the first hard freeze in November. You can buy them now, in color, at your local nursery. They are available in hundreds of varieties and a rainbow of colors including yellow, bronze, ruby red, pink, orange, white and lavender."

So I may go out and look for some beautiful fall potted flowers today, those displays at Under the Sun are just too gorgeous!

Heidi Rose Rocks!

If you haven't met our Buyer's Specialist yet, you're missing out! Not only is she a top expert in Real Estate, but she's a great co-worker and friend as well! She actually was my Realtor a couple of years ago when my husband and I bought our first home. She was so easy to work with and was so knowledgeable about the entire buying process! For first time homeowners like us, that was a plus! We really appreciated having someone as experienced as Heidi on our side. So, if you're a buyer looking for a great Realtor, look no further! Call Heidi Rose at 330-2626 or visit her blog at http://helpingbuyersinedmond.blogspot.com/.

Fall Decorating

Since it's officially fall, I got my fall decorating box out yesterday. I realized that I don't have very many fall decorations and buying them can get expensive. I see really gorgeous wreaths at different stores, but they're so expensive that I can't bring myself to buy one! So, here are some tips on how to make your own wreath. This one is for fall, but I think it could go all the way through winter if you stick with the red color scheme. I got this idea from the Better Homes & Gardens website, where there are lots of fun crafting ideas!


Huckleberry Wreath
1. Insert the branches into a round plastic-foam base, or use a bit of glue to hold the pieces more securely in place.
2. Attach winterberries, highbush cranberries, sumac leaves, and dried amaranthus as the finishing touch.

Updating the exterior of your home with the seasons really makes your home stand out, especially if it's on the market, so get out there and "fall into decorating!"

Nice Family Home in Northridge

Just look at the details in this super clean home in Northridge. Features include: tile, neutral carpet, 4 beds, 2 baths, 1 living, 1 dining and a 2 car garage. This ~1,883 sq. ft. beauty with large master suite has great curb appeal with gorgeous landscaped front and extra large backyard with patio. To see more pictures of this home, go to the visual tour. Call us at 405-330-2626 and ask for the Atchley Group to see this home in person!

More News About How Great Oklahoma Is!!!

Did you hear this on the Today show this morning? Florida real estate is showing a 1 to 66 foreclosure ratio currently. That means for every 66 homes -- 1 is facing the dreadful loss. Nationwide the average is 1 to 416. Now for the really fantastic news-- Oklahoma is 1 to 1,200 homes. Yes, you heard correctly. We are seeing no more than 1 foreclosure for every 1,200 homes in the state. Isn't great to live in Oklahoma where real estate is still a great investment.

Big fans!

Here are some quotes from some recent Atchley Group customers:

"Heidi Rose ROCKS!! She really went out of her way to help us." - Danielle Kanclerowicz"

"The whole process of buying a house in Oklahoma was made easier because of the communication between my husband and myself with Darcy. He promptly sent us emails when necessary and also kept us updated with photos of our home in progress. We trusted Darcy every step of the way to take care of us, our experience was a 10!" - Bill and Donna Miller

3300 Cumberland in Fairfax!

Great new Calvin Vorderlandwehr home! With 4 bedrooms, each having their own private bathroom, this home is just right! Designer details throughout make it the perfect family home. Features include a gourmet kitchen with center island, breakfast bar and double ovens, upstairs game room with a deck and view of the golf course, 3 car garage, wood and carpet flooring, and combination woodwork. This home is a must see! Call us today to set up a private viewing of this outstanding new home in the Fairfax Estates golf and residential community!

Great to be in Oklahoma!

Don’t listen to the national media -- Oklahoma is number one in nation for home value gains! This comes at a time when homeowners in other parts of the country are wondering what happened to their equity, reports Gary Atchley.
“Slow and steady was our pace and it still is. Bottom line, our prices are still on the rise and this may be the best time to buy.”
Our state led the nation in appreciation, first among the 50 states, for the period ending June 30th. With values in a historic general national decline in some of the country, and in a freefall in select states, values in Oklahoma rose 4.9 percent in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2007, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Home Price Index. Nationally, values fell 1.7 percent during the same period. The U.S. purchase-only index tumbled 4.8 percent over the year, the agency reported.
Oklahoma reports 2 strong markets - Oklahoma City and Tulsa. In fact, Tulsa ranked 10th among metro areas, with an increase of 4.87 percent. Specifically, our area in Oklahoma City ranked 17th with an increase of 4.68 percent. Quarter to quarter, Tulsa values increased 0.91 percent and Oklahoma City values increased 1.87 percent, the federal agency reported.
This echoed second-quarter statistics from the National Association of Realtors. Oklahoma City and Tulsa were among 35 metro areas that showed gains in median home prices in the second quarter. Oklahoma City's median price of $131,000 was 1.3 percent higher than the $129,300 recorded in the second quarter of 2007 and 4.8 percent higher than the $124,900 recorded in the first quarter.
Oklahoma is very fortunate. This is the eighth straight year we are seeing steady increases in home appreciation. We have not experienced the sharp increases or decreases in home values that have occurred elsewhere. On the contrary, we have continued to see slight but steady growth during these uncertain times for other markets. This dynamic is fueled by the fact that our market is made up of solid demand from home owners rather than from real estate speculators, adds Gary.
Nationally however, there is a lot of gloom and doom in the news. “Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper everyday,” stated Phil Gramm, top
economic advisor to Sen. John McCain. The US economic situation has been portrayed in the media as being brought about by the rising cost of oil and the “burst bubble” in the housing market. While cost of oil hangs at near record levels, the housing market is really a nationwide problem? You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” said Gramm in July.
Isn’t it wonderful to be in Oklahoma!!!