Author: Shannon

3 FAQ on selling a home and the answers you need

You have questions and we have the answers. If you’re thinking of selling your home, read on.

1. Is there a best time of the year to sell a home?

Although homes sell year ‘round, the “best” time to sell depends on several factors. If your need is for speed, put the home on the market in winter. Surprised?

Homes for sale in winter have a 9 percent better chance of selling, they sell one week faster than during the other three seasons and they generally bring in more money. These statistics apply to all regions of the country, from the frigid northeast to balmy Waikiki.

When November rolls around, home sales tend to decrease about 8 percent. By January, we’ll have seen another 19 percent decrease. And, it only makes sense. With the media constantly harping on how winter is such a horrible time to sell, homeowners typically ride out the winter and wait until spring to list their homes.

This leaves the winter seller with less competition. And, since winter buyers are generally more motivated than those who shop during other seasons, having less competition in the market is a good thing.

The next best time to sell a home is fall, according to the National Association of Realtors. They cite the facts that fall buyers want to get into their new homes before the holidays and the weather is still conducive to house hunting.

Sure, you can put your home on the market in the busiest season, from May through August. That’s when 40 percent of all home sales occur. But, remember, you’ll have lots of competition, so if you need to sell quickly your home will need to be carefully prepared for marketing.

2. How will you determine what our price should be?

First, real estate agents don’t determine a home’s price. We can calculate its current market value and advise you of that figure or range of figures. It’s up to the homeowner to determine the home’s list price, however.

We carefully study recent sale figures and also take a look at pending sales and current listings, just to get a feel of where the market might be heading.

Comparing homes, analyzing the current market and crunching the numbers, we’ll arrive at what we feel is the current market value of the home. Our system is very much like what the bank’s appraiser will perform, although the information we provide you is not to be considered an “appraisal.” It’s merely our opinion of your home’s market value.

By the way, we offer a free evaluation of your home’s current market value. No strings attached. You are under no obligation to use our services when you list your home for sale.

3. How long will it take to sell my home?

We get this question frequently and it’s a tough one to answer. There are lots of variables to consider, including:

  • The state of the housing market
  • Your list price
  • Your real estate agent’s marketing plan

These are just three of the variables. We’re happy to discuss all of them with you, at your convenience. Feel free to contact us.

Easy-care plants that bloom all summer long

Think summer blooming plants are high maintenance? Think again; many plants offer up copious and colorful blooms, asking for little in return.

We’ve consulted with the experts to find easy-care plants with dependable summer bloom periods to share with you.

Happy planting!

Blanket Flower

The blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora), a prolific bloomer, is related to the sunflower.

And, if you’re hoping to attract butterflies into the garden this summer, blanket flower is the plant for you.

Flowers resemble daisies and bloom in red, yellow and orange. To keep them coming, deadhead (remove spent flowers) the plant regularly.

You’ll find few pests, other than aphids. Use insecticidal soap spray to defeat the little buggers.

Blanket flower is hardy to USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 through 9.

Candytuft

Yes, it resembles alyssum, but candytuft (Iberis spp.) is alyssum on steroids. Like alyssum, candytuft hugs the ground and spreads. Unlike its lookalike, however, candytuft bears fragrant flowers. Use it as a border specimen, on slopes or in containers.

Although it’s an easy-care plant, ensure that the soil it’s planted in drains well and, if you live in a dry climate, provide shade in the afternoon and keep an eye on the soil’s moisture content. Candytuft is hardy to USDA zones 3 through 9.

Canna

You’ll often hear the canna (Canna spp.) described as a “canna lily,” despite the plant not being related to lilies. Canna is a genus that includes 10 species of spectacularly flowering plants. Although its large leaves and colorful flowers evoke the tropics, cannas are perfectly suited to more temperate zones.

Speaking of foliage, some varieties have leaves as colorful as the flowers, in hues of red, purple and even variegated.

Plant your canna rhizomes in early summer in an area that receives lots of sunshine and has well-draining soil.

To get them to remain in bloom all summer, give them at least one inch of water per week – more if the weather is particularly warm. Deadhead by cutting the tall flower stalk down to the foliage to encourage the canna to rebloom.

Canna is hardy to USDA zones 8 through 11.

 Daylily

If you’re a beginning gardener, you can’t go wrong with the daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) They require little care and the payoff is an abundance of gorgeous flowers, all summer long.

In fact, “some will even give 800 flowers in a single summer!” according to American Meadows, an online plant nursery.

Depending on variety, daylilies bloom in shades of red, yellow, orange, pink, purple and even variegated flowers.

Plant your daylily in an area that receives at least 6 hours of sun per day and plan on keeping the soil somewhat moist. Add compost to the soil when planting and you won’t need to fertilize the plant at all.

Daylilies are hardy to USDA zones 3 through 9.

Pelargonium

Like the aforementioned canna, when you grow pelargonium (Pelargonium spp.) you have the added bonus of attractive foliage.

Two of the most popular include Pelargonium x hortorum (which may be labeled at the nursery as a “zonal geranium”) and P. peltatum, also known as ivy geranium for its cascading habit.

Despite the nicknames, neither of these plants is a true geranium, although they do look similar.

Pelargonium look amazing in containers or in beds and require little care as long as you incorporate lots of organic matter into the soil at planting time and protect them from high summer heat by providing shade in the afternoon.

Water when the soil is dry to about an inch deep and deadhead throughout the season to ensure continuous bloom.

Shasta Daisy

If you’re looking for a summer bloomer that will provide flowers to cut, consider growing the Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum). Known as “the classic summer flower,” it’s a low-maintenance bloomer through fall.

If you are looking for something for the cut-flower garden, this is it. Grow in full sun and provide an inch of water a week.

 

Buying and selling homes is alive and well during the pandemic

As a real estate consumer, you need to know that the housing market is currently one of the bright spots in the U.S. economy.

Surprised? You’re not alone.

Sure, the processes have changed a bit and some lenders have changed their lending standards, but overall, the real estate market looks very much like the pre-pandemic market.

If you’re considering buying or selling a home in the near future, read on to learn about some of the changes.

The national market, in a nutshell

While March and April home sales plummeted, there are nuggets of wonder in the rest of the statistics.

Want to hear something surprising? Demand for homes is higher now that it was before the lockdown and prices continue to rise.

In fact, homebuyers vastly outnumber sellers in the current market. “More than 41% of homes faced a bidding war in the four weeks ending May 10,” according to Diana Olick at CNBC.com, citing a recent study.

For comparison, only 9% of homes for sale experienced bidding wars in January, pre-U.S. pandemic.

To add to the excitement, “mortgage applications from buyers jump 11%,” according to the folks at CNBC.com.

The authors add that they expect the frenzy to continue as the lockdown is eased. Perhaps then those wanting to sell will jump back into the market. We need homes to sell to these eager buyers.

Speaking of mortgages

With the volume of forbearance request rolling in, mortgage lenders decided enough was enough and began tightening lending standards.

Down payment requirements are higher and some have upped their minimum credit score requirement.

JP Morgan Chase & Co., for instance, announced that it is raising the minimum credit score they will accept to 700 and increased the minimum down payment from 3.5% to 20%.

Since Chase is the nation’s largest lender, others are following suit.

“Wells Fargo and US Bank both adjusted their minimum score requirement to 680 (including for FHA and VA loans, which typically feature credit-score requirements as low as 580),” according Natalie Campisi at Inquisitor.com.

If you are considered a credit risk, the best thing to do is work on your credit score. Check back here in the next week or two when we’ll be showing you some quick ways to raise your score.

Thinking of selling? You need to know about this

If you are thinking of selling, let’s get that home on the market sooner, rather than later, and here’s why:

“Home prices will hold up, at least through the summer, but declines are coming,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics tells Bloomberg.com’s Noah Buhayar, Prashant Gopal, and John Gittelsohn.

If you’re in forbearance, you may also find challenges to getting the home sold if you wait. It turns out that the section of the Fair Credit Reporting Act that was amended by the CARE Act has a glitch.

While the CARE Act requires lenders to report mortgages in forbearance as current, many lenders are labeling these mortgages as being in forbearance when they submit them to the credit reporting agencies.

FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Department of Veterans Affairs don’t allow those in forbearance to obtain a new loan or even refinance until at least one year after they’re caught up on payments.

If you decide to sell, you’ll be able to take advantage of the sellers’ market that is happening right now.

More questions about buying or selling real estate during the pandemic? Reach out to us – we love to talk about real estate!

A Baby Boomer’s Guide to Aging in Place

As real estate agents, it’s only natural that we’d rather you sell your home than remain in it, “aging in place.”

The fact is, however, almost 90 percent of baby boomers older than 65 want to remain in their current homes for as long as possible, according to an AARP survey.

We completely understand the desire. After all, we, too, have homes that we carefully chose, have been paying off for years, in which we’ve built memories and to which we hold a strong emotional attachment.

Yes, we get why folks would want to remain in their homes. So, we turned to the experts to learn some tips on what’s required to make a home safe and comfortable for those of us with aging bodies.

You may need a contractor

And, not just any contractor. Today, there are contractors trained specifically in how to modify homes for folks who wish to age in place.

These Certified Aging in Place Specialists (CAPS), trained by the National Association of Homebuilders, will help you come up with a plan and determine the cost of the required renovations.

Costs, by the way, can “… range from a couple hundred dollars for widening a doorway to several thousand dollars or more, for remodeling a bathroom,” according to Stan Gornicz, cited at Forbes.com. Gornicz also offers suggestions on what to look for when hiring a CAPS contractor:

  • Interview and get written bids from at least three contractors.
  • Ask for references from former clients and do call them to find out how the contractor did.
  • Check the Better Business Bureau’s file on the contractors and look for reviews at Yelp.com.
  • Don’t automatically choose the lowest bidder.
  • Ask to see each contractor’s license and insurance information. You’ll want to verify that the contractor carries worker’s compensation insurance and has personal liability coverage.

Learn what to insist on when it comes to the contract. You can find that information in Gornicz’s article at Forbes.com.

You’ll find a list of CAPS contractors at NAHB.org.

Ew, stairs

There comes a time in our lives, even for the most fit among us, when something as simple as climbing a flight of stairs is downright painful. It’s the knees and ankles that have the roughest time of it.

While there’s nothing you can do to magically transform a multi-story home into a single level, there are ways to make climbing the stairs easier on your body and avoid the slips and falls so common when trying to navigate stairs.

If you have a big budget, installing an elevator is the ideal solution. Other solutions include a wheelchair lift or finding space on the main floor for a master suite, keeping stair-climbing to a minimum.

Speaking of wheelchairs

Although you may be fit right now, the day may come when you find yourself wheelchair bound. The statistics prove this:

10.7 million people age 65 and older have mobility problems, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey.

Navigating the hallways in the typical home is one of the biggest problems for the wheelchair bound. Most hallways in homes are 36 inches in width, which is far too narrow for someone in a wheelchair. The ideal width is 48 inches, but 42 inches will work.

You may also need to install a ramp to the main entrance to the home.

In the bathroom

The Centers for Disease Control finds that more than 153,000 Americans are injured each year as the result of an accident in the shower. As we age, our balance isn’t what it used to be, so slips and falls happen.

Non-skid strips on the bottom of the tub are a good start to making the bathroom safer as you age. But a grab bar inside the shower or tub surround makes it even safer. Other ways to make the bathroom older-adult friendly include:

  • Widening the shower so that you can roll into it in a wheelchair
  • Raising the toilet
  • Lowering the sink

Making cooking and cleanup easier

Imagine being in a wheelchair, trying to make a meal or do the dishes or clean the countertops or, heaven forbid, reach for a plate in the cupboard.

Kitchens are challenging for the adult hoping to age in place, but there are tricks to modify the room to conform to your needs. The National Aging in Place Council shares ideas at NAIPC.org.

Homebuying on a tight budget? Consider a townhome

If rapidly rising prices are making you feel squeezed out of the single-family home market, consider downsizing your dream. After all, first homes are rarely forever homes.

It’s tempting to put off the purchase of a home until either home prices fall or your income rises. Tempting, yes. Smart? Not really. The wise thing to do is to begin building equity now so that you can later use it for that dream home. One of the best ways to do this is to buy a townhome.

Townhome living has its advantages and disadvantages. The latter includes the likely HOA fees that will be tacked on to your monthly house payment and living in very close proximity to your neighbors.

Tolerate that, however, and you’re on your way to making the home of your dreams a reality.

Today, we take a look at four reasons to consider purchasing a townhome. But first:

What’s the difference between a townhome and a condo?

The confusion between the two stems from the general misunderstanding of what they describe. Townhome is an architectural term, like duplex or triplex.

It describes a building where units share a common wall, nobody lives above or below the unit and they all have separate entrances from the street. This is opposed to a main entrance and front doors off of corridors, as is the case in many condo communities.

Condominium, on the other hand, describes a type of ownership. Each homeowner owns their unit, but not the actual building, and they share ownership of the common areas.

Units can consist of one or more floors and units may have neighbors above and below.

To make matters even more confusing, a townhome can be a condo, depending on how ownership is held in the community.

1. Lawnmower not required

When you purchase a townhome, your monthly HOA fees cover the cost of landscape maintenance. Some townhomes offer private patios and, in that case, the homeowner is responsible for any upkeep of landscaping there.

The fact is, even maintenance of the hardscaping in a townhome community is covered by the association. This includes pool maintenance, tennis court resurfacing, etc.

While your single-family home-owning friends are spending their weekends mowing, edging, raking, weeding and feeding, you’ll be kicking your feet up in that hammock you installed on your patio.

2. You’ll spend less money

The average townhome costs less than the average single-family home. For instance, the average single-family home price in the U.S. hovers around $243,225 according to BusinessInsider.com. Compare that to the average townhome price of $195,000 (GlobalPropertyGuide.com).

Sure, you may run across the occasional luxury townhome that is selling for significantly more than this, but most are very reasonably priced.

The lower price tag makes for a lower mortgage payment. And, because townhomes often contain less square footage than single-family homes, they cost significantly less to heat and cool—saving you even more money.

3. How about those amenities?

If a pool, gym, outdoor kitchen or other amenities seemed beyond your homebuying budget, think again. When you buy a townhome, you may just get at least one of those amenities right there on the property.

If there are others you simply must have, shop strategically. Some of what you can find includes:

  • Private garage
  • Health club/fitness center
  • Security guard or doorman
  • Swimming pool and spa

Keep in mind that a single-family home with any of these amenities will cost significantly more than the townhome with these amenities. Remember as well that typically the more amenities, the higher the price of the home.

4. Like being social?

When you live in a townhome, your next-door neighbor (in fact, all of your neighbors) are situated a lot closer than they would be if you lived in a single-family home neighborhood. This provides lots of opportunities to get to know them, socialize with them and forge relationships.

Many people find this appealing. If you’re among them, let’s go shopping for a townhome!

 

Staging your home for video tours

We recently shared with you what has been happening in the real estate industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most parts of the process of buying or selling have gone virtual, from showings to closings.

Since then, we’ve heard from lots of folks, wanting to know how to prepare their homes to sell in this new real estate environment. It’s a good question, because showings online are a bit different than showings in person.

Getting the interior ready for its close-up

The prep work that was required pre-pandemic still holds true: clean and declutter the home. If you have any doubts about whether an item should remain in the home or get boxed up, go with the latter.

The idea is to create a somewhat clean slate, so that potential buyers can see themselves living in the home. Here are some of the items to consider removing:

  • Collectibles
  • Family photos
  • Diplomas and certificates
  • Mementos
  • Stacks of magazines and newspapers
  • Oversized furniture (it makes rooms look smaller)

Clear the bathroom and kitchen counters of anything that isn’t decorative. Need inspiration? Find decluttering advice online at GoodHousekeeping.com, ProfessionalStaging.com and ApartmentTherapy.com.

Now it’s time to get to the cleaning. We spoke with our favorite cleaning professional who suggests taking it a room at a time. Then, clean from top to bottom as you work your way around the room. From ceilings (and ceiling fixtures) to baseboards, clean every surface.

As you clean, check that the room’s lighting is sufficient. You want the rooms to appear as bright as possible. Consider brighter bulbs or adding additional lighting.

Finally, take some of your own videos of each room and then scrutinize them. How’s the furniture placement? Ensure that the rooms don’t look cluttered with furniture. Experiment with different arrangements to find the one that makes each room look its best.

Get furniture placement tips online from Let’s Revamp, Savvy for Life and Jsquared-Richmond-Home-Staging.

Don’t forget about curb appeal

An effective video tour will start at the curb and follow the route a homebuyer and his or her agent would take to enter and tour the home.

This means that how your home appears from the curb, the experience offered as the potential buyer navigates to the front door, is critical.

Clean up and spruce up the landscaping between the curb and the front door. Get rid of debris and kid and pet toys. Then turn your attention to what’s planted in the landscape. Yank dead or dying plants and then prune and fertilize what’s left.

Consider purchasing flowering plants or those with colorful foliage, such as caladium. The color will pop when it’s on video. Finally, spread fresh mulch in the planting beds.

How’s the porch looking? The front door is an often-overlooked aspect of a home’s curb appeal (or lack thereof) so consider giving it a fresh coat of paint. Don’t shy away from using a bold color, if it coordinates with the home’s color. Consider a vibrant red or even black.

In fact, a study conducted by online listing portal Zillow.com, found that “houses with black or charcoal gray front doors sold for as much as $6,271 more than expected,” according to Julia Glum at Money.com.

If there is room on the porch, consider adding pots of colorful flowers or stately potted evergreens.

When you’re finished, take an experimental video tour of the home. Start at the curb, go up to the front door, open it, enter the home and then tour it, with the camera operating.

When it’s complete, watch the video, with an eye toward anything that may look out of place, any areas that appear cluttered or any other changes you can make to wow a potential buyer.

We’d love to view your video with you and offer tips for making your home the belle of the video-tour world.

Working from home? 5 tips to make your home office more efficient

Call it what you will — working from home, remote work or telecommuting – it wasn’t that long ago that it was considered a novelty. In the past month or two, however, working from home has gone mainstream, and not by choice.

Gallup has been tracking the remote-work situation since March and as of April 3, they found that 62 percent of “… employed Americans currently say they have worked from home during the crisis.” That number represents a doubling of the number taken in mid-March.

Surprisingly, 60 percent of those surveyed hope to continue working from home after the current restrictions are lifted.

If you are among them, you’ll need to take a look at your current home office and do some tweaking to ensure you remain as productive as you were when you had to show up at your employer’s office.

Find the perfect space

Lucky is the remote worker who has the space to take over a room and convert it to an office. For those not so fortunate, you’ll need to get creative when scouting the home for office space.

Here are the priorities you should consider:

  • The space should have good lighting and preferably contain a window or skylight to provide natural lighting as well.
  • A location away from the areas of the home where the kids tend to congregate.
  • An area that offers the least amount of distractions (no TV in the space, no view of the housework that needs to be done, etc.).
  • A spot that is large enough to accommodate a desk and chair, at the very least.

Furnish it

The basics, as mentioned above, are a desk and a chair. Of the two, the chair is the most important.

If you’re thinking of an ergonomic chair (you’ll love it!) check out these tips at Spine-Health.com and get 10 tips to choosing the best office chair at TheSpruce.com.

Furnishing your office doesn’t have to eat up your entire stimulus check. Check out OfferUp.com, Facebook Marketplace, NextDoor.com and Craigslist.org.

Light it up

Now that your bum, spine and shoulders are all set, it’s time to ensure your eyes are as well. This means determining if you need additional lighting and which types are the best. Check out these tips at Remodelista.com, ApartmentTherapy.com and SouthernLiving.com.

Then, learn how to choose the best light bulbs for your new lighting at Lifehacker.com.

Commit to using it

It’s important to make a schedule that you know you can stick to. If you won’t be using a stand-up desk, schedule breaks at least once every hour.

The current recommendation from medical professionals is that we should stand and move around for 15 minutes for every 30 that we spend sitting.

These breaks not only help your body but your mind as well – especially if you use them to take a walk or chat with a friend on the phone.

“To keep your brain in the right mode, avoid doing nonwork tasks during your work time,” recommend Kim Mock and Gabriel Manga at ThinkWithGoogle.com. This means no washing the dishes, throwing in a load of laundry or wiping down kitchen counters.

They also offer up these tips:

  • Make a daily to-do list to help you stay focused on what needs to be done. Don’t try to keep it in your head, but make an actual list.
  • Hold yourself accountable to keeping the schedule you created.
  • If your work is collaborative, consider setting up a video conferencing system.

One of the best tips we’ve seen is to ensure you have snacks in your office. This keeps you from refrigerator raids during your non-break time.

Finally, don’t neglect to personalize your office with all the things you wouldn’t dream of bringing to the “other” office.

Stay healthy!

Avoid planting these trees

Aside from autumn, early spring—before bud-break—is the ideal time to plant trees. And, if you’re thinking of selling your home, trees, placed strategically around the home, can help increase the home’s value.

Not all trees are alike, however, and some should be avoided. Let’s take a look at some of these trees that you should think twice about planting.

Trees with weak wood

Because of its fast growth rate, the Bradford pear tree was the darling of the new home construction industry in the 70s and 80s, making it the most prolific tree in neighborhoods across the country.

The tree can grow quite tall and, with age, the wood weakens. “Anything, and anyone, under a Bradford pear is at increased risk as the tree ages and its steep V crotch structure is strained,” according to Donna Isbell Walker at USAToday.com.

Other popular but weak trees include:

  • Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera)
  • Box elder (Acer negundo)
  • Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
  • Empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
  • Freeman Maple (Acer x freemanii)
  • Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra ‘Italica’)
  • Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera)
  • Red maple (Acer rubrum)
  • Red mulberry (Morus rubra)
  • Silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

Weedy trees

That weak-wooded Bradford pear has additional strikes against it. Not only is it brittle and terribly messy but it’s weedy as well. If you’ve ever grown one, you know this only too well as you’re continually hacking away at the sprouts around the soil beneath the tree.

The Bradford pear, however, is a novice at the weedy game compared to the Golden Rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata).  Homeowners grow them for the incredible flower show they put on each summer, but then have to tend with the seeds that sprout wherever they touch soil.

Other popular tree varieties that seem determined to take over the entire landscape include:

  • Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
  • Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)
  • Norway maple (Acer platanoides)
  • Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
  • Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila)
  • White mulberry (Morus alba)

Trees with invasive roots

Ever trip over a lifted sidewalk? Most likely, it lifted because of the roots of a nearby tree. Shallow roots damage driveways and foundations and, in the case of the silver maple especially, invade pipes and sewers.

  • Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellate)
  • Black locust (Robinia psuedoacacia)
  • Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)
  • Poplars (Populus)
  • Russian olive (Elaeaganus angustifolia)
  • Silver maple (Acer saccharinum)
  • White mulberry (Morus alba)

So, which trees are best for the home landscape?

Choosing a tree for the home landscape involves more than finding one you feel is pleasing to the eye. It must be hardy to your growing zone and you must have the proper location (the one that provides the appropriate growing conditions) in the yard in which to plant it.

Then, you’ll need to decide if you want an evergreen tree (one that maintains its foliage all year) or deciduous (one that loses its leaves in winter). Do you want a tree that remains small or medium or do you want a huge tree?

Research your choices online and then visit a local nursery and speak with the experts there. Nobody knows local growing conditions better than these pros, so you can feel confident in the advice they give.

The 3 most popular vegetables to grow in a pandemic garden

“Sow the Seeds of Victory” was a phrase familiar to all Americans in early spring of 1917. We hadn’t yet entered “The Great War” that was ravaging our allies’ food supplies.

All across Europe, “. . . agricultural workers were recruited into military service and farms were transformed into battlefields. As a result, the burden of feeding millions of starving people fell to the United States.”

And, as we are wont to do, we rose to the occasion, planting food crops in backyards, vacant lots school grounds and parks.

“As a result of these combined efforts, 3 million new garden plots were planted in 1917 and more than 5.2 million were cultivated in 1918, which generated an estimated 1.45 million quarts of canned fruits and vegetables,” according to Laura Schumm at History.com.

Today, we find ourselves at war again only this time our enemy is a virus. The rush to stock up left supermarket shelves bare for a time and now, months into the battle, there are still many items that are in short supply.

Again, we rose to the occasion, with Americans across the country planting their own version of yesterday’s Victory Garden (originally called War Gardens). The smart ones bought their seeds way ahead of the planting season (seeds are one of the items in very short supply right now).

If you’re a member of the country’s budding new vegetable gardener crowd, read on. We’ve put together some tips for growing the three most popular crops.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are by far the most popular crop for home gardeners. Nurseries run out of starter plants quickly.

Tomatoes are easy to grow (they can even be grown in containers), provide a large yield and can be used in lots of different ways.

The time it takes to grow a tomato depends on the cultivar, but typically ranges from 60 to more than 80 days.

Tomato plants are susceptible to several disorders, diseases and pests. The one that stymies new growers the most is blossom-end rot. Caused by a lack of calcium in the plant, new growers automatically assume that supplementing the soil with calcium will cure the disorder.

More often than not, the cause is inconsistent watering. Once the gardener begins watering the tomato plant consistently, the disorder typically clears up.

Need more tips on becoming a world-class tomato grower? Visit Sunset.com.

Cucumbers

The two things that cucumbers require above all else is heat and consistent moisture in the soil. Get that right and you’ll be successful.

One of our favorite things about growing cucumbers is that if you buy the bush type you can grow them in small gardens or even in containers.

Grow cucumbers in rich soil, in full sun. When you’re preparing the soil, add about two inches of well-rotted manure or compost and mix it into the top 6 inches of soil.

For more tips on growing cucumbers, from planting to harvest, watch this video at YouTube.com.

Bell Peppers

If you’re a new gardener, you can’t go wrong growing bell peppers – a definite confidence booster!

You’ll want to plant bell peppers in full sun – the longer they get sunshine every day, the larger your peppers will be.

Follow the soil advice for cucumbers, above, and ensure the soil drains well. The soil temperature should be at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit before planting your peppers into the garden.

A good rule of thumb is to provide the bell pepper plants with an inch or two of water a week. During periods of intense heat, or if you’re a desert gardener, you may need to water daily.

Like tomatoes, bell peppers are also susceptible to blossom-end rot so create a watering schedule and stick to it.

Get more tips on growing peppers and advice on how to spot problems at Almanac.com.

Summer is on the way: Is your home ready?

Isn’t the internet amazing? The answer to just about any question you may have can be found with just a few key strokes. When we turned to the experts for advice on summer home maintenance, we were inundated with information – some of it downright silly.

We agree with the contractor who reminded us that the heavy home maintenance comes in fall and that pre-summer tasks should deal only with those systems and areas in and around the home that get the most use during the warmer months.

So, let’s dive in and do a quick tour around your house.

Start with the air conditioning system

If it’s been awhile since you’ve changed your HVAC system filters, do that first. You’ll find an easy-to-follow walk-through at YouTube.com.

While you’re at the hardware store buying the filter, why not stock up and buy several? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests changing the HVAC filter once a month during periods of heavy use. Check out this information on how to choose the right filter for your needs at Gardenologist.org.

Finally, consider having the system tuned up by a professional. Fancy yourself more of a hands-on type? The EPA offers a list of tasks to help you do it yourself.

Ceiling fans and fuzz

All that fuzz that gathers on the blades of a ceiling fan is a lot more than ugly. It can actually slow down the blades’ rotation speed, “… cause the blades to wobble, and put some strain on the fan’s motor,” according to Alan J. Heavens at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Since fans are located in the ceiling, keep safety in mind during the cleaning process. You’ll find lots of tips and advice in videos at YouTube.com

If you hope to throw open those windows

Do a tour of the home, checking the windows for cracked glass and to ensure that the screens don’t contain rips.

Winter and spring can be brutal on the home’s exterior components. Windy days can hurl all manner of projectiles at the home and it doesn’t take much to tear a hole in a window screen.

You’ll want to throw open the windows on that first gloriously warm summer day, so fix windows and screens to ensure they let the fresh air in and keep the pests out.

Ensure safe summer entertaining

According to the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission, nearly 225,000 injuries occur each year as the result of either a structural failure or collapse of a deck.

It’s not enough to check the deck’s surface; you will need to investigate the condition of the underneath as well. Find tips on what to look for and how to fix, here.

Prevent water waste

Landscape irrigation systems get quite the workout over the summer months so ensure yours is up to the task.

Check in-ground systems by following these tips provided by Region of Peel. Drip irrigation system leaks are a bit easier to detect and you can learn how on YouTube.com (excellent video).

Next, check all the faucets to ensure that there are no leaks there and then check your hoses for holes and other problems that may cause them to malfunction.

Summer pool care

Swimming pool maintenance is often left to professionals, but it doesn’t have to be. Check and perform the following tasks (we’ve linked to some handy information and tips for each one).

The wise homeowner will call out a professional at least once a year for a thorough check of the swimming pool. Summer is the ideal time to do this.

Gardens need maintenance too

Get rid of plants that didn’t make it through winter and spring. Then, deadhead spring annuals. Deadheading is the process of snipping off dead flowers, prompting the plant to bloom again.

Seek out garden pests and get rid of them. Then, turn your attention to weeds and get rid of those as well.

Give your lawn a late-spring fertilization and aerate and dethatch if necessary.

Finally, clean up all debris and install a fresh layer of mulch. This helps discourage weed growth, insulates the soil from hot summer sun and helps it retain moisture.

Kick off grilling season

Deep clean your outdoor grill so that it’s ready for grilling season. Whether it’s a gas or charcoal grill, you’ll find tips on giving it a thorough cleaning from Home Depot. They offer advice for cleaning a gas grill, here and charcoal grill owners are covered here.

Happy summer!