Parks Jones Blog
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Spruce Up Your Home in Southwest Oklahoma for Spring
These timely tips will help you keep your home in tip-top shape this spring. The summer heat in Lawton, Elgin, Cache and surrounding areas can be brutal. Preventive maintenance is usually more cost-effective than repairing major damage from neglect. So get outside and enjoy our springtime temperatures while taking care of your biggest investment…your home.
Inspect Your AC System
Now is the time to make sure your air conditioning unit is in good condition, especially before hot weather hits. Change the air filter and consider having a professional service your system.
Roof
With binoculars, check your roof for cracked or missing shingles that should be replaced.
Exterior Walls
Look for damaged areas to your home's exterior, focusing on areas under eaves and near gutter downspouts. Be sure your gutters are carrying away water runoff properly so that there is no water damage or build up....
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9 Spring Cleaning Tasks that Homeowners Tend to Overlook
No matter how hard you try, it's easy to overlook some spots when you spring clean — because you're blind to what you see and use every day in your own home.
So before you say you're done with your spring cleaning, check to see if you missed any of these tasks:
#1 Clean and Inspect Your Vacuum
A clogged and dirty vacuum can undo any cleaning you've done the minute you switch it on. Blame it on that stinky odor that only vacuums seem to emit.
Best to clean it first:
- Change the bag and wipe down the bag's holder, or empty and thoroughly wash the bagless container with a soapy damp rag.
- Wipe down the entire vacuum.
- Pull debris from the vacuum's brushes and wipe out the underside as much as you can.
- C...
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5 Tips to Prepare Your Home for Sale
Spring is one of the best times of the year to put your home on the market in our Southwest Oklahoma market, which includes the Lawton, Elgin, Cache and Fort Sill areas. Working to get your home ship-shape for showings will increase its value and shorten your sales time.
Many buyers today want move-in-ready homes and will quickly eliminate an otherwise great home by focusing on a few visible flaws. Unless your home shines, you may endure showing after showing and open house after open house — and end up with a lower sales price. Before the first prospect walks through your door, consider some smart options for casting your home in its best light.
1. Have a Home Inspection
Be proactive by arranging for a pre-sale home inspection. For $250 to $400, an inspector will warn you about troubles that could make potential buyers balk. Make repairs before putting your home on the market. In some...
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Our Real Estate Market by the Numbers
Come on springtime! We are definitely ready for longer days, spring rains and 80s for daytime temperatures. It's good for business! Currently our Southwest Oklahoma market has 844 residential homes on the market compared to 862 last year at this time. There have been 1,534 sold and closed residential properties in the past 12 months compared to 1,386 sold and closed the previous year. Homes that sell take an average of 80 days on the market compared to 83 days last year. Our average sold price has increased from $117,518 last year to $118,743 this year. Homes in our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) with Lawton deemed as their address make up 61.7% of market.
MLS Data shows that there have been 88 new construction homes sold and closed in the past 12 months with an average sold price of $251,040. Sixty-seven of these new constructions were outside of Lawton, in communities such as Cache and Elgin.
All signs are for positive growth in the area in the next few years. If y...
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How Home Inspections Benefit Both Buyers and Sellers
In the Southwest Oklahoma real estate market, it is routine for buyers to complete a professional home inspection once their offer is accepted on a home. This professional home inspection is a thorough examination of the current condition of a home by a trained and certified home inspector. The inspector prepares and delivers to the client a written report of findings. The client then uses this knowledge gained to make informed decisions about their pending real estate purchase.
When a buyer and seller enter into a real estate contract, it is based upon information that is known at the time and is contingent upon the buyers' acceptance of findings by the home inspector. In our market, the buyer has ten days after signing the contract to complete the home inspection.
Renegotiation typically takes place after the home inspection because new information about the condition of the property has been revealed. This means that the deal you worked so hard to finalize, during...