The Adriane Lau Team

How Much Will My Pets Cost Me When I Sell My House?

Adriane Lau — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:36:42 +0000

We all know that lots of rental property don’t allow pets, but did you ever consider what that could mean about your own home. Pets can do a certain level of damage to a home, making it more difficult and costly to sell. We encourage you to take a look at the following reasons and decide if having a pet is worth it to you!

DISCLAIMER: We have multiple pet loving team members!

Alexa has her dogs Despereaux & Winnie and Rayce has his dog Mack and cats Mau & Lucky! Adriane has fish and Erin has fish, a lizard and a cat named Sophie!

Physical damage

Animals don’t always make it outside or to the litter box when nature calls. They have accidents and instincts that tell them to scratch, dig and chew. Cats and dogs can do some serious damage to carpets, the trim around the walls and even on windowsills. Plan to replace stained and torn carpet as well as damaged trim. At very least steam clean your carpet before listing your home.

Odor

Once you’ve gotten used to the smell of your pet, you don’t notice the day to day pet odors. That certainly doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. Animals leave a very distinct smell in a home that can sometimes be overwhelming to potential buyers. There are times that pet odors are so strong that buyers decide that they don’t even want to go inside to look at the property. They can also cause allergic reactions, leaving an unpleasant impression on buyers. Consider renting an ozone machine to remove the pet smell from your house and be sure to clean the litter box and the back yard before any potential buyers come over.

Relocating

Plan to have your fur friend living somewhere else while your home is on the market. You don’t want to go through all of the cleaning and repair work and have your pet damage something or have another accident on your new, clean carpet. There is no greater distraction than a barking dog or grumpy cat during a showing. You want your potential buyers to have the most pleasant experience in your home. As much as you love your pet, the next home owner may not. There are pet day care services available at locally, or you can ask friends and family if they would be willing to host your pet.

Here’s the breakdown of what a pet could cost you

$60/hour Repairman
$750-$2500 Carpet Replacement
$32/hour Steam Cleaner Rental
$50/hour Ozone Machine Rental
$33/visit Pet Day Care

While there isn’t an exact number you can see how quickly the price can add up. You may wonder if it’s worth all the money for the repairs just to sell your house, yes. Your house may stay on the market longer (costing you money) and you may not be able to get the best price for your house if you don’t remove the traces of your pet from your home.

This may seem like a lot of money, but it’s nothing compared to the love, affection and loyalty you get from your pets. Right?

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Professional Pet Photo by Kate English Photography

Staying Connected with Your Neighbors in the Cold Winter Months

Adriane Lau — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 20:24:50 +0000

Let’s face it… nobody wants to go outside during a Michigan winter. It’s dark, it’s bitter cold and we are just rushing to get from our car to the house or work as fast as possible. Being so focused on getting ourselves out of the cold really puts a damper on friendships with our neighbors. Community within a neighborhood is so important, so these are our tips for staying connected during Michigan’s endless winter.

Plan a meet up

Plan weekly or monthly get togethers at a local business. Whether it’s the neighborhood watering hole, the community center, or pottery painting and wine. Planning a regular date is a great opportunity to get neighbors together. Knowing the date ahead of time gives your neighbors the chance to plan around it. Having a fun activity offers additional incentive for neighbors who are hesitant to brave the cold. Another plus is that you’re supporting a neighborhood business!

Shovel your neighbor’s driveway

If you’re outside shoveling or snow-blowing your driveway, why not take care of your neighbor’s driveway for them. It is such a kind act of service, and your neighbor will be super grateful! You will be on their mind and they may return the favor, or come over to thank you and visit.

Join or start a neighborhood Facebook Group

In the modern age Facebook keeps people across the world connected, so why not use it to keep people across the neighborhood connected. Neighborhood Facebook groups are a great space for dialogue, sharing neighborhood news and events, staying in touch with your local city council-member, searching for lost pets and sharing fun neighborhood photos. If your neighborhood doesn’t have a Facebook Group yet, make one! Invite your neighbors and ask them to invite their neighbors. Word will spread and you will be able to stay in touch with your entire neighborhood.

Walk your dog

Bundle up and take your dog for a walk around the block! Your dog will thank you, your health will thank you, and you may catch another neighbor walking his or her dog (we’ve also seen parrots getting walked around the block) or hopping into their car.

Supporting Lansing

Adriane Lau — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 18:50:45 +0000

In the past when we closed on a home we would give our clients a closing gift. After reading the Go-Giver Adriane realized we needed to shift in a different direction, that gifts could be more impactful than a Starbucks gift card. Rather than giving our clients a physical gift, at closing we began to donate to a non profit organization in their name. We allow them to select the charity they wish their contribution to be made to. This year we have donated more than $4,000 to Haven House, Ele’s Place and The Greater Lansing Food Bank. If you are looking for a charity to donate your time, money or resources to in the Lansing area keep reading to learn more about these incredible organizations.

Haven House

Haven House provides temporary emergency housing and resources for families with children who are facing homelessness. Haven House doesn’t just connect families; They teach budgeting, assist with tutoring, monitor employment progress, and connect families to their community. While a family is at Haven House they receive housing, meals, clothing, personal care items and learn skills to avoid future homelessness.

How to Help

Haven House accepts monetary donations, and has a list of urgent needs on their website. These are items that they are presently seeking donations of to continue to assist families. These items range from diapers and all purpose cleaner to can openers and grocery store gift cards. They accept donations 365 days per year and have volunteer opportunities as well. Haven House is looking for volunteers to cook a meal for the house with all of the ingredients provided, people to supervise youth activities, greeters, cleaning assistance and a graphic designer. If you’re interested in volunteering for Haven House look at some of the opportunities and submit an application.

Ele’s Place

Ele’s Place is a center for children and teens grieving the loss of a loved one. Ele’s Place’s mission is that no child grieves alone, so they provide support for children and families though peer interaction. Groups are formed by age and led by clinicians and trained volunteers to assure that children are connecting with others in the same developmental appropriate manner. Ele’s Place also has programs that go into schools to form support groups and assist staff. They have now been working in Michigan for nearly thirty years providing support to young people suffering the loss of loved ones.

How to Help

Ele’s Place accepts sponsorships right through their website and also has opportunities for volunteering. Anybody is welcome to a tour of Ele’s Place to learn more about their facilities and programs. Potluck donations are accepted, cleaning and grounds work is always welcome. Ele’s Place also looks for more involved volunteering following training. To learn about more volunteering opportunities go to their website or call your local branch. Are you avid Amazon shopper? Ele’s Place has an Amazon wish list, so you can throw an item or two into your cart for them and it will be shipped directly to them.

Greater Lansing Food Bank

The Greater Lansing Food Bank is an organization that works with retailers, grocery stores, the USDA and the community to gather food so that nobody in the Lansing area should go hungry. They provide nutritious food to anybody at risk through community gardens, pantries, mobile food pantries and community kitchens. The Greater Lansing Food Bank provides food to 7 mid Michigan counties, and distributed more than 6,949,000 meals last year.

How to Help

The Greater Lansing Food Bank accepts food donations Monday through Friday from 8:00am-4:00pm at their warehouse. They accept unopened, non perishable items (no home canned or homemade goods). Monetary donations are accepted and hosting a food drive is encouraged! The Greater lansing Food Bank also has the option on their website to host a digital food drive. You can send a link to your friends and family asking them to donate. That money is used to purchase food to add to the food bank warehouse. There are all kinds of opportunities to volunteer for the Greater Lansing Food Bank as well!

Alternative Ways to give

Did you know that you can select a nonprofit to receive a donation in AmazonSmile and AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of the price of the item to the organization you select. All three of these non profits can be donated to through AmazonSmile, and it doesn’t cost you a single cent. Kroger has a similar program, where you can link your Kroger Plus card to an organization and Kroger will donate to them. Kroger is committed to donating $50 million per year; each dollar spent when you use your Kroger Plus card counts as one vote toward your charity of choice. At the end of the quarter Kroger tallies up the votes proportionally distributes the funds to all of the organizations. If you don’t feel like you can swing a monetary donation, this is the perfect way to continue to support local non profits.

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3 Mistakes 1st Time Home Buyers Make

Adriane Lau — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 19:14:30 +0000

Buying a home for the first time is a BIG deal! You can’t return a home the way that you might return a pair of shoes, so you need to know exactly what you are getting. By having good people in your corner, you can ensure that your first home purchase is a successful one!

1. They Don’t Find the Right Real Estate Agent

So many buyers get wrapped up in the excitement of buying a home. It’s really fun to hop on to Zillow and Realtor.com and look at all the possibilities. Before you start requesting showings, find the right real estate agent for you. Zillow matches you up with whoever when you request a showing, and you know nothing about them. You don’t even know if this is the agent’s first home!

Ask people who you trust for recommendations: friends, family, co-workers. When you ask them who they recommend, also ask them if there is anybody who they would not suggest. Sometimes knowing who not to work with is as helpful than knowing who to work with. Finding an experienced realtor should be one of the first steps of the home buying process.

2. They Aren’t Pre-Approved

Getting pre approved for a mortgage helps you to understand what you can actually afford. This is another instance where getting over excited about home buying and spending hours sifting through Zillow can be damaging to the process. Zillow shows a, “Zestimate” of what you can expect to pay for a home, and may lead you to believe that you can afford a home that is completely out of your budget. The Zestimate is not accurate. It doesn’t consider things like mortgage insurance and taxes.

Rather than putting stock in the Zestimate start shopping around for a good lender. Lenders pull your credit, which often puts a little dent in your credit score. There is a grace period after that first pull in which other pulls will not damage your credit. This allows buyers to shop around among lenders. A common misconception is that rates are the same among lenders, and that is false! Lenders have to compete with each other, so shop around for better rates.

If you started your home buying experience by finding a experienced realtor, they should be able to suggest a good lender to you. Realtors do not receive commission for suggesting specific lenders, they just want to help their buyers find their dream home at a price they can afford!

3. They Don’t Look For a Good Home Inspector

Having a good home inspector is crucial! Home inspectors walk through the home and property and make sure that the condition of the home and property is known. This protects buyers from any unforeseen damages, issues or future costs. Michigan does not have any licensing regulation or laws for inspectors. That means that anybody can be an inspector. We spoke with Jason Murton of Accurate Home Inspections in DeWitt and his recommendation is that buyers select an inspector with ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) Certification. To be ASHI certified, inspectors must pass an extremely challenging exam (this exam is what some states use for their licensing) and perform 250 paid, peer reviewed home inspections.

Friends and family may be able to suggest a good home inspector. Your real estate agent should have three or four inspectors that they can recommend as well.

We want you to be successful in your first home purchase. It is a daunting task, but can be made easier with the right help. If you’re looking to buy your first home, avoid mistakes by selecting the right agent, getting pre-approved, and finding a good home inspector.

Step 1 is right here!

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Free Fall Family Activities in Lansing

Adriane Lau — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 18:00:53 +0000

Isn’t it unbelievable that it’s fall? The leaves have begun to change colors and fall, cider’s a pourin’ at Quality Dairy and you can leave the house bundled up in a coat in the morning, and be sweating that same afternoon.

There are so many incredible events and activities to do in the Lansing area during the fall time, but we want to share some of our favorite FREE activities.

Walk around MSU campus on a home game day

There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of MSU campus on game day. There is an incredible sense of community and plenty of fun things to do! You can go watch the band march into the stadium, walk around and enjoy the fall colors on the banks of the Red Cedar and join in on a game of frisbee by the tailgates. Enjoy the fellowship, chat with fellow football fans and who knows, maybe somebody will have an extra ticket to the game for free or cheap!

Head to Potter Park Zoo

Did you know that City of Lansing and Ingham County Residents are admitted on non-holiday Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon for free? This free entry is available year round, but why not take advantage of it on a sunny fall day with the changing leaves. Bundle the kids up in their sweaters and hats and visit the lions, river otters and reptile room. You can also join in the zoo fun during Boo at the Zoo. Admission is $6 for Ingham County residents. Children are encouraged to come in costumes and enjoy a straw maze, candy stations and other spooky activities!

Silver Bells in the City

Yes, it is a Christmas parade, but it happens the Friday before Thanksgiving. There is an electric light parade with floats and bands, the official lighting of the state Christmas Tree followed by fireworks. This year there will also be a Holiday Village to do some shopping. Before the parade from 5:00 to 6:30 Impression5 will be open for free! Don’t feel like going out into the cold? There will be a live broadcast on FOX47 so you can stay in and drink your hot chocolate or spiked cider. For a full list of Silver Bells events and a timeline click her e.

Visit Uncle John’s Cider Mill

Uncle John’s Cider Mill always has free events going on. It is always free to get on to the farm property and walk around the pumpkin patch. You can stay up to date on their Facebook page for festivals and harvests. There is free pillow jumping Monday-Friday 9am to 6pm, a free play area for kids that includes pickle ball and swings, complimentary hard cider and wine tasting for adults, and wagon rides for all ages.

Grab some samples at Horrocks

Horrocks Farm Market has become a Lansing landmark. It has become so popular that you can barely push your shopping cart down the aisles on a Saturday afternoon. Horrocks is known for its affordable fresh produce that you can shop while you sip beer and wine. There is always free coffee, popcorn samples, gelato samples and taffy samples. Get your grocery shopping done and have fun while you do it.

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