Spring Lawn Care Tips You Can Do Now

By Anita Alvarez

Warming temperatures, rainy days, sunny skies – these are just some of the signs that spring is here. While your lawn probably maintains its dingy brown winter look, soon, it will be blossoming with the rest of the flowers, shrubs and trees – but only if you provide the right care for it now.

Set aside a few hours to maintain your lawn and you’ll be assured to have a bright green, thriving lawn that lasts through fall.

1. Clean it up

When the ground is dry, head out to the yard for a family clean-up session. Remove old leaves and fallen twigs. Then rake the grass to fluff it up a bit. Be sure to leave the shoots of grass behind, so don’t rake too vigorously.

If you’re still waiting for snow to melt, spread mounds of snow out over the lawn to avoid a pile that will smother and kill the grass.

2. Target weeds

The best way to control weeds is to nip them in the bud. Before they ever make an appearance, apply a pre-emergent weed-control product. This way, before weeds can grow and smother the grass, you’ll give your lawn a fighting chance to survive.

If you’d prefer not to use an herbicide, the next best step to take involves proper lawn care. Growing a thick, healthy grass will naturally choke out weeds. Mow regularly, reseed grass when necessary, lay down sod in bare patches, and give preference to natural herbicides to grow a healthy lawn and preempt weeds from growing.

3. Planting

If your lawn has bare spots or you want to plant a new section of grass, now’s the time to do it. If you choose to lay down sod or plant seeds, forego the pre-emergent weed control step. If you apply an herbicide, it’ll kill new grass, too.

Laying down sod is the quickest way to a robust lawn. While it costs more upfront than planting seeds, you’ll get an instant lawn that’s thick and weed-free. With planting seeds, you’ll have to do a lot of maintenance to nurture its growth, such as being careful that people and pets don’t walk on the grass, performing weed-control measures and diligently watering it.

A healthy lawn is a fertilized lawn. The best time to apply fertilizer depends on where you live. Warm-season grasses should be fertilized in late spring, once the lawn turns green. Apply fertilizer to cold-season grasses with a light hand in the spring only if your lawn is in really bad condition. Too much fertilizer will cause too much early growth grasses, which won’t be hardy enough to last through the summer’s heat. Then, fertilize again in the fall, which is when the growing season for cool grasses is at its peak.

Attend to your lawn now and you’ll enjoy beautiful grass all spring long – and well into fall. Cleaning up the lawn, targeting weeds, planting seeds or laying down sod and fertilizing will give grass a fighting chance to survive and thrive.

Selling? 6 Staging Secrets of Model Homes

Courtesy of RISMedia, by Suzanne De Vita

It’s no secret staging can raise the value of a home—in fact, it can boost a sale price by as much as 10 percent. The best staged homes—the ones that garner the full 10—strike the balance between lived-in and never-owned. How can you apply that science when staging your home?

Look no further than model homes, which draw buyers by blending the form-follows-function principle with the preferences of today. To stage your home to that effect:

1. Remove anything from the room that doesn’t fit the intended purpose of the space, and vice versa. Take televisions out of bedrooms and designate an eating area in the kitchen, for example.
2. Delineate sections in a room with area rugs, and “float” furniture away from walls and on and around the space. Avoid closing off accessibility by allowing at least three feet of walk-through space around furniture arrangements.
3. Group solid furnishings, like sectionals or bookcases, with visually lighter pieces, like a glass side table or raised bench, to convey spaciousness over sparseness.
4. Have at least one light fixture for every 100 square feet of space, especially if your home lacks natural light. Use pure white lamp shades on all light fixtures, and replace any incandescent bulbs with CFLs.
5. Mix general and task lighting in rooms that see the most traffic. Install lighting between open-air shelving or underneath overhead cabinetry in the kitchen, and place a small lamp on a desk or workspace in a child’s bedroom.
6. Accessorize sparingly. Display only a handful of books with like-colored bindings in bookcases or shelving units, add one (thriving!) house plant to a side table, or hang one statement piece of artwork (scaled appropriately) over a bed or fireplace.

Stage to the model home aesthetic with these tips—

Tax Season: What to Expect when Selling Your Home

 By Nick Caruso 

TAX season is upon us and if you have a pending or recent home sale, you’ll surely want to know: what INCOME TAXES will you have to pay on the sale? The amount of TAXES you’ll be responsible for depends on the length of time you’ve spent in the home. 

If your family resided in the home for two of the last five years, single homeowners can earn $250,000 TAX ­free! For couples filing JOINTLY , that number grows to $500,000. If your home sale exceeds your allotment, you’ll have to pay capital gains TAXES . For homes owned less than a year, the regular tax rate applies. Want to calculate your gain? Time suggests the following: 

First subtract selling expenses, such as agent commissions and other closing costs, from the sale price. Then you need to calculate your “basis.” This is what you paid for your home, plus some of the closing expenses from the purchase, such as title insurance and recording fees (but not loan points or lender fees), and the costs of any permanent improvements, like a swimming pool or new addition. 

See IRS Publication 523 for complete details. Exceptions to the two ­year rule do exist, however. For those disabled, relocating for work more than 50 miles away, or for those needing to seek medical treatment for themselves or a relative, taxes on the profit can be prorated. It’s tricky territory though, so always be sure.  If you need tax advice, we recommend Schmitt & Associates CPA's.  Mr. Schmitt and his staff can be reached at: 720-266-4608

**The preceding article Does Not constitute tax advice. ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR TAX PROFESSIONAL. 

THANK YOU!!!!!!

Alice 105.9 Cares for Kids raised $1.3 million for Children’s Hospital Colorado this year, and more than $20 million over the 15-year history of the event!

Thank you to everyone who tuned in, asked others to listen or gave a generous gift during radiothon.

We hope the stories you heard reinforce the impact of your donation. Your support benefits hundreds of thousands of Children's Hospital Colorado patients and their families.

Join us!!! For Alice 105.9 Cares for Kids Radiothon, Feb. 11th thru 12th, 6- 6pm!

We are celebrating 15 Years of Miracles! Alice 105.9 Cares for Kids radiothon returns to Children’s Hospital Colorado to broadcast stories of hope and courage on Feb. 11 and 12. Me and the great folks at RE/MAX Alliance will be manning the phones beginning at 6 am, both Thursday and Friday. You can help --> http://bit.ly/1DcJtMX

Denver Area Housing Sales Up in December

DENVER – January, 2016 – 

According to REcolorado, Colorado’s largest MLS and the provider of REcolorado.com, December was an active month for the housing market in the Denver metro and surrounding area, with a strong month-over month increase in sales. 

Home sales saw a jump in December, with 4,436 homes closing, a month over month increase of 31 percent and year over year increase of two percent.  During the month, 3,174 Single family detached sales homes sold and 1,262 condos/townhomes sold. 

“December typically brings a month-over-month increase in residential real estate sales, but this December surprised us with a much higher increase than we’ve seen in previous years,” said Kirby Slunaker, president and CEO of REcolorado. “Home prices have moderated since the second quarter, allowing buyers to jump into a market that is less competitive during the holiday season.”

Denver area home prices held steady in December for the third consecutive month. The average sold price for a single family home in December was $369,568, flat as compared to last month, but still ten percent higher than this time last year.   

December ended with 5,501 active listings on the market, a month-over-month decrease of 21 percent; however, a three percent increase as compared to last year. The number of new listings that came on the market slowed as well. During the month, 2,542 new listings came on the market, a seasonal 31 percent month-over-month decrease, but two percent higher than December 2014. Months of Inventory fell to approximately five weeks in December, well below the national average. 

The amount of time a Denver area home stayed on the market increased three days in December, bringing the average days on market to 33 days. 

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