Twin Cities Real Estate

Mice, Bats and Ants

No one wants to admit that they have had mice, bats, or ants in their home.  It is one of those nasty secrets we make all family members keep within the confines of our walls.  Those are the very same walls that play host to these animals.  We feel we have failed as housekeepers when we find these animals amongst us.

When we first get the sense they are in our house, we try to ignore it.  The one ant we find under the kitchen sink was going solo.  The scratching we hear in the attic at night is scary.  The one mouse we catch in a trap and that is that.  Most animal control people will tell you if you see one, many will follow.  Some remedies we find at the hardware store can control the situation, but in many cases a pest people are needed.  Making that call to tell someone you have a problem is hard.  It need not be.  The real truth is that any house can get these creatures.  You do need to disclose at time of selling your property that you did have them.  Failure to disclose can be serious if the new owners move in and find out you failed to disclose.  The truth is always the best.  That is why complete treatment will make the new owner feel good.

Mice do not do harm to the property, they are most a health concern.  You do not want them getting into your food or leaving droppings.  You also get freaked out when you see them scatter across the floor.  They can squeeze through any small crack and can even walk right in with you through the door.  Putting food in plastic containers helps them not have a food source. Keeping bird food or dog food in the garage is like opening a restaurant for them.  Keep garage doors closed and keep those two things in sturdy plastic containers.  The best way to rid a house of mice is through the packets of mice food you get at the hardware store.  They will eat this source and go for water and die.  You hope they do not die in the walls of your house.  That is another story.

Bats do not do damage to a house.  They love the attic space to enter in and out of.  Once again you have a condition that is freaky.  I only know of calling a critter control company to end their visits to your house.  They usually seal up the spaces in which bats can enter and then put a tube in the area so the bats can go out and not come in.  I have had this done to my older, stucco home, and it does work.  The price to do this will scare you more than the bats.

Those big, black ants can do damage to a house.  They are called carpenter ants because they eat at moist, rotting wood.  Those timber walls near your house can be wonderful breeding grounds for carpenter ants.  Watch where you store fire wood. Again, that helps the ants go from the wood to your house.  I have not found the over-the-counter treatments to be very successful. You need almost 6-12 months of treatment by a bug control company.  The price is not too bad and it can save the structure of your house.  I once saw a buyer's inspector knock on a closet door in a  house, and a pile of saw dust fell out. It was the camping grounds for carpenter ants.

Fall is a good time to watch for these animals.  As it gets cooler out, they look for the warmth of our houses.  Taking steps to keep these pests out is the best way to control them, but remember these animals are able to get into a property through the smallest crack.

Stayvacation

It used to be that when you could not afford a vacation you just stayed home.  It was not a requirement that everyone or every family go away on vacation.  Get this, we used to save several years and then go off on the holiday.  Now we feel we are entitled to go away on vacations.  It is not healthy not to go on one.  The media tells us we can get away by taking advantage of the "cheap" air fares.  That might be true, but who pays for our hotel room when we land in New York City?

 

To remove our guilt for not going away we have the term"staycation."  We are encouraged to stay in town and see the sights here.  I remember friends who used to check into hotels in Mpls and see the sights here and act like a tourists just so they would see things that we only see when we have out-of-town guests.

 

I say ,"Don't feel sorry for yourself."  We have great things to do here.  In fact just sitting in your own backyard and cooking things on the grill you have never had time to try is great. So many Americans are so busy or work so much, that they really don't enjoy their house, go to the park down the street, or see friends and relatives.  Just tell those at work you are on vacation and check out of the real world and into your vacation mode.

 

Steps to take:,

1) Make do not disturb signs for the door handles of the bedrooms in your house.

2) Put the phone on silence, so you are not tempted to answer the phone and turn off the computer.

3) Buy food you normally do not serve.  Make little menus announcing to family members what you will be eating. Have the shrimp cocktail, grill the thick steak, and eat something chocolate afterwards.

4) Put a small piece of chocolate on the pillows at night and turn back the covers.

5) Buy on sale thick, white robes to wear.

6) Put fresh flowers from the farmer's market in large vases throughout the house.

7) Serve dinner where you usually do not eat.  The porch, deck, patio, dining room, basement wherever makes it special.

8) One night load the family in the car and drive-up to your house and have one person be the server from the drive-in.  Serve hot dogs, fries and a malt.

9) Make a miniature golf course out of your yard.

10) Project a movie on a sheet on the side of your house and serve popcorn and drinks.

 

Be creative and you can have the best time at home.  Involve everyone.  I am going to bet this will be one of your best rested vacations you have ever been on.  The family fights will be limited.  The family pet will love that he came along.  You will have no guilt about spending too much money.  Last things, go the drug store and buy post cards.  Mail them to your family and friends telling them you had the best time on vacation this year.  Get creative and take a picture of all of you on "your vacation" and email it to friends and relatives telling them you had a blast.

Here is an idea for those running for Governor

There are so many people interested in running for the Governor's job, that I thought I would give them some ideas for their platform.  I have lived in Minnesota for most of my life and have not understood why the Governor, who has always been a male so far, has to make such a big thing out of the start of the fishing season and the hunting season.  It is assumed that all men in this state fish and hunt.  I do realize recently that they have played up women in these sports and openers, but really I know the message that is coming out, "Men's weekend out."

 

I have been explained by many men that it is not so much catching the fish or shooting the animal, it is the time spent bonding together.  Okay, then here are some other openers that need to be acknowledged by the Governor.

 

1) Start of the Christmas shopping season- Don't tell me this is religious or a female thing.  People of all religions and sex are part of this shopping thing.  It makes the news the day after Thanksgiving as to who stood in what  line at what awful hour to get one of twenty-five items available.  If the Governor were there in line at 4:30 AM waiting for his special gift, he would promote shopping just like he promotes fishing and hunting.  It would help the retail business.

 

2) Start of the house buying season- Right after Super Bowl Sunday Realtors are encouraging buyers to start their house hunting.  We could have the Governor going from open house to open house promoting house buying.  I know this would help greatly the housing market.

 

3)Start of the spring vacation season- Picture the Governor and his family in line at the airport waiting to go to a warm spot with sand, water, and sun.  He could talk to the media about the deal he got on his vacation and how he will twitter to all what he is doing on vacation with the family.  I know this would help our ailing tourism business.

 

4) Start of the Girl Scout Cookie Sales- This is not sexism.  It is the girls that sell those thin mints none of us can resist.  Cookie sales were down this year.  In fact the Girl Scouts had to go to Dairy Queen to pitch them to buy their cookies and mix them in a Blizzard.  The Governor, walking door to door with Girl Scouts, would only encourage cookie sales.

 

5)Start of March Madness- The Governor could be part of the office pool selecting the brackets for the teams.  All those dollars spent going into the pool could then be used to supplement our ailing economy.

 

Okay those thinking of running for office, this is just the start of what you can do with the office.  Don't limit it to a fishing boat or a duck blind. You can get out there and promote so many different aspects of our state.   It is a thought to consider.

Answer Correctly

Two months ago I listed the home of an older couple in SW Mpls.  It was built in around 1948.  There was blue carpet in the living room, hall, and both bedrooms on the main floor.  I asked the owners if they had hardwood floor under the carpet.  Their answer was yes.  On the Multiple Service Form (MLS) we stated there were hardwood floors.

 

To the sellers this most likely was not a big thing.  They were of the generation where wall to wall carpeting was more desirable than hardwood floors.  They saw the red oak only as a sub flooring.  I remember my mom telling me, as I was a little girl, how lucky we were to afford wall to wall carpeting. She told me stories of waxing and then taking the wax off the hardwood floors and how they would discolor.  As a very little girl I do remember slipping on newly wax floors.  To young buyers hardwood floors are very important.  They have no interest in carpeting and blue carpeting is at the bottom of their list. 

 

The buyers closed on this house and proceeded to take up the carpeting .  The bedrooms has beautiful hardwood floors. A buff and some poly and they would look grand.  The hallway and living room were plywood.  What a surprise to everyone.  There were contractors during this period that did not put hardwood everywhere.

 

A word of caution.  You might see hardwood in closets, in some rooms, but never state hardwood is throughout the first floor except for kitchen and baths unless you know for sure it is present.  The outcome here is going to be a cash settlement.  No Realtor, buyer or seller wants this to happen.  Always error on the conservative side.  That all saying, "Seeing is believing." is so true.

My Gardens

I always blog about my gardens so I thought I show you them . . . .

 

Some Words of Thanks

So many times we forget to say thank you for things that happen in our lives.  So I am going to say thank you for some current happenings.

 

*Thank you to the guy in the red truck who saw the file my husband had put on the roof of his car blow off.  He followed Charles to the gas station and handed it to him and left without a word.  It was a file with all the showing appointments for the houses Charles would show in 10 minutes.  An angle, yes.

 

*Thank you to all the residence who gathered last night and shared thoughts about their neighborhoods.  The block parties are a great way for neighbors to stay connected.  It really helps my people who just purchased and are in need of getting to know their community.  Memo to Jane:  Next year do not show houses on this evening.  It was most frustrating trying to drive SW Mpls as so many streets were blocked off.)

 

*Thank you to a buyer who hung in there since July 13th with an offer on one of my properties.  It took from them until yesterday to put the deal together.  Patience is a virtue.

 

*Thank you to mother nature for giving us some needed rain.  Is it rude to ask for more?

 

*Thank you to  North Korea for releasing the two journalists.  I am never going to complain about my job.  At least I don't get detained for being in the wrong spot.

 

*Thank you to my husband who is so kind to eat scrambled eggs for dinner at 9 PM when I get home from being with clients.  Keep those chickens laying eggs.

 

*And thank you to all those people I forget to say thank you to.  I will try to remember next time to say it out loud.