If it does, then you”re like many people who’ve bought an older, charming colonial home in Bergen County.  Along with the home (and especially if you bought it in towns with large inventories of charming colonial homes like Tenafly or Teaneck or Ridgewood) you got a red brick fireplace in the living room that you figured you’d fix in the future.  An article I read in Lowes “Creative Ideas” magazine recently showed how you can transform that old red brick quickly and affordably.   

Lowes has a special program for real estate agents which I’ve found to be a great help for my clients and myself.  Recently there was an article in “Creative Ideas” that solved this problem.  By resurfacing the existing red brick with a combination of tile and slate you create an amazing, beautiful effect immediately. 

This fireplace was an old, stained, red brick unit and then the Lowes team went to work  with a combination of tile and slate.  You can, of course, use other tile and stone materials but the change is certainly remarkable.  No structural renovations were needed to make this fireplace a modern showpiece.

If you’d like to get “Creative Ideas” you can go to http://www.Lowes.com or you can get in touch with me for the full real estate agent benefits program.  Lowes has many simple and affordable solutions to design problems for homeowners and they also have a lot of good tips for you too.

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Go to http://www.HouseLogic.com and take a look yourself.  Buying a house in Bergen County is the start of a long term relationship with your home and your community.  House Logic helps you ”protect, maintain and enhance the value of your home” in so many ways.  I found tips on how to do economical repairs that pay big dividends to how to get tax credits for energy efficient improvements. 

If you aren’t a homeowner and are thinking of buying a home, this site is for you too.  There is so much excellent information about homeownership that you’ll get a great education. 

The site is very detailed about all sorts of things.  For example, House Logic has an entire section on improving your insurance score.  Most people don’t realize how devastating a bad credit score can be.  When I tell my clients that a poor credit rating even affects your insurance premiums they are usually surprised.  Here you will learn how a credit rating affects your homeowner insurance premium.  It’s a fabulous website for consumers.

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Most of us don’t realize how much damage clogged gutters can do to a house.  Let’s face it – gutters aren’t the most glamorous part of anyone’s home but they’re sure one of the most important.

Gutters keep water away from your home which is critical to maintaining the structure.  When they become clogged with leaves and grit they can do tremendous damage to exterior walls, cause inside wall leaks, start foundation leaks and even help to create the perfect setting for ice dams which seriously damages your roof.  Having a gutter guard system doesn’t eliminate the need for cleaning because while these systems keep out leaves, they don’t stop a grit build up.

Getting your gutters cleaned is one of the least expensive maintenance items and, if you know how, you can do this yourself.  I’m not that adventurous so I always hired someone to do it.  If you’re in Bergen County and need a recommendation, just let me know.

Take advantage of our milder temperatures this week, get your gutters cleaned and avoid thousands in repair bills.

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