Jennifer Hallock Realtor - Richmond VA Real Estate

More home and less yard appeals to some homebuyers. If you fall into this category, a zero-lot-line home may be right for you. Read up on the advantages and disadvantages here to help make your decision.

Is a Zero-Lot-Line Home for You? For homeowners wanting little or no yard to maintain, a zero-lot-line home may be the answer. What is a zero lot line home, and is it right for you?

From 1-10, how important is having an outdoor oasis in your back yard?

Depending on the state of your carpets, prior to listing you may need to have them replaced. However, you may be able to save money by simply having them cleaned. Here are some tips on getting the job done right.

To Replace or Clean Your Carpets? Clean your home’s wall-to-wall carpet before listing for sale. Here are a few tips on carpet and area rug cleaning to stage your home in style.

Leather furniture is rich, comfy and durable. But it still requires kid-glove care for a long life. Follow this leather-loving tutorial.

Lengthen the Life of Leather Furniture With Proper Cleaning Luxurious leather furniture never goes out of style and has a timeless appeal. Here’s how to clean leather furniture so that you can enjoy it for years.

Do you need an attorney to help you through the buying or selling of a home, or is this something you can DIY? Here are the reasons hiring legal counsel is money well spent.

Do You Need a Real Estate Attorney to Buy or Sell a Home? When you are buying or selling a home, do you need a real estate attorney to help with the transaction? Here’s why hiring an attorney is money well spent.

Does your home have a separate office space? If not, do you want one?

An installment sale of property can provide tax benefits worth thousands of dollars to a seller. It can also help a buyer purchase without mortgage financing. Here’s how it works.

Save on Taxes With a Real Estate Installment Sale If you sell real property, you can avoid or reduce your capital gains tax by structuring the deal as an installment sale. Here’s how it works.

When your water heater fails, it’s never at a good time: mid-shower, in the middle of a load of clothes or when you’re washing dishes. Here are the signs it’s time to repair or replace your heater.

When to Replace Your Water Heater Taking a shower is soothing and comforting until the hot water suddenly isn’t. Prevent a crisis with guide to your home hot water heater.

Buying a new construction home is exciting! It is also quite a process, so consult this guide to help you with the sales and construction process.

Your Guide to Buying a New Construction Home Getting the keys to a freshly built house is exciting, but requires much planning. Let’s take a look at what’s involved in buying a new construction home.

Which is more important to you - an inviting front porch or a relaxing back deck?

When selling your home, don't overlook staging your outdoor areas. A little splash of color can go a long way in making a drab area pop and look inviting. Here are some more outdoor staging tips to help make your home sell quickly.

Outdoor Staging Tips That Pop Whether you’re welcoming guests or potential home buyers, it’s important that your home make a good first impression. But with so many elements — flowerbeds, lawn, mailbox, porch and the all-important front door — addressing your home’s exterior can seem overwhelming. If you don’t know w...

Now that you’re working remotely from your home office, how do you clean up the unsightly tangle of cables and wires from all your devices? Use this guide to master that tangle tango.

The Tangle Tango: Hide Those Unsightly Cords The growth in home technology creates some unsightly cords hanging from everywhere. Here’s how to manage cords effectively and attractively in your home.

Found the home of your dreams and ready to make an offer? Here's how it's done as well as the responsibilities of both parties.

Making an Offer to Buy a House: What You Need to Know Navigating competing offers when buying a house is tricky, and applicable laws vary from state to state. Here is what you need to know.

A four season porch lets you enjoy the outdoors all year long. Would you say it's worth the investment?

Should you invest in a remodeling project to update your home before selling? Read on to help make your decision.

Should You Remodel Before Selling Your Home? Home in many parts of the country are selling so briskly, so is it worth the money to remodel a kitchen or bath to make yours more appealing to sellers?

How to keep that grass green and lush in the summer months without the expense? The key is conserving while watering:
1. Water at consistent times (usually early morning before it gets hot)
2. Water the same amount each time
3. Angle sprinklers to only water you lawn (not your sidewalks.
Read on for a full list of Summer To-Dos for homeowners.

Summer Prep: Conserving While Watering While immersing yourself in summertime activities, it’s important to set aside enough time to take care of home and yard chores. Here are 10 must-do items while summer’s in full swing.

You may have rented apartments, but renting a home is different in many ways. Here’s what you need to know.

Is Renting a Home Right for You? You probably think first of an apartment when it comes to renting. Instead, let’s consider the differences between renting a home versus an apartment.

Formal Dining Rooms: A thing of the past, or making a comeback?

You may be enticed to remodel that unused porch into an indoor sunroom, but consider that you likely won't get a return on that investment when selling. Here are some more renovations you may want to avoid.

Home Value Renovation Losers Before jumping into a home remodeling project, think hard about the reasons behind your proposed renovations. If an anticipated big payoff at resale time is one of your top priorities, you might want to reconsider. Here are a few of the biggest home improvement losers:

Mosquitoes aren’t just annoying. They can also spread disease. Here are some tips for rescuing your yard and your health from these pesky bugs this summer.

Air Raid Defense: Eliminating Mosquitoes Around Your Home Eradicating mosquitoes on your property is an important health exercise, as well as a way to make time spent outdoors more enjoyable.

The simple white and black appliances of the past have blossomed into an array of color choices and textures. If you are looking to upgrade appliances in your new home, check out this handy guide before you start shopping.

Gorgeous Choices in Appliance Finishes Today's appliances come in an array of new textures and colors. Let’s find the perfect appliance finishes for your dream kitchen.

"Land of the free, home of the brave." Happy Independence Day to you and your family!

First time home seller? It's time to get all those unfinished projects done! Here are some common FAQs for you to review.

First Time Home Seller Tips Selling a home is a complicated process, especially if you are new to it. Let’s relieve any anxiety with answers to some common FAQs.

We love hot fun in the summertime, but excessive heat crashing your air-conditioner isn’t fun at all. Keep cool with these protective steps.

Help Your Air-Conditioner Keep Its Cool When the demand for power surges in the heat, HVAC systems are pushed to the max. Here are eight steps to prevent your air-conditioner from collapsing.

In a hot seller’s market, buyers may put expiration dates and times on their offers in hopes of cutting through competing offers. Does an offer expiration work? When should a buyer use one?

Is a Buy Offer Expiration Date Effective? The real estate market is white-hot, with many homes selling in a single day. Some buyers put an expiration on their purchase offer to stay competitive.

House Rules: Do you let your pets on the furniture? (How can you resist those faces?)

If selling your home, make sure to remove all evidence of pets before showings - inside and out. Buyers don't want to see or smell your fur babies during (or especially after) they visit! Here's how to make a plan for your pets.

Keep the House & Yard Clean and Smelling Good When Selling with Pets When putting your home up for sale, it’s crucial to make a plan for your pets. While prospective buyers may love their own pets, they don’t want to see — or smell — yours when touring your home. Here are a few ideas for keeping your pet’s presence low profile. Arrange for help. Boarding yo...

Safe construction and regular maintenance keep your deck a safe place to relax. Here’s what you need to know.

Keep Your Deck Safe With Proper Construction and Maintenance How can you ensure that your deck stays safe, or build a new one that is trustworthy? Here’s our guide to safe construction and deck maintenance.

If you qualify as a first-time homebuyer, several homeownership incentive programs can ease your way into buying a house. Read on to learn if you are eligible.

Homeownership Incentives for First-Time Buyers Did you know that federal and state governments, as well as mortgage lenders, offer homeownership incentive programs that can help you buy your first house?

Black plumbing fixtures can add a modern, classy look to a bathroom, but can require constant clean & dry due to water spots. Would you consider it?

Celebrating and embracing the differences, respect and happiness that make us one free nation this Juneteenth.

Let's hear it for all the great Dads out there! Happy Father's Day!

You’ve got plenty of choices in materials when it comes to choosing a kitchen sink. Check out our guide to the pros, cons and prices of various kitchen sinks.

Which Material Is Best For Your Kitchen Sink? When you are building out a new kitchen, you’ve got lots of great choices when it comes to your sink. Here’s our guide to seven kitchen sink materials.

You want to start investing in real estate, but you can’t get sufficient funding from a traditional mortgage lender. Good news! There are ways to use other people’s money to get you started. Here are five alternatives to traditional real estate financing.

Financing Real Estate Purchases With Other People’s Money If you want to begin investing in real estate, you may find that traditional financing sources like don’t work for you. Here are 5 other money sources.

Small Spaces Tip: Before buying furniture, get the measurements and use painter's tape to mark its placement on the floor

If you have the old style 3-4 nest bulb ceiling fans, you'll want to consider updating these fixtures before listing. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy update to add some modern style to your home. Learn about your options here.

New Ceiling Fans for an Easy Home Update If you watch any of the TV design shows, the ceiling fans seem to be ignored in makeovers. By omission, you could easily get the impression they have become a design faux pas. The fan industry sees things otherwise and has some sleek designs hitting the market. Fan makeover. Forget the brass trim an...

It’s annoying to try to shave or apply makeup in a bathroom with inadequate light. Check out our guide to bathroom lighting so that this important space will shine bright.

Best Bathroom Lighting Ideas Since your bathroom is where you prepare to meet the day, good bathroom lighting is essential to looking your best. Here's who to illuminate the bath.

If you’ve filed for bankruptcy, you may still qualify for a mortgage. Homeownership after bankruptcy is possible, but you’ll need to work hard and learn how to navigate the rules.

Hope for Homeownership After Bankruptcy You may fear that bankruptcy means the American dream of homeownership is out of reach, but all is not lost. Homeownership after bankruptcy is possible.

For outdoor entertaining, do you prefer a covered porch or a pergola?

In addition to decluttering your kitchen counters, you will also want to address inside your cabinets as well since serious buyers will want to check for storage space. Here are some hacks you can use to curb the clutter.

Staging Tip: Declutter Kitchen Cabinets If chaos in the kitchen is sending you to the drive-through window a bit too often, it’s time to take control with the help of some time-saving, storage-friendly kitchen hacks. Here are five to get you started. Pull-out shelves. If you have to kneel down and rummage through deep corner cabinets, p...