Durant G. Vick GRI e-PRO with Valley Referral RE LLC

03/26/2026

Really nice looking

01/24/2024

As a follow-up to the Curb Appeal note sent last week that was directed toward the interior of your house here are some tips about the exterior Curb Appeal suggestions when selling. Here are eight tips from the National Assn of Realtors about CURB APPEAL for the exterior of the house. So often, planned expenditures for the sale of a house focus mainly on the interior. Keep in mind, many BUY decisions are made in the first one minute of a house search and the front of the house is the driving force.
Tip #1 - Wash the front of your house - windows, garage door, and all fixtures - power wash walk ways - refasten sagging gutters, repoint bricks, reseal driveway cracks, straighten shutters and make sure no peeling paint in window panes (lead paint issues)
Tip #2 - Freshen the paint job - best to use prior color and nothing wildly different from neighborhood.
Tip #3 - Regarding the roof - repair or replace if damage shown - catches eye immediately and really can affect an appraisal
Tip #4 - YARD - landscaping and neat yard give a great return on your investment in time and dollars
Tip #5 - Add a little COLOR - not one to add value but does increase appeal - red or blue door - colorful bench - few bright flowers - creates good mood!
Tip #6 - Mailbox and House Numbers - sounds crazy but little investment here can make a big difference - Decorative numbers, die cast mailbox, and address plaques all are enhancers.
Tip #7 - Fence Yourself In - if you have a front fence, make sure gate works well and all painted and landscaping around in good order. If you do not have one, consider a full frontal fence or a small one around a garden area.
Tip #8 - Maintenance a Must - like Tip #1 above, many little things can distract and can effect value by 10% or more.
One last suggestion - check out the preferred colors for this year for Front Door. Of all the ROI considerations, a new Front Dot color offers the best ROI of any investment. even though small.
High CURB APPEAL is important - so try these simple tasks to get maximum return and a quicker sale. Call Durant Vick at 540-354-4444 (or [email protected]) for assistance in Selling your house. Thank you. Durant

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12/01/2016

DRAWINGS BY DURANT
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Thank you for considering a rendering of your personal home or as a gift for a friend. I enjoy preparing and have being doing for friends, house warming gifts for our real estate clients, and for benefit silent auctions. Recently, I started offering to the public. I look forward to working with you. Using your photos or I will be happy to take, there are three different optional sizes (OUTSIDE MAT SIZE). Pets and Boats also.
11” X 14” $75.00
12” X 16” $95.00
16” X 20” $110.00
Plus 24 Note Cards/Envelopes
Thank you Durant Vick
The Real Estate Group
[email protected]
540-354-4444

08/18/2015

Just saw a short list from the National Assn. of Realtors of 6 special things for a NEW HOME BUYER to do immediately when they close on their new home. First and foremost, is to change all the locks on the doors and the garage door code. You never know which former family members or neighbors has a key. You want to control who has. You can actually have a locksmith change the tumblers at a lower cost than putting in new locks. Second, make sure you know the location of your water shutoff valve plus get a good understanding of the electrical panel and how the wires run. Third, check for potential or present water leaks. Even with a home inspection, there could be water intrusion. Fourth, check for mice, rodents, etc and possibly other creatures especially in the attic. Fifth, clean and reline your cabinets especially in the kitchen. Sixth, steam clean your carpets and add a new house smell to your new investment. Enjoy your new home.

02/04/2015

Following up on the comments made Monday about Curb Appeal and its importance, let me offer another suggestion that Sellers seldom consider. A seldom practice event is to let transparency equal trust. You ask, what does that mean? A Buyer will want to do a Home Inspection plus other inspections so instead of inviting disappointments, delays, and possible distrust, go transparent with your own pre-sale inspections (under $500). If in the city or Roanoke County, having the Western Virginia Water Authority do the water test, is free. The termite check will be $35 to 100. The Home Inspection and Radon is about $400 depending on size of the house. It's far better to know now about issues with the plumbing, HVAC, foundation, electrical system, and roof. Then provide the interested Buyers with the reports along with repair receipts, and explain it or how you have adjusted the price accordingly. They still might want to do their own inspections but at least you have support from a professional home inspector to justify your position. This again lets the house sell itself! Happy selling

11/21/2014

Today, some information about FICO scores. To borrow, you have to have and the score needs to be good. 800-850 is perfect!! 580 to 679 is Fair and 500 to 579 is Poor. You need 620 at bare minimum to get loans today and possibly even higher. Debt should be no more than 20% of total income. The FICO score is based upon (1) payment history, (2) how much used, (3) loan history of use, (4) mix of different types of credit helps, and (5) hopefully not a lot of inquiries or a lot of new cards. Experian, Equifax, and Transamerica are the three who do and you can get free ones annually at annualcreditreport.com. It is good to check annually to make sure nothing strange has occurred. If you do not have a FICO score, you can build your credit. Get a bank checking account. You can get secured cards then but do not use prepaid cards as they are not reported to the credit bureaus. Another good way, is to have utilities in your name as they do report if you ask them to do so. You can always ask someone to co-sign but be aware that you really put them at risk. Sandy and I have a great mortgage reference if you need more detailed information, so let us know. Might add - new rules forthcoming that will allow relief from health related issues - if you are behind in paying for medical treatments, the FICO score will not be penalized as much as in the past.

11/03/2014

As a follow up to the October 15 note below about having yard work as an enhancer in selling your house, here are eight tips from the National Assn of Realtors about CURB APPEAL for the exterior of the house. So often, planned expenditures for the sale of a house focus mainly on the interior. Keep in mind, many BUY decisions are made in the first one minute of a house search and the front of the house is the driving force.
Tip #1 - Wash the front of your house - windows, garage door, and all fixtures - power wash walk ways - refasten sagging gutters, repoint bricks, reseal driveway cracks, straighten shutters and make sure no peeling paint in window panes (lead paint issues)
Tip #2 - Freshen the paint job - best to use prior color and nothing wildly different from neighborhood.
Tip #3 - Regarding the roof - repair or replace if damage shown - catches eye immediately and really can affect an appraisal
Tip #4 - YARD - like previous article - landscaping and neat yard give a great return on your investment in time and dollars
Tip #5 - Add a little COLOR - not one to add value but does increase appeal - red or blue door - colorful bench - few bright flowers - creates good mood!
Tip #6 - Mailbox and House Numbers - sounds crazy but little investment here can make a big difference - Decorative numbers, die cast mailbox, and address plaques all are enhancers.
Tip #7 - Fence Yourself In - if you have a front fence, make sure gate works well and all painted and landscaping around in good order. If you do not have one, consider a full frontal fence or a small one around a garden area.
Tip #8 - Maintenance a Must - like Tip #1 above, many little things can distract and can effect value by 10% or more.

High CURB APPEAL is important - so try these simple tasks to get maximum return and a quicker sale.

10/15/2014

Just reviewed an interesting article entitled - "Does Landscaping Increase Your House Value?" It was taken from an older Va Tech study (426-087). Answer was a definite YES with total increase made up of 42% of increase from Design, 36% from Plant size and 22% from Diversity of plants.

Design meant manageable, uncluttered front yard - Size meant different sizes, color and shapes so more appealing, and Diversity with mixture of perennials and annuals with mulch. A $150,000 house could see a $8,500 to 19,000 increase in value with nice landscaping per the study. I guess old term CURB APPEAL" means what it says!!