House & Home 757

03/12/2026

PCS orders come in… and suddenly the house you planned to live in for years is part of a new decision.
You bought when interest rates were incredibly low, maybe in 2021 or before, and now you’re staring at a 2–3% mortgage rate that is really hard to walk away from.
So the question quietly enters the conversation:
“Should we rent the house instead of selling it?”

Three things to consider:
1. Tenant screening
2. Careful not to underprice the rent
3. Take care of deferred maintenance

Happy Well Kept Wednesdays

03/05/2026

Happy Well-Kept Wednesday

Okay… last Olympic lesson, I promise. But this one stayed with me.

During a sledding event, she was racing headfirst at full speed. As she approached a turn, she didn’t panic. She didn’t overcorrect.

She simply adjusted her right toe.

That tiny shift kept her velocity.
Kept her line clean.
Carried her smoothly through the corner.

The commentator mentioned she was returning from the previous Winter Games.

This is what she brought back:
a toe adjustment.

And I couldn’t stop thinking about how often we believe we need a complete life overhaul.

New plan.
New city.
Blow it up. Start over.

But what if…

It’s not a reinvention you need.
It’s a toe adjustment.

A boundary.
A rhythm shift.
One hard conversation.
One focused hour.
One mindset change.

We lose speed when we overcorrect.
We lose momentum when we panic.

Before you convince yourself everything has to change, ask:

Is this a collapse moment…
or just a corner that requires precision?

Sometimes the breakthrough is on the other side of a small, brave adjustment.

Where do you need to lift your right toe?

02/26/2026

I’m still thinking about the Olympics y’all!
Have you ever caught yourself thinking something like…
“It’s been 10 years since I ____ Fill in the blank”
And suddenly it feels like the window has closed… like the story is already finished.
But Olympians don’t think like that.
An athlete might lose in one season…
fall short…
miss the podium…
And instead of calling it defeat,
they call it information. C’mon now!
They study it.
They adjust.
They train differently.
They come back stronger years later… and sometimes they win.
They stayed focused.

Time didn’t disqualify them.

They didn’t focus on … Oh my gosh I have to wait 4 years, they used time as their companion.

And it seems like they may have thought ok… “What did I learn… and what’s my next move?”

So many lessons in these competitions, resilience, endurance, belief, and the courage to try again.

I am so glad I watched them this time around!

It’s been a quiet reminder that the race isn’t over just because a chapter felt hard.

Maybe you needed that reminder too.

Happy Well Kept Wednesdays

02/18/2026

I have been obsessed with extracting principles that these olympians are carrying long before they stand at the finish line.
I am going to end each one of these posts on the Olympian Mindset the same way, and here it goes…
Most of us will never be athletic Olympians.
But we can be Olympians in our minds.
In our businesses.
In our homes.
In our callings.
We can:
• Treat losses as information.
• Make small, precise adjustments.
• Refuse to stay down when we fall.
• Keep skiing — even when we think we’ve lost.
Because sometimes the only reason you win…
is because you didn’t quit.
And that feels like a principle worth carrying far beyond the slopes.
-Kimberly Deane

02/12/2026

A recent legislative change in Virginia expanded timelines around non-payment notices from 5 days to 14 days, and while policy shifts happen, the financial reality for property owners doesn’t pause…

02/04/2026

Well Kept Wednesday | Property Management Tip

One Thing that I always recommend before you list your home for rent...

Prepare your property completely before you list it. In fact, make it parade ready.

One of the biggest misconceptions I see is the belief that listing a rental while repairs or cleaning are still in progress, will reduce vacancy.

In my experience, preparation does something far more important than saving time, it sets the standard.

The condition of a home communicates expectations long before a lease is signed.

It tells a prospective tenant:

“This is how this property is cared for, and this is how it’s expected to be maintained.”

When a home is fully prepared before it hits the market:

✔️ Repairs are completed

✔️ Paint is refreshed

✔️ Window sills, baseboards, and drawers are thoroughly cleaned among other things.

✔️ Fixtures and finishes are polished and functioning

…it attracts tenants who respect that level of care.

The opposite is also true.

When tenants walk into a property with unfinished repairs, lingering projects, or “we’re fixing that later this week,” it sends a different message. The broken window effect discussed in a 1982 Atlantic Monthly article by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling is real. When a property begins in a state of partial neglect, it can unintentionally invite the same level of care from the person living there.

Issues may go unreported. Maintenance may be overlooked by the tenant. Standards quietly decline, because neglect is an invitation …for what? For more neglect.

Owners sometimes feel they are losing time by waiting until everything is complete before listing.

But in reality, preparation builds momentum. A parade-ready home:

• photographs better

• attracts higher-quality applicants

• sets clear expectations from day one

• often minimizes vacancy rather than extending it

Rememer this, the condition you present at move-in is often the culture you create during tenancy.

Well-kept homes attract well-kept habits.

— Live Well. Love Home.

-Kimberly Deane

01/21/2026

Well Kept Wednesday | Property Management Tip
5 Things I Always Do When I Take on a New Property Management Listing
The work that protects a rental property doesn’t start after the lease is signed — it starts before the first tenant ever moves in.
Here are five things I do consistently at the beginning, because they set the tone for everything that follows:
1️⃣ Professional photography — always
High-quality photos matter. They attract better tenants, reduce time on market, and position the property as something worth caring for.
2️⃣ Staging guidance before photos are taken
Whether it’s simple layout advice or full staging support, how a home is presented impacts who it attracts. The right preparation leads to the right fit.
3️⃣ Thorough tenant screening (and patience)
This is the longest and most challenging part of the process — and arguably the most important. I screen until we find the tenant who truly meets the qualifications, not just the first one ready to move in.
4️⃣ Lease review with the tenant
I take time to walk through the lease in an office setting and answer questions. Clarity at the beginning prevents misunderstandings later.
5️⃣ Extensive move-in documentation
I take detailed photos of the home before a tenant moves in. This protects everyone and has proven invaluable during move-out inspections.
These steps may not be flashy, but they’re foundational.
I have found that they reduce friction, protect value, and create better outcomes for both my owners and tenants.
Well-kept beginnings lead to well-kept investments.
— Live Well. Love Home.
-Kimberly Deane

01/14/2026

This little girl loved open houses.

Sunday afternoons after church, I’d beg to be taken along if I spotted a sign.

More than 35 years later, that pull toward home hasn’t left me.

After doing what I do for a living for 20 years, it’s not the same as when I started.

The market is quietly aggressive.
Some weeks are full of “almosts.”
I had 3 just this week.

But the call is still the same.

To help people find spaces where they can grow, gather, and belong.
To walk alongside them when the path gets complicated.
To stay steady even when the ground shifts.

This is my reminder, and maybe yours too, that purpose doesn’t disappear in hard seasons. Sometimes it just asks us to remember where it began.

Happy Well-Kept Wednesday.

01/07/2026

01/07/2026

A brand-new place to land in Hampton.
Five bedrooms. Three full baths.
A first-floor bedroom + full bath that works as a home office, guest space, or multigenerational setup.

Easy access to Langley, JBLE, shipyards, I-64, and downtown.
Open layout made for real life—cooking, gathering, and everyday flow.
New construction means low maintenance, fresh systems, and peace of mind from day one.

Corner lot. Flexible space. Move-in ready energy.
This one adapts to your life, not the other way around.

DM for details or a private tour.

12/31/2025

As we close out the year, I reviewed the Southside of Hampton Roads market to understand what actually happened here locally, not what national headlines might suggest.

Here’s the simple truth from the data:

Median Sales Price: up from $349,900 → $365,000
Days on Market: up slightly from 34 → 36 days

So what does that mean?

Well-priced homes still sold close to asking.
Buyers weren’t demanding big discounts, they were demanding value.

With more inventory, buyers had more options and became more selective. Sellers couldn’t rely on scarcity alone. Homes needed to be priced right and parade-ready from day one.

Put it all together…rising prices, strong list-to-sale ratios, slightly longer market time, and increased inventory, and you get a clear picture:

This is a balancing market, not a weakening one.

Going into the new year:
We’re not in a market driven by urgency.
We’re in a market driven by strategy.

If you’re thinking about selling or buying in 2026, the winners will be the people who focus on:
• realistic pricing bands (what’s actually selling)
• preparation + condition
• hyper-local trends, not headlines

Want the numbers for your neighborhood? Send us a DM and I’ll tell you what I’m seeing.

— House & Home 757
Live Well. Love Home.
Happy New Year! 🎉

12/24/2025

A Thoughtful Take on Rent Increases:

One of the hardest things for many landlords to do is raise the rent.
It feels unkind. It can feel personal. And sometimes, compassion leads the decision instead of strategy.
But here’s something I’ve learned over time:
Thoughtful, consistent rent increases actually serve both the owner and the tenant.
When rent is never adjusted over a long period of time, tenants can unknowingly be set up for a very difficult transition later. When the home eventually sells or the lease ends, that tenant may suddenly be priced out of the market entirely or forced to absorb a large jump all at once instead of gradual, predictable increases over time.
On the owner’s side, avoiding rent increases slowly erodes the strength of the asset. Cash flow tightens. Repairs feel heavier. Motivation fades. I’ve seen owners grow exhausted, not because rental property is inherently bad, but because they never allowed themselves to experience the full benefit of owning one.
Eventually, that exhaustion leads to selling, not always because it’s the right strategy, but because it feels like the only way out.
A well-managed rental is not about being “nice” or rigid.
It’s about being fair, consistent, and forward-thinking.
Annual market reviews, modest increases, and clear communication create stability…..for everyone involved. They protect the tenant from sudden displacement and allow the owner to maintain the property well, stay engaged, and continue investing for the long term.
This is what equity stewardship looks like.

And it’s one of the most overlooked parts of long-term property success.

If you’re unsure whether your current rent aligns with today’s market or how to approach increases thoughtfully, I’m always happy to talk it through.

AND also… if you’re a landlord who hasn’t reviewed rent in a few years, this is your sign to pause, assess, and make a plan.

-Kimberly Deane 
House & Home 757 powered by RE/MAX Alliance
Live Well. Love Home.