Virtual House Hunting in Calistoga, California

Find your Calistoga, California homes with Virtual Tours:

I know that virtual shopping for a home in Calistoga California, from your current home, isn’t ideal. You want to walk into a home and feel, well, at home. But sometimes, like during a pandemic, virtual house hunting is the best way to stay safe and to keep your distance. That doesn’t mean you can’t find the right home though. Instead of visiting all of the available homes in person, take a virtual tour. That way you can weed out the homes that do not work for you and we can line a up safe visit to the homes that do work.

House hunting, while your area or region is in lockdown, may have benefits you haven’t thought of. There might be less competition for the home in the areas where you might be planning to move. Or sellers could be more motivated to sell. You might find that folks are more flexible on the sales price.

Starting your hunt virtually as you shelter in place is beneficial too because you have more time to shop online. You can make a more thorough search. And, that extra effort could give you just the advantage you need to find the home you love within your budget. After the crisis passes, more house hunters will compete for what is on the market. This may make prices escalate. A more competitive market will benefit a seller more than a buyer. So taking a few steps toward your homeownership goal now might be the right move for you.

Here are several Calistoga, California homes for you to take a virtual walkthrough.

Calistoga, California Homes with Virtual Tours

Make a list of the ones you like the best. Then, let me know which are your favorites. And then, when circumstances permit, we can take a live tour. Or, you might decide from the virtual tour that you have found your perfect new home. We can complete everything off-site. When it is yours and you have the keys, just move right in.

If you are looking for homes in other cities, check these out here:

Easy Home Updates Before Selling

I often get asked how my clients can improve or make easy home updates before selling – or for their own enjoyment. So, naturally, I had to write a blog post about it! Below is my list of top updates to make to your home on a budget, but also with substantial return on your investment.

Top 5 easy home updates before selling

1. Kitchen Update

easy home upgrades before selling - before and after bathroom update

Kitchen remodels don’t have to be a huge undertaking with a high ticket price. Even small kitchen remodels can earn an 83% return on investment (per NerdWallet).

Small remodels could include:

Replacing one or two appliances with high energy-efficiency ratings
Updating flooring
Updating countertops
New paint
Refacing cupboard doors

If you are considering doing a complete remodel of your kitchen, you first may want to reach out to a real estate expert to discuss how much your home value might increase from doing so. The idea is that you don’t want to out-price the standards of your community; if other homes in your neighborhood are selling for a fairly standard price range, your kitchen upgrade may not provide you with additional value if buyers are unwilling to pay. I’m happy to discuss this further with you!

2. Convert or Build a Home Office

Home offices were once seen as a luxury space in a home, but in today’s new work environment of millions of people telecommuting, they have become almost a must-have for a large majority of buyers. In fact, it was found in a recent HomeLight survey that buyers care more about there being a home office than the square footage or move-in ready status of a home!

Depending on the size of the conversion or the extent of a new build (such an add-on room or a separate ADU) the estimated amount that will be added to the resale value of your home can range from $10,000 to several $100,000’s. This is definitely one for consideration!

3. Open Up The Floor Plan

The amount of buyers I have worked with and the number of those that comment about how they love an open concept floor plan is staggering – but also not surprising. Open floor plans make a home look bigger and are perfect for entertaining. Smaller, closed off rooms, including the living room, dining room and, most especially, the kitchen can often make a home feel disjointed and lacking of flow.

So, knocking out the right wall(s) can certainly create the spacious layout many buyers are looking for. This upgrade can also invite more natural light into the open space, which, if you know me at all, means more indoor plants!

4. Curb Appeal

You know the saying – first impressions last. Well, since the first thing any buyer is going to see is what is leading them up to the front door, having great curb appeal is a definite top six upgrade. And the best part about this upgrade is it can cost very little but have extremely high return on your investment – sometimes over 500%!

Simple upgrades such as the addition of bark can make a huge difference to the curb appeal of a home – plus it is very California-friendly. Drought resistant yards is gaining popularity and is often seen as a potential homeowner’s benefit – never having to water the yard does the world good!

Some curb appeal updates include:

New front door
New garage door
New mailbox and house numbers
Exterior paint
Front porch seating
Drought-resistant plants
Artificial grass
Neutralize the walls

Greiges, whites, grays and beiges are all preferred household paint colors and for good reason. Light, neutral wall colors are very easy on the eyes and are, generally, universally accepted. Bright, personalized colors (think dark oranges or greens) can throw off your ability to imagine your belongings in a house and definitely put off a potential buyer.

Do it yourself painting is also one of the cheapest ways to increase your home’s value and is an easy home upgrade before selling, so if you’re up for the task, you’ll save yourself quite a lot of expense.

5. Bathroom Update

Adding a full bathroom to a home can generate, on average, 65% return on investment. A full bathroom is considered to be a shower, sink and toilet. However, not all bathroom upgrades need to be a complete overhaul to provide some great return on your investment.

Swapping out outdated fixtures is a great and inexpensive way to bring your older bathroom back to life. Popular finishes like satin or brushed nickel pair well with most tile, while chrome is a more classic look, but wow do those water spots show up!

Turning a single sink to a double can be an excellent decision. As a rule, you’ll need a minimum of 60 inches to comfortably accommodate two sinks. Vessel or undermount styles will make the most of limited counter space.

As with any room in a house, updating light fixtures is also a great way to create a more modern look, and adding dimmers also enhance their versatility.

New shower fixtures can also help, and is most likely something you can do by yourself. However, for more extravagant showers with a spa-like feel, adding multi-head showerheads or multifunction shower systems will probably require a plumber – reach out to me if you need a great plumber that we explicitly trust!

I hope these various easy home upgrades before selling have given you some ideas as to how you can spend a little but get a lot in return! If you have questions or would like to discuss how best to upgrade your home, please reach out to me at 707-210-5500 and I’d be happy to chat with you about it and give you some pointers.

Luxury California Homes – Napa Valley

Napa Valley Luxury Homes

Interested in luxury California homes, or more specifically luxury Napa Valley investment homes? Or maybe you are just moving to Napa and would like to have some residual income? Then this is the place for you!

In the heart of Downtown Napa Valley sits this award winning Italianate. There are two luxury homes on this property, both entirely remodeled from studs in, during 2016. It is also a 2016 recipient of the prestigious Napa Historic Landmarks award.

Downstairs, the home offers 2 on-suite bedrooms, master chefs-kitchen, including an 8 burner stove with double oven Wolf range and Sub Zero refrigerator. The gorgeous floors are an exquisite red oak quarter sawn hardwood.

Upstairs, the home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The entire interior of the property has artisan level 5 smooth wall plaster finish. The wall wash lighting designed by designer Hideo Tanai can be found throughout both homes.

The detached oversized garage with 14′ ceilings and open beam construction is a permitted ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) capable. ADU plans have been approved by the city.

There is gorgeous landscape with herringbone brick all throughout the property. There’s just so much to see and love about this property!

Here’s the best part! This luxury home in Napa has just been reduced by $300,000 (as of May May 5th, 2022)! So, don’t delay if you have interest in this amazing property – contact me today at 707-210-5500 for a private showing or a live virtual tour.