LIST Birmingham - March 2021

LIST Birmingham - March 2021

M E L V I N ’ S M O N T H L Y M O M E N T S

MARCH 2021

205-223-6192 WWW.MELVIN.LISTBIRMINGHAM.COM

YOU ARE A SHERIFF AND A REAL ESTATE AGENT? THE REAL ESTATE PROFESSION: 101

How about a peek behind the curtain? How does the real estate profession really work? Let’s start with some basics. The average sales price for a home in our market is $400,000, and the seller typically pays a real estate commission of $24,000 (6%). Most people know 5–8 real estate agents and feel obligated to use one of them. The real estate profession euphemistically calls this “relationship” marketing, which sounds so much nicer than “guilt” marketing. Most Americans do not question this law of real estate. It costs 6%, you have to use someone you know, and we all know an agent. Bada bing, bada boom — $24,000. But, if we peel this back some and ask a few questions, well, it becomes tricky. 1. Why do I have so many friends with a real estate license? Easy! Anyone with a GED who can take a 60-hour online course in their pajamas and pass an exam on a ninth-grade reading level can become a real estate agent. It is the highest paying part- time job you can ever have. 2. Why am I paying $24,000 ($12,000 to the listing agent and $12,000 to the buyer agent) to someone if that is all you have to do to be an agent? Easy! They are your friend, and it will feel awkward if you do not use them. 3. But why is it so much money? That’s a really good question. The real estate industry set it up that way. The average real estate agent sells four homes a year. The lower the number of sales an agent has, the more of the commission the real estate company gets to keep. Higher-producing agents get to keep a higher portion of the commission. So, a real estate company would rather have 100 low-producing agents instead of one high- producing agent. (In Great Britain, the average agent does 50 transactions a year and the average commission is 2%. Only in America is the pricing structure so dysfunctional). 4. Doesn’t that mean my friend is using me to make money, a large portion of which goes to his real estate company? Yes, but I think your friend would phrase it differently.

“You are a Sherriff and a Real Estate Agent?”

5. Doesn’t it mean the real estate industry is promoting having more people get a real estate license, which means agents with less experience? Yes, but to the real estate companies, it just means a way to make more money. 6. Isn’t there a better way? Best question yet. LIST Birmingham is a flat fee/full-service company that has an efficient operation geared around one thing: selling a home. The $400,000 seller who uses our company will save over $9,000 in commission. 7. But are you any good ? No. We are incredible! Note the following fun facts: a. I have over 225 five-star verified Zillow reviews from my clients that proudly proclaim LIST Birmingham is THE BEST REAL ESTATE COMPANY THEY HAVE EVER HAD!

b. We had over $100 million in sales last year.

c. We have sold more than 1,500 houses in the past seven years, saving our sellers over $8 million in commissions. d. Our average agent sold 22 homes last year. I sold 87 — how is that for experience! We are also a relationship company, and we want to be your friend. Look at it this way. Which is better: a friend who charges you $12,000 or a friend who saves you over $9,000? About 70% of my business is referrals from past clients. Be a really good friend to your friends and refer them to me.

-Melvin Upchurch

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UNDER PRESSURE PROS AND CONS OF PRESSURE-WASHING YOUR HOME

Bolstering Your Curb Appeal

If you’ve ever used a pressure washer before, then you know that blasting away years of dirt, grime, and mildew from surfaces with highly pressurized streams of water is one of the most satisfying home projects of all time. Stains that would have taken hours, days, or even weeks of backbreaking scrubbing to remove disappear with ease when you have a pressure washer. Typically, 1,200–1,500 psi (pounds per square inch, the metric for pressure level) is a good setting for pressure-washing your home. Another method would be to “soft-wash” your home by spraying surfaces with a soapy solution before spraying them down with water at a much lower psi.

ON A BUDGET

As spring approaches, so does homebuying season. Homebuyers are most active in the month of May, so with the arrival of some warmer weather, now is the perfect time to update your home’s curb appeal if you plan on selling — or if you just want your home to look nice for the neighbors. That said, not everyone has a large budget for boosting their home’s curb appeal — but luckily, with these tips, a big budget won’t be necessary.

Clean up your lawn and flowerbeds.

Weeding, mowing, and planting might seem like no-brainers for sprucing up the front yard, but many people understandably avoid doing yard work in cold weather — which means by spring, there’s plenty to do beyond just a quick mow. Remember to clear any dead plants and leaves from the flower beds, edge the lawn, and maybe even spray some nontoxic grass paint on any dead patches in your yard.

Spruce up your front door.

Potential buyers and passersby will undoubtedly notice your front door more than any other part of your exterior. So, you should give it a fresh coat of paint, maybe in a color that tastefully contrasts with the color of the house to really make it pop. You can also garnish your front door with a fun knocker, seasonal wreath, or a nice potted plant with colorful flowers.

But beware: Pressure washers can be harmful in the wrong hands. Inexperienced users risk washing surfaces at too high a pressure, which can cause serious damage on some home surfaces. As fun and easy as it might seem to blast your home with 3,000 psi of water, it’s unlikely your siding, insulation, or even electrical components will like it as much. If the psi is too high on your pressure washer, water can leach into and behind wood siding — painted and unpainted — and cause insulation to mold, plaster to rot, and electric components to fail. Spraying a brick-and-mortar facade at too high a psi can also cause damage, especially on older homes. If the surface you’re spraying has peeling lead paint, using a pressure washer can turn into a health hazard. Aluminum siding and stucco could also be damaged by using too high of water pressure. When you pressure-wash your house, you also risk damaging windows and nearby plants. As a good rule of thumb, only use higher pressures (2,000–3,000 psi) on concrete, stone, and metal surfaces. You can always call a professional to pressure-wash your home the right way, but if you’re dead set on doing it yourself, remember to protect your eyes and any plants you’re fond of and keep your kids out of the way. Above all, don’t use too much pressure on your home to get rid of dirt, grime, and mildew. It might cause more problems than it fixes.

Touch up the exterior.

While your front door might be the focal point, making the rest of your exterior sparkle will definitely boost your curb appeal. While a fresh coat of paint can be costly, you can brighten it up by spraying off any dirt or dust with a hose instead! It also can’t hurt to wash the insides and outsides of the windows so they catch the sun at the right time of day.

Light up the front porch.

For the parts of the day when you can’t rely on the sun to show off your exterior, rely instead on some updated light fixtures. If you have old gold-colored fixtures for your porch lights, consider painting them black. Sometimes, a tasteful set of string lights can make the front porch look more vibrant and inviting, too.

If any of the above tips work for you, you can rest easy knowing none of them will break the bank.

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WANT ECO-FRIENDLY MATERIALS UNDERFOOT AT HOME?

4 Options for Green Flooring

When you’re deciding on what type of material to use for the floors in your home, you’ll need to consider several things. Cost and style will certainly be at the forefront of most homeowners’ and homebuyers’ minds, but another increasingly important factor is eco-friendliness. Here are a few flooring options for anyone wanting to tie their rooms together with something greener. Cork The major benefit of cork flooring when it comes to eco-friendliness is that it is harvested from the bark of cork oak trees, and harvesters don’t have to cut the trees down. The bark grows back every three years to potentially be harvested again. You can stain or varnish cork flooring to your liking, and cork can last 10–30 years depending on the quality. Concrete While the austere charm of concrete floors isn’t to everyone’s taste, when polished, it can be both pleasing to look at and eco-friendly. Concrete is sometimes used as subflooring in residential spaces, so when concrete is the floor itself, you use fewer materials. Plus, it never needs to be replaced. Alternative Carpet Materials While many types of carpet are produced from petroleum or are manufactured with volatile organic compounds, carpets made from natural materials like wool, seagrass, or jute are just as cozy for your feet. You can also utilize polyester Berber carpets made from recycled plastic bottles.

Reclaimed Hardwood Classic hardwood floors are stylish and timeless. So, if that’s the floor material you’re dead set on using in your home, one way to make it especially eco- friendly is to use reclaimed wood. While wood is a renewable resource, using wood from a previous construction ensures more of that renewable resource is left in the wild. Just make sure the wood you use hasn’t been treated with any toxic chemicals. While you might think that cost, style, and eco- friendliness can’t coexist in the same floor material, the above options and more show that eco-friendly floors are within reach.

ASPARAGUS AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA PIZZETTES Inspired by EatingWell.com

... continued from Cover TAKE A BREAK

Ingredients

Directions

• 1 lb prepared whole-wheat pizza dough, divided into 6 equal portions • 12 oz asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil • 1/4 tsp salt • 1 cup shredded smoked mozzarella cheese • 1/3 cup scallions, thinly sliced • 2 tbsp walnuts, toasted and chopped • 1 sprig of fresh mint leaves, torn • Zest of 1 orange

1. Preheat oven to 500 F and ensure there are two racks in your oven. 2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, stretch each piece of dough into a 7-by- 3-inch oval and arrange evenly on the pan. 3. On a second baking sheet, toss asparagus with oil and 1/4 tsp salt. 4. Place dough on top rack and asparagus on bottom and bake for 3 minutes. 5. Remove both trays from the oven, sprinkle cheese over the dough, then top with asparagus and scallions. 6. Return pizzettes to oven and bake until the crusts’ edges are golden, about 8–10 minutes. 7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with walnuts, mint, and orange zest before serving.

-Melvin Upchurch

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205-223-6192 WWW.MELVIN.LISTBIRMINGHAM.COM 300 UNION HILL DR., STE. 200 BIRMINGHAM, AL 35209

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INSIDE

1

A Sheriff and a Real Estate Agent?

2

Budget-Friendly Ways to Bolster Your Curb Appeal

Should You Pressure-Wash Your Home?

3

Tie Any Room Together With Green Flooring Materials

Asparagus & Smoked Mozzarella Pizzettes

4

The Best Flowers to Plant in March

FLOWERS TO PLANT THIS MONTH

AND ENJOY ALL SPRING AND SUMMER LONG

Even though this month is when spring officially starts, March can be a tricky time for planting flowers. In many parts of the country, the last of the nightly frosts can kill your flowers before they even break the soil. Fortunately, however, there are certain flowers that you can plant that will thrive for months to come.

If you’re looking for a plant that can grow even in the midst of snow or frost, try planting crocuses , pansies , or violas . If you

want flowers that will be protected against rodents, you can also plant daffodils , grape hyacinth , and fritillaria . They guard against critters as well as frost! For even more color and variety, you can try planting rhododendron , sweet alyssum , and roses , which you can both plant and prune in the spring. So, what are you waiting for? Get started on a garden you can appreciate all summer long today!

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