North Myrtle Beach

Tag: Home Tips

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3 Fun Garden Projects the Kids Will Love

Spring is here on the Grand Strand, and it’s time to start thinking about planting your gardens for the year. Instead of working on the garden on your own, allow the kids to join in the fun and help out. We at North Beach Realty have come up with a few fun garden projects that the kids will love too. Let’s look at three different things that the kids can join to help make the gardens a little more fun.

Sandbox Gardens

If your kids are a little older and no longer use that sandbox that you purchased or built for them, we have the perfect solution. This year use the sandbox as an herb garden instead of letting it sit and collect water or other critters in it. Have the kids help you clean it out and add some new dirt and fresh mulch to it. Then let the kids pick out which herbs they want to grow in the sandbox and allow them to plant the seeds. Your kids will love taking care of the herbs and watching them grow into something they can eat.

Decorating Wooden Spoon Garden Markers

Another fun project that your kids can do to help get the garden ready this year is to make their markers—buying several wooden spoons from the local dollar store, painting them, and allowing each one to decorate them. If the child is old enough to write, have them write the name of the plant on each spoon. After they have been decorated, be sure to seal them with some polyacrylic to sit outside in the garden next to each plant. Think of the fun everyone will have by doing these cute markers for the garden!

Easy Bird Feeder

Little ones always love watching the birds come into the yard during the spring and summer months. Instead of putting out a regular bird feeder that you purchase from the store this year, allow your kids to make a new one to add to the garden. One easy bird feeder that your kids can make is using a 2-liter bottle. Cut the middle halfway down to make it more like a boat. Next, add some string to each end of the bottle and put some birdseed into the bottle. Now it’s time to hang in your yard or garden and let the kids watch the birds come to enjoy their food. What a great way to spend a rainy day by making something fun for their garden with the kids.

A Few Honorable Mentions

We didn’t want to stop with just three, so we wanted to mention a few more that the kids would love.

  • Eggshell Seed Starters – if you want to recycle your eggshells, why not use them as a seed starter? Add a little soil to the eggshell, put a seed in it, water it, and watch it sprout. Transfer it to the ground or a pot when it gets large enough.
  • Colander Hanging Baskets – who want to plant your flowers in an ordinary pot when you can use old colanders instead? If you’re looking for some colorful ones, check out local thrift stores and paint them with outdoor paint. Then add your plants, add some string, and water away.
  • Felt Gardens – for the younger kids in the family who are just too young to help with the garden, making them their very own garden out of felt is just the ticket. This way, they can grow their little garden and still enjoy it 365 days a year inside the home.

You and your kids can do many other fun projects to get your garden ready this spring, but these are a few we wanted to share with you. If you haven’t found your next dream home here in North Myrtle Beach, allow us at North Beach Realty to help you out. We look forward to hearing about what projects you and your family did this year.

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Top 6 Spring Cleaning Tasks for your Home in North Myrtle Beach

Top 5 Spring Cleaning Tasks for your Home in North Myrtle Beach

Now that spring has arrived on the coast of South Carolina, it’s time for a little spring cleaning. As homeowners, there will always be things to do around your property during certain times of the year. Spring time is the best for many different tasks as you can get a head start for the summer months. If you are selling your home this summer, then doing these things this spring is essential to complete these maintenance tasks. Let’s look below at what our top 6 spring cleaning tasks you can do around your home.

Cleaning the Gutters

Top 5 Spring Cleaning Tasks for your Home in North Myrtle Beach

During the course of the winter months, you may notice that your gutters on your home are blocked with debris. While it may not be a favorite task to do as a homeowner, it can help you save money in the long run. A good cleaning of the gutters will help you in the long run so that there is no damage to your roof. Having a good runoff away from your home will help keep the pooling of water from forming at the base of your home. This can be a danger when it freezes or can even cause extensive damage to the foundation of your home as it sits. Just grab a ladder, gloves and a water hose to clean up the gutters.

Clean the Dryer Vents

This is a task that many homeowners forget to do anytime of the year but cleaning your dryer vents can help prevent a fire. Having dirty dryer vents can cause fires and this is something that you don’t want to happen. Taking a look at the vents on both the dryer and where it leaves your home is going to be the key. This task will take less than a few minutes to make sure that the vents are clean and not dirty to help prevent a fire later down the road.

Pressure Wash the Siding

Top 5 Spring Cleaning Tasks for your Home in North Myrtle Beach

November into early December is when you will stop mowing your lawn, but it’s also time to put the mower up for the season. Now that it’s spring time, it’s a good idea to make sure that you have your mower ready for the season. Check the spark plugs and cables and make sure that the blades are ready to cut the grass for the season. This can allow for a more evenly cut lawn without missing patches throughout the yard or having to go over the same spot a few times. It will also help save you money by getting the mower ready now rather than having to have it fixed later during the summer months.

Lawn Gear Ready

The fall and winter months can be a little rough on your home’s siding and can take a beating. From the rain and cold weather, it can cause for a few things to collect on the side of your home such as dirt, dust and algae. This can make your home look dirty and unattractive and can increase the wear on the siding when it’s not cleaned for months or even years. This can be an easy clean up with a little soap, brush and water hose to get it cleaned up. Or to make things a little simpler than renting or purchasing a pressure washer can be a better investment for years to come.

Clean & Re-Stain the Deck

Top 5 Spring Cleaning Tasks for your Home in North Myrtle Beach

Part of a good spring cleaning of your home would be to clean the deck of the dirt, dust and grime and re-stain it. This can help give your deck a new look by pressure washing the deck and can help make the wood last longer. Re-staining your deck will also help protect against the rain, sun and other elements outdoors. If you have a screened in porch, then this can also help preserve the wood and last longer without having to replace pieces of the deck later down the road. There are so many different color stains or even sealants that you can choose from, so just head to the hardware store and choose the one you like.

Update your First Aid Kits & Check Smoke Detectors

Two things often overlooked while doing a little spring cleaning are updating your first aid kits and checking your smoke detectors. This, for many, may seem like a hassle to check, but we, too, are guilty of not being diligent and checking even our own homes. Get your first aid kit together if you don’t have one and include some essential things like Band-Aids, antibiotic ointment, gauze, tape, Tylenol, Motrin, and medications for the kids, and we can’t forget about our pets. Also, check all your smoke detectors every six months, but if you forgot to do so, you might want to check them as soon as possible.

While there are many other things you can do to clean during this time of the year, we felt these are the best ones to tell you about. If you are thinking of placing your home for sale, we would love to help you and your family with the process. If you are in the search for a new home in the North Myrtle Beach area, we’d love to help you in that important search. We look forward to helping you and your family find the next best home this year!

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Freshen Up Your Curb Appeal Before You List Your Home

Freshen Up Your Curb Appeal Before You List Your Home

Are you thinking of putting your home on the market this spring? It should not come as a surprise that before you list your home that you need to make it shine. Prospective buyers will be coming through your home peeking in every nook and cranny to see what kind of space your home has. But while many homeowners focus on the inside, you will want to freshen up the outside of your home. The right curb appeal when you place your home on the market can help bring in many prospective buyers. We at North Beach Realty have come up with a few inexpensive steps to help you freshen up the curb appeal of your home before you list it.

Clean the Outside of the Home

Whenever you have a home for sale on the market, you want to make sure that it has been cleaned. For many potential home buyers, they want to see your home sparkle as bright as it can be and making sure your driveway is clean is a start. Over the years your driveway can become dirty from dirt, from grass clippings and more. While repaving may seem like a good option for a few people, it’s not necessary for most. Having someone come out and cleaning your driveway can sometimes be a little costly, but these days you can purchase one for less than $200. You can use the pressure washer to clean the siding on your home as well so this can be a good investment for your current home and your future home.

Freshen Up the Landscaping

Freshen Up Your Curb Appeal Before You List Your Home

While many potential buyers don’t care about what the landscaping looks like, to many it does. If you haven’t tidied up the front beds or don’t have any in front of your home, it’s a must do. It can get pretty costly to redo the landscaping, but we suggest only do a few things to help with the curb appeal. While some front yards may need more than $200 worth of work done, you can get it done for less than that price. We suggest that you do the work yourself or ask a few friends to help, put down some fresh mulch and add some easy-to-care-for plants. If you aren’t too sure which plants would work best for the area, we can suggest a few. Early Wonder Camellia, Crape myrtles, Hydrangea and Beach Ball Pittosporum are beautiful plants and work well in the climate in the south.

Front Porch Sittin’

Another wonderful way that you can add to your curb appeal is by adding a few easy things to your front porch. Many potential homeowners are looking for a front porch to sit on year-round so having an inviting one will help. If your front porch is a little on the small side, have no worries because you can add a few small things to help make it seem larger. Adding a few small planters by the front door or on the steps can help add some color to the house. Maybe changing out the light fixtures can help add a new look to your home as well. Adding a few additional things such as a small bench or a few rocking chairs to it will make the front porch inviting and welcoming to all potential buyers. Add a new welcome mat and an elegant wreath to the front door area to help make it cheerier and inviting.

New Look for the Front Door

Freshen Up Your Curb Appeal Before You List Your Home

This is one step that many homeowners overlook when they freshen up their curb appeal, the front door. Adding a fresh coat of paint to yours is not only a cheap and easy trick, but it can transform the way your home looks. Buyers will often times wait outside of the home for a few minutes while their agent is getting the keys out of the lockbox, so they have time to look at the front door. We suggest putting on a coat of paint that will help warm up the home and entry way but will also add to the curb appeal of your home. You can never go wrong with a classic color such as red, black, gray or even a coastal color such as light green or light blue.

Install Landscape Lighting

Did you know that having landscape lighting can make a significant impact on your curb appeal? Adding this can illuminate those dark pathways and your driveway and give you a sense of safety and security. Many homeowners looking to sell their homes use solar fixtures instead of hardwiring them. This can be costly if you hardwire them, as you’ll have to hire someone to do it. Plus, solar light fixtures are more budget-friendly, and they have so many different fixtures to choose from now. It may be hard to choose just one style for your landscape.

While there are many other ways that you can help freshen up the curb appeal to your home, these are just a few that we thought you’d like. Seeing the results after you have completed the above can help you be able to add more curb appeal to your beautiful home for the new homeowners. If you are still searching for a new home in the North Myrtle Beach area, please contact us today! We hope that you and your family will be able to sell your home and find a new home in the area.

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3 DIY Decorating Ideas for your New Home in North Myrtle Beach

Vintage chair makeover do it yourself project - chalk paint and new fabric

Have you recently purchased your home located here in North Myrtle Beach, and do you still need to decorate it? Have no fear, as we at North Beach Realty wanted to share a few fun DIY decorating ideas with you. Whether your home is your vacation home or your permanent home here at the beach, we’ve got 43ideas for you. Let’s peek at those three DIY decorating ideas that you can do within your new home here in North Myrtle Beach.

Chalkboard for Kitchen

A blonde woman stands with her back and writes in chalk on a black board in the kitchen at home. To-do list in the kitchen. Mom is home alone.

For many families, having a whiteboard or chalkboard in their kitchen can be a good thing. You can add this to your new home by finding a spot on the wall that would be a great place to have it. Then purchase some chalkboard paint, some crown molding or any kind of molding, and a few nails along with some paint for the trim. Then paint the area you’d like to put the chalkboard, frame it out with the molding and tada, you have your chalkboard. Write down your grocery list or make it a calendar and use it to keep up with your daily lives.

Picture Frame Shelf

Another great idea that you can do in your home to help decorate your walls is to find a few larger picture frames and make them into shelves. Head to a local thrift store or if you have some lying around your home, measure the inside of the frame where you’d like the shelf area to be. If you don’t have any extra boards or lumber lying around, a 2×4 board will work perfectly and cut and piece together the shelf. Then attach it to the picture frame, and you have created a little shelf for you to display fun things around your home. It’s a quick and easy project to let the kids get involved in too.

Rustic Mason Jars

White mason jar centerpiece with canvass flower and babies breath inside on a wood stump

If you’re into the rustic, farmhouse look that has become very popular over recent years, then this project is just for you. Mason jars are easy to locate, and many have them in their home already to use for storage. Start by painting each jar the color you’d like with craft paint, and then if you’d like to add lettering onto them, you can for an added look. Then take a piece of twine and wrap it around the top of the jar after the paint has dried. If you’d like to add a rustic look to the jars, take some extra fine sandpaper and sand a few spots on the jars. And just like that, you’ve made yourself some fun, rustic jars to put flowers in or other things lying around your home.  

While there are many other easy DIY decorating ideas, you can do in your home, and we wanted to share these with you. If you’re still on the hunt for your perfect home located here in North Myrtle Beach, we’d love to help. We hope that you and your family will enjoy these fun DIY decorating ideas for your home!

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3 Ways to Get Your Home Ready for Fall

new luxury home with elegant touches including covered entrance, and columns

It’s hard to believe that fall will be here before we know it, and now is the time to start getting ready. If only we could just decorate our home to get ready for fall, but there is much more to do to get your home prepared as a homeowner. We at North Beach Realty want to share with you all a few things that are a must. Let’s look below at our top 3 ways on how you can get your home ready for fall.

Clean the Gutters

Man cleaning the gutter from autumn leaves

Owning a home at the beach can be a great thing but making sure that all the gutters are free of debris can be overwhelming. If your home happens to have any trees around it, then you may not have noticed that your gutters are not draining correctly. If they are not, then you’ll not only have a flooded interior but also some damage to the roof as well. Be sure to clean out all the debris and leaves and check for any clogs before winter. This, in the long run, can help save you money as there will be no damage to your home.

Fertilize your Yard

Fertilizer for a lawn is added to a spreader, man pouring from orange bucket into the spreader with a handle and wheels

Another way that you can get your home ready is by getting your yard fertilized. Even if your yard looks amazing now, you’ll want to keep it looking that way year-round. Applying fertilizer in the early part of September to the first few weeks of October is the best time. Head to a local hardware store and pick up the right fertilizer for your yard. While your grass may look like it’s not growing and it might seem dead, applying fertilizer will allow for no extra damage to be done. By the time spring rolls around, your lawn should be back to its beauty without spending extra money on it.

Organize your Garage

Hand tools and many different items of a handyman in a garage

If your home has a garage and you have kids, your garage may seem like a hot mess right now. But one of the ways that you can get ready for the fall and the cooler months is organizing it. Head to the store and pick up a few boxes to store the items you won’t use in the fall or winter. Let the kids join in as they probably helped make the mess and spend the afternoon cleaning it together. Think of the fun memories you’ll make, and you might find that one thing you thought was long gone.

There are many other ways to get your home ready for fall, but we wanted to share these with you. If you haven’t found your next dream home located here on the Grand Strand, give us a call today. We hope that these few things will help get your family and home ready for the cooler months!

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Create a Living Room the Whole Family will Love

Create a Living Room the Whole Family will Love

Have you recently moved into a new home here in North Myrtle Beach, and you’re looking for a way to decorate it? We know that moving into a new home can be a little overwhelming. That’s why we at North Beach Realty want to share how to create a living the whole family will love. Let’s look below how you can make that living room that everyone will love in your new home.

Furniture

Create a Living Room the Whole Family will Love

One of the most daunting tasks for creating that perfect living room that the whole family will love is furniture. If you have small children, we know that finding the right fabrics for your couches is the key. If you happen to get leather, you may realize that it’s not the right thing for the kids. Look at the different fabrics available in most furniture stores to see which will hide stains or have a protective coating on the fabric. There are so many other options available for you to choose from now that will be perfect for your family.

Make the Space Function

Another great thing to make sure your living room is right for your family is to make sure it’s functional. If you have a space that may not be that larger, you will want to make it work for your family. Have some built-ins put into the room for extra storage for the kid’s toys or other things you may need? Add a bookcase or two to hold all of the family books on as well as decorations. Let the kids add their flair to the decorating as they too want to help with the house.

Sit Back & Relax

Create a Living Room the Whole Family will Love

Now that you have made your new house into your dream home, it’s time to sit back and relax. Your living room is now just as you want it, and the kids love it too. So sit back and relax and enjoy some time with the family in your new room. Grab some drinks, popcorn, and let the kids pick the movie. Just have a good time spending your time together as a family in your new home.

There are many other ways that you can make your living room perfect for the whole family to love. We, however, wanted to share these few with you. If you still haven’t found your dream home, then give us at North Beach Realty a call.

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5 Reasons Why Owning a Home is Amazing

5 Reasons Why Owning a Home is Amazing

While many have thought of renting a home for their family, we at North Beach Realty can tell you 5 reasons why owning a home is amazing! From putting your own personalization into your living spaces to turning it for a profit when you sell it. There are many reasons why many first-time home buyers can’t wait to find a house and make it into their home. Look below at our top 5 reasons why you must own your own home!

Your House, Your Rules

5 Reasons Why Owning a Home is Amazing

Unlike when you are renting a home or apartment, you can make your own rules for your own home. When you rent a home, you are unable to do what you want to the house such as changing the wall color to hosting parties if you want to. When you own your home, you can plant a big garden, fence in the backyard or even adopt a few pets. There is no one telling you otherwise of what you can and can’t do to your home. You are in complete control of what happens at your home!

Take Advantage of Those Tax Deductions

When owning your home, you can say it’s like an investment. While that doesn’t mean that you can reap the financial rewards up front, you can still take advantage of the homes benefits later on. Did you know that the IRS allows homeowners to deduct their mortgage interest, property taxes and capital gains each year from their taxes? That does seem to help all those who have homes and are wanting to purchase a home. You definitely can’t do that when you rent a house or apartment. Instead the actual homeowners get to reap the rewards while you live in their home. Owning your own home mean that instead of paying rent to someone else, you can reap the rewards year after year in your home.

Customize the Space

5 Reasons Why Owning a Home is Amazing

Another great reason of why owning a home is amazing is you can customize it to make it your own. If you’d like to set up the bonus room as a giant home theater with the high-tech equipment, you can. Whether you’d like to paint the living room a bright color, or want to redo the kitchen, it’s totally up to you. Owning your own home gives you the freedom to do just about anything you want to it. Plus, if you want to add some other high-tech home gadgets to it like a digital thermometer or want to install a home security system, there is not one stopping you. Have fun with customizing it to the way you want your home to look like.

Settle Down

When you purchase a home, that means that you can settle down and put down some roots in the area. Many new couples or families are always looking to settle down and purchasing a home is the way to do it. Find a neighborhood that you love, that you would like to see your kids grow up in. Finding the right neighborhood is just what every family long for and we can assist you in finding the right one that fits your family’s needs. We know where all the best family neighborhoods are if you are wanting to be in a great community.

Earn Money Back Once You Sell

5 Reasons Why Owning a Home is Amazing

It is a known fact that the longer you live in your home, the more equity you will have. And finding a home in a budding neighborhood today can really help with your homes appreciation. Doing home projects will also help building equity in your home, so if you see that project on Pinterest and say, I can do that, do it. Earning money back after your initial investment in your home can go a long way. When it is the right time to sell your home, we would be more than happy to help you sell it.

Homeownership can be a very rewarding experience especially if you have the right tools, resources and realtor. If you are considering in purchasing your first home, please give us a call and let’s talk about what your plans are. We hope that we at North Beach Realty can help you and your family find your first home before the holiday season!


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