By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team Hosting a holiday gathering can be a lot of fun, but perhaps a bit intimidating, too. You want your house to look its best, but now isn’t the time to undertake any major updates. Chances are, you’re busy enough just preparing for the event. So, focus on just the areas of your house where your guests will spend time. Whether you’re a first-time party host with a few jitters, or an old pro looking for some new ideas, these tips will help you ensure that your home is ready for any gathering.

Light the way

The sun sets early this time of year, so it’s important to make sure the entrance to your home is clean and well-lit. If you have a large front yard, try to focus on just the front entryway and the path leading up to it. Install porch lights, or replace the bulbs on existing lighting. Cut back any shrubbery that is obstructing the walkway. On the day of your party, open the blinds on the front windows so your guests can see into your warm, festive-looking home as they approach. It’s a great way to create a sense of welcoming anticipation. Pro tip: The easiest possible way to create instant lighting for walkways and paths is with the solar lights that you just stick into the ground. The sun does the rest of the work!

Take care of the bottom line

Our mothers used to say this, and it’s true: If your floors are spotless, they make your whole house look cleaner. Even if you’re unable to do an in-depth house cleaning before your gathering, you will certainly want to make sure that all floors have been cleaned before that first guest steps over the threshold. Pro tip: If you have carpeting, clean the carpets a minimum of three days ahead of your affair to make sure they have dried fully.

Brighten up your bathroom

If you’re bothered by grimy-looking grout in your bathroom, try this easy, inexpensive, and non-toxic method to get rid of it nearly instantly: Just spray on some full-strength hydrogen peroxide, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then wipe clean. That’s it! Next, add some flowers, holiday decorations, or pictures on the wall to further spiff up your powder room, and it will be ready for your guests.

Pro tip: Instantly de-clog a slow-moving sink drain with a Zip-It. This inexpensive tool looks like a giant zip-tie. You just work it down into the drain to pull up hair clogs — all the other gunky stuff will come up with it.

Tune up kitchen appliances

Your kitchen appliances will be the workhorses of your holiday party, whether you’re hosting a full family dinner or a cocktail party. You want them to be fully functioning and ready for action. Make sure all stove burners are working. Now’s the time to clean the oven if you haven’t done that for a while. Clean out the refrigerator, and make sure that both the fridge and freezer are running at their optimal temperatures. Make sure your dishwasher is in good working order. You can clean it easily with a dishwasher cleaner that you run through a cycle. Pro tip: Sharp knives will make easy work of preparing the big meal. Make sure all your kitchen knives are newly sharpened, and also check the batteries in your electric carving knife, if you have one.

Make your space kid-friendly

If you make your home welcoming for children, you will ensure that their parents have a great time as well. If you happen to have kids that are the same ages as your young guests, you’re in luck. But if not, consider adding some considerate touches that will make parents more comfortable, and alleviate kid boredom. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Turn a spare room or an upstairs bedroom into a private nursing/changing area for a new mom.
• Toddlers and younger children will want to be near their parents, so a good idea for them is to set up a corner of your living or dining room with toys, books, a tablet for watching cartoons, and some comfy pillows or throws.
• One of our favorite strategies for older kids is to turn the dessert course into an activity. For instance, you could bake a huge batch of sugar cookies in holiday shapes, and then put out different colors of icing to let kids (and adults) go to town with decorating their own cookies.

Pro tip: If you don’t already have children, or if yours are older, don’t forget to kid-proof your space. Put away anything expensive, breakable, or unstable. Do some baby-proofing, if necessary. This way you and the parents can relax and not have to worry about safety hazards. Hopefully these ideas will take some of the worry out of holiday entertaining, and ensure that you and your guests can relax and enjoy each other’s company this season. Please note that this Scottsdale Real Estate Blog is for informational purposes and not intended to take the place of a licensed Scottsdale Real Estate Agent. The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the buying and selling of Luxury homes in Arizona. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers and best real estate agent for Luxury Homes in Scottsdale, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results. Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020, info@ScottsdaleRealEstateTeam.com or visit www.scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Scottsdale Homes for Sale and Estates for Sale in Scottsdale and to search the Scottsdale MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team Buying home insurance for the first time is overwhelming, especially if you’re trying to go it alone. Before shopping for coverage, review these common insurance questions to make sure you’re armed with the knowledge to find the best policy for your needs.

Do I need a policy before buying a home?

Technically, no. Most states require drivers to possess auto insurance before taking the car off the dealer’s lot. But home insurance is different. You can legally own a home sans insurance. However, if you need a loan to buy your home, your lender will likely require you to purchase home insurance as a way to protect its investment.

What coverages are included?

Standard home insurance policies typically include coverage for the structure of your home, its contents, liability, other structures (such as a toolshed), and additional living expenses. Let’s break these down. Structure: If your home is damaged or destroyed by a covered peril and needs to be repaired or rebuilt, your insurance can help pay for these expenses. Structure coverage is not the same as the amount you paid for your home. You need to set your structure coverage for the amount it would take to rebuild your home from the ground up. Contents: This coverage can kick in if your belongings are damaged or destroyed. It’s typically set between 50 and 70 percent of your home’s structural coverage. If you have high-value items, such as an extensive jewelry collection or rare pieces of art, there will likely be a cap on the repair/replacement value (between $1,000 and $2,000). To get more coverage for high-value items, you can add a rider policy to your home insurance. Liability: If someone is injured on your property, the liability portion of your insurance policy can help pay for medical, rehabilitation, and/or funeral expenses, as well as legal fees in the event that the injured party sues you. Liability is typically set at $100,000 worth of protection. However, it’s wise to set your coverage between $300,000 and $500,000 — especially if your home includes attractive nuisances, such as a pool or trampoline — as medical and legal costs can add up rapidly. Other structures: If your home has a detached garage or shed that is damaged or destroyed by a covered peril, your insurance can help pay to repair or rebuild it. Additional living expenses: In the event that your home is destroyed and needs to be rebuilt, this coverage can help pay for living expenses, such as hotel and food bills for the duration of time that you’re displaced. Check with your insurer to see if this protection only covers you and your family for a specified amount of time.

What are covered perils?

Standard home insurance policies can cover damage caused by fire, windstorms, hail, lightning, theft, vandalism, explosions, and riots. Typically, water damage, such as that from freezing and bursting pipes, is also covered. However, damage resulting from floods or earthquakes is not covered. Those types of natural disasters require separate policies and should be purchased if you live in a high-risk area, such as near a body of water or in California, where floods and earthquakes, respectively, are common.

How do I know how much coverage I need?

Complete a home inventory. This is a complete list of everything you own and each item’s value. Home inventories should include photos or video of all your possessions and the amount you paid for them — if you have the receipts, that’s even better. Make multiple copies of the list and keep it in various safe locations, such as a safety deposit box. Having this inventory will allow your insurance agent to accurately recommend the amount of coverage you need, and will help get the ball rolling quickly if you need to file a claim.

What determine how much I pay?

When determining how much your insurance policy will cost, providers take into account:

• Your credit score.
• Claims history, both your own and the claims history for the area in which you reside.
• The location of your home.
• The age of your home.
• The costs associated with rebuilding your home.
• Your proximity to a fire department and hydrant.
• Whether you own pets or not. Owning a dog, especially certain breeds, means you’ll need more liability coverage.
• The coverages you select.

How can I save money on insurance?

There are a few tricks to saving money on your monthly home insurance premiums, but not all are overnight fixes.

• Discounts. Most insurance providers offer discounts for policyholders. Bundling multiple policies, such as home and auto, with the same provider is one of the simplest ways to save on multiple policies. Providers also usually offer discounts for safety features, such as security systems. Equipping your home with these additional features could help you keep more money in your wallet each month.
• Raise your deductible. Raising your deductible (the amount you agree to pay toward a claim before insurance kicks in) will result in lower premiums. However, don’t set your deductible so high that it would cause you financial hardship if disaster strikes. For example, if you can’t afford to pay $1,000 out of pocket at any given time, set a lower deductible.
• Improve your credit score. Most insurance providers use credit score as an indicator of how likely you are to file a claim. Studies have shown that those with low credit scores were more likely to file claims than those with high credit scores, who could afford to tackle some repairs or replacements on their own. Improving your credit score can ultimately decrease your premium payments, as you’ll become less of a risk to insure.

How do I choose a provider?

Shop around. All insurance carriers are different in terms of coverage and cost. The best way to find the right provider for you is to get quotes from several companies and compare them rather than making a rash decision. Please note that this Scottsdale Real Estate Blog is for informational purposes and not intended to take the place of a licensed Scottsdale Real Estate Agent. The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the buying and selling of Luxury homes in Arizona. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers and best real estate agent for Luxury Homes in Scottsdale, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results. Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020, info@ScottsdaleRealEstateTeam.com or visit www.scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Scottsdale Homes for Sale and Estates for Sale in Scottsdale and to search the Scottsdale MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.