(RE/MAX Blog) - Did you receive a nice chunk of change with your tax return? Consider using it for home improvement projects that will increase your home's curb appeal. The following upgrades are all under $3,000.

1. Replace door No. 1
As one of the first things a prospective buyer sees, your front door is critical to your home's curb appeal. Buy a new door and spruce it up with shiny new knobs, locks and knockers. An energy-efficient door can help you save money on bills and may make you eligible for federal tax credits next year.

2. Refresh the garage
That dented garage door panel you no longer notice? Prospective buyers will. Two new garage doors will set you back just under $3,000 and do wonders for spiffing up your home's exterior.

3. Get lit
Illuminating your walkway, installing motion-sensor lights or adding lighting fixtures that highlight your home's architectural features or landscaping help your property look as appealing at night as it does during the day. Added light also helps keep your property secure.

4. Add outdoor living space
Decks and patios are among the top features buyers look for. Use your refund to install a stamped-concrete patio or a small deck, and it's almost like adding another room to your home.

(RE/MAX Blog)- Just because the temperature is freezing doesn't mean you can't warm buyers' hearts with your home's exterior during the winter. Here are a few tips to help make your property inviting.

1. Door Number One
Don't miss the opportunity to make a great first impression. New doors are worth the investment. Or, give your door a fresh coat of paint and upgrade your handles and knocker with some shiny bling. When appropriate, brightly colored doors can create a charming focal point, especially during winter when the world can seem white and grey.

2. Plant some green
Evergreen shrubs look terrific in pots on the porch and can add allure to your home's entry.

3. Keep it safe
Be sure that all walkways are clear of snow and ice. In addition to helping to prevent dangerous slips, the clean lines of a shoveled driveway look great and imply your property is well cared for.

4. Stash Santa
Past January 1, be sure to take down distracting holiday decorations. No blinking lights, reindeer on the roof, and no inflatable snow snowglobes. You can, however, dress up your front door with a non-denominational winter wreath.

5. To sit, porch-ance to dream
If there's room on your porch, consider adding a rocking chair or bistro set. While prospective buyers probably won't consider whiling away the evening out there in winter, the furniture can remind them how nice it is to sit there in warmer weather.

Planning on placing your home on the market? Begin the process by finding out what your home is worth. 

(RE/MAX Blog)- By Carriann Johnson, interior designer and TV personality

It's a great moment! The housing market is on fire in several states, and many of you may receive multiple offers on your home. Remember, your goal as a seller is to accept the ONE offer that best fits your needs. This is the time to leave emotions aside and logically weigh all offers from a realistic perspective. Choosing the best offer will be less challenging if you consider these items:

Financing
Who is presenting the best financing option? The more solid the financing, the more likely you are to have a smooth transaction. When you arrive at the closing table, you want your transaction to go off without any unexpected hiccups that can arise when buyers are not properly qualified or a lender doesn't prove to be solid.

Terms of the Offer
Consider all details of your offer. Does the closing date complement your needs? Does the offer satisfy your asking price? Are the inclusions and exclusions ones that you are willing to accept? Perhaps the buyers are offering you full price plus closing costs but they need to close in 30 days. Another offer may give you 45-60 days to close but they are requesting you pay for closing costs. These details should be carefully considered when determining the best offer for you.

Consider Using My Checklist

• Go over all offers in detail with your agent. You trust your Realtor, so rely on him or her to educate and guide you throughout the process. After all, that is why they are there.

• Create your own checklist with pros and cons. Seeing these items on paper can seem so simple, yet it helps you reach a conclusion you're confident about.

• Make sure you are prepared for the what-ifs in the deal. Weigh scenarios that seem likely or could happen with each particular offer.

• Educate yourself. This is a legal transaction, so if you don't understand certain terms or terminology, don't sign the offer until you do. Make sure you have ALL of your questions answered before signing – you don't want to have any regrets later. Your agent can help break things down for you.

• If you simply don't feel good about an offer, make sure you've pinpointed why that feeling is there. Having peace – about anything in life – is priceless.

• Be reasonable and fair.

• Leave emotions out of the offer as best you can. Yes, you are selling something that is very personal to you but remember why you are selling.

Keep these items in mind when receiving multiple offers on your home, and you'll be able to reach a decision with confidence!

Buying a home is a big investment. In fact, it is the biggest investment many of us will make in our lifetime. Having a real estate agent who can understand what you want in a home is essential. This means your agent is probably asking you various questions and listening very closely to your every word. 

Having an agent who speaks your language and is able to fully understand what you are trying to express can play a crucial role when searching for a home you will love.

Many of our agents have the ability to help clients like you in multiple languages, crushing any communication barriers there may be. Languages spoken by our agents other than English include Portuguese, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Farsi, French, German, Chinese, Korean, Turkish, Italian and Spanish.

Look below for a full list of agents with RE/MAX Realty Group and RE/MAX 100 who have been and continue to help clients in more than one language.

(RE/MAX Blog) - Is school called off and the office closed? Don't waste your snow day cooped up inside. Bundle up, take the hot chocolate to go and follow this checklist for the perfect snow day.

1. Epic snowball fight

Step 1: Build your snow fortress. Step 2: Stockpile your snow ammo. Step 3: Dig out your ski goggles, divide your crew into teams, and let the battle begin.

2. Make snow ice cream

With just three ingredients, condensed milk, vanilla extract and snow, you can stir up a sweet snack. Paula Deen shows you how.

3. Snow graffiti

Fill spray bottles with water tinted with food coloring and have at it, artistically expressing yourself in the snow. An afternoon of spritzing can transform a yard of white into a bright work of art.

4. Build a snow fan

Roll up a family of snow people and outfit your new friends in your favorite sports team's colors.

5. Icy architecture

Use Tupperware containers to mold bricks and put your imagination to work to construct your dream igloo, castle or Craftsman-style bungalow.

6. Make maple candy in the snow

It's easy to make candy by pouring boiling maple syrup onto fresh snow and wrangling it with popsicle sticks. The snow instantly stops the syrup from cooking and cools it to a taffy-like consistency. Follow these instructions to take part in this Canadian tradition.

7. Winter bonfire

Bundle up and bring on the s'mores. Light up your fire pit for a magical night surrounded by glittering snow and winter starlight.

(RE/MAX Blog)- Is the call of the great outdoors getting louder? A cabin in the mountains, on the lake or in the serene middle-of-nowhere can be a great place to escape to. Before you start shopping, here are a few things to consider:

1. Can you afford it?
You may have found a great cabin at a great price. Don't forget, however, to calculate annual property taxes and maintenance costs. Insurance for second homes can run higher than for primary residences. Financing may be more expensive for a second home as well. Get quotes, do your research and do the math to see if you can heed the cabin's call without creating so much financial stress that you won't be able to relax when you're there.

2. How often will you use it?
Look at your number of days off each year, then think about how many you want to spend at your cabin. Would you miss the beach? Regret not traveling abroad? Be sure you'll enjoy the area, and not just the cabin itself, through most of the year.

3. Will disaster strike?
Forest fires are tough beasts to tame, and mountain cabins are often directly in their path. Although no one can predict when a fire will spark, you can find out if your desired area is prone to droughts or other conditions favorable for an out of control conflagration. Look into insurance coverage for different disasters, and add it to the monthly cabin costs.

4. Could you rent out your cabin?
In some instances, you can rent out a vacation home for up to 14 days a year without paying taxes on the income. The money could help offset the cabin's maintenance or mortgage payment. Make sure you research the tax benefits (if any) of your own unique situation.

Want to buy a cabin? Start your search today with RE/MAX Realty Group and RE/MAX Realty Group. 

(RE/MAX Blog)- The ancient Chinese art of feng shui uses design principles to create harmonious spaces that encourage health, wealth and happiness. According to the practice, colors encourage energy to flow freely throughout a structure, and each color is thought of as an expression of one of the five feng shui elements: fire, earth, metal water and wood.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when designing your home using general feng shui color principles.

1. Wake up a space with yellow
Yellow energizes spaces and is great for brightening rooms and adding a welcoming feeling. Yellows can be an excellent choice for kitchens, living rooms, hallways and offices.

2. Hues that work for you
If it's a calm sanctuary for a restful night's sleep, feng shui rules suggest water-element colors of calming blues to create tranquility. If you'd like your bedroom to be more passionate than peaceful, fire element colors like red can help crank up the heat.

3. A blank canvas for the kitchen
In feng shui, white is one of the preferred shades for a kitchen because it encourages purity and freshness. Plus, it creates the perfect palette for the rich colors of food.

4. Better than a lullaby
Shades of green in a child's room help make calm, serene spaces for sleeping. Plus, wood-element shades of green also encourage growth and learning.

5. Mind your reds
While red is the Chinese color of luck and happiness, too much of the fiery color can throw things off balance, bringing aggression and overstimulation.

6. Shades for success
Wood-element colors like greens and browns promote creativity, and water elements like blues and blacks promote wealth. Combining shades of each can change the energy of your home workspace.

7. Look outside your walls
According to feng shui principles, adding accent pieces and furniture in elemental shades also can help change the energy of a space. You don't need to go big (or commit) with an entire wall.

Color can help bring balance to your home, but it works best when you're living in a place that suits your needs. Looking for harmony in a new zip code? Let us help you in the search for your new home.

GAITHERSBURG, MD- Real Estate Agents and staff with RE/MAX Realty Group and RE/MAX Realty Group donated 245 Build-A-Bears during the 97.1 FM WASH for Kids Radiothon. The bears, which were each sponsored by agents and staff with every donation of $10, were delivered to patients at Children’s National Medical Center on Friday, December 16, the final day of the radiothon.

RE/MAX Realty Group Real Estate Agent Candy Meyers hosted her first Build-A-Bear fundraiser about six years ago. She has been hosting the fundraiser every year since then in conjunction with the 97.1 FM WASH for Kids Radiothon. This is the first year RE/MAX Realty Group and RE/MAX Realty Group have collaborated with Meyers in the fundraiser. Agents and staff went above and beyond to support the cause, raising enough money to donate over six times more Build-A-Bears than were donated last year.

Broker/Owner Ken Crowley expressed his gratitude to agents and staff for their generosity.

“The support and generosity of all the agents and staff members with our brokerage throughout the Build-A-Bear fundraiser exceeded expectations,” said Broker/Owner Ken Crowley. “We continued to get calls from agents and staff up until the very last moment wanting not only to sponsor one bear, but multiple bears.”

Several agents and staff members from RE/MAX Realty Group and RE/MAX Realty Group also expressed their support by volunteering their time to assist with the delivery of the bears and participate in the radiothon.

RE/MAX Realty Group and RE/MAX Realty Group is a locally owned and operated full-service real estate brokerage with offices located throughout Maryland and Northern Virginia. The brokerage has over 400 Realtors® and specializes in Residential and Commercial real estate. RE/MAX Realty Group and RE/MAX Realty Group is a proud supporter of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® and other charities. To learn more, please visit www.ournexthouse.com.

(RE/MAX Blog)- Schools can have a big impact on property value and quality of life. If you're buying a home, here are a few reasons local school ratings matter, even if you don't have kids.

1. The next buyer will consider the school ratings, too

According to the 2014 National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 29 percent of homebuyers listed school quality and 22 percent listed proximity to schools as deciding factors in their home purchase. Another survey conducted by Realtor.com showed that 91 percent of the people surveyed included school district boundaries in their decision-making process. You may be surprised to learn that not all of the shoppers involved in the studies had kids.

2. More money spent on schools means more money spent on homes

There's a correlation between school expenditures and home values in any given neighborhood, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Their report, "Using Market Valuation to Assess Public School Spending," found that for every dollar spent on public schools in a community, home values increased $20.

3. Higher school ratings equal higher home values

A Brookings Institution study looked at the 100 largest metro areas in the country and found an average difference of $205,000 in home prices between houses near high-performing and low-performing schools.

4. And good school ratings help homes maintain value

While changes in the economic landscape and local area can ripple across the market, a great school district can sometimes help insulate a home from market fluctuations.

5. Great school districts usually mean great neighborhoods

Often there's a correlation between super school districts and safer neighborhoods, better shopping and transportation and great public amenities – like parks. All of these factors increase the desirability of the neighborhood, which translates to higher home values and a better deal for you when it's time to sell.

Start the search for your new home today with RE/MAX Realty Group and RE/MAX Realty Group.