Becky Bauer is an expert realtor in the Bloomington, Normal, Illinois area. She has many years of experience delivering stellar service to home buyers and home sellers. Becky loves to share her knowledge with others so that they can make the best decisions. Please feel free to read and share these articles on your social media platforms.
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MY BLOG
3 Handsome Solutions to Handle Outdoor Clutter
No need to stash it all in the garage. Here’s how to create tidy storage in your yard "That can go in the garage" is a common solution to just about anything outdoorsy that needs a home. Instead, think outside the garage. These ideas are great for decluttering your...
Putting a Fresh Face on Your Old Tub
If you think your tub is yucky or boring, it might be more cost effective to fix it than pitch it. If you think it’s a cinch to replace your dull or dingy bathtub, here’s a reality check: Although you can purchase a basic model for as little as $200, you'll need a...
8 Easy Ways to Seal Windows & Air Leaks Around the House
There’s a 10-second fix for the most surprising offender: recessed lights. Most homes in the U.S. have significant air leaks and not enough insulation. In fact, nine out of 10 of them are under-insulated, according to Energy Star. Those air leaks are expensive. Your...
What’s Causing Those Spooky Sounds and Smells?
Are you haunted by strange noises and weird odors? With the proper maintenance, you’ve got more than a ghost of a chance to rest easy. It's one thing to hear scary noises and smell weird odors at a Halloween party or your favorite zombie movie. But it's something else...
7 Quick-and-Easy Winter Weather Preparations to Do Right Now
Wintry weather is great at turning up problems you didn't even know you had. Like that first snowy night in front of your fireplace that you thought was pure bliss — until you noticed a leak in the ceiling corner. Apparently it was caused by a lack of insulation. How...
Unleash Your Inner Detective With This House-Hunting Checklist
Ah, house hunting. It may technically be shopping, but it can feel more like breaking and entering. Even though you know the seller wants you there, does anyone really want you traipsing through their bedroom? Or looking through their closet? Or digging around in...
A Fall Checklist of 10 Things You Gotta Do Before Winter Sets In
#1 Clean and Stow Your Mower If you’re not familiar with fuel stabilizer, get to know it. In a mower that sits for months with gas in its tank, the gas will slowly deteriorate, which can damage internal engine parts. Fuel stabilizer (about $10 for a 10-ounce bottle)...
Fall Yard Cleanup: 8 Shortcuts for Easy Care
It’s amazing what perennials, mulch, and decorative rocks can do. When you’re looking for your dream home, you might find that it comes with more yard than you've ever had before -- or had to maintain. These fall yard cleanup tips will help you set up (and enjoy) an...
The Best Time of Year to Buy Things for Your Home
When to look for sales on mattresses, appliances, tools, furnishings, and materials. Buying stuff can be stressful. Cheap out and you could regret it. Overspend and you'll cut into your budget. Knowing the best time of year to buy appliances and other household...
How First-Timers Can Cope with Rising Home Prices
A fixer-upper with the right things wrong could spell instant equity for you. In a sign of a robust housing market, existing-home prices are expected to rise 5.8% in 2017 over 2016, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. But rising prices, record-high...
A Killer Strategy for a Tidy Home When You’re Time-Squished
Here’s a surprisingly functional way to achieve a forever-organized home. You don't need tons of time to achieve the uncluttered, tidy home of your dreams. You just need a strategy to get there — a really simple one that fits into your life without sucking up hours...
A Financial Plan for Your Home
Do you pay each home-related expense as it comes? If so, you’re missing opportunities for upgrades, or much worse, heading into a financial crisis when a slew of surprise maintenance items hit. So take a holistic look at what it costs to operate your house and set up...
Why Is My Grass Turning Brown and Dying?
Grass turns brown when roots can no longer grab nutrients or water from soil, or when soil doesn’t contain enough food or water. Here are the typical culprits, and tips on how you can green up your grass again. Drought/Heat During periods of high heat and low water,...
9 Irritating Things About Summer Heat (and How to Nix Them)
Dog days of summer? More like the mosquito days. And super sweaty days. By the end of summer it can feel like bugs, grime, sweat, and heat have taken over your home. And you get to pay for it with high cooling bills. Ugh. Here are the most annoying things about summer...
7 Super-Easy Cleaning Recipes for the Most Awesome-Smelling Home
Essential oils are the key to these sweet-smelling (and highly effective!) homemade cleaners. If you get light-headed just reading the ingredients on your cleaning products, take heart: There's another way. These make-in-minutes, super-cheap recipes create potions...
Drought-Tolerant Plants & Creative Tips for a Less Thirsty Yard
No-water and low-water ideas for a drought-friendly yard Drought happens everywhere, not just in arid climates. So, how do you get to have a beautiful, lush, low-maintenance yard that doesn't need watering when the temps approach triple digits with no rain in sight?...
4 To-Do’s for July to Save Money & Get Ready for Fall
When it's hot outside, smart homeowners focus their energies inside on these four tasks. You know, like taking advantage of your nice, cool basement. #1 Organize the Basement The two most common types of clutter? Old clothes and seasonal items. Just the kind of stuff...
7 Genius Entryway Storage Ideas to Get You Out the Door Faster
It's so easy (and so unfair) how quickly your entryway can go from clean to chaos -- and that chaos makes trying to get out the door brutal. Think of all that time wasted hunting for your keys and umbrella, or digging through a pile of coats to find the one you need....
Cancel Your Private Mortgage Insurance
Private mortgage insurance is unavoidable for some homeowners, but don’t pay PMI premiums a day longer than required by your lender. Private mortgage insurance provides protection to a lender in case you default on your home loan. Unless you make a 20% downpayment on...
9 Home Organizing Mistakes That Experts Know to Avoid
Home organization is about giving everything the right place (sometimes the donation bin). And while that sounds straightforward, it's pretty easy to choose the wrong places, turning your attempt at a tidier home into wasted effort. Pros Avoid These Home Organization...
5 Small Backyard Ideas to Make Your Cramped Outdoor Space Feel Like Versailles
Don't think of your microscopic yard as a curse. So what if it's technically a small concrete slab that baaarely accommodates a half-sized Weber grill? Or if your flagstone patio is just big enough for you, a lounge chair, and a good book? Your tiny outdoor spot is...
Indoor Air Quality Solutions for Your Home
You may not know it, but your home could have indoor air pollution. Here’s how to clear the air. You probably clean your home regularly, but your indoor air quality could benefit from a thorough cleaning, too. Recent studies point to why: The air you breathe inside...
Building a Deck? 5 Questions to Ask Before You DIY
Building a deck expands your livable outdoor space so you can do more of what you love -- entertaining, dining, or relaxing under the stars. But large projects like adding a new deck or repairing an existing one can be daunting, even for a savvy DIYer. Safety is a big...
Things to Do When Moving Into a New House
It's easy to get super excited about moving into your new house. But for your own safety and security, be sure to cross these tasks off your checklist before you call the house home. 6 Things to Do When Moving Into Your New Home Tip #1 Change the Locks You really...
Can You Afford That House? 6 Easy Ways to Find Out
If you’re considering purchasing a home, you’ve likely already considered how much you have available for a down payment, what an ideal mortgage payment would be, and how much home you can actually afford based on your monthly income. But what about your lifestyle?...
7 Tips and Tricks to Keep Your Home Cleaner Longer
When cleaning your home, why not do it in such a way that'll keep your home cleaner with less effort? Here are 7 ways to keep your house spring-clean fresh all year long: #1 Use Humidity to Defy Dust Low humidity levels cause static electricity. Not only does static...
8 Spring Lawn Care Tasks You Need to Do Now
How to prepare your yard for spring so you can enjoy it more and work on it less. Temps might still be a long way from shorts and T-shirts, but if your soil is warming up, it's time to tackle your spring lawn care tasks. Especially if you want a gorgeous yard with the...
8 Easy Mistakes Homeowners Make on Their Taxes
Don’t rouse the IRS or pay more taxes than necessary — know the score to avoid common tax mistakes As you prepare your tax returns for 2022, be careful not to make any of these eight common tax mistakes, especially when it comes to the property tax deduction or...
8 Home Remodeling Projects With Top-Dollar Returns
Not all home improvements are created equal. These will reward you the most when it comes time to sell. Your home is in the perfect location, came at the perfect price, with the perfect lot. (Yay southern exposure!) But the home itself? Perfect isn’t the adjective...
7 Tips for a Profitable Home Closing
Be sure you’re walking away with all the money you’re entitled to from the sale of your home. When you’re ready to close on the sale of your home and move to your new home, you may be so close to the finish line that you coast, thinking there’s nothing left for you to...
Your Home’s Unsung Hero — The Closet
Closets get a bad rap: too small, too cluttered, never as perfect as we want them to be. It’s time to recognize the value they add (and get some savvy organizing tips) More vital than a bathroom, more useful than a kitchen, your closets make every other room look...