Home Tips for Women

Meet Tina Gleisner, Home Expert

  • Owned 15 homes, built 1, remodeled 3
  • Owned a Handyman Business for 8 years
  • Helped thousands of homeowners save time and money and get the job done right!

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Saving $$$

Your home is a huge investment when you buy it, plus monthly operating costs like utility bills. We help you spend less, get more value & build homeowner equity like a savings account.

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Fix It Now!

You've probably never hung a door or shingled a roof. That’s why problems are scary. We share concepts, terminology so you can make smart decisions about your home ... with confidence!

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Your Dream Home

With Pinterest, Houzz and so many shows about home improvements, it's natural to have a wish list. We share our ideas, your homeowner stories and support you in achieving your dreams.

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Saving $$$

What is Gross Living Area (GLA)?

When you made an offer on your house, the square footage was listed on various real estate websites. When the appraisal came back, the square footage was lower and you're not sure why. Did someone made a mistake or copy the number incorrectly? So it's now time to learn what's included in the gross living area of a house and how to calculate the number. 

Measuring the size of your home can be confusing. You look at the individual rooms and probably measure some of them to see how your furniture will fit. The official measurements of your house are done from the exterior. This means they include the walls even though you don't think of them as living space. [Save More…]

Bad Appraisal or Bad Appraiser?

While I've seen some ridiculous appraisals, the rules are pretty straight forward so the results are fairly predictable. After purchasing 15 homes plus multiple refinances, it was time to refinance my new home in Florida. What I didn't expect was a bad appraisal. After my rebuttal (my first) accomplished nothing, I knew it was really due to a bad appraiser.

an appraisal evaluates your home's value but sometimes a bad appraisal is lower than you want/need

Why did I feel the appraisal was bad? One story houses aren't that common across the country. But in Florida and other retirement states, one story houses are valued [Save More…]

Mortgage Closing Paperwork Can Be Overwhelming

Today I'm wrapping up refinancing for my Florida house. I've done lots of closings in person, a few mail closings and today is my first online closing. You can laugh but I'm actually excited. As I review and sign-off on each document, it's the perfect time to document the title and purpose. This will help prepare you for your closing. It's important because the mortgage closing paperwork can be 100 pages or more. Most home buyers never read anything except the numbers … but I do, and so should you!

Lots of the paperwork is administrative gobbledygook, really. It feels like every time there's a legal issue, they add another piece of paper to the package. The craziest one I can recall [Save More…]

More on Saving $$$

Fix It Now!

Where is My Dining Room Chandelier?

A dining room chandelier provides light and ambiance for this often forgotten room (read: The Unused Dining Room Dilemma). Like a beautiful piece of jewelry, dining room chandeliers often act as the room's focal point. With an open floor plan, your dining room needs something to define its' space. Such was the dilemma in my house where the great room is 28 by 30 feet.  

floor plan showing electrical fixtures in a great room (kitchen, dining room, family room & home office)

You really multiple ways in which you can define individual rooms within a great room. Most of your options are in the ceiling or floor. Strangely some homeowners will add a room divider where a traditional wall would have been but not in my house. [Learn More …]

44 Homeowner Electrical Checklist Tips

Building a house involves lots of decisions. An electrical checklist will save you money by helping you identify where you want outlets and wall switches placed during construction. That's because it's much cheaper to move electrical boxes and wiring when the walls are open. Once the walls are covered with drywall, the cost to make changes goes up significantly. 

electrical wiring inside the walls ... before the drywall goes up so make sure to review the electrical checklist to make sure it's all where you want it

Maybe you're feeling overwhelmed with all the decisions a home buyer has to make when building a house. You can't assume the builder knows what you want or need for the lifestyle you want. Remember builders are running a business and their focus is on [Learn More …]

Condensate Line: What It Is & Why It’s Important

We rely on HVAC professionals to clean and tune-up our heating and air conditioning systems. Most homeowners know they have to periodically replace their HVAC filters. Very few owners know they have to flush condensate lines monthly during the summer. This is a surprise to new homeowners in Florida. Learn what a condensate line does. Then you'll know why it's so important to keep it clean.

HVAC compressor hiding behind bushes that are too close & condensate line ends underneath the bush [Learn More …]

More Fix It Tips

Your Dream Home

Should I Build a One-Story House

When you look at house plans, what are your top three priorities? Your choices may be based on the house you grew up in or the neighborhood where you'd like to live. With young children space might be more important. Older homeowners often want a one-story house so they don't have to worry about stairs. That's why you'll find many more single-story houses in states with a large number of retirees.

If you're considering a one-story house, here are the key decision factors to consider: [Start Dreaming …]

8 Redecorating Tips for Changing Lifestyles

Staying at home during shelter-in-place means you've now spent far more time at home than you could imagine. You've done more at home – working, home schooling, cooking versus eating out and hobbies to stay busy. By now you probably realize you could use your space better if you rearranged things. It could be time for some redecorating, where you change your space without spending a dime.

Take a tour of your closets. You'll likely see things long forgotten that still have memories worth keeping. The idea behind redecorating is to make your home support your lifestyle better, plus [Start Dreaming …]

Great Outdoor Play Spaces for Kids & Their Imagination

Outdoor play spaces for children offer an environment for healthy growth, physically, emotionally and mentally. When the sun is shining and kids don't have to wear boots to play outside, they can run around and pretend they're almost anywhere. Before you rush out to buy a swing set, which seems to be a spring tradition, consider alternatives that encourage and support healthy, active outdoor play.

Take time to think through what your child really needs for outdoor play. Even better, talk to your children to learn what they want. You might be surprised when it's not a swing set. [Start Dreaming …]

Dream Home Ideas

https://youtube.com/watch?v=aY_L9A734KU

How to Create Your Dream Home

Have you got a long list of projects that never seem to get done? We’re here to help you prioritize what needs to get done now, along with tips to create your dream home and the lifestyle you want. Our free report will help you remember what’s really important, what you loved about the houses where you’ve lived.

Owning 12+ houses through the years working for I’ve Been Moved (IBM), gave me lots of experience to share about what works, and what doesn’t. Then I settled down to live/work in one place, and started a handyman business (8 years, 2,000 homeowners). I discovered my passion for helping women learn to manage their homes with confidence. So let’s connect and create the house you’ve always dreamed of!

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About Us

The name tells our story! We provide women homeowners with "how to" resources to manage their homes with confidence. We strive for homes that support how you want to live, while building equity for your future too.
 

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Home Tips for Women

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Greenland, NH 03840

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