the winners of our “Night on the Town” contest.

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Today we’re drawing the latest winner of our “Night on the Town” contest. We had 31 buyers and sellers close with us who were eligible. Thanks so much to all of you for your business and referrals. We’re really excited to be able to give back to one of you like this.

Without further ado, the winners are…Seth and Cara Keefer!

Congrats, you two! Your night on the town is on us!

Again, thanks to each and every one of you for your support. If you have any questions for us or any real estate needs we can assist with, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Home remodeling is hotter than ever.

According to researchers at Harvard University, remodeling investment is up 6% over last year, and now makes up a $324 billion market.

According to a survey of remodelers and real estate professionals, there are five remodeling projects that offer the best returns:

1. Your kitchen. Kitchen remodeling can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. However, to maximize your return, keep your investment to under 20% of the value of your home—as is recommended by surveyed real estate professionals. The outcome? A whopping 85% return on your investment.

2. Your bathroom. A thorough bath remodeling project can cost up to $20,000. However, not only will it pay for itself, it should give you an added 80% return.

3. Your deck. Replacing your deck can cost you anywhere from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the size. The expected benefit will be similar to a bathroom remodeling project—around an 80% return for a fresh, new deck.

4. Your siding. Fading or worn-out siding can turn off potential buyers before they even step foot in your home. Replacing old siding will make it much easier to sell your home, and in addition, it should give you an 80% return on an investment of around $10,000.

5. Your windows. New windows can mean greater energy efficiency, increased thermal and acoustic comfort, and a more modern look. Homebuyers are well aware of this, and they are willing to pay accordingly. That's why a typical window replacement should yield at least a 70% return on your investment.

Some will make more sense for your home than others.

Clearly, some of them will make more sense for your home than others. If you're considering selling your home, then just one of these projects could add tens of thousands of dollars to the price you'll be able to get.

If you have any questions or want additional advice about which remodeling projects make sense for you, give me a call or send me an email. We can discuss all the details and I can give you an accurate estimate of what these projects could be worth. I look forward to hearing from you!

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On June 14th, the Federal Reserve increased its federal funds interest rate by 0.25%. They’re also widely expected to raise rates once or twice more over the course of 2017. What does this mean for the real estate market?

While any action by the Fed always garners a lot of attention, we believe these increases will not have any significant impact on our market.

First of all, mortgage rates have actually trended lower in the wake of the Fed’s recent announcement. The 30-year mortgage rate recently hit 3.9%, the lowest level in 2017. In fact, it’s a common pattern for the mortgage rate and the Fed rate to move in opposite directions, and the same thing has happened the last two times the Fed raised rates.

Second, the economy continues to do well. The Fed decided to increase its rate because unemployment and inflation are low, household spending is picking up, and we’ve seen steady growth for the past nine years. This is good news for the real estate market. As expected, we continue to see strong demand and a corresponding increase in home prices.

These increases will not have any significant impact on our market.

Third, while the Fed’s rate increase is normally meant to cool off the economy, it might actually stimulate it in this case. Because interest rates were so low for such a long period of time, experts believe the recent increases might ease pressure on the financial system and encourage lending.

Case in point: since the Fed started raising its rate in December 2016, total mortgages are up 2.5% year over year.

In conclusion, while any move by the Fed is likely to lead to a lot of hand-wringing, we believe the real estate market will not be affected and will continue on its own healthy course. Nonetheless, it’s clear that right now is a uniquely good moment for everyone in the real estate market. Today’s low mortgage rates are good for homebuyers because they make homes more affordable.

If you have any questions about our market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, give us a call at 678-631-1758 or send us an email at [email protected]. We'd love to help.

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Today my team and I want to share a few cool things we’ve done this year to kick off our Yeti cooler giveaway.

Melissa Gilbert, our listing coordinator, went to Athens last weekend to spend some time with her daughter and attend the Creature Comforts third anniversary party.

Steve Payment, one of our buyer specialists, visited his daughter in Washington D.C. and got to see all the cool monuments and sites.

Another one of our buyer specialists, Michelle Burge, recently watched her son Wesley take his oath of enlistment to join the U.S. Army and celebrated her granddaughter’s first birthday.

Our closing coordinator, Ari Holt, went to Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

I got to do something cool as well! I got to go to Tampa to see my Clemson Tigers win the National Championship.

Those are some of the cool things we have been up to, but we want to know what cool things you’re up to! We’re going to send you a koozie to take a picture with while doing something cool. Post that picture on Facebook with #thecowanteamiscooler to get entered into our Yeti cooler giveaway.

Here are all the details you’ll need.

Tuesday, August 1st, one lucky fan of The Cowan Connection Team will be chosen to receive a free Yeti Cooler!

How can you be that lucky winner?

Step 1: Get a #thecowanteamiscooler koozie. Stop by one of our team events, swing by our office, give us a call, or head to www.thecowanteamiscooler.com to have a koozie mailed to your home or office.

Step 2: Keep the koozie handy during all your summer fun at the pool, the beach, the stadium, the lake, or anywhere you’re hanging out this summer.

Step 3: Snap a picture of you making the most of your summer with the koozie and post it to Facebook with the hashtag #thecowanteamiscooler and make sure to tag The Cowan Connection Team too!

Don’t forget to tag the Cowan Connection Team in your koozie photos!

Step 4: To increase your chances of winning, tag The Cowan Connection Team in a photo with the koozie, and the #thecowanteamiscooler to Instagram (@teamcowan) and Twitter (@teamcowan) too!

Deadline to enter: Monday, July 31, 2017

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. We would be happy to help you.

Today, I would like to introduce you to Shawn Livingston with Total Home Repair. Shawn is a great handyman, and he’ll give you a few tips on preventing wood rot and water damage.

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As part of our ‘Vendors You Should Know’ series, I would like to introduce Shawn Livingston with Total Home Repair. Shawn is a great handyman and today, we’ll discuss a common issue facing many Georgia homeowners: wood rot.

Georgia’s climate is very harsh on wood. If you don’t maintain the outside of your house properly, the sun will beat down on your home and flake the paint. Once the wood is exposed to the weather, water can set in and cause wood rot.

In order to prevent wood rot, you need to maintain the trim around your windows by properly caulking the trim and joints. You should also make sure to paint your home on a regular basis to prevent water from getting into any cracks.

Sometimes, fixing wood rot is very simple. All you have to do is take off the piece that has rotted and replace it. However, if you leave wood rot alone for too long, it can become a real problem. The entire window frame can get rotted and water can get into your home.

If you leave wood rot alone

for too long, it can become a

major issue.

Water damage is a common problem that Shawn sees in homes. If you don’t clean out your gutters, leaves will get stuck in your downspout, causing water to get stuck in your roof and in the eaves. Like wood rot, this is easy to prevent—just make sure that you clean out your gutters.  

If you have any issues with your home, you can call Shawn at (770) 315-5917 or email him at [email protected]. He will come out for a free estimate and get your home into tip-top shape.

As always, if you have any real estate questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

If you check out the video above, you'll see some impressive TVs behind me. That's because I'm out shopping for a new one!

In fact, I'm actually shopping for a new TV for you.

The Cowan Connection Team is giving one of these beauties away. All we ask is that you—a past client—write a review for us on one or more of these websites:

Zillow: You will need to create a Zillow account in order to submit the review. Don’t worry, it’s painless and requires just an e-mail address and password. You can also immediately opt-out of Zillow e-mails. (Zillow requires an account for review moderation and verification.) Although you don't have to use your name, please choose a way for us to identify you/your home so we can process your entry for the contest (or email us a screenshot of the review) Click HERE for the Zillow link.

Realtor.com: Go directly to their website to create an account by clicking HERE.

Yelp: Go directly to their website to create an account by clicking HERE.

Facebook: Go to The Cowan Connection Team of Keller Williams Page. Click on Reviews and post your review there. Click HERE for the Facebook link.

Each review you post on the five websites below will count as an entry in the contest. If you've already written us a review, don't worry, that just means you're already entered. Want to increase your odds? Add reviews to additional platforms!

We need all reviews written by February 2nd so we can hold our drawing live on Facebook on February 3rd. Just in time to have your new TV ready for the Super Bowl!

We hope to hear from you soon—good luck!

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Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report
Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale

We are back again for part two in our series about trusted vendors that you should know. We work with all these people and want you to know about what they do in case you are ever in need of their services. Today we are joined by Ned Geopp of Smartbox to talk a little bit about his business and how they have been able to help our clients.

Ned has been a great resource for our clients in selling their homes. Their smart boxes are a great solution for anyone looking to declutter and get their home on the market. Each box is five feet wide, seven feet long, and eight feet deep. They will hold 98% of what will go into your house.

Each box typically holds between one and one-and-a-half rooms’ worth of furniture. If you aren’t sure how many you need exactly, Ned has no problem with dropping an extra one off just in case. You’ll only pay for the ones you use.

Ned has been a great ally to our customers.

Dealing with moving trucks and storage units can be tricky. It often causes you to make multiple moves. With Smartbox, you only have to touch your things twice. First, when you put them it in the box, and second, when you unload them at your new home. If you’re still in the market searching for the perfect fit, you can store all your furniture with Smartbox while you’re finding your new home.

No matter if you’re buying, selling, or doing a renovation, Smartbox is a smart solution. If you have any questions for Ned or would like to reserve a few Smartboxes, give him a call at 1-877-SMARTBOX (1-877-627-8269). If you have any other questions for us, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

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I am here today with Cheatham Hill Elementary Principal Keeli Bowen and PTA President Jenna Belfanti. The Cowan Connection Team is a proud corporate sponsor of Cheatham Hill Elementary School.

Because of this, we have a program called “Live Cheatham Hill” where if you or someone you refer buys or sells a home with us, we will donate $250 at closing to either the Cheatham Hill PTA or Cheatham Hill Foundation.

We are proud to present this $500 check.

We recently had two closings that took advantage of this program, so we’d like to present a check for $500 to Jenna Belfanti and the Cheatham Hill PTA. Thank you to everyone for your business and continued support. We look forward to presenting many more checks in the future.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

Last month, we had 11 Buyers and Sellers that closed with our team. Today, two of them will receive gifts as a token of our appreciation for their business.

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Today I’m joined by Michelle Burge, one of our amazing Buyer Specialists, to do our monthly drawing for our Buyers and Sellers that closed last October.

We truly appreciate the

business each and every one

of our clients give us.

Last month, we had 11 Buyers and Sellers that closed with our team. The first drawing will be for a $100 gift card for a Night on the Town. The second drawing is for one of our Keller Williams cookbooks for those who prefer to stay in and make themselves a great dinner.

Without further ado, the winner of our $100 gift card is...Corey and Kailene Berghoefer!

The winner of our Keller Williams cookbook is...Paul Kamau!

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you both for your business. If you or anyone you know is in the market to buy or sell a home, please feel free to reach out to us by phone or email. We look forward to helping you!

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Our story began with a bad experience with a previous agent. You were recommended to us, which was an absolute savior. We found out that the house we owned when we first got married in 2004 was up for sale again. That has been our dream home so we said, "Let's buy it." We walked in, we were back at home, and that was it. It was pretty simple, and we lived happily ever after.