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It is possible to sell your DC home during the winter months, and creating winter curb appeal is one great strategy. Unlike the warmer months, you can’t fill your yard with blooming flowers and wicker chairs, but there are lots of other ways to make a potential homebuyer want to see more.

First, make sure everything is in good repair. Check your deck for any loose boards—you don’t want potential buyers getting hurt. Clean and seal the deck if needed.

Walk around the house and get rid of the annuals or other plants that have died off, and cut back other plants to remove dead foliage. If any plants happen to still be blooming, trim away dead leaves to make them more attractive.

Next check out the Internet or visit a nursery in your DC neighborhood to find plants that will thrive in your particular yard. Kale and ornamental cabbage are very pretty and can survive colder days and nights. If you live in a warmer area, primroses are great for a little winter yard color.

Consider putting seasonal plants in pretty containers. Then you can place them wherever they’ll look best for a showing—out front, on the deck, or on the patio. Some vegetables and herbs can stand cool weather and also look good in decorated pots. These include kale, mustard, and Chinese cabbage but there are many more you can find.

If it snows where you live, there are still ways to jazz up your outdoor space. Lights can sparkle up a deck rail, tree, or doorway in any season. Or wrap them around pretty pots and line your driveway with them. Put ornaments in hanging pots or luminaries around a tree. Decorative wind chimes will make music no matter what the temperature and look lovely glittering in the sun. Even if you don’t get snow, these are still great ways to liven up the exterior of your home, especially if you are selling.

In the end, it’s about making your home feel inviting and comfortable. Setting the mood on the outside will give buyers a great first impression that stays with them as they walk through the inside and picture your DC, Maryland or Virginia home as their own.

Rachel Valentino and her team at Valentino & Associates at Keller Williams are experts in buying and selling real estate in the Greater Washington, DC area. Contact Rachel's Team today for all of your real estate needs. Also ask about home-buying programs in DC that might help you out.

With 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages at their lowest level in nearly 60 years, it’s not only a great time to buy but also a great time to refinance your DC, Maryland or Virginia home. Even if you don’t have perfect credit or a great deal of equity in your home, there are still ways to refinance at these great low rates.

Nothing is Free – Closing costs are generally 1 percent of the principal on your mortgage.Regardless of what’s advertised, you will always be charged for loan expenses in one way or another. The key is to ask your lender about all available payment options, and do what works best for you. Here are three possibilities.

• Pay Upfront - You bring a certified check to the closing to cover the various expenses.
• Roll-In Charges - All closing costs are rolled into your loan balance. You pay nothing up front but will have a higher monthly mortgage payment.
• No- or Low-Cost Options - You'll pay no closing costs for this option, but you'll be charged a higher interest rate for your mortgage and likely have a higher monthly payment.

Most of you know that location increases the value of your DC, Maryland or Virginia home. It’s worth a great deal when the home is in a nice neighborhood or on a quiet street or has a good school district nearby - or how about all three!

• Your home is a colonial while the neighbors' homes are contemporary.
• The total square footage is more than adjacent homes--whether it was built that way or you added an addition.
• Your exterior decorating style is far off the beaten path. (Think purple paint.)

While not technically part of the northeast, we who live in and around Metro DC have lately had winters that would argue this point. (Think of 2009’s “Snowmageddon.”) As the cold months again approach and heating bills loom large, simply sealing up the drafty areas in your home could reduce your heating costs from 3 to 18 percent. In cash savings that equals about $250 on natural gas and $550 for oil heat.

Here are some easy and inexpensive ways to block those drafts and have a more comfy home.

Weather Stripping

To tell if your home has drafty doors, try sliding a piece of paper between doors to the outside, the basement and the attic. If the paper goes in easily, weather stripping is needed.

Rather than the self-adhesive foam that will come off well before spring, use a more durable product such as bronze strips. These are cut to size with metal snips and fastened with nails so they never need replacing. Cost of kit for one door: $20.

Door Sweeps (AKA Draft Dodgers)

Mostly likely you’ve seen or used the version made of material that resembles a stuffed snake. There are also strips that attach to door bottoms. Both of these tend to get in the way, catch on rugs or scratch the floor when the door opens. A newer alternative for our local homes is a spring-loaded automatic sweep that will lift up as the door opens and press down when it closes to seal out drafts. Cost: $11.

Attic Tents

With no sealing or insulation, pull-down ladders to the attic can be huge draft producers. An attic tent is a zippered insulated fabric hut that installs over the ladder opening and is stapled to the attic floor. You zip it open to enter the attic, and zip it closed when you leave. Cost: About $200.

Air Conditioner Covers

Whether it’s an in-wall unit or a large window unit that stays in place all year, air conditioners can let cold winter air blow easily into your DC, Maryland or Virginia home. A custom-made insulated wrap for each unit will quickly and easily solve this draft issue. Cost: $60.

Insulating Foam and Caulk

Use caulk to fill any visible cracks or gaps including where baseboards meet floors and where pipes come through walls under sinks.

To find the not-so-visible gaps, close all doors and windows and then turn on all exhaust fans in the attic, bathrooms and over the stove. This sucks air out of the house and pulls drafts in. Hold a stick of burning incense near the areas stated above as well as any other suspected gaps. If the smoke moves, you’ve found a place to seal with insulating foam. Cost: $3.

A few dollars and a little sweat equity can yield substantial savings without the expense of a new furnace or special home insulation. Try these simple fixes to keep both your home (and your wallet) snug and warm all winter.

Rachel Valentino and her team at Valentino & Associates at Keller Williams are experts in buying and selling real estate in the Greater Washington, DC area. Contact Rachel's Team today for all of your real estate needs. Also ask about home-buying programs in DC that might help you out.