Pure Energy Real Estate BLOG

When it comes to marketing and selling your house, it's inevitable your home won't appeal to everyone. It's just the law of averages.  However there are many things (big and small) you can do to enhance your chances and appeal to the widest margin of the buying demographic. 

PREPPING FOR THE MARKET: 

1- PAINT, TIDY UP & STAGE: 

PAINT: A fresh coat of paint everywhere is without a doubt the single biggest bang for your buck. Daily living is rough on walls and it's easy for you (the homeowner) not to notice the wear & tear. It's amazing what we can develop blindness to.  It's also a good time to liven up or tone down living spaces. I'm a firm believer in using color but not going overboard. Neutrals (not just beige and cream) can be found in

During the Winter months most people just want to hibernate inside until Spring, myself included! Walking around Downtown Silver Spring last weekend, I noticed an abundance of activities on offer to occupy the long Winter days. Here are my top 5 recommendations! For more activity ideas in Silver Spring, visit the community webstite.

Ice Skating at Veterans Plaza

The ice skating rink at Veterans Plaza is an annual Winter attraction the whole family can enjoy. It is open rain, hail, snow or shine until 10pm weeknights and until 11pm Friday and Saturday. Skate rental is just $3, with admission starting from $7 for kids. The rink is also available for private hire. What a great venue for your kid's next birthday party! More information can be found

As a new homeowner, I'm learning (and worrying) about all kinds of things I knew nothing about: seer ratings on furnaces, dead trees, the dangers of galvanized plumbing parts, insulation depths, etc. It's a little overwhelming to be honest but I'm plodding along and making my way. Many of my new concerns always seem to circle back to efficiency.  I can't get excited about squandering our planets resources OR my hard earned money.  It's a lot to think about and I have a feeling my to-do list will never be empty again!

Amidst my endless running around during the buying & moving process, I ran into a group called Solar City who were camped out at my local Home Depot offering free consultations and FREE SOLAR PANELS.

I know what you're saying...yeah

Seeing as how we put together a blog feature for the boys, it seems only fair that we have one for the girls too!

As I pointed out in the Boys blog post, there is A LOT of home decor available for girls, but much of it falls into the tried and tired category of pink and purple. There is nothing wrong with using either of these colors, but I encourage you to push the creativity box and use them in small doses. Blues and greens can look just as girly and fun! See for yourself in the photo examples below. 

Many of the bedrooms that caught my eye and I have chosen to  feature in this post are modern approaches to decorating girls bedrooms, as they have adopted gender neutral wall colors and are accessorized with a variety of age appropriate accents.

Chalkboard paint is something that I never tire of seeing. Even though it has been around for a while now, I am amazed and inspired by the applications people keep coming up with for it around the home. Nothing is off limits anymore! From doors and walls to accessories, it seems that chalk board paint can have a place in any room of the house, either as a practical function or just for a bit of fun. 

The temporary nature of chalk board paint offers the versatility of switching up looks without having to spend anything, as illustrated by the kitchen back splash and bathroom wall photos below. Whenever you feel like a change, simply wipe off the old pattern and create a new piece of art!

For the most part, chalkboard paint is easy to apply, but can

I grew up with my mothers Hot Pepper Jelly as a holiday favorite.  Thankfully she would make enough to last almost the entire year, to be served up at cocktail parties or a great snack while watching TV. Recently, I decided to try my hand at making it myself to share with friends and new clients at Pure Energy as a 'Welcome to the family' gift. Now I'm going to share it with you!  Warning: It's delicious and addictive! It's fairly simple to make, as long as you are prepared. Below is a step by step tutorial on how to become a canning wizard and dazzle your friends. 

To start, gather all the necessary ingredients: A 12 pack of 8 oz mason jars (this recipe fills 8),  jalepenos pepper, sweet cherry peppers, sugar, vinegar and liquid pectin.  Other

Donna has been featured as the Real Estate Pro of the Week in Silver Spring by Real Estate.com. The original article can be viewed here.

While “whimsical” isn’t a term we often hear used to describe a real estate website, it fits when talking about the Pure Energy Team’s, and somehow it works. As soon as you land there you get the impression that there isn’t a stuffy bone in the bunch.

At the office, the Pure Energy Team calls Donna Kerr the “boss lady,” but there’s a 3-year-old who calls her “mommy.” If you ask her who she is, though, she’ll gladly tell you she’s a “high-producing, award-winning, top-dollar getting, real estate-team leading, over-40 first-time mom.”

Kerr came to the world of real estate after

The Pure Energy design team frequently post photo galleries and inspirational color palettes for various rooms of the house, but I was beginning to notice that these features seems to geared toward the adults, so this week's design blog is 100% for the kids, specifically the boys! Here's why...

I have been noticing for a while now, that in every category of furniture, lighting, bedding and cushions offered for kids, the options offered for girls far outweighs the boys. A recent trip through the kids section at Target emphasized this point. Why is it that boys have slimmer pickings when it comes to interior decor? 

As I began researching the aforementioned items, it became even more apparent that the boys range available is rather limited. For

If you’re reading this I hope you have something sweet to cure that sweet tooth of yours. This week I am shining the spotlight on a local business located right here in Silver Spring called Velatis. Velatis is extremely well known for their amazing, mouth watering caramels. Their variety of caramels includes everything from Vanilla Sugary Plain to Chocolate Chewy Marshmallow, Sea Salt Caramels and Rocky Road flavor, a personal favorite being the Vanilla Chewy Plain! Velatis also makes all kinds of goodies including Brownies, fudge and delicious melt in your mouth old fashion chocolate. What I found interesting that is sold at Velatis is the Ice Cream Toppings.  These Ice Cream Toppings can either be bought in small chucks of the caramel flavor of your

Wouldn't it be nice if winter was a perpetual, idyllic Norman Rockwell scene? If it were, I wouldn't grumble about it's onset and length so much.  Alas, it is not. Winter in the northern hemisphere, especially around Silver Spring really means harsh wind, dreary rain, slush, waning daylight and illnesses aplenty. Blargh!  

I tend to go into full on hibernation mode during these months but do my best to keep a positive attitude about it.  How you ask?  I take this time to catch up on many 'to-do' lists (movies, books, things around the house), enjoy the break from my otherwise hectic social schedule and BEST of all, use the time to go on cooking and eating adventures! In my book, there is no better way to chase away the winter blues than diving