When making improvements to your Asheville home, it’s important to consider your return on investment. Will the things you add or change be worth the cost, either in energy savings or in added value to your home? Outdoor home projects, in particular, can be an easy way to add value without breaking the bank. Here are some things you can improve about your home’s exterior and landscaping that will give you the best bang for your buck.

Entertainment spaces

Enjoying the outdoors with family and friends is one of the benefits of living in Asheville’s temperate climate. That’s why adding a patio – think stone or brick for longevity and minimal maintenance – or wood porch can boost quality of life as well as home value. Consider including a fire pit for chilly evenings, or take the idea of outdoor entertainment spaces one step further and install a kitchen, complete with gas grill or cooking area and sink. Creating outdoor entertainment spaces allows you to extend your home’s usable space, an attractive addition with a good return on investment when the time comes to sell.

Landscaping upgrades

Good landscaping can be a relatively inexpensive way to boost your home’s value, as well as cut maintenance and energy costs. Placing fast-growing trees in strategic locations in your yard can produce home-cooling shade. Planting perennials, native plants, and quick-spreading groundcover will create an easy-care yard that often doesn’t require as much watering, and can ease erosion. And of course, landscaping adds to curb appeal, boosting your home in the eyes of potential homebuyers.

Privacy screening is another relatively inexpensive upgrade to add to your yard: Anything from traditional wooden fencing to evergreen trees and tall shrubs will do the trick, creating separation while also adding beauty to your yard. Installing outdoor lighting, for safety or to spotlight particular features in your yard, is another easy and inexpensive way to increase value.

Exterior upkeep

As your home ages, various exterior components will need to be replaced, either for aesthetic reasons or for practical purposes. Upgrading shutters, switching out front doors or garage doors, or sprucing up your home’s exterior with a pressure wash or a paint job are all things that will surely reap a return on investment. If you have a bit more money to invest, consider switching from a wood exterior to a more durable siding: You’ll recoup the costs in the long-term, with less maintenance over time, and increased home value.

For more information on real estate in the Asheville area, connect with us at Info@MyMosaicRealty.com, or call anytime at 828-707-9556.

Search: Asheville Area Real Estate

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The Asheville area is brimming with exciting activities to keep kids happily engaged. From kid-centric museums to factory tours to adventure courses, there’s an array of experiences aimed at the young – and the young at heart. Following are a few to check out:

Asheville Museum of Science – This museum, in the heart of downtown Asheville, features the Colburn Hall of Minerals, STEM lab, dinosaur skeleton and fossil displays, Southern Appalachian Forest tree climb, and other exhibits supporting experiential science learning, discovery and exploration.

Asheville Art Museum – Every Friday, this downtown Asheville museum’s Art PLAYce space features kid-focused events in a sensory-rich environment, inviting exploration of art via fun activities as well as unique interactives created by regional artists.

Hands On! Children’s Museum – This colorful children’s museum in downtown Hendersonville is famed for creative hands-on exhibits, as well as events, programs and classes.

Adventure Center of Asheville– This in-town center has it all for the outdoor adventurer in your kid. KidZip is a unique zipline course designed for kids 4-10 featuring nine ziplines and four climbing elements. Its Treetops Adventure Park is an aerial challenge course with 77 unique climbing, rolling, walking, jumping, swinging, and rappelling challenges specific to different ages (4 and up) and experience levels. Kolo Bike Park offers 4 miles of purpose-built mountain bike trails, two pump tracks for beginner and experienced riders, and even a Littleville bike playground for the youngest shredders.

Pinball and arcades – Rainy days don’t have to drown out the fun: Downtown’s Asheville Pinball Museum offers 75 pinball and classic video games to play for a flat admission price. West Asheville’s Retrocade features video games, pinball, billiards, Skeeball and Foosball for flat-fee indoor fun (and both boast bars for the adults!).

ClimbMax – This climbing gym has two in-town locations featuring varied indoor terrain, along with expert instruction and equipment. The downtown location, with numerous top rope and auto-belay features, is well-suited to younger climbers.

The N.C. Arboretum – These gardens offer plenty of opportunities to learn about nature in a fun, immersive environment. Among the activities are TRACK Trail, which explores the Natural Garden Trail through the eyes of Shelly, the Arboretum’s resident eastern box turtle; and Rocky Cove Railroad, which highlights the entry of trains into Western N.C. in the early 1900s via an intricately detailed garden-scale model railroad and trains.

Biltmore House and Grounds – Kid-centric activities abound at this famed destination. Offerings include: a kids’ audio guided tour of the house; a model train exhibit meandering through the gardens; guided bird walks and falconry experiences; horse-drawn carriage rides; kids’ lagoon fishing with instructor and equipment provided; and Antler Hill Village, featuring Pisgah Playground, the Farm with hens, goats, lambs and calves, and the Barn with blacksmith, broom-maker and woodworker demos.

Sweet factory tours – Visitors to the River Arts District’s French Broad Chocolate Factory can take a tour of the facility to learn about the journey of the cacao bean, from farm to factory; the Hop Ice Creamery in West Asheville offers three different tours highlighting the history of ice cream and the Hop.

For information about real estate in the Asheville area, please email Info@MyMosaicRealty.com, or call us anytime at 828-707-9556.

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INFO

198 Alpine Ridge Drive, Asheville, NC 28803

3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms

1,385 Square Feet

MLS #3765271 

Explore 198 Alpine Ridge Drive, Asheville

Low-maintenance living awaits! Like-new, end-unit townhome in a super convenient south Asheville location. Welcoming living room with gas-log fireplace and laminate wood flooring. Open [...]

INFO 155 South Lexington Avenue, #305B,

Asheville, NC 28801

2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms

1,163 Square Feet

MLS #3757895

FEATURES • Downtown Asheville condo, steps from the heart of the culinary and music scene • Desirable third-floor unit with west-facing balcony in Lexington Station — not directly above the ground-floor retail spaces, and not as subject to the heat as the fourth-floor units • Enjoy Asheville’s galleries, museums, popular South Slope breweries, and events all within an easy walk or bike ride • Secure entry opens to lobby and elevator access • Condo offers privacy and quiet — first right-side unit off lobby doors to the left hall; no condo unit on one side • Beautiful, light-filled condo offers a split-bedroom floor plan, eat-in kitchen, large windows, crown molding, and hardwood floors throughout • Entry flows to kitchen and living area • Spacious and bright, the living room has room for ample seating and a small dining nook • Glass door in living room opens to balcony • Updated kitchen has breakfast bar, granite counters, recessed lighting, glass tile backsplash, and stainless steel appliances  • Private primary suite features a large walk-in closet and elegant bathroom with double-sink vanity, walk-in shower, and soaking tub • Second bedroom is spacious, with large windows and closets • Full guest bathroom has granite-top vanity and tub/shower • Convenient laundry closet with washer/dryer and room for storage • Start your morning with coffee — or end your evening with a cocktail — on the covered balcony • Balcony faces scenic, tree-lined Church Street (one-way traffic only) and has a pretty view of a rare downtown green space • Secure underground parking with elevator access to third floor

UPDATES • Entire condo professionally painted (walls, ceilings, trim) with Benjamin Moore paint • Kitchen cabinets professionally refinished and painted; new kitchen faucet • Installed Pottery Barn curtain rods/rings in living room and both bedrooms; four-panel IKEA linen drapes at all three triple-hung windows in living room and both bedrooms • New pulls on all cabinetry in the kitchen and both bathrooms • New HVAC system installed by White and Williams 2016 • New deck railing installed 5/21 • New garbage disposal installed 6/21 • Subway backsplash tile professionally installed in kitchen • Upgrades in both bathrooms include new mirrors and new lights over them; new towel racks; and new toilets — all professionally installed • Primary bathroom also has the following professional upgrades: new glass shower surround; new shower head; electric wallmount towel warmer; wall storage cabinet above toilet • Guest bathroom has new shower rod • All plumbing throughout condo was professionally cleaned in August 2016 by Nesbit Plumbing • New recessed lights over breakfast bar; new ceiling fans in living room and both bedrooms, all with integrated lights and operated by light switch and/or fan remotes • Wood floors throughout have been professionally buffed and revarnished

Learn More about 155 Lexington Avenue, Unit 305B

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Overview of 315 Fairfax Avenue

315 Fairfax Ave Asheville, NC 28806

Main Level: 3 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom

975 SF Apartment: 1 Bedroom + Bonus Room, 1 Bathroom

915 SF 0.16 Acre MLS # 3751238

"I think it’s a great opportunity for someone who wants to “house hack” or someone to do a very simple/easy renovation on the upstairs kitchen to charge more [...]