You bought your house because of the beautiful yard, the unbelievable hearth in the den, the generous bedrooms and, of course....the unfinished basement, just waiting for your ideas. A home theater? A playroom for the kids, perhaps! 

But the first melt of winter had other ideas. Was that a little bit of water you saw on the floor? 

How Does Water Get Into a Basement?

There are actually three common ways that water tends to enter a basement, all of which merit investigation. Those causes are:

• Leaky basement windows
• Appliances or plumbing that’s leaking
• Poor drainage around the house

Each of these causes is curable, depending on how much work you’re willing to put into the effort. There isn’t room in this blog to give an exhaustive tutorial, but we’ll give you enough info to get started so you’ll know enough to gather the materials and assistance you need.

Curing Wet Basement Syndrome

Water Source: Poor Drainage

At the end of the day, a lot of your basement woes will be cured if you check the drainage situation around your house. First, the grade. Does the ground around your house create a sort of bank that diverts water back toward your foundation? Is it just totally flat? Ideally, you want a grade that slopes away from the foundation at a rate of six inches of drop for every 10 feet of run. That’s about a five percent slope. If you don’t have a five percent slope, you can create one with fill dirt, a rake and several weekends’ worth of labor, or a tractor if you have one available.

The second part of regrading is correcting the problems that caused the ponding effect around the foundation to begin with. Maybe you don’t have gutters and you really need them. Perhaps you have gutters, but they’re not really doing their jobs because they’ve not been maintained and they’re full of leaves and other debris. Clean them out and extend the downspouts as far away from your house as possible. You can purchase flexible plastic diverter extensions that make it easier to move water from your roof to exactly where you want it for a song at any hardware store.

Some professional contractors may suggest a French drain when this situation occurs. The truth is that often, French drains are overkill or simply can’t be expected to function properly due to the soil type in your area. They can clog easily, again, depending on the soil type, and then you have a very costly pipe full of mud buried next to your basement. Do all you can to improve the drainage around your home first, long before you consider the headache, expense and gamble that is a French drain.

Water Source: Leaky Windows

This sort of goes with the poor drainage, but if your windows are down in a well, it doesn’t really matter how good your drainage is, they probably need additional attention. If you can pinpoint the leaky window, great! But it’s pretty likely that if one is leaking, they’re all at risk. Check all the windows to assess their general condition. Basement windows are so often neglected, it’s not even funny. If they’re all in generally good shape, grab some caulk designed for either bathroom use or basement use and a putty knife and get to work.

Go ahead and remove the old caulk completely. Clean the windows well so the new caulk will stick. Apply that caulk as liberally as you can without making a huge mess. Go all the way around the window, don’t skimp. Once you’ve done that, go outside and repeat the process. For windows inside wells, head out to the hardware store and grab some basement window well covers that fit your well. They should slightly overhang the well, so that water is diverted away from the well.

Water Source: Leaky Appliances or Plumbing

If you corrected your drainage and you fixed your basement windows and there’s still suspicious water on your basement floor, it’s probably coming from inside the house. Some common causes of mystery leaks can include:

• Backed up HVAC condensation lines
• Leaking overhead plumbing
• Faulty water heaters

Once you locate the culprit, you can finally correct the problem, or call in a pro to do it for you, depending on the nature of the issue. For example, if your leak is actually a drain line that’s improperly installed and is backing up during showers, this might necessitate a plumber. If it’s just a backed up condensation line, you can probably handle cleaning that out yourself.

After the Puddles Dry Out

Once you finally find the source of your basement’s leak and fix it, you can feel free to dream big again. But, remember that your basement is still a basement and you should always go with materials that can withstand water, just in case you spring another leak down the road. Tile and stained cement are both popular flooring choices and completely waterproof. You may need to get a little more creative if you have interior walls that you want to cover, but even tiling a few inches up the base of the wall can help protect any bathroom-safe wallboard from potential moisture issues.

Then again, maybe creating your dream basement is a project you’re not really ready to DIY just yet. In that case, go ahead and log in to HomeKeepr and ask your Realtor to recommend a general contractor. Your new contractor will be able to get you started in the right direction, including helping you select the best materials for your basement entertainment zone. While your GC is working in your basement, why not check out our maintenance list for late winter and early spring? It’s free and after you read it, you’ll know exactly what needs to be addressed around the house before the weather starts to warm up.

From all of us at the Philip Schwartz Real Estate Group! 

Holiday party season in full swing, so we tapped three of the city’s top behind-the-bar talents to divulge their go-to seasonal cocktail recipes.

The result: Two super-festive punches and an indulgent, whimsical martini—all begging to be served at your next gathering.  

Stephanie Andrews, bar director at the nationally acclaimed Logan Square cocktail bar Billy Sunday, shared a recipe she says captures the holiday spirit and tastes “balanced yet boozy.”

The best thing about serving punch? It’s prepared ahead of time, allowing you to spend your evening mixing and mingling instead of shaking and stirring.

Rosy Cheeks

20 ounces cranberry syrup (recipe below)
1 1/2 cup gin
3/4 cup Cocchi Americano
1/3 cup Gran Classico Bitter
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 bottle sparkling wine
Orange slices, star anise, and cranberries for garnish

Cranberry Syrup

4 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise pods
4 cups frozen or fresh cranberries
1 orange, peeled and juiced
1 vanilla bean, split
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

Make cranberry syrup: toast cinnamon sticks and start anise pods in a large pan over medium heat. Add cranberries, orange, split vanilla bean, and white wine. Bring to a simmer, then add water and bring to a boil. Boil until cranberries burst, then reduce heat and steep for 30 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine strainer. Stir in sugar.

Pour syrup and remaining ingredients into a punch bowl containing a large ice block. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with orange slices, star anise, and cranberries.

Serves 8-10.

If you’ve ever been to his Avondale tiki temple Lost Lake, you know Paul McGee is the master of rum-based concoctions.

“Making this punch has become my tradition during the holiday season,” McGee says. “It’s a crowd-pleaser but is also complex with the flavors of ripe red fruit, vanilla, and baking spices.”

Cardinal Punch

3 cups Smith and Cross Overproof Jamaican Rum
2 cups Syrah
1 cup Cocchi Di Torino Sweet Vermouth
2 cups fresh lime juice
2 cups simple syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water)
2 cups brut sparkling wine
½ ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
Peel of 1 orange
Orange wheels studded with cloves for garnish

Combine all ingredients aside from the sparkling wine and refrigerate overnight. Remove orange peel and pour mixture into a punch bowl. Add sparkling wine and garnish with studded orange wheels.

Serves 8-10.

They say the holidays bring out the child in all of us, and bar manager Tim Hollingsworth of The Robey Chicago’s rooftop lounge Up & Upcrafted a dessert-like drink that harkens back to your candy-crazed youth.

“We worked with the team at Dylan’s Candy Bar to transform a nostalgic treat into adults-only form,” he says.

Worms in Dirt

1½ ounces milk
1 ounce Irish cream (see recipe below)
1 ounce Hangar 1 vodka
½ ounce Cynar liqueur
½ ounce St. George NOLA coffee liqueur
1 teaspoon crème de cacao
1 teaspoon crème de menthe
Simple syrup, crushed Oreo cookies, and gummy worms for garnish

Irish cream (makes about 1 quart)

1¼ cups Tullamore Dew
1 tablespoon ground espresso
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Rim a coupe glass with simple syrup and dip into crushed Oreos. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Add ice and shake again. Pour into prepared glass and garnish with gummy worms.

Yields one cocktail.

There’s nothing quite as solemn as watching the garden and landscape start to wind down for a long winter’s rest. It’s part of the never-ending cycle of nature — and landscaping chores — that you’ll find yourself participating in as a homeowner. Shed a small tear for the beauty of the cycle, then head out to the garage because you’ve got a lot of work to do to get your garden and landscape ready for winter.

Ready? Here we go!

Begin at the Beginning

Every landscape and garden is different, but it can be generally agreed upon that your landscape consists of some kind of turf (grass), some shrubs or small trees, maybe a large tree, annuals, perennials, bulbs, a garden spot and potted plants. Give or take. All of these guys are competing with you for attention as fall turns to winter — they’re screaming your name, in fact. But you can’t tend them all at the same time, which is why you need to make a plan of attack before you ever start.

Things that absolutely have to be done before it frosts for the first time include:

1. Bringing tender potted plants indoors.
2. Covering tender outdoor plants.
3. Mulching everything you’d like to see next year.
4. Saying good-bye to the rest.

You can wait until there’s a freeze warning in effect to handle chores like:

1. Digging bulbs.
2. Turning over the vegetable garden.
3. Trimming away dead material from trees and shrubs.
4. Mowing the grass one last time.

Although we’d never advocate that you wait until the last minute to do any of these chores, we also know you’re probably pretty busy, so it makes more sense to let you know what the deadlines really are. With this information in hand, you can start planning your attack.

Mulching 101

One of the most important things you’ll do when you’re putting your landscape to bed is applying mulch to it. “How hard can this be?” I can hear you through the computer screen. It’s not hard, but it is specific, which means it deserves an explanation so you’ll do it right. So here we go.

There are lots of different kinds of mulch out there, anything from bark to pine needles and shredded bits of wood and even those rubbery bits that used to be tires. Basically anything that can hold on to moisture and isn’t a rock will work. Largely, it’s an aesthetic choice, but do keep in mind that as your mulch breaks down, it will contribute to the soil composition. So if you need to increase the acidity, choose more acidic materials, and so forth.

It’s not so much what you apply, but how you apply it. When you lay down winter mulch, it should be in a thick layer, two to four inches deep. Get a tape measure because this can literally mean life or death for your plants. Don’t let the mulch touch the plant, not anywhere. Instead, make your mulch into a sort of tube cake around the base of your plant, where the plant is in the hole. Piling mulch up against the trunk can encourage disease and that’s not a thing you want. Space it one to two inches off the plant, just enough that no mulch touches any part of the plant.

See, it wasn’t hard. Just specific. If you have bulbs that you’re leaving in place for the winter (plenty will survive this way), make sure to mow down any dead plant matter, then mulch them just as deeply, but instead cover the whole plant. This will ensure it survives the winter, protected from the cold.

Bright Ideas for Bulbs and Plant Divisions

For some reason, people are often incredibly intimidated by the idea of digging up bulbs and dividing plants in the fall. This is a no big deal situation, much like the mulching. You just need to learn how to do it right.

When you dig up bulbs, the one thing to keep in mind is that they should be kept in conditions that allow them to be just moist, never wet, and certainly not bone dry. Most experienced gardeners will keep uprooted bulbs in pots of damp sand in a dark corner of the garage. This way they’re still cool and won’t get confused about the season, but they’re protected from frost. Water when the sand feels dry. And whatever you do, don’t leave them in standing water!

As for dividing plants, it’s actually kind of a similar thing. The trick is to keep them moist. If you’re going to move the newly divided plants to another area in your landscape, prep that first. Have it totally ready and watered and everything. Then you can just run them over and they won’t have a chance to dry out. When you divide them, there’s no hard and fast rule about how to do it. You just break the plants in half or quarters or whatever suits you, then quickly replant the pieces. It’s really that easy.

Not everything can be divided like this, but the plants that can are really obnoxiously good at surviving despite what you may do to them. Examples include iris, peony, hosta, shasta daisy — basically any perennial with a clumping root ball, rhizomes or bulbs.

Turning Over a New Leaf in the Garden

Now we’ve come to the vegetable garden, or maybe yours is an herb garden, or some combination. It’s a place you need to take special care because you’re likely to eat something out of it and we want to make sure it’s all it can be. Fall or early winter is the very best time to get your garden spot ready for spring.

It sounds like overkill, but when you’re working with organic matter, you have to consider that it takes some time for all of that stuff to break down. Compost, on average, needs about three months to become helpful. If you wait until April to incorporate your organic stuff, it’s not going to really be available to your plants until half way through the growing season. That’s just not an efficient use of your energy.

Instead, let’s do it now and have everything ready to go in April instead!

First of all, you’re going to need a soil test. Do that before you do anything else. This will help inform what you incorporate. If your garden’s short on nitrogen, for example, you can take care of that at the same time you work your compost in. Compost alone likely won’t contain enough nitrogen to cure a deficiency, but it will improve the quality of the soil itself, making it less likely to compact, help it hold on to just the right amount of moisture and drain away the excess. It’s pretty amazing stuff for something that’s essentially garbage.

When you’re working with compost, remember that you don’t want to work in more than what would be equivalent to 25 percent of the depth of your garden spot. So, if you generally till down to 10 inches, don’t put in more than 2.5 inches of compost this year. Easy peasy.

If your soil test shows you’ve got other issues, you should consult with your local university extension office for advice. There are a lot of local variables involved that would make this blog a novel if I went into it all. They can recommend an organic or traditional treatment to work in along with the compost. Kill two birds with one stone that way. Wait the full three months to recheck your soil, then adjust again if necessary.

You may have heard of something called a green manure that some gardeners use in their plots. These are generally legumes like clovers or soybeans that are used to help improve the soil and help hold it in place. If you want to try one, it’s very important that you choose a legume because they can actually increase nitrogen levels in the soil instead of depleting them. Just till the plants under before they bloom and you’re golden.

Saying Goodnight Doesn’t Mean Saying Goodbye

You’ve mulched your daylilies, you’ve pulled up your dahlias, your daisies are divided and you’ve prepped your garden spot for next year. It seems like you’re ready to take a well-deserved winter’s break. Next spring, your plants will be back, bigger and stronger than ever before thanks to your dedication and care.

If you’re not sure that you’re up to the task this year, or you just need an extra hand with some of the garden chores, take a look at the gardeners and landscape experts available through HomeKeepr. Our recommended experts have years of experience working with all kinds of plants in your area and can show you exactly how to properly put every member of your landscape to bed for the winter.

The Aspiring Home Buyers Profile from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that the American public is still somewhat confused about what is required to qualify for a home mortgage loan in today’s housing market. The results of the survey show that non-homeowners cite the main reason for not currently owning a home, as not being able to afford one.

So let's clear the air and bust this myth once and for all! 

1. Down Payment

NAR’s survey revealed that consumers overestimate the down payment funds needed to qualify for a home loan. According to the report, 39% of non-homeowners say they believe they need more than 20% for a down payment on a home purchase. In actuality, there are many loans written with a down payment of 3% or less.

Many renters may actually be able to enter the housing market sooner than they ever imagined with new programs that have emerged allowing less cash out of pocket.

2. FICO® Scores

An Ipson survey revealed that 62% of respondents believe they need excellent credit to buy a home, with 43% thinking a “good credit score” is over 780. In actuality, the average FICO® scores of approved conventional and FHA mortgages are much lower.

The average conventional loan closed in August had a credit score of 752, while FHA mortgages closed with a score of 683. The average across all loans closed in August was 724. The chart below shows the distribution of FICO® Scores for all loans approved in August.

Bottom Line

If you are a prospective buyer who is ready to act now, but are not sure if you are able to, sit down with a professional who can help you understand your true options!

The most important step in preparing to buy a home is getting pre-approved.

Don't skip this crucial step for three reasons:  

1. Know how much home you can afford. Knowing your budget will give you the confidence of knowing your dream home is within your reach. 

2. Your real estate agent will take you seriously. If you don't know how much home you can afford, or if you even qualify for a mortgage, how can an agent serve you? They can't! Most real estate agents have lenders they've vetted and trust through experience, so ask your agent who they recommend. (Our personal choice is Tammy Hajjar Miller and her rock star team at The Federal Savings Bank!)

3. You'll be ready when you find THE ONE. Without a pre-approval, your offer on a home has very little merit. In a competitive market that moves swiftly, the home you fall in love with could very well end up in someone else's (more prepared) hands, because they were ready. Getting pre-approved can take a few days, and you'd be left out of the running waiting to get your affairs together.

It's not all doom and gloom! Many potential home buyers overestimate the down payment and credit scores needed to qualify for a mortgage. If you are ready and willing to buy, you may be pleasantly surprised at your ability to do so!

A considerable number of potential buyers shy away from jumping into the real estate market due to their uncertainty about the buying process. A specific cause for concern tends to be mortgage qualification.

For many, the mortgage process can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be!

In order to qualify in today’s market, you’ll need to have saved for a down payment (73%of all buyers made a down payment of less than 20%, with many buyers putting down 3% or less), a stable income and good credit history.

Throughout the entire home buying process, you will interact with many different professionals, all of whom perform necessary roles. These professionals are also valuable resources for you.

Once you’re ready to apply, here are 5 easy steps that Freddie Mac suggests you follow:

1. Find out your current credit history & score – even if you don’t have perfect credit, you may already qualify for a loan. The average FICO® Score of all closed loans in September was 724, according to Ellie Mae.
2. Start gathering all your documentation – income verification (such as W-2 forms or tax returns), credit history, and assets (such as bank statements to verify your savings).
3. Contact a professional – your real estate agent will be able to recommend a loan officer that can help you develop a spending plan, as well as determine how much home you can afford.
4. Consult with your lender – he or she will review your income, expenses, and financial goals to determine the type and amount of mortgage you qualify for.
5. Talk to your lender about pre-approval – a pre-approval letter provides an estimate of what you might be able to borrow (provided your financial status doesn’t change), and demonstrates to home sellers that you are serious about buying!

Bottom Line

Do your research, reach out to professionals, stick to your budget, and be sure that you are ready to take on the financial responsibilities of becoming a homeowner.