The Housing Muse Podcast with Melissa Dittmann Tracey – Details, episodes & analysis

EPISODE 52: Jody Costello was eager to start a two-story addition on her 1940s home that would include an owner’s suite and upper deck. But she quickly learned hiring the wrong contractor for the job can be a costly mistake. A leaky roof, shoddy work, surging costs, and a constantly MIA contractor eventually resulted in a lawsuit and a three-year battle to try to recoup costs and get her project completed. Costello is now the creator of the website “Contractors From Hell,” where she helps homeowners remodel smart. Listen to her story and tips so that you never have to face a home remodeling nightmare, like she once did. 

Learn more about Jody Costello:

https://www.housingmuse.com/guests/jody-costello/

Contractors From Hell website (download her “7 Mistakes Homeowners Make That Lead to Disasters”):

https://contractorsfromhell.com

Listen to more episodes of The Housing Muse:

https://www.housingmuse.com

 EPISODE 51: What is feng shui? Can it actually make you feel good and make you like your home more? Could it even help you sell your home? Feng Shui expert and author Steve Kodad joins The Housing Muse Podcast to breakdown the principles of this ancient art to spatial arrangement and building design, and offers insights on its potential real estate impact.

Learn more about Steve Kodad (https://www.housingmuse.com/guests/steve-kodad/) and TheFengShuiCure.com (https://www.thefengshuicure.com/)

Listen to more episodes of The Housing Muse Podcast:

https://www.housingmuse.com/

EPISODE 42: Every crime has a setting, and sadly too often, it plays out inside a home. Even if you’re a law-abiding citizen, you could face the fallout from crime in real estate. In this episode, we unpack five fearful real estate situations. Be prepared to get scared on everything from stigmatized properties, ghosts and paranormal activity, meth labs to varmints (“the snake house”—oh my!) and more.

Housingmuse.com

Follow the Housing Muse on Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, @housingmuse.

EPISODE 41: Pickleball is serving up some serious wins in real estate, like revitalizing once-abandoned shopping malls into booming pickleball hubs. Developers are in a race to bring more pickleball courts to more places all across the country. But there’s also a dark-side to America’s fastest-growing sport—that’s getting louder and louder. 

In this episode:

• Learn more about the rapid growth of America’s newest favorite sport and how it’s shaking up real estate.
• Beware P-NIMBY: Pickleball, not in my backyard. 
• What to watch for if pickleball courts are soon coming closer to your home.

Links:

Pickleball Courts Serve an Ace for Vacant Malls, Retail Stores

Follow Housing Muse on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @housingmuse.

Housingmuse.com – to listen to more episodes, read our blog and submit a review!

EPISODE 40: It’s one of our favorite regular segments on The Housing Muse: Quiz Time! Take our interactive quiz to test how smart you are when it comes to the latest real estate and home design trends, home maintenance and more. (Hint: If you’re a regular listener to The Housing Muse, you’ll fare well! Otherwise, we’re going to teach you a few things.) Take our quiz and chime in with your answer to see how many you get right.

Episodes/Articles Mentioned in This Episode:  

Decorate Like a Designer: 5 Affordable Home Accessories (The Housing Muse Blog)

Take More Housing Muse Real Estate Quizzes!

A Sophisticated Twist on the ‘Barbiecore’ Craze (Styled, Staged & Sold blog)

Episode 23: 10 Ways You’re Screwing Up Your Home’s Value

Episode 29: Home Sellers Are Liars!

Episode 30: 5 DIY Tasks Home Inspectors Want You to STOP Doing

Episode 36: Allergy-Proof Your Landscape

Episode 39: How to Clean Your Home’s Indoor Air

Follow the Housing Muse on Instagram @housingmuse

EPISODE 39: Just like you clean your home on a regular basis, you can clean your home’s air, too. More research is showing why you should. Consider, this stat: Indoor air can contain two to five times more pollutants than outside, according to research from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Yes, your home’s indoor air tends to be more toxic than outside! Most Americans spend a majority of their time indoors, which means you could be breathing in dirty air on a regular basis. However, there’s plenty you can do to change that. Housing Muse host Melissa Tracey has talked to the experts to round up several easy ways to improve your home’s indoor air quality and give you a fresher breath.  

Check out HouseLogic.com for more on this topic: Indoor Air Quality Solutions for Your Home

Follow the Housing Muse on Instagram and Twitter

Leave a review for the Housing Muse: Housingmuse.com

EPISODE 38: In part 2, we continue to highlight HGTV-inspired home design tips and tricks to make your home look as pretty as they do on TV. We also cover a few trends that may best be reserved for TV—and not real-life.

Check out The Housing Muse blog to view an infographic of TV designers’ favorite home accessories: https://www.housingmuse.com/blog/hgtv-inspired-home-accessories-for-any-budget/

Follow the Housing Muse on Instagram and Twitter.

Visit the home of The Housing Muse: Housingmuse.com

EPISODE 37: Home buyers are overwhelmingly disappointed at homes they tour for-sale. Why? Because they don’t look as pretty as they do on TV. The HGTV-effect is skewing our impressions of how a home should look. But there are some easy (and affordable ways!) to get our homes looking as pretty as they do on TV. Housing Muse Host Melissa Dittmann Tracey gathers up ideas inspired by the shows and hosts on HGTV. This is part one of a two-part series on HGTV-inspired ideas.

Check out The Housing Muse blog to view an infographic of the top home accessories that TV design hosts often turn to: https://www.housingmuse.com/blog/hgtv-inspired-home-accessories-for-any-budget/ 

Follow the Housing Muse on Instagram and Twitter.

Visit the Housing Muse's home: Housingmuse.com

EPISODE 36: Seasonal allergies can be a nuisance. Your home’s outdoor plantings may be making it worse. Joining The Housing Muse Podcast is gardening guru Linda Vater to share which plants may be more prone to triggering allergies, and how to plan a landscape so that you can breathe a little easier.

SHOW NOTES

Learn more about Linda Vater

Find gardening tips at Linda's YouTube channel

Allergy Forecast Apps

Allergy Plus by Pollen.com

Zyrtec Allergycast

WeatherWell

Housing Muse home: housingmuse.com

Follow the Housing Muse on Twitter or Instagram @housingmuse

*DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this podcast are for information purposes only and the opinions of the host and guest. Please consult a health professional for any medical issues that you may be experiencing.  

EPISODE 35: The top concerns from homeowners recently surveyed about selling their home: They fear their home is in need of too many repairs, has an outdated interior, not trendy enough fixtures and lacks curb appeal. Sorry to say, but all of those things could potentially lessen your sales price! So there’s reason to fear. But a pre-listing improvement or renovation could help—and you don’t even have to foot the bill for it. Olivia Mariani from the company Curbio joins The Housing Muse Podcast to talk about this latest trend in real estate, and how it’s helping home sellers see some impressive results.

Curbio’s website: Curbio.com

Learn more about Olivia Mariani: https://www.housingmuse.com/guests/olivia-mariani/

The Housing Muse’s home: housingmuse.com

Follow the Housing Muse on Instagram or Twitter @housingmuse