Month: May 2019

Home Staging Tips Lawn And Garden

Home Staging isn’t just about the interior, its also about the exterior as well.

Outdoor staging is one of the best ways to bring buyers into your home, as most buyers will drive by your house first to see if they want to check out the inside. A mowed lawn and some shrubbery or flowers will go a long way! There are some gardening tips you should know before you get started.

A yard with many trees will have a lot of leaves falling, making work for you in raking. This can get expensive when you have to buy all those leaf bags. A great way to cut down the amount of bags you’ll need is to fill an outdoor trash can halfway with the leaves you’ve raked. Then, insert your grass trimmer into the trash can and shred the leaves. This gives you more room in the leaf bags, about twice as much actually, saving you money!

In any yard, insects can pose a major problem. Ladybugs are a natural insect control system that can save you money on insecticides. Make sure they have a place to hibernate so they’ll stick around for next year. Dead leaves and/or straw makes a great winter home for them.

If you like to recycle, this is a great tip for you. Ashes from your fireplace can be used efficaciously as fertilizer. Collect the ashes throughout the fall and winter months and save money! Don’t fertilize during hot, dry weather as this can add to draught issues. Sawdust makes wonderful mulch, so if you or a friend does any woodwork, save the sawdust. Pine wood makes the best mulch, just make sure you don’t use any chemically treated wood as this will harm your garden plants. Another great place to save money and recycle is to extract seeds from your existing plants for next season’s planting.

To conserve water put a layer or mulch around your plants. This keeps moisture in and saves you in water bills. Drip irrigation systems use 50% less water to achieve the same product as conventional irrigation systems. They achieve this by slowly letting water seep directly into the root systems of your plants. This is healthier for your plants, as well, as it doesn’t drown them. Rain sensors are a smart investment since no one needs to water if it’s raining! If you already have an irrigation system and don’t want to pay for an entirely new system, try upgrading your timer to an automatic, programmable timer to get the most bang for your buck. These enable you to have more control over your watering system, conserving water and money. The shorter your grass is trimmed, the more water it will take to keep it moist, so raise the blade on your lawn mower. Then recycle the trimmings back into your lawn and garden. Sweep your driveway and walkways instead of spraying them down with a hose.

Lastly, invest in gloves and a Grappler. These will protect your hands from unsanitary items as well as thorns, insects, etc. Remember home staging is a process that when done correctly will allow your home to look its very best. Stage Away!

A Home Staging Process Simplified

The objective of home staging services company would be to make preparing their clients home for sale as stress-free an experience as possible. Whether an occupied home or a empty home staging project, stagers perform as much as they possibly can in order to streamline the process so that all that is required of the client is actually access to the home and a phone call to inform them the task has been completed. Everything in between is actually handled effectively and effectively by the staging organization. One of the results is high-impact home staging project photos for MLS and marketing material. Below is a brief introduction to the actions involved in staging a house:

Step 1: The actual Consultation
This is actually the most important part of the process. The home stager will walk through the property, room through room, as well as critically evaluate what must be addressed for each room as well as space inside the home. The majority of home staging companies will then provide the seller with a comprehensive list of motion items through room. These range from such things as de-cluttering, de-personalizing, getting rid of pieces of furniture (which may be put into temporary storage space), addressing small repairs, landscape designs issues, etc.

Step 2: Prep Work
For clients that don’t possess the time or even inclination to complete the packaging, storing, painting, repairing along with other preparatory actions, the home staging company can take proper care of these items on their behalf. Many stagers work with reputable trades people that can deal with minor to more substantial projects and are accustomed to work within tight timelines. This is really a key bit of value that’s often undervalued by sellers, for two reasons. First, identifying reputable deals people can often be a challenge. Secondly, finding ones which are willing to work on a tight timeline for a fairly modest job can signify a challenge when it comes to getting the deals persons attention. The advantage that the stager brings is getting rid of these two challenges, as the stager works with them on a regular basis, and therefore is able to give a steady stream of recommendations to the trades person.

Step 3:Staging
Artwork, bedding, accessories and furniture – It is these things that actually bring the project collectively. The home staging company adds heat and a lifestyle that the potential buyers will adore. This process typically takes a day to accomplish.

Step 4: De-Staging
After the property offers, the home staging organization returns, load up all of the inventory items, and removes them. This part of the process is included within the home staging project fee.

These 4 simple steps can be accomplished very quickly and both add substantial value to a homes selling price as well as increase the time for you to closing the actual sale.

Small decorative touches that sell houses

Buying and selling houses is certainly an exciting enterprise. In some cases, extensive rehab work is needed in order to turn an ‘investment property’ into a house. But it actually takes more than new bath fixtures or ceiling fans to make a house sellable. For instance, you can have a house that’s all fixed up, that has brand new carpeting and paint, and it still is not ready for a showing. The missing element is staging.

Staging goes beyond decorating. It involves adding little touches here and there that help to make a house a home. While decorating may play a role, it also may involve adding furniture to ensure that the house has the proper look.

In the entry way, for instance, you might add a small round table with a nice table cloth on top. You can then add a little basket or vase with a flower arrangement in it.

But you shouldn’t stop there. You should also add a stack of your business cards so that you leave a reminder of whom potential buyers should call if they’re interested in the property.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen you can add a colorful dish towel to the faucet. You can also place a display stand on the kitchen counter that has information about the house, along with information about the land contract program and an application. The potential buyer can then fax in the application or drop it off back in the office.

In the bathroom, you should make sure that you have a shower curtain up and colored hand towels in the towel bar. If there is no towel bar, you can put a portable brass stand on the sink where you can place some hand towels. These little touches make the house appear warmer and more appealing, turning an empty shell into a home.

It’s also usually a good idea to install mini-blinds in the home which can help to block out unappealing sights from the neighborhood. The mini-blinds can certainly add to the appeal of the house, without adding a great deal of cost to your renovation project.

While it is true that someone could walk off with your hand towels or other decorative accents, the chances of that are unlikely. Also, even if something is stolen, it probably won’t affect your bottom line all that much. And, by taking just a little risk, you can greatly improve your chances of selling the house quickly.

First Time Home Owner Help – Newer Homes vs Older Homes

Needless to say, buying a house is an incredibly personal decision. It matters that you are happy with your purchase, and when you’re looking around for homes to buy, making a decision seems a bit harder than you expect. Let’s say that you prefer to buy Seattle real estate for your first home. As you look at Seattle homes for sale, you’ll find that one of the first questions you need to ask yourself is how old should the house you want to buy be.

Different people will have different opinions about it, and the best way to make a decision is to look at the pros and cons. Buying an old house definitely has pros and cons. Old houses have architectural styles that are unique. Generally, they have more character in terms of appearance. The workmanship and the detail that goes into old world architecture is also quite impressive and is part of the reason why a lot of old homes are still quite expensive, especially if they are well maintained, or if its systems are modernized but the structure is kept the same. Like what people always say, they just don’t make houses like they used to anymore. There aren’t that many artisans that pour attention on a project anymore. However, because old houses also use old systems in the house, it’s quite hard to find somebody who still knows how to fix these old systems, much less find parts for them.

Older homes have large yards and (compared with newer homes) have relatively smaller closet spaces. Because lots are more expensive these days, people opt to just use the space for the house rather than use it to enjoy a bigger garden. Having a bigger front yard is favorable for people who want to do a lot of outdoor activities like entertaining family and friends for barbecue, or even keeping pets out on the yard, which you can’t always do inside the house. Newer homes also have more closet spaces and modern storage systems make it easier to attach, rearrange, and redesign closet spaces and cabinets, unlike in older houses.

Older homes are, of course, situated in old and established neighborhoods. This means that zoning changes are less likely to happen than with newer neighborhoods. This way, you can be sure that a residential neighborhood stays that way. In a newer neighborhood that’s still being developed, you’re really not sure how the community will turn out in a few years’ time.

Buying newer homes will make sure that you are going to be able to use modern conveniences that you expect to have access to in this day and age. Since the house is not too old, it’s also possible that it could be covered by a builder’s warranty. These warranties often last for as long as 10 years. Newer houses are also less likely to need major replacements on the systems as well as the roof. Of course, this doesn’t mean that buying a newer home is pain-free. It’s best to be prepared for any eventuality that could come from buying a home, even one that is brand new.

Home Based Business Opportunity Idea

A Home Based Business Opportunity Idea

With our screwed up economy practically everyone is looking to earn extra money or replace the income of the job they just lost. Did you know that while many people fail at that goal that it is really not difficult.

The home based business opportunity that I recommend is affiliate marketing. If you have tried it or have been working on it for a long time without success I can relate to you. I tried for several years before I found out strategies that work.

It boils down to three things done right.

1. Keyword research. Most people starting up online pick keywords with too much competition. Perhaps you have done this yourself, after all you want to generate traffic and sales. Everyone tells you to get at least 1000 searches a month (according to the Google Keyword Tool , and that would be good except most of the time, until you get more advanced and understand things better, it doesn’t work. Instead look down at the longer phrases that generate 100 to 1000 searches. While you look, look at the competition graphs and pick one that has competition as low as possible.

2. Article Marketing, use the keywords and write some articles with the keyword in the title, first paragraph, and resource box. If you can fit it in other places, do so. Then submit the article to several article directories.

3. Video Marketing. If you don’t know how to make videos or don’t want to be on camera then head on over to a site like Animoto.com. You can login and add some pictures and make a video. Be sure to use the text slides and drop in some benefits of your product. As you are finishing up it asks you to write a blurb so you can submit it. Use the URL of the site you want to send traffic to as the first thing in this box. Then in the rest of the box write a description and include your keywords. Animoto will allow you to submit this video to Youtube. If you upgrade (it is inexpensive) you can download an mp4 of the video and submit it to other sites. You can also use Tubemogul and Trafficgeyser to submit the mp4. I’ll let you explore that yourself.