Setiing The Stage To Sell Your Home With A Budget Of $500.00
Staging Your Home To Sell …. The $100.00 Fix Up.
This Video shows you how with as little as $100.00 you can get your home ready for sale.
Gratitude Dancing
This is the newest and latest way for Torontonians to get their exercise… Can be done anywhere.
Why You Might Want To Use A Real Estate Agent
Expert's advice spurs lofty profit dreams
Real estate agents wheel and deal but also help raise the bar on return
Nov 03, 2007 04:30 AM Melinda Mattos Special to The Star
When I put my condo on the market this fall, a friend asked why I was bothering to use a real estate agent.
"It's a hot building in a hot market," she argued. "You could save yourself some money by selling it privately."
The suggestion was tempting. After all, when you factor in lawyer's fees and penalties for discharging the mortgage, selling a home can be expensive. I wasn't thrilled about losing another 5 per cent of the purchase price to commission.
But while my penny-pinching instincts are powerful, one thing stopped me from going it alone: I don't know anything about selling real estate. Even Monopoly stresses me out.
Just like I wouldn't drill my own cavities to avoid paying dentist's bills, I was unwilling to fake my way through selling a home.
Instead, my selling partner and I rehired the agent who'd helped us buy the place. She knocked 1 per cent off her commission because we were return customers and set to work taking photos, having a virtual tour recorded and promoting the sale on MLS and in the classifieds. I was glad to have a pro on board.
Of course, that didn't mean I could avoid all the wheeling and dealing. Though an agent facilitates the selling process and makes sure everything gets done properly, the seller still has to make some big decisions – like setting a price.
When we bought the condo about two years ago, we paid just under $215,000. We knew that property values had gone up since then, but we didn't know exactly how high.
When our agent showed us MLS listings for similar units that had been sold in the building over the past year, we were surprised to see prices in the $235,000 to $240,000 range.
Still, I was skeptical about what our unit was worth.
Ever the pessimist, I went through the listings with a red pen, circling all the ways these units might have been worth more than ours – noting their polished concrete floors, unobstructed views and fancier appliances.
Luckily, our agent was not as wimpy as I am.
"Your place shows really well," she reassured me, suggesting we price the suite at either $239,900 or $244,900.
As I considered these figures, I could feel cartoon dollar signs appear in my eyes. When we first decided to sell, I had hoped that we would break even. Now it seemed like we might make a profit, too.
Though it's common wisdom that buying property is the best investment you can make, the truth of that statement didn't click for me until that moment. Suddenly, I wanted to do everything in my power to maximize my return on investment.
We chose the higher figure.
Next, we had to settle on a timeline for accepting offers.
When we bought the condo, the seller had been considering offers as they came in, which gave us a strategic advantage as buyers: when we slipped him a lowball offer, it was the only one on the table. Though he signed it back, asking for a few thousand dollars more, we still nabbed the place for less than the list price and even got him to throw in his dinette set.
I didn't want that happening to me as a seller.
So, in the hopes of inspiring a bidding war, we decided not to consider offers until a week and a half after the suite went on the market.
For that week and a half, we found other places to spend our time, making the unit available for viewings all day, every day, including an open house on the weekend (which, our agent informed us, was well attended by potential buyers and nosy neighbours alike). Dozens of people came and went.
On the day we were scheduled to take offers our agent called to say that at least two or three would be coming in. We nervously awaited the 7 p.m. deadline.
Return to this space in two weeks and I'll tell you what happened.
KING TOWNS:
Sage staging advice Elements that create 72% of the first impression inside the home are within control of the seller – What
Sage staging advice
Elements that create 72% of the first impression inside the home are within control of the seller – What's not is location and size.
63% of buyers are willing to pay more money for a house that is move – in ready.
79%of buyers indicated they are willing to pay a premium for a home with an updated kitchen.
If You Lose Your Wallet
Good advice, just in case:
Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice. A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company. 1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks. 2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED". 3 When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it. 4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SIN# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it. 5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a name, address, SIN, credit cards. Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more. But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know: 1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them. 2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc. were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.) 3. Call the two national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Insurance number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away. This weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks. Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, etc. has been stolen: 1.) Equifax Canada: 1-877-249-2705 2.) TransUnion: 1-877-525-3823
Staging Your Home To Sell
Staging a home or apartment has become an extremely important factor in obtaining top dollar for your home. Take a look at these videos from MSNBC demonstrating what can be done with $100.00, $500.00 and $1000.00 to stage your home to obtain top dollar.
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=df1a7663-2c56-4b44-9065-f54eb8f065a5&f=00&fg" mce_href="http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=df1a7663-2c56-4b44-9065-f54eb8f065a5&f=00&fg"= Staging on $100.00
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=c0576066-3250-4b67-80b2-57569e08da7a&f=00&fg= Staging on $500.00
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=ba5c859b-1a76-4ae6-8950-b8af72465209&f=00&fg= Staging on $5000.00
New Type of Grass Sprouting
Hey, there’s a new type of grass that requires almost no maintenance . Called Eco-Lawn and created by Wildflower Farm founders Miriam Glodberger and Paul Jenkins.
Eco-Lawn is a blend of seven fescue grasses that are naturally insect and weed resistant.
It grows an inch a month and is so dense you only have to mow once a month.
No fertilization or water required because the root system goes 9-14 inches deep and in August your lawn will be green without water.
Apparently you can over-seed an existing lawn and it eventually will take over your existing grass. However, it will take 3-4 years to fully mature and develop as it grows slowly.
Eco-Lawn also helps carbon emissions because the lawn mower is only used once or twice per summer.
This sounds right up my alley
The cost is $29.95 for a five pound bag which covers 1000 sq. ft. of lawn and you can order it at www.wildflowerfarm.com