While The Cat’s Away, Install A Scratching Post

Sometimes it seems like we don’t notice all our home’s flaws until it comes time to sell. Because we live in our home every day, we become accustomed to dealing with minor annoyances, and tend to overlook the gradual accumulation of natural wear and tear. For those of us with pets, this wear and tear can be greatly accelerated.

While The Cat’s Away, Install A Scratching Post : 2:47 (697 words)

Odious Odors: The Olfactory Factor

I was recently showing a home, and the couple viewing it found the home’s smell quite unpleasant, so much so that I think it greatly influenced their decision not to consider the home for purchase even though it met all their criteria. The home itself was nice, although a bit older. However there was an overall aroma of dog, and each room seemed to have its own unique, and unpleasant, smell. The kitchen area smelled of stale grease. The “sunroom” smelled like it had been used for smoking cigarettes. The teenagers room had a particularly sour smell that could have been partly caused by old socks, but the psychedelic posters on the wall confirmed our suspicions that it wasn’t cigarettes being smoked in that room.

Odious Odors: The Olfactory Factor : 2:29 (622 words)

When Good Dogs Have Bad Fenced Yards

Home buyers looking for houses with fenced yards for their dog would do well to examine that fence carefully. Fences can have hidden problems that can cause unexpected expenditures and endanger the family canine.

When Good Dogs Have Bad Fenced Yards : 1:49 (454 words)

Isn’t that what giant pandas eat?

If you’re renovating your home to be environmentally friendly, especially in today’s environmentally conscious market, bamboo is one material you might want to consider. It is Earth’s fastest-growing plant, which makes it an exceptionally sustainable material. It is extremely versatile, being used to make durable flooring, cabinetry, countertops, utensils, furniture and tablewear. Despite this, it is not a “hardwood”. It is a grass that masquerades as a tree in Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas starting in the southeastern United States and spreading all the way down to Chile.

Isn’t that what giant pandas eat? : 1:31 (378 words)

Polish Your Home

Real estate is like any industry, a product has to look appealing for people to want to buy it. Just like the bruised and scabby apples will be the last ones chosen in the produce isle, so the houses with glaring flaws sit on the market, unsold. Sure, there are those that scout-out the best deals and often buy up damaged homes on potentially valuable lots, however your average home buyer needs to want to live somewhere in order to consider buying it.

Polish Your Home : 2:08 (535 words)

Smartening Up An Older Home For Profit

If you have just bought an older home with a view to renovating it and flipping it (a sort of slow flip at the moment!) then you will do your best renovating work if you have some respect for the homes’ original character.

Smartening Up An Older Home For Profit : 2:38 (660 words)

Potential Hazards: Obstacles To A Quick Close

Not only do hazards in a home or on a property present health and safety risks, but they can also slow down a sale considerably. Nothing is worse than getting to a certain point in a real estate transaction, only to have the buyer discover a potential hazard. This is why full disclosure of every aspect of the property, right from the start, is the best course of action. If possible, problems should be brought to the Realtor’s attention even before the home goes up for sale. But what about when even the current homeowner doesn’t know about the hazards? That’s why a smart agent will do a bit of preliminary research.

Potential Hazards: Obstacles To A Quick Close : 2:47 (697 words)

Easy Payoff with Simple Upgrades

Sometimes home upgrades can seem a daunting task, and on many levels. In the worst case scenario they require vast amounts of time, energy, living disturbance and of course, money. But, there are some simpler approaches to upgrading your home in order to have it looking up to snuff for the real estate market and to, ideally, boost its market value. So, no need to fret. Just consider the following easy upgrades and see what might be manageable for you while you begin to prepare your home for sale.

Easy Payoff with Simple Upgrades : 3:35 (894 words)

Repair for the Sale

Of course regular home maintenance is the right way to go, but it’s so easy to fall behind on the little things. I mean, obviously you fixed the leak in the roof before it caused any real damage (did you have a choice?), but what about those cracked tiles around the bathtub and the leaky faucet in the laundry room? You can’t hear it, but you know it’s out there, dripping away.

Repair for the Sale : 1:53 (472 words)

“It’s So Easy, Being Green”

With oil and natural gas prices rocketing, stoking terror of long, cold and and expensive winters, a renewed interest in keeping heating costs under control has has been sparked. Homeowner’s have an ignited passion in understanding energy saving methods. If you’re in this boat, stuck in cold waters, here are some tips for energy saving tricks of the trade.

“It’s So Easy, Being Green” : 2:41 (672 words)
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