5 Home Staging Tips to Make Your Kitchen Look Amazing

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The kitchen is the heart of the home. There will never be a day in your life when you don't enter the kitchen for some reason. It is where groceries go in and delicious pizzas and finger licking butter chicken comes out. The kitchen is where the children first learn to be of some service. It's also where you hone your cooking skills by trying new recipes.

 

The design of the modern kitchen has created an evolution in function that has made the kitchen a place of entertainment. An open kitchen is a place for socializing and hanging out with friends and families. This helps families spend more time together. You can keep an eye on your daughter while you cook. Your spouse can perch herself on the counter and regale you with tales from her workplace, you can share a bottle of wine with your friends as you cook.

 

Being such an important part of the home, it's important that home sellers make the kitchen attractive to prospective buyers. Here are some home staging tips to make your kitchen spark more attention from prospective buyers.

 

You want to make your kitchen radiate a fresh 'feel'. Buyers should want to stay a while longer in your kitchen. Although the process of staging your kitchen may warrant a few inconveniences, it's usually worth it because an attractive kitchen will sell your home faster than any other thing you do to prepare your home.

 

1. Make it sparkling clean. Obviously, buyers won't be able to imagine themselves in your home if your home has a dirty kitchen. The neater your kitchen looks, the better. From kitchen windows, to rugs, to stoves and dishes, make sure that everything shines. Hiring a professional cleaning company might be worth the cost.

 

2. Apply fresh paint. A quick and easy way to make your kitchen appear fresh is putting fresh paint on walls. Let the colors used complement colors of cabinets and drawers to bring out cohesiveness.

 

3. Use energy efficient lighting. Another relatively inexpensive tweak to make your kitchen feel fresh and new is updating lighting with energy efficient and bright ones.

 

4. Update kitchen hardware. Buyers love a kitchen with updated fixtures. Don't leave your kitchen with old kitchen faucets and outdated lighting fixtures. Inexpensive, simple updates like garbage disposal, stainless steel appliances, faucets and cabinet hardware can make your kitchen appear new and attractive to prospective buyers. You can also go a step further by adding some pizazz to your countertops. You can put in decorative canisters, herbs, bowl of fruit, new cookbooks and new tea towels, etc.

 

5. Declutter. Decluttering may be the hardest part of staging a kitchen for sale. Your kitchen should no longer reflect you, but it should give potential buyers a chance to use their imagination. The easiest way to start the process of decluttering is to completely clear off your counters, then only put selected decorative items to fill in and soften the corners of a long expanse of countertop.

An ugly kitchen can make the home sit on the market for long. Staging your kitchen right might require some effort and inconvenience but if the property is priced right and looks fantastic, you should only have to be inconvenienced a very short time.

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How to Successfully Buy Overseas Preconstruction Homes

  • 27, July 2023

This article explores the advantages of buying preconstruction homes overseas, the risks involved and some precautions to take.

The Advantages of Buying Preconstruction Homes

Buying preconstruction homes definitely offer great advantages. First you get to CHOOSE! You don't just settle for any kind of property; you can select design features and specifications. You can actually be involved in the design of your new investment. If you're a property specialist, you will be able to tweak some features and make the home desirable to prospective tenants.

Also, these kinds of properties offer the best deals. You get the lowest deals on pre-construction homes within the first two weeks of the project's launching. Buying a preconstruction home also means that you don't have to worry about repairs and maintenance. You may not have to perform renovation on a new home for the next five years.

Buying Preconstruction Homes Overseas Is Risky

Just as they offer great rewards, buying pre-construction real estate overseas can quickly turn out to be a sour deal. Hence these investments require foresight, research and an ability to think and make deductions like an investor rather than the average buyer. You should be able to determine where the neighborhood is heading in the near future and also make a comparison of project options within your budget constraints.

The biggest risk behind pre-construction houses is that it's a non-liquid investment. For the period in which the property is being built, which can be two to four years, in the case of condo units, you freeze up a large chunk of capital. Although you might have access to visual representations or projections, you're practically buying an invisible property. You've not seen the finishes or the outward finishes.

These properties also require more down-payment requirements than their resale counterparts and you can't touch your cash or pull out should you need your money. So, it is a risky proposition. How do you protect your investment in this case?

Rules To Follow When Buying Preconstruction Homes Overseas

1. Never pay the full price upfront on a pre-construction property. It's standard to pay 30% of the cost during construction and the rest on completion. You should pay the balance when the property is move-in ready and when you can transfer the title to your name.

2. Check the specification. Do not leave this to the developer. The more detail you add to your contract, the more likely you are to get what you expect. Detail all. Start with the exact size of the home, broken down by rooms and hallways, patios, balconies and storage space.

3. Time. Get a clear deadline for the completion and delivery of the property. Most developers do not finish as scheduled. But do not allow the developer to add a 12-month overload period and go scot-free. He should have to pay a fine if he’s unreasonably late.

4. Make sure you are covered if something goes wrong. The contract should give you a decent time frame for snag-checking, and outline what type of builder's warranty you get. Be sure to include a clause that covers what kind of steps you will take if you cannot resolve a problem with the developer, be it mediation with a trade body, arbitration or a lawsuit. In some countries, if the developer doesn’t complete the property, you will get some of your money. That is not the norm, though.

Buying pre-construction property can be very profitable when you’re in the right market. These rules will help put you on the right track for a successful purchase.

By Bebuzee Admin Read More
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Buying Foreign Property 5 Effective Ways to Make Your Offer Stand Out

  • 28, July 2023

In a seller's market, like the US, buyers must be prepared to do some ground work and move fast whenever they spot homes that offer what they are looking for. In a competitive market, a buyer with cash doesn't necessarily win these days. 2015 Realtytrac stats say that about a third of property buyers in the US are cash buyers. Cash might still have an advantage over mortgage but below are some more tips to create a winning offer.

Only a few sellers can reject an offer of cash but chances are you're not the only one bringing cash to the table. Hence you need other strategies when making a home offer:

1. Move fast.

Moving fast could help you win when making a home offer in a competitive market. If you’re dealing with a seller who doesn't have much time (who does?) and wants to sell fast, all you need to do is put your best foot forward and follow other steps in these article to seal the deal.

You can also offer to close quickly. A standard closing period is about 30 days. If you can close in three weeks instead, this could convince the seller to accept your offer even over one that offers more money.

2. Get a professional.

A proactive and knowledgeable agent will know what works in that community and will be able to create a winning offer fast.  A good agent will be the strongest weapon in your arsenal when in a competitive market. A knowledgeable agent will guide you through winning strategies in that competitive market that may seem crazy when you try them in a slower market.

3. Be human.

Display personality with your offer. One way to do this is by writing a letter to the seller that tells him the reason why you want to buy. Indicate a subtle feature you like about the house (which other buyers didn't notice). Other sellers will appear impersonal.

4. An earnest deposit

A substantial first deposit makes a major difference. A reasonable first deposit will be about 3% of the value of the house. A seller often takes this offer seriously and can feel positive you are focused on the stand by position this offer.

This may give you a winning edge. Submitting a pre-approval notice with the first deposit puts your offer before others by telling the owner you are serious.

 

 

 

5. Money talks.

Of course, the more money you can offer upfront, the better your chances. If you can afford a 30% or 40% down payment (or more), sellers will be tempted to accept your offer. And, in the long run, it will save you money on a mortgage, shortening the length of your loan and the interest you pay. You can also waive some contingencies, depending on what your agent approves.

These tips can put your offer on top of the pile. However, in a competitive market, beating the competition depends on your creativity. 

By Bebuzee Admin Read More
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Top 5 Considerations for New Investors Seeking To Buy Overseas Property

  • 12, August 2023

Over the years, real estate has been pushed as a better investment to stock. With so many differences as wide as the fact that real estate is a solid, physical good while stock isn't, it's hard to see the similarities between both types of investments. An investment in real estate is similar to stocks, in the sense that, there are both negatives and positives, there is an amount of risk involved and there are no guarantees. However, comparing real estate and stocks over many decades, real estate has performed better in generating consistent wealth and long term appreciation for millions of people. But as mentioned earlier, there are no guarantees. Here are five important factors new investors should consider when buying a home abroad.

Factors To Consider When Buying A Home Abroad

1. Availability of good real estate agents. Hiring a good real estate agent is the single most important thing you'll do as a foreign property buyer. Hence you need to verify that these agents can deliver excellent service. This service will usually include post-purchase assistance. Your real estate agent should be able to help with service connections, home improvements and other requirements after the sale. A good real estate agent will also provide practical help and support. So ask questions and verify what your agent can help you with to ensure smooth purchase process.

2. Insurance. Few things done right will save you the hassles when buying property abroad. One of those things is getting coverage. This is particularly true of vacation home owners who might have to leave the property in someone else's care and investors dealing with tenants. Building insurance is a must for foreign property owners in some countries e.g. South Africa. But don't stop there! Get insurance for the contents of your home. While seeking insurance cover, check around. If you can find an insurance company with base in your home country, then go for it. If not, then settle for local insurers.

3. Property improvement. It's a given that you might not like some of the props and arrangement of your new overseas property. So, many new investors go along with renovation ideas and plans. However, home improvements can eat up your savings. Hence, before buying any overseas property, get a reputable appraiser. Don't expect to meet the property in tip-top shape. But if you'll be spending too much on repairs and renovations, then it's a bad deal.

4. Security. How secure is your new property? If there have been record of burglaries in the house, then having a big padlock might not cut it, you might need to move on. You need to determine how secure the area is. Your real estate agent might not disclose this information, so personal research is necessary.

5. Climate. You don't want to buy in an area prone to floods. Regions of extreme hotness or coldness are also out of the question. Look beyond how cheap the property is and get a house in an area you'd be able to 'survive' in.

 

These are just some basic factors you already know you should consider. But it's easy to take them for granted.

By Bebuzee Admin Read More