The Ultimate Checklist for Putting Your Property on the Market

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When the time comes to put your property on the market, you will face a number of responsibilities you have to complete before placing an ad. However, this is not anything to be scared of since, in the end, it will get you to your goal to sell your home. In order to do so with the minimum amount of stress, here is the ultimate checklist you should uphold to.

Go To Open House Events

The best way to find out how to sell your home is if you attend the open house events. This way you will see what other homeowners did to make their property attractive. Also, converse with other potential buyers and find out what they think is important when buying a house.

If you live in a less popular neighborhood, visit open houses in similar neighborhoods in your city and see how they deal with this. For example, Astoria in Queens used to be a simple part of New York several decades ago, but today this is a diverse community with a convenient location. The cities evolve and change over time, so check how your neighborhood fairs today since that can affect the selling price.

Find A Reliable Real Estate Agent

If you want to minimize the stress, it’s best to hire a real estate agent who will help you turn your home into a prime selling property. It’s agent’s job to find you the best buyer and represent your interests in the market. After all, they work on a commission and getting the highest price for your home is in their best interest as well as yours.

Do The Repairs

Any damage to the property will certainly reduce the selling price for a considerable amount of money. In order to avoid that, do the repairs before placing your house on the market. This can also get you a better price for the house, especially if you fixed some of the serious issues like installations, piping, and roof.

For example, expert plumbing services in Sydney can give you an estimate of safety problems that may arise from an old piping system dating back to the late ‘70s. These polybutylene pipes were cheap and easy to install back in the day but what was unknown then is that the material will deteriorate due to oxidants in the water. This turned out to be quite a problem for Australian homeowners living in the older neighborhood and deal breaker for many buyers.

Declutter

After repairs, you will have to clean the house thoroughly and keep it spotless until you sell it. This is important since buyers don’t want to look at the mess and clutter everywhere. They want to see the functional side of your home even though they will most likely do the renovations after the purchase.

Stage The Property For Your Open House

Staging a property for an open house event is more than tidying up. It’s creating an environment that buyers will feel welcomed and comfortable in, as well as to see the house’s potential. Usually, real estate agent would take care of this part but add something of your own may sweeten the deal.

For example, bake cookies and leave them on the kitchen counter so visitors can have some while examining the house. A pot of freshly brewed coffee will invoke the memories of home and family time, while fresh flowers will breathe life into the place. Even if you sell an empty house, these things can make all the difference and help buyers decide to buy your home.

Lastly

Listen to your inner voice and create an ultimate checklist based on all the things you would look for when buying a house. This will help you to put the best version of your property on the market, as well as to get the highest price. After all, if you think like a buyer you will be able to sell your home more efficiently and agreeably.

 

 

How To Find The Perfect Gift For Senior Family & Friends

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Seniors are a discerning bunch; they have often lived rich lives, developed a wide range of hobbies, and probably have all the equipment they need at home and in the garage. This can make gift buying a challenge. How to ensure you don’t succumb to the typical present of perfume or socks this year? By thinking a little out of the box and getting them something they never expected – including art, fitness and experience based gifts!

Art is the Gift that Never Fades

The effect on art on the human psyche has long been studied, with recent studies showing that both contemplating and creating art, can help put us into a mindful mood, lower stress, and make us feel more positive. Imagine the face on your parent or grandparent when they realize that you have bought them a gift that will engross and entertain them for many years to come. Art has a wonderful ability to adapt to our frame of mind, and keen art lovers know that the way we view particular paintings or sculptures changes as time goes by.

Keeping them Fighting Fit

Doctors are constantly warning us of the dangers of the sedentary lifestyle; in seniors, it is particularly important to stay active, since strengthening muscles and bones will help them avoid falls and fractures, and a bit of daily cardio will ensure they keep obesity at bay. One cool gift mature persons love is a fitness tracker, which will indicate how many steps they have taken on a given day, and also track their heart rate and other statistics. Most trackers are lightweight and come in a number of colors, so finding the right model for your loved one will be easy.

Giving an Experience

Find out what items on your friend or family member’s bucket list they have yet to achieve. While buying them a ticket to the Maldives might be a little more than you bargained for, they may list down experiences that you can make possible – for instance, a soothing massage at a luxury spa, a lovely meal at a romantic restaurant, or a night at a hotel they have always dreamed of staying at. Another gift mature people love, is entertainment – tickets to the opera, perhaps, or to a classical music concert. Do they love a band they haven’t seen perform in ages? (e.g. the Rolling Stones or similar)? Nothing is quite as fun as watching one’s favorite band perform!

Gifts for seniors can be so much more exciting than unimaginable gifts such as ties, socks, or grooming products. Would you like to receive any of these gifts? Probably not. Give the mature person in your life something that will ignite their imagination or improve their health. If you can, surprise them with an experience that will provide them with a wonderful memory for many years to come.

Ways to Modernize Your Victorian Home 

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The best part about older, traditional homes is their character. The aged interior and exterior characteristics often date the rooms and inspire a lovely sense of nostalgia. Victorian homes, especially, are known for their unique features, including complex and decorative interior trims, steep pitch roofing and asymmetrical architectural details. Still, there’s no reason why your Victorian home has to remain fixed in the 1850’s. Instead, there are many simple ways to modernize your old Victorian in a way that brings your rooms into the 21st century. Your new “Modern Victorian” home will look fantastic, emphasizing both the Victorian-era characteristics and some chic, contemporary designs, too.

Bring Your Fireplace into the 21st Century

Fireplaces will either instantly date or modernize a space. Victorian-era fireplaces can make a room feel heavy, dark and extremely traditional, so why not renovate it to make it look a little more contemporary? By installing a wall-hanging model that’s electric or ethanol burning, you can integrate a chic, simple design that will make the space look entirely fresh. Modern fireplaces, even in a room with other Victorian elements, will give the entire ambiance of the space a renewed feel.

Install Modern Light Fixtures 

Another way to showcase the old architecture of your Victorian home in a creative, 21st century style is to install modern lighting. While not all modern light fixtures will fit with Victorian designs, something that is more mid-century modern or Scandinavian modern will do the trick. Remember to mix old with new and new with old. Mixing the styles of lighting and eras will lead to a unique final product that flows together in a contemporary fashion.

Incorporate Cutting-Edge Artwork 

A final idea for modernizing an older home like a Victorian is to incorporate some interesting, engaging, cutting-edge art pieces. Picture this: You have a classic Victorian room that’s square and lined with dark wooden trim, and you add a colorful, abstract painting to the middle of a white wall. The artwork will instantly raise the level of your home’s aesthetic and make it more intriguing, rather than classical or predictably Victorian. Just because the architecture looks one way doesn’t mean that every detail in the interior of your home has to reflect the era.

By installing a wall-mounted fireplace, hanging some modern light fixtures and incorporating cutting-edge artwork, you can revamp your Victorian home and transport its interior design into the 21st century.

Maintenance Tips: Extend the Lifespan of Home Appliances

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Quality home appliances are not cheap, particularly if you have decided to get the new generation, energy saving ones. If you want to get the most bang for your buck, you should invest a bit of effort into making them last as long as they possibly can. This can be achieved with good maintenance.

Read the instruction manual

Before you start using your new appliance, make sure you read the instruction manual first. Apart from telling you indirectly how you can repair certain minor issues, you will also find proper ways of handling the appliance. This will help you prevent those minor issues from happening. If you no longer have the manual, don’t worry, everything can be found online. Each of the appliances has instructions on how it should be cleaned and that is the most important part of regular maintenance. By rule, if an appliance has a filter, it should be cleaned regularly (find the frequency in the manual). The same goes for tubes, ducts, vents, and drains.

Refrigerator coils

If you don’t know what these are, then this piece of maintenance is way overdue. The coils look like a radiator and are located at the back of your fridge, usually covered with a mash. Alternatively, they could be located at the bottom of the front side behind a press-and-pop type of cover. Use a vacuum to get the dust and the dirt out. Buy a coil brush specially designated for this type of work and remove the fine layers of dust left over after vacuuming.

Watch the washing machine load

When discussing the most common types of repairs with people from a washing machine repair Sydney service, they have pointed out that most issues arise from improper loads of laundry. Most commonly, people tend to overload the machine. This puts extra strain on its engine and causes it to wear off quickly. As a general rule, try filling it until it reaches only about half-way through the window. Bear in mind that not all laundry acts the same when you soak it in water, so a load of underwear is not the same as a blanket. On the other hand, try not to underload it as it is a waste of energy and it can cause strong vibrations.

Washing machine - drum

Image source: Pixabay

The Oven

All of your home appliances should be cleaned regularly if you want them to last longer, however, ovens need it possibly more than others. Clean your oven thoroughly and regularly but as a most important piece of advice, watch what you clean it with. A lot of cleaners are composed of strong chemicals and can damage the inner surface of the oven. When applied directly, especially around the buttons, the chemicals could find their way to the electrical components and cause a short circuit. Use only safe designated cleaners and make sure you ask for recommendations first (also, consult the instruction manual).

Oven

Image source: Pixabay

The Dryer

Some of the most important tips regarding dryers, is to watch what and how much of it you put inside, as well as regular cleaning. If you want to reduce strain on its engine, you will put in the same amount you had in the washing machine. So, one load of washing should be one load of drying, provided that you didn’t overload the washing machine in the first place. Furthermore, if you look at items such as shoes, which are not recommended for dryers, but you can use it if you are in a hurry, you should make sure to put it inside along with something else. It bouncing around could snap the dryer drum belt.

What seems to make the greatest difference is simply taking a couple of minutes to think before using and maintaining. This is important to point out as most of us are on autopilot when using them.  Read the manuals and read out maintenance tips, apply the knowledge and get years out of your appliances.

5 Realistic Resolutions to Make This Your Home’s Cleanest Year Ever

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Every one of us wants to live in a clean, sparkling home. But most of us hate doing all the work that comes with keeping homes neat and tidy. If you are someone who hates cleaning and dreads the overwhelming feeling when it comes time to tidy up, there is a good chance you are approaching the issue wrong.

With a few simple tweaks in your daily, weekly, and monthly habits, you can have a bright, clean home without needing to waste eight hours in one day.

Here are five realistic resolutions to make this your home’s cleanest year ever.

1. Plan a daily, weekly, monthly system to keep your home clean.

The main problem for most people is that they fail to do small tasks each day and then end up with an overwhelming job in front of them. This year, you are not going to be one of those people. Instead, you are going to devise a daily, weekly, and monthly plan to keep your home clean.

This plan is going to be unique to your home and your lifestyle. You can come up with a good plan by dividing all the work with the other people who live in the house. In fact, many roommates find it beneficial to set a weekly time when all members know they have to clean (2 hours on a Sunday morning).

Having everyone do it together means it will get done in no time and you can all reward yourself with brunch after!

2.  Commit to tidying up for 15 minutes every evening.

On a daily basis, resolve to tidy up for 15 minutes before getting to bed. You will be amazed at how productive those 15 minutes can be!

Each evening, wipe down your bathroom surfaces. You will thank yourself when you walk into a sparkling bathroom each morning!

Additionally, always clean the kitchen after cooking, hang up your clothes when you change, and put things away after you have used them.

Getting in the habit of doing these small tasks will help keep your house clean overall because you won’t want to start messing it up when it is already tidy.

3. Live by the “one-in-one-out” rule.

This year, to truly have a clean and organized home, make a promise to yourself that you will live by the “one-in-one-out” rule. This rule states that for every new item you bring into your home, you also have to remove something similar.

So, if you buy a new pair of boots, you need to remove a pair from your wardrobe. If you buy a new candle, book, pillow, etc., you must donate one of your old candles, books, or pillows (see #4).

Not only will this make you take a step back and think a bit deeper about impulse purchases (are there really any boots you want to get rid of?). But, if you do decide to buy something new, you know that no more space is going to be taken up.

4. Have a donation box readily accessible.

Unless you are a through and through minimalist, there is a good chance that you have some clutter around your home that you would like to do something with. Decluttering is one of the most overwhelming parts of organizing a house (it takes a little bit more than 15 minutes). But, if you break it down into monthly tasks (see #1), then you can focus on a specific area of the house each month.

If you focus on a specific area each month and live by the “one-in-one-out” rule, then in a couple of months you will have a completely de-cluttered space.

An additional resolution to make this year is to have a donation box readily available. That way, when you come across something in a drawer, or a cupboard, or in the back of your closet that you don’t like, toss it into the donation box. When the box is full, you can donate it to your local charity shop.

5. Buy cleaning products with fragrances you want to smell.

Last but not least, a simple resolution everyone can all get behind! Only purchase cleaning products that come with scents you actually enjoy smelling. After all, you are much more likely to clean regularly with something that produces a smell you enjoy!

Do you think you can commit to one or all of these resolutions this year? Or do you have your own cleaning resolutions? Let us know in the comments below!

AUTHOR BIO

 Mohamed Samad is the Founder & CEO of Matic Services. He started the company in 2016 after a series of small start-ups within the home services sector. Prior to that, Mohamed was Vice President at Greenstone Equity Partners, where he spent 24 months building the UAE business from 2011-2013 with its founder.