Archive for October, 2009

Tenant Proofing Your Property

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Worried about your property being damaged by your tenants? Here are some some ideas to help keep your property tenant proof while maintaining enough appeal to attract good quality tenants.

house buildingHaving a tenant proof property means having a property that can withstand the wear and tear of having tenants live in it. Certain features simply cost less to maintain that others, while some are just not required to rent out a property so are an unnecessary expense. A balance needs to be made as to also having a property that will attract tenants.

Examples of areas to tenant-proof would be the yard, the exterior, and the flooring.

The Yard
In general, the less yard at the investment property, the better. Yards come with associated costs for the mowing and upkeep. If the type of tenant you want probably prefers a yard, then be sure to insist in the tenancy agreement that they take care of the upkeep and associated costs.

The Exterior
While initially brick maybe more expensive, there is serious savings in the upkeep. Painting the house is an ongoing cost and shows wear and tear a lot faster. If you are painting, be sure to use neutral colours.

The Flooring
As with the exterior, some things cost more to upkeep than others. In the case of flooring, carpet is more expensive because it can wear so fast. Wooden and tiles floors look better for much longer. If the property does have carpet, getting it cleaned can make a big difference to how presentable it looks. Landlords can insist as part of the tenancy agreement that the tenant has the carpet cleaned at the end of their tenure. That way each new tenant will have nice looking carpet.

This are just a few examples of ways to tenant-proof your investment property. The more you think through features such as this, the more profitable the rental property can be.

If you found this information useful, check out my site where I give Property Investment Tips and advice, including information about how to Manage Rental Property.

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The basics of buying a new home

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Before you even start thinking about buying a flat or house, there are some basics that you need to know and understand. Don’t be taken for a fool, this is the very least you should know.

home with a viewThe Basic Steps of Purchasing a Home: By simply educating yourself just a little bit about the basics of buying a home, you can protect your interests and have a smoother experience. You don’t have to become an expert on buying a home — you just need to know the basics.

Making an Offer — Upon finding your next perfect home, the Real Estate agent will ask you to sign a contract for the property as an ‘offer’. This contract may equate to the properties sale price, alternatively you may wish to negotiate with the seller by making an offer below the asking price. At this point, the seller may either accept the offer by signing the contract; alternatively the seller may return the contract with a counter offer.

Deposit — During the Making an Offer stage, the Real Estate agent will ask you for a holding deposit. Most agents will ask for a deposit equal to 10% of the purchase price however, you should know that this deposit may be negotiable. Your minimum deposit may simply be based on just how hard you negotiate with the agent.

Engaging a Solicitor — it is wised to engage a professional conveyancing solicitor during the course of any property transaction in order to avoid any nasty surprises. A conveyancing Queensland solicitor will be able to assist you with the preparation and handling of documentation, drafting contract conditions, making title and land enquiries and all other searches associated with the purchase of a property.

Cooling Off Period — Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse? Luckily in Queensland buyers are entitled to a five day cooling off period. This cooling off period allows you to exit out of the contract in the event you realise that the property deal is not suitable. Please note: this type of contract cancellation generally incurs a penalty of 0.25% of the purchase price.

Special Conditions — Building and Pest Inspections can reveal a great amount of previously unnoticed information about a home. A professional Building and Pest Inspection company should be able to identify potential structural defects and pest related issues. As such, buyers are highly encouraged to protect their future investment and ensure that a subject to Building and Pest Inspection is included in the Special Conditions area of the contract. Likewise, a subject to finance inclusion should also be made.

Arranging Finance — The process of arranging finance may take some time. For this reason it is important to engage a lending institution early on in the game.

Settlement — Four to eight weeks after exchanging contracts, it will be settlement time. At this point all interactions between the seller and yourself have been finalized and you officially have become the owner of your new home. A final search of the title will be conducted, and the balance of the purchase price will be made to the seller. Your conveyancing solicitor will be of invaluable assistance at this time, ensuring that everything is in order and that it is safe to commence with the settlement. It is imperative that you have insurance that kicks in upon settlement, so that your property is safe. Congratulations — you are a homeowner!

Charter Conveyancing understand that a conveyancing Queensland firm or a conveyancing Brisbane firm is an important step when buying a new home. However, there are many other stages involved, and things to keep in mind. Learning the basic process of buying a new home can help ensure that nothing goes wrong and that you have the best experience possible.

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Kitchen Ideas

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Improving your kitchen doesn’t have to be an expensive undertaking. There are many ways you can update and improve your kitchen on a shoe string budget, here’s some good ideas and tips to point you in the right direction.

old kitchen stoveUpdate Your Kitchen on a Budget: Kitchens are where lots of cooking, visiting and everyday life takes place. If being in your kitchen seems like a chore because you don’t like the way the kitchen looks, or, if finding something you need is difficult and frustrating, you may have wished you could update your kitchen. Maybe you have hesitated because you think you can’t afford it. There are, however, affordable ways to update your kitchen, make it more appealing and turn it into a fun place in which to cook and visit.

Sometimes simply rearranging furniture creates extra space in a kitchen. Try moving the kitchen table and chairs to a different part of the room. Move other items around and see if you can come up with a better way to place furniture in the kitchen that gives you more room to work. Or, perhaps you have a smaller table that would work as a kitchen table, leaving more open space.

Kitchens must be organized so that busy cooks can find what they need without having to search for it. Counter space should be plentiful and tools and ingredients should be located within reach. If your kitchen is not set up so that you are able to find necessary items as you need them, you may want to purchase storage bins for your kitchen drawers to better organize the contents and arrange tools and utensils in a more efficient manner. Organize in such a way that items you frequently use are close at hand.

Most kitchens require more storage than built-in cabinetry supplies. Since adding storage space is a priority, finding ways to increase shelving is a must. To add storage to existing cabinetry, stacked shelves can be placed inside each cabinet. By adding stacked shelving, spices and other small food items are organized in such a way that you can quickly see and grasp what you are looking for.

Pay attention to the floor. While changing flooring is a time-consuming, difficult and sometimes costly project, adding kitchen rugs is not only inexpensive, it is also decorative and practical. Today’s rugs manufacturers design affordable, beautiful and long-lasting rugs that include special padding that makes standing on them for long lengths of time more comfortable. Many of today’s rugs are washable, which is an added bonus in busy kitchens.

By rearranging furniture or replacing pieces, you may be able to create more available workspace. Perhaps using a smaller or differently shaped kitchen table is an option. Using self-contained rolling counter tops and storage shelves not only gives you more storage and an additional work area, but allows you to roll the unit out of the way when it is not needed.

By looking at your kitchen objectively, planning and experimenting, you can come up with a kitchen makeover plan that turns your kitchen into a more productive and enjoyable place to work.

Matthew Kerridge is an expert in kitchen design. If you would like further information about kitchens or are searching for a reputable kitchen supplier please visit http://www.wrenkitchens.com.

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More tips on flat hunting

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

One can never get too much advice about looking for flats or houses to rent, so here’s another article with tips and ideas to help your apartment hunting be a better experience.

apartment huntingApartment Hunting – A Guide to Surviving: The idea of moving to a new place is very exciting at first, but once you begin the process of it, you may begin to regret ever finding an apartment. The need to come up with an appropriate budget, followed by having to visit each and every place can be very stressful. Friends and relatives can make this experience much more tolerable by providing their wisdom and advice. Make sure you understand what you can afford, where you want to live, and what your options are.

An important aspect of finding an apartment is understanding your available funds. If you don’t keep a monthly budget, now would be a good time to sit down and map out exactly what you can afford. You need to take a look at expenses like a car, food, work expenses and school expenses. You need to subtract these from your monthly income as well as any miscellaneous expenses that will also reduce your available funds. Once you’ve figured out what you can afford you need to look up the average cost of utilities so that you know what to add or subtract from your funds when you hear what is and isn’t covered by the rental company.

Now you need to create a list of a dozen or so apartments you will visit. The first place to start building this list is from friends and family; they will have lived places they regret and ones they wish they could return to. The knowledge garnered from them will build a solid base for places to go look at. The newspaper as well can show you recent local apartments that are available and give good descriptions of what you might be looking for. The largest repository for finding apartments will be the Internet. You will be able to look up plenty of apartments on a apartment locator site. They will have pictures, floor plans, and lots of good info.

Once you are armed with your list of a good number of places to visit, you will want to grab a friend that has rented several times before, or even a relative. They will know what questions to ask that you may forget, plus they can help you build a list of questions to ask every place you go. The list will make an easy reference sheet to look at the pros and cons of a specific rental property.

Moving is not fun and neither is finding an apartment, but if you follow these steps you’ll be able to minimize the stress and make it much easier to find a great place that is within budget. Finding an apartment should be a joyful experience and finding a new place to call home will certainly bring a lot of happiness if you do it right.

Find listings of Madison, WI apartments online at the area’s largest resource of listings, MadisonClick.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_Herman

Be careful when buying to renovate

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

If you are looking to buy a house or flat as an investment, one option to consider is to look for a property that needs work done to it. Often you can pick up a bargain, spend some money fixing it up and then put it straight back onto the market and sell your property at a profit. Here’s some advice and pointers to look out for.

house needs fixingBuying a Fixer Upper – Cautions You Must Watch Out For. Getting yourself your dream house is considered one of the most viable and important financial investment you embark on. There are countless possibilities you can actually venture into when you are finding ways and means to make it big in the real estate industry. Hence, home purchase is not only geared towards personal satisfaction and need because it is also a very important long-term investment you can secure for yourself. There are various options you may have for your home acquisition preferences. You can opt to buy a newly constructed house for a fresher start. There are also more practical alternatives such as buying a house that has been owned in the previous years. However, more Realtor and home buyers see the value of purchasing fixer upper homes.

Fixer upper refers to a condition of real property that is lesser in market value and sub-standard in quality and condition. For instance, you are going to deal with many repair and fixture issues when you buy the house. This is actually part and parcel of the deal however the benefit you are going to get is in terms of its price rate and market value. Hence, the house is definitely priced dramatically lower than regular and conventional ones.

If you have an advantage in terms of the price rate of the property, there are also pending disadvantages you need to deal with. For instance, be aware of the different cautions that accompany this package. Making sure that you are knowledgeable and understands the different mechanics of this venture is truly an asset.

First and foremost you have to consider if the property is amenable for minor or cosmetic improvements such as floor refinishing, drywall repair and paint touch ups. Furthermore, you also benefit from this investment if you only spend lesser than the usual. Hence if the house is good for a major structural reconstruction, then you may consider finding other options and properties. It is more time consuming and extremely impractical if you are going to strain your budget due to major renovation projects. Furthermore, you need to comply with building and code regulations thus you have to secure proper permits to avoid any violation.

Location is another salient issue you have to deal with in buying a fixer upper. You do not do the home renovation and remodeling projects right away if you are not sure of the value of the place it is situated in. In fact, location must be your primary criterion in considering purchasing a property especially with this type of condition. Even if you have a thoroughly renovated house, if it is not in the right place with an appreciative value, then its market value and worth is still not profitable for your investment.

If you have finally decided on venturing into fixer upper properties, you have to brace yourself and make sure that you are fully equipped with sufficient knowledge and determination to fulfill your pursuits. Fixer upper homes are truly great investments if you have the resources to succeed.

For more information, tricks and tips when it comes to home improvement and real estate as a whole, simply visit Apache Junction Homes for sale and Real Estate in Apache Junction.

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Applying for a flat or house to rent?

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Whether you are applying to rent a flat or house, you are probably going through a rental agency or real estate agent, and they have certain rules they use to filter out tenants that don’t meet certain requirements. Knowing what they look for can help you submit the best possible application which can improve your chances of being approved, the following article will help.

screening applicationsThe Importance of Screening Tenants and How to Do the Screening Process

Let’s go through tenant screening. Let’s say you prepared the property. You’ve done all the things you’ve talked about. You’ve gone through your marketing plan. You’ve advertised and done all that.

Now people are calling you and even expressing interest in terms of filling out an application. How do you go through and screen your tenants? How do you eliminate the bad ones and hopefully find good tenants?

I guarantee you if you can find a good tenant it will make your life so much easier. If you eliminate the bad tenants it will make your life a lot easier. There’s no guaranteed system to figure out who’s good or who’s bad, but you’ll find out real quick the underbelly of real estate investing that there are a lot of problems you can have. I know a gentleman that has 51 properties and I’m sure he’s got stories to tell you.

Screen Out Tenants

Let’s go through a screening process. You want to try to screen out tenants and do it in a way that’s fair and meets the Fair Housing rules and regulations. You cannot screen out tenants based on sex, family status, or religious status. All of those things you cannot be screening tenants on.

There are two exclusions to Fair Housing rules and you need to know what they are. You can screen a tenant that has pets. You can make a decision of I will take you or I will not take you based on whether they have a pet. Pet owners are not a protected class.

The other persons that are not protected are smokers. You can refuse an applicant solely on the fact that they smoke. You are not required to accept that person. I’ll be honest with you, that’s about it. Other than that you cannot make decisions – except economic of course – based on other factors of sex, religion, all those types of things.

Consistency with Policy Making Decisions

Make sure you have consistency in your policy making decisions. If you want to do it in writing, that’s fine. There are some people that use point systems. They have applications and then they give them points.

If your income is above this you get so many points, if your rental history is this, your job history is this you get points. They add them all up at the end and if they’re over 30 points they’re approved. If they’re under 30 points they’re not approved. That’s not a bad system. It certainly is a fair system. You could do it consistently.

Exceptions

We tried it and we didn’t have any luck with it because what will happen is there are always exceptions. There are exceptions to this, exceptions to that, there are explanations for this. We found we were spending more time trying to figure out people that didn’t have enough points really were good because of this, this, or this. People that had enough points really weren’t good because of that. I was not particularly happy with it.

In the end, whatever system you use, I guarantee you that the number one way to determine this thing is pure gut. Guys, go out and meet the people. Just go out and make sure you’ve met them.

If you’ve got somebody working for you that does a lot of the pre-screening and a lot of the sales work, that’s fine. I would suggest that you go meet the final candidates. Give them your smell test. There is something about doing this business over the years that you’ll develop a gut sense of when somebody is good or bad.

I guarantee I’ve got a pretty good gut. It’s not perfect by any means. When you place 200 people in houses in a year you make some mistakes, but it’s pretty good. I can smell when something doesn’t quite seem right to me. You need to develop that sense as well.

I invite you to learn more about Property Management and get a free 60 minute audio titled “Learn the 10 Success Secrets of Property Management Every Real Estate Investor Must Know to Maximum Profit and Avoiding Tenant Headaches” by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/PMS.html

Mike Lautensack is the owner of Del Val Property Management LLC, a FULL service residential property management company located in Philadelphia, PA.

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Should you have smoke and fire alarms?

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Safety in your flat or house is something you should never overlook. One aspect of safety is that of fire protection and early fire warning systems. The sooner you know about the fire the sooner you can put it out, so fitting smoke alarms would seem to be the obvious and clever thing to do. Here’s a short article on fitting smoke and fire alarms in your home.

fire truckI have a strong opinion about smoke and fire alarms. I feel that no home should be without them and I believe that every room should have at least one alarm. This includes bedrooms, bathrooms and every room in between.

Having just one alarm on each floor just is not enough to make sure that everyone in your family is protected from the dangers that come from fires.

You always want to make sure that you are installing the fire and smoke alarms according to the directions on the box. This is extremely important. If the smoke and fire alarms are not installed correctly, they will not work correctly, which completely defeats the purpose of purchasing them in the first place.

Never install the fire and smoke alarms at head level or right on the ceiling. They should be on the wall, just a few inches down from the ceiling. This is the perfect level to ensure that any smoke that is present in the home will be detected and it will set the alarm off. Smoke rises so you do not want to wait until the whole house is filled top to bottom with smoke before your wrongly place fire alarm goes off.

In addition, you might want to look into the alarms that set each other off when one detects smoke or fire. This way, you and your loved ones will be alerted to the problem sooner rather than later. Every second counts when it comes to escaping from a fire so make sure that you are giving everyone the best chance at survival.

Myloer is a hobby writer who usually updates his blogs every day and writes about all kinds of topics. His latest project is about home alarm systems and you can also read his articles about smoke carbon-monoxide detectors by following the links.

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Buying Property on the Internet

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

You should know all about it, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this while searching online for a flat for rent or a house to buy, never the less how’s some interesting info on the general trend today of looking for properties on the net.

using internet to search for propertyThe days when the only realistic course of action for prospective homebuyers was to scan localities and properties personally are over. Though personal inspection of short-listed options is obviously still de rigueur before the final purchase, the actual process of short-listing has become increasingly ‘virtual’.

Today, a significant section of homebuyers launch their search by scanning available options listed on the Internet. It is only after this process has yielded enough prospects that they physically inspect properties. Certainly, there are a number of advantages to using the on-line approach in the initial stages of a home search. The Internet allows a prospective homebuyer to analyze the ‘vital statistics’ of an unlimited range of properties in the shortest possible time.

Online real estate listings often feature photographs, as well – this helps in the visual aspect of home selection. However, the hackneyed slew of artist’s impressions certainly serves as no more than the roughest of yardsticks. In this respect, we are still a way off from more advanced Internet listing systems in the West, wherein buyers can inspect properties in ’surround-view’ panoramic views.

Far more important than the often-misleading visual aspect, however, is the fact that real estate listings on the Internet describe at least some of the features of the locations in question. Property buyers are now highly attuned to the need of proximity to important features such as schools, places of religious worship, shopping centers, leisure facilities, public transport options and general connectivity to key areas within the city.

Nor does the Internet’s utility in property location end with developer’s listings, which will understandably not enumerate an area’s drawbacks. Basic search engine skills suffice to establish almost any location’s status in terms of traffic patterns, general property rates, incidence of crime, existing and potential hazards and the presence or absence of basic amenities.

The Internet is a very useful tool when it comes to eliminating properties and localities on the basis of personal preferences. No longer is a homebuyer limited to choosing from a handful of available options because of budget constraints.

Of course, the Internet is not a complete substitute for a real estate professional when it comes to the transaction stage. Nor do any but the most foolhardy buy a property without actually visiting and inspecting it. The advantages that the Internet offers in terms of real estate buying are limited to rendering the initial weeding-out and short-listing process more efficient, organized and time-effective.

However, the Internet is also invaluable in terms of budgeting and finding suitable home loans by a process of comparative ’shopping around’ for the best that could prove to be extremely frustrating and tiresome if the prospective borrower were to conduct it in person.

Arun Chitnis is a professional writer with interest in a wide swath of genres. His fields of interest include real estate, self improvement, short fiction and parenting issues. He is based in Mumbai, India and writes whenever he can.

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Do I Really Have to Fix My Water Leaks?

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Well if you read all the advice on this site about what to look for before deciding on a flat for rent or moving to any new property, you probably wouldn’t end up having to fix water leaks in your new home :) But just in case you missed some leaks, here’s some advice about fixing them.

property leaking waterBy the time you’re done reading this article, you should have a pretty good idea and be able to answer this question on your own. There are thousands of homes all over the country today that have water leak problems and aren’t doing anything about it.

First thing I like to do is introduce myself to you. I’m the guy that these people call, when the water damage starts to get so bad that they can’t walk into their home anymore. Usually the smells become so bad that they don’t want to be in their own homes or the damage has become ridiculous and now has created safety hazards for their family.

I’m probably one of the most qualified people to answer this question. Do I really have to fix my water leaks? Yes you do, and if you don’t I can tell you what your home is going to look like in the future.

I have seen water leaks no bigger than the size of a pencil eraser, do more damage to a home than you could ever imagine. I’m not talking about a hole the size of your fist, I’m talking about small holes that leak water, daily until they have done enough damage to the home, to get the homeowner’s attention and start sending signals to their brain that it’s time to hire someone to fix it.

If you really want to know when the best time is to fix any water leaks, I can answer that question. Immediately, you must repair water leaks as soon as humanly possible. I don’t care if it’s a roof leak, water supply leak or a water drain leaking.

Water leaks damage your home and should be repaired as soon as possible without delay to prevent the damage from spreading and costing you more money.

If You’re Looking for a Great Contractor, Click on This Link Water Damage Repair Contractors

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Get some great Incredible Home Water Damage Tips that can make a big difference on any of your home remodeling projects.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books.

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3 Stylish Painting Techniques For Walls

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

A situation you might find yourself in once you have moved into a new house or flat, is the need to paint the walls, either because they haven’t been painted for years or because you just hate the color and would like to paint your new home in a color that is pleasing to you. The following article gives some great ideas and techniques.

painting houseThere are several different painting techniques that a homeowner can choose to do to the walls to add some quick style to a room. Some painting techniques can easily make a DIY paint job look like a professional one.

Before you can start any type of painting on your walls, you need to make sure that you are prepared. This means that you have all your supplies ready and that you have prepped the walls by filling in any cracks or holes and taping off trim and windows with blue painter’s tape. You will also need some special tools to accomplish the certain painting technique, so be sure that you pick these up as well.

Rag Painting Technique

With the rag painting technique, no paint brushes or rollers are used. Instead simple rags such as old t-shirts or any type of cotton rag are used to apply the paint to the wall. This creates a marbled effect on the wall. To rag paint:

* Dip the rag into the container of paint and shake off the excess.
* Dab the rag onto the wall, applying the paint in whatever pattern that you choose, but be sure to not spread out the pattern too much.
* For a more creative touch, you can apply a darker base color and then rag on a lighter paint color.

Sponge Painting Technique

Sponge painting or sponging is a painting technique that is used to give a wall a depth and interest. You will need to apply a base color to the wall before you can sponge paint it. To sponge paint:

* Dip a regular sponge or sea sponge into the paint or glaze of your choice.
* Start from the outside of one of the walls and dab the sponge in a random pattern.
* Complete all the walls in the room this way, or you can choose to do only one wall in the room with the sponge painting technique.

Color Washing Technique

Color washing is a painting technique that adds a subtle finish to the walls that gives the appearance of floating color. It is a good technique if you have a wall that has several flaws that you want to hide. It can take a little more time than other painting techniques as you must build up layers to get the full effect. To apply the color washing technique:

* Paint the wall the color that you want to be your base color and then wait for it to dry completely.
* Then come back and paint another layer using a slightly different color or a complimentary color.
* When painting this layer use a paint brush only and apply the paint in all different directions, going over your strokes so that the base color shows through in random areas.
* You can do more than one layer of painting this way if you want another color to show on the walls as well.

These painting techniques can be used in any room from a kitchen to a bedroom. They are a great way to instantly add some style to the walls to perk up the room.

Leon Tuberman has been in the furniture and home decorating industry for 40 years. He owns and operates and popular furniture store in Los Angeles. His store specializes in solid oak American made furniture in Mission, Arts & Crafts, Contemporary and Traditional styles. Whether your searching for wooden dressers or oak nightstands for you bedroom they carry everything you need at an affordable price.

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