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How to Scope Out the Best Contractor

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Whether you are looking to build a house from the ground up, or add an addition on to your house, it is best to look for a reputable contractor to help you with the job. People find contractors in all sorts of different ways, whether it is a family member, word-of-mouth, found via an advertisement or online. When it comes to contractors, it is extremely important that you seek out one that is reliable, has great reviews and will provide you with the best value for your dollar. If you are looking for a contractor and are not sure where to start, here are some tips on how to find one that you will meet all your expectations (and more!):

  • Be proactive. It is important to know that contractors will always have a job or project to work on, so it is on you to find them and reach out to them to see if you can fit within their schedule. First, check out reviews of the contractors near you to see what other people have experienced while working with them. If they do not have many reviews, or have mostly negative ones, it is best to steer clear.
  • Pay attention to the value of their cost. Once you find a contractor that you would like to work with for your project, it is time to look at their overall cost, and the value that you will get from it. How much are they charging? More importantly, what is the long-term cost? For example, if their project will require maintenance yearly, you will have to factor in additional costs for the future.
  • Be clear on your expectations. After you have finalized the cost of your project with the contractor, you must set up a meeting with them so that your expectations are crystal clear as to what you are looking for. On the other hand, you must ensure that you understand the contractor’s expectations, terms and conditions as well. Align on how long the project will take and if that works within your time frame that you are shooting for. By the time you are done meeting, you should feel comfortable with next step and how the project timeline will look from start to finish.
Homes (5)

Reasons to Have a Mentor to Get Started in Real Estate

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In every aspect of life, it is extremely helpful to have a mentor. Having a mentor is not only helpful to have someone to look up to, but also to help guide you along your journey and teach you new tips and tricks on how to improve based off their own personal experiences. In the real estate industry, because there are so many moving pieces and nitty-gritty items to have your head wrapped around, having a mentor will help keep you organized and as stress-free as possible. Here are some of the benefits to having a mentor in the real estate industry:

  • You can spend time with them in person. A mentor does not have to be someone that you are solely professionally involved with, but personally as well! By having and knowing your mentor, you can spend time with them in person and get to know them better. The better you know them, the more comfortable you will feel which will allow you to voice any concerns or questions you have without holding back.
  • You get real-life advice. With a mentor, you are not simply reading about experiences online, or researching potential outcomes of situations. You are learning real-life advice from someone who has already gone through the same types of issues, which will help for you to grow and learn from your mistakes.
  • You learn best practices. In the real estate industry, there are a lot of “best practices” that one should know, but it takes time to grasp them all! Because there are so many different best practices, you will learn first-hand from your mentor the etiquette of being in the real estate industry, and what you can and cannot do.
  • You gain sales advice. Ultimately, real estate is all about sales, which can be a tough thing to get the hang of if you do not have previous experience. Your mentor will be able to help you learn how to negotiate deals, learn the ethical guidelines as well as the basic contract requirements that you must know.
Homes (5)

Should You Include Utilities in Your Monthly Rent Price?

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If you are a current landlord, or if you have a property and are looking into being a landlord, you may come across the question of whether it makes sense to include utilities in your monthly rent price. There are many different pros and cons to including utilities within the monthly price that you charge your tenants, and ultimately, it depends on your own personal preference. If you are in the midst of deciding what works best for you, check out some of the pros and cons that we have listed out below to help you think through:

Pros of including utilities within the monthly rent:

  • If your unit that you are renting out is not separate from the other units, then it may make sense to include utilities within the monthly rent. By separating, it may become difficult to figure out which units are using more utilities than others and may create some backlash from tenants.
  • Sending out individual utility bills may become a hassle for you to do each month. By including utilities within the rent, you are simply charging one lump sum, which is easier to keep track of.
  • You can potentially make a bit more money through your monthly rent price if you are charging more for the service of having utilities included within.
  • If utilities are included within the monthly rent, you are not charging a “per person fee” which is a great perk for larger families who move into your unit.

Cons of including utilities within the monthly rent:

  • Ultimately, if you require tenants to handle utilities on their own, it will make it easier for you to simply handle the rent each month and let utilities solely be in the tenants names.
  • If tenants know that utilities are included, you may notice that your utility expenses will increase as they will not be as careful with electricity, heat, water, etc. knowing that they are paying a standard price each month.
  • It has been said that tenants who are able to get all utilities in their own name can be more responsible, reliable tenants to have.
Homes (5)

Home Renovations That Provide High Return of Investment

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After living in your home for several years, you may realize at some point that it is time to make some upgrades. Making upgrades is not only important for you and your family while living within the home but will also provide a high return of investment when you eventually decide to put your home on the market to sell it. A full renovation of a home is extremely expensive, so to stay within your budget, you may need to focus on just a few rooms, or smaller renovations, one by one. If you are not sure where to start when it comes to renovations, check out a list of some of the best home renovations that you can invest in to get a high return of investment:

  • Kitchen Remodel. One of the most popular remodels within a home is to update the kitchen to make it more modern looking and more functional overall. This is an expensive renovation, but definitely worth it for the long run.
  • Bathroom Replacement/Addition. Another extremely popular renovation is the bathroom, which is one of the rooms that potential buyers look for to be most modern and up to date. Additionally, you can look into putting an addition on to your home of another bathroom, even if it is not a full one.
  • Garage door replacement. Having modernized garage doors that are more fresh, clean and electronically stable is a great perk when potential buyers are shopping. Additionally, it adds to your home’s curb appeal – first impressions are important!
  • Replacement of sidings. If your home is looking a little worn out on the exterior, you can think about replacing the sidings, which will make your home look better aesthetically but also help to repair any structural damage that your home may have. Not to mention, it will help to increase energy!
Home

Planting Flower Beds 101

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Now that you have finished up your spring cleaning, you may be looking for a new, fun project to take on to work on the aesthetic of your home. Regardless of if you have ever gardened before, planting some flower beds is a great project to take up some of your time, get outside and enjoy the fresh air, and watch beautiful flowers grow right before your eyes! If you are not experienced with planting flower beds, we are here to help with some steps that you need to consider as you work through the process:

  1. First, come up with a game plan as to where you want to plant the flower beds. As you are thinking about the location of where to plant them, think about what areas get enough sunlight each day, whether the area will easily collect water, and if it is common for weeds to grow in or around that area. You want to make sure that you are choosing a healthy spot for your flower beds to develop.
  2. Next, you should begin seeding. When you purchase seeds for the flower bed, make sure to do your research and ensure that they will easily grow in your environment.
  3. It is important once you begin seeding that you are prepared with edges for your flower bed, so that all flowers grow within the same area and it looks clean-cut. Look for natural looking edges that will be sturdy and last longer – it is a key investment!
  4. As you are planting, do not forget about purchasing some filler plants to help provide structure to the area year-round. As you are looking into these plants, consider how tall and big they will grow, as you do not want them to overpower the flowers.
  5. Lastly, don’t forget about the mulch, which is a must to ensure that there is enough moisture around the flowers and that you are preventing weeds from growing around them. When you are mulching, be sure to not put too much mulch down so your flowers have enough room to breathe and grow!
Homes Life

Tips on Weeding and How to Get Started

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Spring is in session and it is time to clean up your landscape after the long, treacherous winter that it endured! When it comes to cleaning up the landscape of your home, in your front and backyard, you will need to take a look at your lawn and plants to find those nasty weeds that will pop up as the weather becomes warmer. It is important to catch these weeds early on, as many can carry diseases that can spread to other plants that are nearby them. And, from an aesthetic standpoint, it is always good to be on top of your weeds for the general look of your home’s exterior!

Weeds can be found in several different places outside of your home, including the borders of the soil, on patios as well as on paths up to your doors. Weeds can also be found sporadically throughout your yard, seen as plants such as dandelions. You can choose to weed in a variety of different ways, depending on how early on you have caught the weeds and how severe they are. These different ways include fertilizing and watering, weeding by hand as well as using herbicides, if necessary.

When you are fertilizing and watering your lawn and plants, you need to ensure that you are not doing it too little or too much. If you water frequently, it can help to get rid of weeds while keeping your plants and lawn fresh, green and healthy. If you choose to weed by hand, first and foremost, ensure that you have gloves! You can spot out weeds and pull them out by hand but be sure that you are pulling them up by their roots so that they do not regrow. As a last resort, you can use herbicides, but do your research to make sure that you are using herbicides that are safe for the type of lawn that you are growing. And, use it carefully so you do not kill other plants!  

Homes

House Hunting Tips: Top 5 Things to Look For

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House hunting is an extremely exciting time, especially for first-time homebuyers, but it can also feel overwhelming and stressful if you do not go into the process with a set game plan of what you are looking for and what you need when it comes to your new home. There are a lot of different variables that go into choosing the perfect home for you and your family, so you must be aligned on what it is you are looking for before you begin the house hunt. Here are some important key factors to keep in mind when you are searching for your home and deciding what it is that you are looking for:

  • Location. You may find the perfect looking house, but it could be in a location that is not convenient for you or that you just do not like. Think about the location in which you want to live, including what you want to be nearby. For example, if you have a favorite grocery store, would you prefer to be walking distance or a 10-minute car ride away? Also, ensure that the neighborhood is somewhere that seems comfortable and safe to raise a family, if you have children or are planning to.
  • School system. Speaking of children, if you have them or are planning to, you must investigate the school system of the prospective location of your new home. Make sure that it has a good reputation and provides what you are looking for, whether it is public or private schools.
  • Perks of the home. Everyone has a few perks that they would like to be included in their home. Do you prefer multiple full bathrooms? Would you like a pool in your backyard? Think about what the perks you would like to have may be, and your realtor can help you to narrow down some different locations which include some, or all the perks!
  • Interior. When you are looking at the interior of the home, check out how many updates you would need to make to it, if any at all. It is important to know how much you have budgeted out for any re-modeling, or if you are looking to move into a home that is immediately ready to live in.
  • Curb appeal. First impressions are everything, and curb appeal has a lot to do with that. Check out the curb appeal of the home and see if it aligns with what you had in mind. Does the landscaping need a lot of work, or need to be completely redone? This is something you should keep in mind as you are looking at different options.
Homes (4)

How to Keep Up Home Maintenance

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Does life ever get so busy for you that you find it difficult, or just flat out impossible, to keep up with the maintenance of your home? Everyone has been in this position and knows exactly what it feels like when the clutter piles up and you feel as if you are drowning in it! Even though “life” happens for everyone, it is important for your overall mental health to keep your home is clean as possible, so you feel less stressed when you return home from work each day! But, how exactly do you keep up home maintenance with such a busy schedule? Here are some tips on some of the big things relating to home maintenance that you should keep an eye on before it builds up out of control:

  • Dusting. To keep up with the dust buildup, try to incorporate 10-15 minutes of dusting several different rooms every few days, rather than once every few months. The more you dust, the easier it will be for you physically. Not to mention, it will immensely help anyone who suffers from allergies in your home!
  • Keep an eye on the exterior. Watch the exterior of your home for any painting, trimming or window touch-ups that need to be made. It is important to watch so that if you notice anything that needs a little bit of fixing, it can be done on a much smaller (and less expensive!) scale. Do not wait until all your windows need full replacements, or your entire home needs fresh painting!
  • Maintain your heater and air conditioner. When it comes to your heater and air conditioner, it is important that you maintain them and ensure that they are clean and working properly on a regular basis. If you do not keep up, it may cause pollution in the home or an unexpected breakdown which is not only inconvenient but also extremely expensive!
Homes (4)

Benefits of a 3D Home Tour

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As many people know, technology is constantly evolving in our society today. Because of how quickly technology is changing and improving, many businesses must learn how to adapt to keep their company afloat and increase sales and clientele. From a real estate perspective, evolving with technology is absolutely vital to ensure that homes are consistently getting marketed and sold in the best and most efficient way possible.

Marketing a home via technology, whether it is online, through social media or through YouTube, is an outstanding way to get more eyes on the home and allow for more potential buyers to have easy access to the photos and information. What many real estate companies are beginning to focus on is 3D Home Tours, which have proven to be extremely successful in reaching potential buyers. So, what exactly is a 3D Home Tour, and what is the benefit of incorporating it into an agent’s selling strategy?

3D Home Tours are a huge part of the future of real estate. By creating and developing a 3D Home Tour, an agent is allowing potential buyers to view each and every little aspect of a home without having to step foot in it. This gives people a good idea of whether they will be interested in visiting the home in person and provides a more realistic visualization than static photography would. For agents and sellers, 3D Home Tours are extremely convenient in that it allows for there to be a more interactive showcasing of the home in its perfectly staged state. All agents and sellers know how vital it is to show a home on the market while it is staged to perfection, and, with 3D Home Tours, this “perfect” tour will live on until the home is sold!

Developing 3D Home Tours is an equally great option for the buyers and the sellers in the real estate market. Once your home tour is created and posted online, sit back and enjoy the evolvement of technology!

Salt marsh

How to Avoid Rental Scams

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The time has finally come – you are officially on your way to renting your very own, first apartment! When you first begin the process, although exciting, it can come off as extremely daunting and confusing. There is a lot that goes into the renting process, and a lot that you must be aware of to ensure that you are working with a reputable agent or landlord, and that you are getting the best deal possible. Unfortunately, there are a lot of rental scams in the world that many first-time renters are not at all aware of. Here are a few signs that you may be dealing with a rental scam:

  • They are requesting cash or wired money. If you find that you are working with an agent or landlord that is requesting to be paid only in cash, note that this is a huge red flag! By paying in cash, there is no formal evidence of the transaction. Wiring money is another red flag that is not part of the formal renting process. If asked to wire money, it is another clear sign that you may be dealing with a scam.
  • They are asking you to sign without seeing the property. All reputable agents and landlords are aware that potential tenants require seeing the property before deciding that they would like to put money down and sign the contract. Make sure that you see all aspects of the property before making any written agreement.
  • They only require a verbal agreement. When it comes to agreements and contracting, absolutely everything should be in writing. If they are only requiring a verbal agreement, and are not asking you to sign anything, know that this should be of concern! To protect yourself, everything regarding the lease must be clearly written out and signed by both parties.  

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