4 Mistakes Homeowners Make When Selling Their Property

When you put your home on the market, your ultimate goal is to get the asking price for it and to sell it as fast as possible. However, there are some mistakes many homeowners make that could mean a difficult experience in selling their home. The result could be the home that sits on the market longer or sells for much less than expected. Some of the mistakes they might make include the following.

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5 Issues To Resolve Before Selling Your Home

When your home hits the market, your number one goal is to sell as quickly as possible. By doing this, you'll avoid the nightmare scenario where a house is left for months or in some cases years on the market. It’s easy to avoid this possibility when you know how to make your home attractive to buyers. However, before you even start to consider the improvements you can make, you need to look at the problems. There are certain home issues that will immediately cause buyers to lose interest and completely avoid buying your property. Think about the problems that alert you when you visit a potential new home. You should always tackle these problems before the house goes on the market.

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1. Cramped And Cluttered

If your home looks cramped and cluttered it’s going to look far too small for potential buyers, and that’s a problem. Particularly, if you are eager to attract young couples or families . They want a property that is spacious with plenty of room for their family to thrive and grow. Even if your home is large, it can still look small if it’s packed full of furniture, and most potential buyers have a difficult time seeing beyond the clutter.

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Tips To Create A Home You Love Coming Back To

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Is there anything better than coming home after a long day of work, travel, or running errands? There's something about stepping over the threshold to the familiarity of you own home that is so comforting. When it comes to your home, you want it to reflect your personality and all the things you love. Here are a few tips for creating a home you love coming back to.

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Tips For Making Your House Your Home

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You might own your home, but do you feel like you actually live in it, or does it seem like a burden to you at times? It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of buying your own home, falling in love with what it looks like, but later realize it’s not truly the one for you. The more time you spend in it, the more you grow to dislike it. Living in a house that you don’t consider a home can be a bit of a lonely and frustrating feeling. You might feel like you’re not happy when you come home from the a long day. You like to pick out all of the faults with it, and that’s such a negative environment to be in. Here are a few ways you can truly make a house your home, and the benefits you’re going to have from doing so.

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Tips For Creating An Authentic Home

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When it comes to your home, it’s important to create a space that's perfectly fitted to yours’ and your family’s needs and personality. Your family home is the place where you and your family should feel the most comfortable and relaxed, and it should be the place you love the most. That’s why getting the design element of your home right is so important.

While contemporary design is currently on-trend, that doesn’t mean that you can’t vere away from the the current style to create a home that is better suited to your design preferences. Your home is your space, so it should be designed with that in mind. Whether you love modern design or prefer a more authentic and traditional space, your home should reflect that in its design.

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The Benefits of Building Your Own Home

I've always thought it would be an amazing experience to build our own home. Well, not actually with our own hands, but in conjunction with a contractor who can take our vision and execute it. Have you ever considered building your own home?

I recently had the chance to chat with my friend Ally who is both an interior designer and a realtor and specializes in selling plots of land to those who want to build a custom home. She shared the top reasons why people choose to build a new home rather than buy buy a pre-owned home.

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You Get The House You Want
Building your own home allows you the opportunity to have the exact house you want. You can specify the number of bedrooms and dimensions of the rooms. There are virtually no limits to what you can do. You choose everything from the shape of the property to the floor plan. In my town, many of the newer homes are built on narrow lots. The homes are narrow but long. You can find companies that provide narrow lot house plans or ranch house plans. Whatever your dream home is, there’s a plan to fit it.

When you start designing the plan of the home, you may decide to hire an architect. They’re experts at designing homes and will be able to provide you with the level of professionalism you need.

You Have More Flexibility In Choosing A Location
There are plots of land in all kinds of different locations. You have lots of options, so you can build your home pretty much anywhere you want to. Have you ever found the perfect home but it’s not in the right location? Maybe it's on a busy street or it's too far away from a major highway or a school. You won’t have that problem when you build your own home.

While you can draw up your plans, and spend time getting them exactly how you want them, you can hunt around until you find the location and plot of land that will be just right for you. It’s the perfect way of getting the best of both worlds.

You Can Incorporate Eco Features
Most homes that you’ll find on the market are older and inefficient. That’s not a good thing if you’re worried about the impact you have on the environment and your bottom line. Building your own howe allows you to include all the green and eco-friendly features you want to.

You could use certified wood from sustainable forests, cellulose wall insulation and satellite controlled sprinkler systems. These are all very environmentally friendly. But the main things you should use are solar panels to produce all your own electricity.

You’ll Feel Huge Sense of Satisfaction When It’s Done
One of the best things about building your own home is the satisfaction you get once the project is complete. Seeing a project come to fruition is one of the greatest accomplishments there is. There’s no feeling quite like moving into the home that you’ve designed and built for the past few months from the ground up, literally. It’s simply not the same when you buy a home that’s already built!

You can’t buy that feeling. And because you’ve designed the home to your specifications, you’ll be more likely to stay there for a very long time.

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Should You Compromise On A New Home?

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When house hunting, buyers often have a wish list of what they want or need in a new home. If you’ve found the ideal home, there may be one or two things about the house that aren’t quite perfect. Perhaps the yard isn’t big enough to host a full-sized outdoor dining area or for kids to spread out and play, or maybe it’s a little too far your place of employment. Whatever the situation, there’s a chance that you’ll also need to compromise with your future home, whether it means having a small yard or a longer commute to work. The questions always pop up: Should you compromise or keep looking for the perfect home?

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Tips For Making Your Home More Relaxing and Comfortable

The cold weather months are approaching, and for most of us that means more time spent indoors, specifically in our homes. The perfect family home should make you feel comfortable and happy, and promote family enjoyment.

A little comfort goes a long way when creating a happy home. If your home makes you feel comfortable and safe, you’ll always have peace of mind.

Here are a few simple tips to bring some extra comfort to your home this fall and winter. The whole family will reap the rewards.

Personalize Your Home
Your home is probably the most important financial investment you will make. Although it's your greatest asset, it's also an emotional investment. As a homeowner, it’s difficult not to have at least one eye on the financial aspects of the property. After all, this is probably the most expensive asset you possess. However, it’s imperative that you try to think about it as a family home rather than an investment.

Ultimately, you should be making the decision based on what will enhance your family’s life. It doesn’t matter if you’re redesigning the bathroom or making over your dining room (check out my recent dining room renovation), your personality should shine through. It's the small personal touches that make a home your own.

Create A Relaxing Environment
Modern life is hectic. After a long day of work and then shuffling the kids to and from sports and activities, I want to come home and chill.

Nothing is worse than walking in to a home that's either too hot or too cold. To achieve a comfortable temperature, install an HVAC system. HVAC systems provide optimal indoor air quality as well as control thermal temperature to create a relaxing and comfortable environment. If you can’t enjoy a little relaxation at home, where can you?

Enhance Your Outdoor Space
The one location that often gets overlooked by homeowners is the yard, patio, or deck areas. However, giving your outdoor areas the love and attention they deserve could be the key to unlocking a whole new level of happiness. In the spring, summer, and fall, our deck serves as another room in our home. We have comfortable seating and a table for dining, creating a second family room.

Encouraging increased outdoor time isn’t difficult. Add a few flowers or start growing fruit and vegetables with the children to ensure that you all get better use of your yard. Invest in fun yard games, such as a bean bag toss, and you'll soon discover that it's much better than sitting indoors in front of electronic devices.

Creating a patio area would give you a great venue for hosting small parties or recharging on weekend afternoons.

Ensure Everything's In Working Order
There’s nothing more frustrating than being unable to complete daily tasks due to faulty products and appliances. The home should be there to make life easier, not add extra challenges. Ensuring that your appliances work is a must.

A faulty item can put a huge dent into your happiness around the home. You’d be surprised at the difference simple process like boosting the water pressure can make. We had poor water pressure in our kitchen for months before we finally addressed it. The difference was unbelievable.

It’s easy to become obsessed with big televisions and fancy tech items. But if the home doesn’t fulfill its basic purposes, those luxury items are obsolete.

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How To Avoid Going House-Poor When Buying A Home

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Owning a home is a quintessential part of the American Dream. Many people believe that once you own a home and property, you have it set. Unfortunately for many of these people, they are unprepared for what awaits them. They end up sinking so much money into their house that they have to sacrifice in other areas of their life. They essentially live lower-class lives, even though they may have a beautiful house to come home to. This is what is known as being “house-poor”. So how can homeowners prevent overspending on their homes and avoid this problem? Here’s how to avoid going house-poor when buying a home.

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Tips For Securing Your Home From Intruders

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After we were robbed almost 10 years ago, home security became our top priority. We quickly realized that it’s not enough to simply rely on a set of locks. We took some additional steps to ensure that we were safe inside and outside the home.

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Ways To Make Your Family Happier At Home

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For whatever reason, sometimes a family home stops feeling like a warm and inviting place. Your family loves one another, of course, but the home itself doesn’t feel like a warm, comforting, and happy place to return to after a long day at work or school. It can be hard to realize what changed to make you all feel this way, but often it’s a combination of stress outside of home combined with the knock-on effect of a neglected-looking home. Here are some ways in which you could make your family happier in their household.

Ensure everybody is heard

A family home can’t be a family home if it doesn’t feel that way to the entire family. Communication is so important. Every member of your household needs to feel as if they’re heard when it comes to improvements that could be made to the house. It needs to feel safe and comfortable, for starters, but it also needs to offer everybody their own individual space. If you want your kids to develop a strong personal identity then you need to give them their own bedrooms so that they can grow into their own individual selves. Sharing a room might’ve been okay when they were little, but teenagers definitely need their own space.

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Renovate

Renovation is something you should constantly be doing on both a major and minor scale. When big things break in the house then you need to tackle the job of renovating them. But even the small things need to be maintained; messy rooms should be tidied before you leave them. That’s a good trick to keep the house looking nice constantly. In terms of improvements to the house on a big scale, you could put more mirrors in rooms to reflect more natural light around the house and create an inviting environment. You can repaint the walls with a fresh white coat to bring them back to life.

Do more together

Perhaps the home has only stopped feeling like a “family” home because you’ve stopped doing things together as a family. This happens as your kids grow older. They become teenagers and want to go off to do their own thing with friends. Of course, while you should be happy that your children are becoming independent and finding their own feet in the world, that doesn’t mean you can’t still all have fun as a family. You could set aside the occasional night for fun family activities. Family film night is a good idea when the kids get too old for “boring” childish games.

Find a new home

Of course, the problems with your family home may be unfixable; perhaps the problem is the local area in that your neighborhood has become stale or just isn't the right place for you anymore. Whatever the case, if your current house can’t be fixed then it might be time to move into a new property because a family home should be a place which makes the entire family feel comfortable. You could look into finding a real estate broker to help you with this decision because the last thing you want to do is misjudge a property and end up moving your family into a home which makes you all even more unpleasant. It’s important that you make a list of all the things you want from a new home and combine those together to find a happy compromise which makes everybody happy (or maybe even a home which fits all the criteria).

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5 Reasons Why Your Home Isn't Selling

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Moving is one of the most stressful times of your life. Add to that the fact that you can't sell your home, and you've got yourself a dreaded situation. There are many reasons a property isn't attracting potential buyers and why it's scaring away those that are interested.

Here are some of the most common reasons why you can't sell your home.

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Home Improvements That Pay Off

Whether you’ve just moved into a new house, or you’ve been settled for several years and you’re planning to sell, there are a number of ways you can breathe life into a worn-in property, give yourself some extra space and comfort, and ultimately add a little more value to your home to help boost the asking price. While home improvement is the most effective way to ensure a good price when it's time to sell, some people invest their time and money in things that offer little return, or that even bring down the overall value of the house. Obviously, you want to make sure the money and effort is going to be worth it, so here are a few suggestions for home improvements that are certain to add value to your home.

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Attic Conversions

If you want a good return on your investment, consider an attic conversion. It's a safe investment, and can be carried out with relative ease and little disruption to your daily life. For most homes, this is the easiest way to add an extra bedroom, perhaps with an en suite. Extra bedrooms typically add between 10 and 15 percent to the value of any property, and can be a very practical addition for young couples with a growing family. The only drawback to an attic conversion is that it takes a large initial investment, which can be hard to cover for many people. A new staircase, and a large bedroom with skylights or dormer windows can typically cost close to $50,000. Although it can be a little nerve-wracking to pump this amount of money into your home, the immediate increase in value makes the investment well worth it!

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3 Ways To Make Your Home Safe and Secure

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Several years ago, we were victims of a home robbery. It shook us to the core, and raised some important issues about security. No parents want their family living in a home that doesn’t feel safe and provide security. If you are feeling at all insecure about the safety of your home, it’s wise to invest in the latest technology and home security features.

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Tips For Making Your Family Home More Attractive To Potential Buyers

Do you plan to sell your family home soon or is your home currently on the market? Making your family home more attractive to potential buyers in not an easy task. Buyers have different requirements and personal tastes, making it difficult to know exactly what your buyer wants. Without narrowing in on each and every buyer that may be interested, there are a few general tips for making your home as buyer-friendly as possible. I recently sat down with my friend Ali who sells real estate. She outlined a few key tasks to do before you put the "For Sale" sign on the yard.

Focus on Curb Appeal 

The front of your property is the first thing buyers will see. Making a good first impression is essential. A fresh coat of paint, a well manicured lawn, and some pretty flowers will up the wow factor when buyers pull up to the curb. Small touches like home address plaques can make your home more homey. You want buyers to drop their jaw to the floor from the moment they encounter your home. The offer is sure to follow.an offer.

Highlight the Positive Features

Buyers have a tendency to zero in on the negative features of a home. As the seller, you want to highlight the positive elements of the home. Perhaps it's an updated kitchen with all the latest bells and whistles or maybe you have a spacious yard or a fabulous location to offer potential buyers. If you reside in a community that is run by one of the top HOA management companies, you must disclose this to buyers. Although locations of that nature are often safer, there are also regulations that residents must follow.

Get the Price Right

Work with your real estate agent to accurately price your property. The last thing you want to do is overprice your property. But at the same time, you want the best deal possible. An agent will value your home and make a recommendation on a selling price. It will be competitive with comparable homes in your area. Always be open to negotiation and make every effort to make decisions that are not based on emotional ties you have to the home.

Keep the Interior of the Home Generic
The less personal effects you have on display, the better.  Psychologists say people are more likely to purchase a home if there aren’t any personal pictures around. It is easier for potential buyers to imagine their family living in the property when there is no reminder that another family has lived there.

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Let guardNOW Security Guards Protect Your Home. Your Family. Your Assets

Three and half years ago, my family was the victim of a home invasion and burglary. It happened in the middle of the day in broad daylight. We were out for the day, just a few miles from our home. I came home to find belongings scattered all over the floor. Dresser drawers pulled open and thrown on the floor in our bedrooms. The house had been ransacked.

The burglary rocked us to our cores. We felt violated. Invaded. Three years later I am still trying to shake those feelings.

A burglary leaves you questioning a lot of things. Why me and not my neighbor (not that I'd wish it on anyone)? Was it random or completely planned? What if we had been home?

But mainly, we questioned our safety. Was our home safe? Was our neighborhood safe? Would we be targets again? How could we prevent a potential, future burglary from occurring again?

We immediately looked into installing a home security system. We contacted just about every security company out there. Representatives came to our home and explained their services. But none of the companies truly stood out. Our home had just been robbed. We were looking for a company to "wow" us, but not one of them did.

And then we learned of guardNOW. guardNOW provides a wide range of security services for both business and residential customers. guardNOW specializes in security and event management services. 

guardNOW has a focus on its customers and understands how important security is for its customers. guardNOW offers protection before a crime is committed. guardNOW security guards are available to patrol your home when you cannot be there. Whether you are on vacation for a week or out of town for a few hours, guardNOW are the eyes on your home when you can't be there.

Having a party or big shindig? How about hiring a few security guards to keep an eye on your house and belongings as guests are mingling and milling around? It may sound ridiculous, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially if you will have guests at your home who aren't close friends or family. The security guards are there to protect you and your assets. Your safety is their top priority. guardNOW provides security guards at a moment's notice. If you decide at the last moment that your party event could use a few guards, call guardNOW to reserve your guards. All are professionally trained.

Do you frequently sell items via Craigslisst? Are you worried whenever a buyer comes to your home to complete the transaction? Call guardNOW to arrange to have a security guard at your home for the transaction to occur. No job is too big or too small for guardNOW.

Get started using guardNOW

Book an appointment online or give guardNOW a call at 877-482-7366. Guards can be at your location when ever you need them, in any outfit that is available on the site, in our clean guardNOW vehicles, and 15 minutes early.

guardNOW will discuss your security needs and safety concerns or you can type them in the details section during the order process.

All prices are explained clearly and upfront with no hidden fees.

Click here for a list of frequently asked questions that potential guardNOW customer ask.

See for yourself. Visit guardNOW's Web site for more information and to see the full line of offerings.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine.

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Truths About Moving That Every Family Should Know

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If you’re in the process of searching for a new home, it is most likely the most important thing you’ll do this year. When you find "the one", the perfect home, it will form the heart of a happy existence for the entire family.

This is an exciting time in your life, but it cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, educating yourself with a few home truths is a vital part of those early preparations. Knowledge is power, and this information will put you in a position of authority and will help you avoid serious ramifications later.

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4 Tips For Staging Your Home for a Quick Sale

When you're trying to sell your home, you have the option to hire someone to stage it for you. A home stager typically brings in accessories or even furniture to set up your home so that it's desirable to potential buyers. A home staging service can help your home sell faster, but it can also be expensive, and it's unnecessary if you know how to do the staging yourself.

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If you want to get the same effect as a home stager, follow these 4 tips for staging your home for a quick sale.

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Tips To Optimize Your Home Air Quality

 These days we are spending more and more time at home. If you are a non-essential worker, it's likely that you are working at home. Chances are your children are at home at least part-time for school. With all the time we are spending indoors, it's important that the air quality of our homes is the best it can be. Indoor air quality is often overlooked as it isn't something that is immediately noticeable. We can't see it or smell it, so we tend to ignore it until we start to suffer possible side effects.

We recently had an issue in one of our bathrooms where mold had begun to grow and eventually spread. It was cause for concern since mold can be very unhealthy, especially for those who suffer from respiratory issues such as asthma. Mold is considered an indoor air pollutant, and if left untreated, mold will spread throughout your home and cause serious respiratory and overall health problems.

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How To Go Prepared To A House Viewing

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House hunting for you and your family can be a very exciting time, and your imagination can run wild with ideas of what the new rooms and outdoor spaces could be transformed into. However, before you get too far ahead of yourself, it’s important to ask the necessary questions about the property you’re viewing to ensure you’re as informed as you possibly can be before you finally make an offer. Even before you go to view a potential home, search online for the surrounding neighborhood, nearby streets, shops, schools, doctors, hospitals, and possible commuting routes. There is often a lot more to a home than the home itself.

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