Archive for the ‘Staging Your Home’ Category
Snooping Real Estate Agent Caught on Camera
ATLANTA — When real estate agents representing buyers show your home, should they be allowed to examine private or confidential papers? How would you react if you caught them doing just that?
Channel 2’s Tom Regan talked with one home seller who was shocked by what he caught on camera in his home. David Scitthelm owned a beautiful home in Buckhead. He was proud to put it up for sale, but he wasn’t pleased with the conduct of the two real estate agents who arrived to show the house.
To Learn More or Watch the Short Video, CLICK HERE
Commentary: Infotube.net ALWAYS advises that home sellers hide or pack away anything that is private or could be used against them in a negotiation. And, private mail and legal notice issues aside…did you see how this agent hunted for books, stereo equipment, family photographs, collections, etc. to gain personal knowledge about the sellers? Hopefully this story plainly illustrates to homesellers the importance of packing up all personal items BEFORE they put their home on the market. Added Bonus: A staged home always shows better and appeals to a wider audience, too.
P.S. And, don’t forget your medicine cabinet (:
Cheap Fast Update for Bathroom Mirror
If you have one large mirror over your bathroom sink or vanity and you would like an updated fresh look…we have an easy, do-it-yourself trick that won’t cost you an arm and leg.
Before……
After…..
1. Measure your mirror, then purchase a molding you like at the hardware store. Some stores will even cut it for you.
2. Stain the molding to match the woodwork in your bathroom.
3. Apply glue to molding, then stick it to the mirror.
Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net free homes for sale and rent website. At InfoTube.net you can place your property listing on the site, search for your dream home, advertise your home on the MLS, print brochures for your InfoTube or InfoBox or print free legal forms.
Radiator Covers Dress Up Your Home
Easy staging and decorating tip: Install a cover over old radiators.
Radiators perform a necessary function in any home, but they can easily be a home feature, too. An easy DIY project, a Radiator Cover can completely transform the look and feel of your room, by hiding away those ugly radiators.
Why not give your home an instant and inexpensive makeover and gain shelf space? Radiator covers look more attractive than a bare radiator and also provide a shelf for plants, flowers, photographs, candles, lamps, etc.
Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net homes for sale and rent FREE website. Search our site and find over 20,000 homes sold directly by builder or owners.
Garbage Truck Converted Into Cool Mobile Home
We love creative housing idea’s at InfoTube.net. But, this rolling apartment is one of the best we’ve ever seen. Take a look at this bachelor pad.
If you guessed garbage truck…you’re RIGHT!! Take a look inside.
Kudo’s to creativity and best of all this mobile home isn’t dumping thousands of dollars in taxes and insurance down the drain.
Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net!! We have 20,000 home listings on our website. Post your listing for FREE or search for your dream home in complete privacy!!
Don’t Take Your Home Off the Market During the Holidays
I’m thinking Turkey. The leaves have fallen, lawn mowers are stored and furnaces are in use. It’s at this time of year that many of our customer’s ask… “Should We Take Our Home Off the Market During the Holidays?”
The answer is definitely ”NO”. There are a lot of reasons to keep your home listed right through the New Year. And, there’s a special timely reason this holiday season!!
- The First Time Buyers Tax Credit has been extended until April 30, 2010 AND it’s been expanded. Step Up Home Buyers, who make a lot of money, can also receive $6500 in Tax Credits until April. Big tax incentives mean that smart buyers will be house shopping vs mall shopping this holiday season.
- Interest Rates are at Record Lows. 30 year fixed rate mortgages are below 5 percent. But, with the dollar weak and falling, low rates may not be around for long. Serious home buyers are aware of the difference that even a small interest rate increase would make in their house payment. The combo of Tax Credits and Low Interest Rates create strong urgency among buyer’s. Smart seller’s spruce up their homes and play into the pressure.
- Holiday Shoppers are Serious Buyers. Trust me. Everyone of us loves the holidays. So, the people who are out looking for homes in November, December and January are SERIOUS Buyers. Do you really want to pull your house off the market when the most serious people are shopping?? Think about it and gear up!!
- Less Competition. Many sellers don’t read our blog. They foolishly pull their homes from the market during the holidays, and this year will be no exception. Less competition and MLS exposure could make the difference between For Sale and Sold, this Christmas.
- Houses are Pretty during the Holidays. Staging your home is easy during the holidays. The mood is festive. Holiday colors are warm and inviting. Candles, centerpieces and decorations touch the heart and convey a peaceful lifestyle. Light the candles, make a roaring fire, bake some goodies and turn on some relaxing holiday music. Buyer’s love to see a home decorated and looking special. Don’t let this once a year opportunity pass you by.
- Curb Appeal. If your landscape and lawn isn’t that great, breathe a sigh of relief that no one else’s is this time of year, either. Add seasonal color, a wreath, perhaps some decorations. Just keep it subtle and classy. No mowing, no weeding and trimming, and best of all snow covers all…
Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net FREE homes for sale and rent website. Thanks to all Veterans and Active Military Personnel!!! Call us today and receive a FREE Property Listing Upgrade as our gift to you.
Green Flooring. Marmoleum Natural Linoleum.
If you are considering an update for the old vinyl flooring in your home, go natural. Natural linoleum, made from wood and cork, limestone dust, pine rosin and linseed oil, is a fantastic, green material substitution for the petroleum-based products of old. Natural linoleum is available in either sheets or individual tiles, it offers an endless suppliy of color and pattern choices and is a great product for residential or commercial use.
Why We Like Natural Linoleum
It’s Versatile. Marmoleum is available either sheet or tile forms. It is used in both residential and commercial settings. Great for resturants and offices, too. The product can be used on floors and countertop surfaces. It is sold in a wide range of colors and patterns. Some patterns mimic quarried stone, others are mottled for subtle texture and other options include high tech MRI images. The applications and decorating options are only limited by the owner’s imagination and tastes. A Do-It-Yourselfer can easily install the tiles themselves, just like vinyl. 
It’s Low Maintenance. Manufacturers estimate the lifespan of natural linoleum at 30-40 years, compared to 10-20 for vinyl. Scratches are no problem. The surface is hard, and even becomes harder over time. Additionally, any surface scratch can be buffed out, because the color extends through the entire thickness. For cleaning, a dry mop is recommended for routine maintenance.
It’s Green and Better for the Environment. Natural linoleum is much better for the environment than petroleum based, vinyl products. Vinyl’s are not sustainable and are highly polluting in their manufacturing process. Natural linoleum is made from wood, rosin, limestone and linseed oil. All these materials occur naturally and are sustainable. When it’s time to remodel, natural linoleum can be shredded and turned into compost for the garden versus filling a landfill. Additional bonus, natural linoleum will last and look good for a least least twice as long as vinyl.
Disadvantages. The linseed oil in the products “off gas” and some people are sensitive to its fumes. We advise that you air out the product for a few weeks before you install it, if you have a sensitive reaction to the smell. Like most plant-based products, linoleum doesn’t perform well in area’s with constant moisture. Test the moisture content of floor slabs before installation. Use Caulk to seal edges around tubs and showers where flooring abuts. The only other disadvantage is probably the initial cost of the product. Marmoleum costs around $4.00 per square foot, compared with $1.50 to $2.00 for vinyl flooring.
Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net FREE homes for sale and lease website. Search for properties or post your listing. We connect thousands of buyers and sellers each day, and we can help you get more exposure, too.
Virtually Stage Your Home to Sell
Marketing a vacant home can be difficult challenge, because empty rooms are hard to size up and they don’t stand out in a buyer’s mind. This leaves every vacant home looking like the one next door, with the only difference in a buyer’s mind being, which home has the lowest price.
This problem may have been solved by Krisztina Bell, a smart Atlanta Realtor, who invented and patented a software program that will “virtually” stage any vacant property for around $250. Her company has been heralded by the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronical and other publications as the answer to giving the effect of a professionally staged home at a fraction of the cost.
With 90 percent of home buyers doing their shopping online, and thousands of vacant homes on the market, Ms Bell’s idea is smart and timely. Her technique transforms listing photo’s of vacant homes into homes with professionally designed interiors, using a library of attractive furnishings, accessories and artwork. The resulting “after” photo’s are realistic, authentic and hard to distinguish from a home that has been actually staged with furnishings.
To view the Photo Gallery of some impressive Before and After Pictures, please visit her website VirtuallyStagingProperties.com, by clicking this link. You will be amazed. And, if you have a vacant home to sell, you should seriously consider this inexpensive option and make your home pop.
Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net homes for sale and rent website. If you virtually stage your home, be sure to upload the slideshow to InfoTube.net. Thousands of buyer’s search our site daily for new information on properties.
Just Say No To Wallpaper
One of the things that can turn off buyer’s, stop a sale or detract from a properties resale value is Wallpaper. Why don’t buyer’s like wallpaper?? First, it is usually a real pain to take down. Secondly, it is very taste specific. There is obviously no “standard” or ”popular type” of wallpaper, because there seems to be endless supply and I have never seen the exact same wallpaper, twice. Meaning, the odds of being hit by lightning are probably greater than 2 people liking the same paper.
If you plan to stay in your home a while and you want some wallpaper in your house, well, it is your house. But, please, go sparingly. Avoid busy, colorful and loud types. And, please don’t forget to “size” the wall before you apply it, or you won’t get it off without destroying the wall surface underneath.
Tip for HomeSeller’s: But, if you are trying to sell your home, without success, and it has a lot of wallpaper or busy, dated wallpaper, you can do yourself a big favor by pulling it down and applying a fresh coat of neutral paint. A crisp, freshly painted room never turns off buyers.
The same can never be said about wallpaper. 
Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net FREE homes for sale and rent website. We have been helping seller’s and buyer’s connect since 1988. We can help you, too.