Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Fannie Mae offers Cash Rebate to Buyers
Close on a home listed on Homepath.com before May 1st and Fannie Mae will give pay up to 3.5 percent for your closing costs or new appliances!!
Easy Tip for Making Any Room Appear Larger
When staging a home for sale… spacious, light and bright rooms are the adjectives to strive for. One easy, inexpensive accessory that can achieve this goal and boost the appeal of any room is the Mirror.
Mirrors are versatile design accessories that can be used in a variety of ways to liven up and show off your space.
Hang a framed mirror on the wall to reflect a good view. Hang mirrored tile on a closet door or in a dining room.
Use mirror for a backsplash in a small kitchen. Or, place a large mirror to make any small bathroom feel more inviting. The uses for mirror are as vast as the need for light and space. So, add a little reflection in your life. Buyer’s will notice.
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Housing Alert: Bed Bugs are Back
I’m sure we’ve all heard our parents warn, “and, don’t let the bed bugs bite”, as we toddled off to bed…but most of us have never considered that bed bugs were real pests, because most of us have never seen a bed bug.
As creepy as it is, Bed Bugs are real and they are back with a vengence. The use of DDT eradicated bed bugs more than 50 years ago, which explains why most of us have never seen one. Today, exterminators use roach traps, instead of insecticide sprays, which do not wipe out the bed bugs along with the roaches. So, the tiny bed bug is making a resurgence in a big way.
How Can You Find Bed Bugs before You’re Eaten?
They hate light and only come out in the dark. They travel quickly to hide in pipes, floorboards, carpet, mattresses, bedframes, furniture, baseboards, inner walls, or any clothing or bedroom clutter. They are most active right before dawn and feed heavily an hour before sunrise.
Look for them specifically in the mattress seams, carpet edges, pillow cases, behind headboards and bed rails. Watch for bloodstains, droppings, eggs. They tend to congregate together, so look carefully at any tiny fold or seam.
They are usually brownish, but the young can be transparent. They are about a 1.4 inch long. About the same size as an apple seed or lentel.
Can They Infest Your Home or One You Are Buying?
Yes. Bed Bugs can be picked up at hotels, be carried in luggage, brought in on infested furniture or used clothing, or even carried in on your person. They also travel from room to room in multifamily buildings, such as condo’s and dorm’s and apartments. They can even ride in on the back of your family pet.
How Can You Get Rid of Bed Bugs?
Getting rid of bed bugs can be tough. They can travel up to 100 feet to feed. They can survive up to 1 year between blood feasts and they can hide in places you can’t see. Bed Bug infestation is so bad, it is regarded as “House Herpes” by those unfortunate enough to be infested with them.
- A Fabric Steam Cleaner will kill eggs and bugs. Since steam can penetrate mattresses and furniture, the heat will kill them in a couple of seconds. Repeat steaming once a week until no sign of them remains.
- Spray Rubbing Alcohol on them. It kills them instantly.
- Bed bugs can’t cross Vasoline or petroleum jelly. Crossing Glass and metal is also difficult. One old prevention was to place bed legs in tin cans coated with petroleum jelly. They can’t climb up onto the bed.
- Sticky tape around bed legs also works.
- Call a professional exterminator for bombing and spraying.
After bugs have been successfully treated, enclose your mattresses, etc in “bed bug proof cases” until you are certain they are gone for good.
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Alternative Floors that Don’t Kill Trees
Environmental concerns are becoming increasingly important in consumers decision making process and bamboo flooring is a perfect choice for the environmentally conscious consumer according to expert Mark Western.
Bamboo is actually a grass. A harvested bamboo plantation can regenerate without replanting within 3 years whereas traditonal hardwood plantations can take up to 75 years to regenerate. Bamboo has been known to grow as much a 1 metre in 24 hours. It is often grown in areas which have been previously damaged by soil erosion, overgrazing and commercial agriculture and its extensive root system helps restore the stability of these areas and removes nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metals from the soil. Bamboo is a sustainable resource.
Bamboo offers multiple benefits:
1. With bamboo flooring you can creat a stylish and homey environment-bamboo provides warmth like wood.
2. Bamboo works well with any decor- bamboo offers several design options because it has a very rich visual texture and a unique pattern. It is naturally blonde in color but some varieties are stained to provide different color choices. Example: Bamboo can undergo a smoking process to give it an amber hue.
3. Bamboo can be treated to prevent damage-most bamboo flooring is pre-finished and ready for installation. Maintenance is usually the same as pre-finished wood products, so be sure to follow manufacturer instructions.
4. Bamboo flooring offers unparalleled strength, durability and moisture resistance when compared to traditional hardwood floorings. It is ideal for kitchen areas where normal timber flooring is not recommended and does not wear as quickly as any other timber flooring.
For more information on alternative floorings check out Lumber Liquidators at www.lumberliquidators.com
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Home Foreclosures Lead to Abandoned Animals
The abandoned pets are overwhelming animal shelters and drawing fury from bloggers, especially, as photos of emaciated animals circulate on the internet.
The first people to enter an abandoned house, such as property inspectors and real estate brokers, have discovered dogs tied to trees in backyards, cats in garages, and turtles, rabbits and lizards in children’s bedrooms.
No one keeps track of the numbers of abandoned pets, but anecdotal evidence suggests that forsaken animals are becoming a problem wherever foreclosures are climbing. The situation has become so widespread that the Humane Society is urging home owners faced with foreclosure to take their animals to a shelter.
Shelters are trying to keep up, but the spike in abandoned pets comes at a time when fewer people are adopting animals. Home sales are plunging to their lowest level in decades, and new homewoners are often the most likely to seek a pet.
The mortgage crisis showed few signs of easing after a real estate tracking company announced that many homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage payments in the last three months, setting the stage for more foreclosures this year.
The problem is exacerbated because most people grappling with foreclosure are returning to rental housing or moving in with relatives-two situations where it can be difficult or impossible to bring pets.
The ASPCA offers this advice for people who are faced with foreclosure and the loss of their pets.
1. See if friends, family or neighbors can provide temporary foster care for your pet until you get back on your feet.
2. If you are moving into a rental property, make sure pets are allowed. (Get written permission in advance)
3. Contact your local animal shelter, humane society or rescue group before you move. If a shelter agrees to take your pet, provide medical records, behavior information and anything else that might help your pet find a new home.
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Take Good Home Photos and Draw Buyers
Your property’s photos “pix appeal” or attractiveness in photos posted in online listings is as equally important as “curb appeal” is from the street. Over eighty percent of home buyers used the Internet last year to search for a home, and nearly 25% reported that they first found the property they purchased on the Internet, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.
Without pictures buyers are much less likely to go see a house. In most cases-85% of the time-online photos are the first view of a home. Photographs are powerful bait. Good ones can lure buyers; poor ones can turn them away.
Follow these tips to create flattering photos of your property:
1. Lighten up-shoot exterior shots in the middle of the day when the sun is shining and the sky is blue is your best bet. Interior shots are best with all the lights on and using a flash. The flash adds color correction and eliminates the shadows, making the room look brighter.
2. More is better-Buyers want to see more than just the front of the house. They want to see all the rooms and the backyard. Include your home’s best features, such as a home theatre/media room or an exercise room. For condos include shots of your unit’s interior, as well as photos of amenities such as a pool, tennis court or gym. If you have spectacular views, by all means, include them.
3. Get clear shots-remove clutter before photographing it. Remove all distractions, fridge magnets, children’s toys, dirty dishes and clear all counters. Spend some time moving things around. Outside shots-remove garbage cans and take the car out of the driveway. Try not to include utility poles, wires and other homes in the scene.
4.Go Pro- If you are selling without a real estate agent or aren’t handy with a camera, hiring a professional photographer may be the way to go. Examine samples of their photos before you make your choice. You can use Microsoft Live Search Maps at no cost to show buyers a bird’s eye view of your community.
5. Give it your best shot-Quality counts when taking photos, a camera with wide angle lens is ideal, but point and shoot digital cameras can also do the job.
For a clear photo, place digital cameras on a tripod or something solid so the camera doesn’t shake when the shutter goes off. Set the camera on its highest resolution. Never use less than 72 dots per inch for online photos.
6. Edit-If you didn’t get a good shot, you can fix it with basic photo editing software. Crop out ceilings or unnecessary background and adjust the brightness and contrast or edit in a sunny day.
There are a number of free Web sites that can make editing a snap. Some to try are www.Snipshot.com, www.picnik.com and www.Pixenate.com.
Remember, clear out the clutter and then snap the shutter!
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