Tag Archives: House

Making Your House Stand Out in a Tough Market

April 18, 2025   Matt

Making Your House Stand Out in a Tough Market

Making Your House Stand Out in a Tough Market

As the real estate industry continues its downward trend, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to sell your home. Prices have dropped, there are more listings than ever to choose from and sellers are giving incredible deals to buyers. Here are a few tips to make your home stand out.

Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is the first way to draw attention to your home. Since it is the first thing that anyone sees, you want the “WOW” factor. I know people that have bought houses just because of the spectacular landscaping. I also know people who have not even bothered looking inside of a house because of the condition of the exterior. Make sure the exterior of the house is in tip-top shape so the potential buyer immediately wants to see the inside.

The following is your list of items to maintain curb appeal:

• Cut grass

• Trim all hedges and bushes

• Add mulch to beds

• Have flowering plants or potted flowers on the porch

• Keep toys out of sight and place in the backyard or in a shed

• Clean all cluttering debris such as sticks, garbage, old newspapers, etc.

• Replace all the light bulbs surrounding the house
You want the inside of your house to wow potential buyers just as much as the outside.

The following checklist gives ultimate interior appeal. Make sure all items are completed before the first showing of your house is scheduled.

• Clean! Every floor, window, closet and cupboard!

• Remove excess clutter, toys, paperwork and knick-knacks. Clutter makes counter tops and rooms appear smaller than they really are.

• Paint the walls in dirty rooms or where a room needs brightening. Bright rooms give the appearance that they are more spacious.

• Make repairs to anything needed – hinges, doorknobs, plaster, steps, plumbing, etc.

• Replace all burned out light bulbs.

• Wash all window coverings. Open all of the curtains and blinds before a showing. Natural light makes a room appear bigger.

• Open the doors and windows before a showing to fill the home with fresh air.

When the inside and outside are clean and neat, you may need to provide a bigger incentive to your potential buyers. If the house has repairs that you didn’t have the time or cash to fix, you can offer credit towards the purchase price. That way, you acknowledge the repairs and give the buyer a discount for accepting the home as is.

Another option is to offer an allotment if your house needs new carpeting or flooring. Buyers like allotments because they get the item new, plus they get to pick out their colors. A win-win situation for everyone.

The time spent cleaning, making minor repairs, and providing incentives for major repairs, will make your home stand out above the competition. Although these little fixes may require some time and effort, selling quickly in a tough market will be worth the effort in the end!

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Things to Consider when Building a Bird Deck House

February 17, 2025   Matt

Things to Consider when Building a Bird Deck House

Bird deck houses are one way of making your home feel brighter and livelier everyday. It is the first thing that you can look at in the morning and the thing to see once you want to relieve some of the stress of your day. Believe it. Birds and bird houses in your home can make a lot of difference not only to your home but also to your life.

Building a bird deck house can be easy if you know what you are doing. There are some guidelines that you can learn from those who have done it. Bird experts have also some things to say about how to properly make your own bird deck house.

Overall, below are some of things you have to consider when building a bird deck house.

1. Ventilation.

You probably would not want to suffocate the birds inside your house. And you probably would not want to make them feel like they are your prisoners too.

What you need to do is to provide proper ventilation in your bird deck house. If you have one that is fully covered, consider putting on holes on the top, bottom and the sides. You do not need to do this if the bird deck house has an open space where birds can move out and about.

If you have a pet bird that you do not want to fly away from you, consider having bird houses that lets the air in naturally.

2. Roof.

Having a roof on your bird deck house is a means of protecting the birds from wind and rain. It is also one way of preventing bigger animals from playing and eating the birds inside.

In addition, the roof can prevent moisture from seeping inside the bird house. This serves the same purpose as the walls that you need to have in the bird house.

3. Space.

If you have more than one bird deck house in your house or garden, keep them some feet apart from each other. Having the appropriate space between bird deck houses is a way of reducing conflicts that might arise between the birds.

Birds are also like human in terms of protecting their territory. They also do not want other birds to trespass into their space. It is better to give them the appropriate space that they can have for their own.

4. Material.

The best material to make your bird deck house from is wood. They are more durable than metal that can rust and cartons that rot. Avoid using paint as much as possible. They tend to secrete vapors that can harmful for the birds.

Check out for unwanted visitors in your bird deck house. They can be insects or mice capable of causing harm and injury to the birds. Regular checking and cleaning can prevent these things from taking advantage of what you consider as pets.

The main purpose for putting up a deck in your bird house is to attract more birds. Your bird deck house will be a waste if birds are not visiting and coming back to it. An exception is when you already have the birds to put into your bird house. But for those who do not have, then the bird house should be a point of attraction and a regular safe place where birds can stay.

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Fleas- A Common Resident In Every House

February 02, 2025   Matt

Fleas- A Common Resident In Every House

They are one of the greatest bloodsucking parasites which can cause lot of damage. These different types of fleas live by sucking blood from mammals and birds. Some of the very common fleas are the cat flea, dog flea, human flea, northern rat flea and oriental rat flea. You may suffer from an allergic reaction and may also get transmitted with severe diseases due to these fleas. Because of the warm, humid and readily available environment in your home, these fleas easily survive without much hindrance.

They procreate in huge numbers which makes them next to – indestructible. Many a times these fleas just become a nuisance other than anything else. Their small fish like structure goes unnoticed which makes it difficult to detect. Presence of pets in your house is another reason for fleas to attack humans. Having a spick and span environment keeps them off from your mattresses. The growth rate is so high that it becomes next to impossible to end the reign of terror. Some of the common affects fleabites have on us is loss of hair, severe allergic reaction – rashes, itchy skin and severe diseases.

Home Remedies for Fleas

Keep your house clean by regular vacuuming as well as cleaning and bathing your pets to avoid any circulation of these parasites.

One of the most natural repellents which we have come across to fight fleas is the eucalyptus leaves. Somehow the smell is a major turn off for them.

You can use borax, which works great against the fleas. Spread it across your house; let it sit for some days and later vacuum your house to remove those fleas.

Spreading cedar chips along your fence line or in your room can keep the fleas at bay. You can also have a tansy plant outside your dogs’ pen to keep the fleas away.

Make garlic an important part of pets’ food. Mix it, crush it, mince it, powder it and use it in any form to keep the pest away from the pets.

Adding yeast pills in your dog’s diet also gets rid of the fleas. These yeast pills can be easily found in any of the medical stores.

Try diatomaceous earth, is one of the most natural ways to get rid of fleas. It can used be in your house, around the house and on your dog.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

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How to build a dog house for your puppy

December 04, 2024   Matt

How to build a dog house for your puppy

So you’d like to know how to build a dog house? Well, that means we’re talking to less than 50% of all dog owners. Why? Because current survey information at OpinionTrone says most dog owners (over 50%) allow their pets on the family couch. Furthermore, if you allow your pet on the couch, chances are that you do not HAVE a dog house!
But for those of you who do, there are really good things to remember about how to build a dog house:
1. Any good how to build a dog house plan should begin by making sure the house is big enough to accommodate your dog’s ultimate grown-up size. You would not like to live in a house whose ceiling was below your head height–neither would your dog. Most humans like about 2 feet of air above themselves in a room in order to live without feelings of claustrophobia! That comfort zone is about 1/3 of their standing height. Allow your pet the same airiness. Figure out how tall it will stand as a mature pet and make sure the ceiling of the dog house is 1/3 again taller!
2. Raise the house a few inches off the ground to allow air and water to flow beneath. Ventilation is important for the health of your dog and to dissuade pests from invading its home. A few nickel-sized holes in the walls under the eaves should be sufficient. Install a wind block inside the house so the dog can use the heat of its own body to warm up the area if it is really cold and windy outside. Any good plan for how to build a dog house will have a house big enough so that a partial wall will allow the dog to escape the elements. The dog can choose whether to just sleep in the entry room or go around the inner archway maze wall into the inner sanctum. Both areas could have bedding or a pillow, such as one filled with cedar chips to discourage fleas.
3. Make the floor just the littlest bit slanted toward the doorway. Any good “how to build a dog house” plan will make certain that any rain that does enter via the ventilation holes or doorway automatically drains out. Make sure that the roof is built at a slant, as well, for obvious run-off reasons. Do not paint the inside of the house, but do make sure that the house is well insulated.
4. Make sure the dog house faces away from the major storm direction. In the U.S., most storms come from the south and west. Not all, mind you, but most! So most how to build a dog house plans will suggest that the ideal placement of a dog house door is to the east. That way, even in the wintertime, the cold north wind will not whip inclement weather into the dog’s entryway.
5. Finally, almost all how to build a dog house plans will have you put hinges on the roof of the house for easy cleaning. When you clean the dog, you should clean its house and bedding–just as faithfully as you would wish your pet to be to you!

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How To Sell Your Own House

October 20, 2024   Matt

How To Sell Your Own House

With a robust real estate market, selling a house isn’t particularly difficult. Here’s a primer on how to sell your own house.

How To Sell Your Own House

First and foremost, you need to educate yourself on how real estate transactions happen. There are online guides and plenty of books on the subject at your local bookstore. When you decided to sell your own house, you are considered a FSBO seller [for sale by owner]. This FSBO market is growing like mad, which means you can find form contracts and agreements ready made for your particular state.

A second thing to realize is real estate laws are generally governed by states, not the federal government. This means the particulars of real estate transactions in your state may be different from those in another state. You should look for references related to your state, not nation wide advice. Nonetheless, here are a few universal pointers.

1. Determine the price of comparable homes in your neighborhood. This is going to give you a very good idea of what you can ask for your house when you put it on the market.

2. Objectively look at your home and make a list of things that need to be fixed. Selling a house often comes down to the details. Buyers are making a big investment, so they are going to be very picky about little things.

3. List your house online with photographs at a site like FsboAmerica.org.

4. Post flyers or ads in your local property listings magazines.

5. Put a sign on your lawn indicating you are selling.

6. On the sign post, put a box with flyers describing your home and the asking price.

7. Hold open houses for buyers to view your house.

8. Clean your house before all open houses. Add fragrant flowers to rooms, mow the lawn and so on.

9. Get rid of your junk through a garage sale and the trash. This includes cleaning out the garage and basement. Everything should be pristine.

10. Create a documented record of all the improvements you’ve made to the home to show potential buyers.

11. Become conversant in the offer, counteroffer process.

12. Develop a clear understanding of what happens during closing and make sure you’ll be able to take care of your part.

13. Figure out what you plan to do when you sell the house, to wit, are you going to buy another house and when will you move?

While these guidelines will take you a long way, it is important you understand the specific laws of your state. Once you have those down, the process typically goes fairly smoothly. Considering you’ll save thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in real estate commissions, any bumps in the road will be more than worth it.

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Clean Up To House Up: Your Credit History And You

July 07, 2024   Matt

Clean Up To House Up: Your Credit History And You

Blemishes and events we’d rather not remember have one thing in common: they can be wiped off. Whether the blemish is on your shirt, furniture, or credit history, it can be cleaned up. Clearly, a tarnished credit history should not prevent you from owning a house. Late payments, repossessions, write-offs, and bankruptcy are sure to leave stains in your credit history the size of a crater. The good news is that they can be cleaned. The bad news is that it cannot be done overnight. In fact, cleaning up your credit history would most likely take you a year at the very least.

You Can’t Clean House Without Cleaning Up Your Credit History
A home mortgage lender is a businessman who will not fork out any sum without the assurance of getting it back. This is why home mortgage lenders verify would-be homeowners’ credit history before granting them their loans. Credit history is as good an indicator as any of a borrower’s willingness to pay off debts on time. For the same reason, blemished credit history make home mortgage lenders nervous – and with good reason, too! Think about it. If you are a home mortgage lender, wouldn’t you quail in your shoes at the possibility of not getting repaid?

Spotting the Spots
While home mortgage lenders would rather have borrowers with pristine credit history, they don’t shut the doors on borrowers with smudges on their ratings. In fact, home mortgage lenders are very understanding when it comes to late payments and reporting errors. They are not as forgiving, however, of unpaid debts or loans that have been written off as bad debts by creditors.

So, what kind of spots do home mortgage lenders look for in your credit history? They’re on the look-out for old, outstanding debts and bad debts incurred anytime during the last 12 to 24 months.

Spots No Maid Can Clean
If your credit history is riddled with old, outstanding debts and recent debts, don’t call the maid or a credit repair company. Many credit repair companies promise you miracles. They swear they can clean up your credit record overnight. Always take claims like this with a grain of salt. The only person who can clean up your credit history is you. How do you go about this mission?

* Pay your current bills on time. Continue doing so because this will reflect favorably on your credit history.

* Avoid borrowing anything while you haven’t fully paid off your debts. Not only should you work at getting out of debt, you should also focus on staying out of it.

* If you have many loans to pay off, work out a schedule for eliminating as many of them as you can. Many home mortgage lenders do not grant loans to people who owe too much. As a rule of thumb, mortgage payments should not go over 36 to 38 percent of your monthly obligations, the amount of which is a combination of your credit card payments, child support, alimony, student loans, and the like.

Blemishes are seldom permanent. If anyone with a rag can wipe smudges off a coffee table, you can do the same, too, with your credit history.

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