Tips - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

9 Pro Tips for a Top-Notch DIY Paint Job

When painting a room, the time, effort, and money you spend on the materials can make a big difference. Josh Max, a professional painter with 10 years of experience, detailed the “right” way to paint in a recent article in The New York Times.Gather the right supplies. Take the measurements of your wall and ceiling to a hardware store that can help you pinpoint exactly what type of paint and supplies you’ll need. Max recommends a two-and-a

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Warning Signs of Underlying Property Defects

When you and your buyers are touring open houses, tell them to watch for signs of larger issues with the property. Jenna Dougherty and Greta Eoff of the DeMasi Group at Keller Williams Realty in Davis, Calif., shared items that should raise alarms for buyers.Overpowering scent. If sellers are being too heavy-handed with scented candles or other fragrances, it could mean they are trying to cover up the source of more serious odors, such as a must

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New Loan Helps Reduce Down Payments

Many renters say saving for the down payment is a major obstacle that is preventing them from purchasing a home. A new mortgage offering says it wants to help remove some of that burden for renters.Home Partners of America, a rent-to-own firm, is touting its new mortgage product that allows tenants to apply some of the appreciation in their home’s value during the time they live there to reducing the down payment. In some cases, it could reduce

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Non-Creepy Ways To Stalk A Future Home

Home buyers and renters can turn up plenty of information about their new home with just a little digging online. Curbed.com offers a few tips on how home shoppers can scour the internet to discover more about a property’s history before making an offer:Look closer at the online listings.Plenty of sites—like realtor.com®—are available to help them search for properties. Many of these sites also track the property’s listing history. Buye

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5 Overlooked Dirt Spots Buyers Will Notice

Jan M. Dougherty, author of The Lost Art of House Cleaning: A Clean House Is a Happy Home, shared with HouseLogic several spots that homeowners are likely missing, including:1. Light fixturesLight fixtures can be a magnet for dust and dead bugs. Spritz and wipe them with a cleaning solution to get them shining again.2. The body of the toiletDougherty recommends washing the porcelain thrones all over. Start with the top of the tank and spray al

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4 Renovations That Grab Buyers’ Attention

Among the home improvement projects buyers are most likely to value are those that increase storage space and preserve vintage features. Southern Living magazine recently rounded up some of the renovations that get sellers the most attention for their properties, including:Temperature-controlled square footage: “From the appraiser’s point of view—and really from everyone’s—heated and cooled square footage is the biggest winner” in

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6 Tricks to Curb Holiday Snacking

It’s that time of year when everyone feels the need to share delicious treats, especially at the office. That’s why Lifehacker recently posed the question to its readers of how to work among junk food without pigging out. They collected a list of helpful habits to consider during a season that can sometimes lead to excess. Plan ahead: If you pack a lunch or healthy snacks, you’re much less likely to be tempted by the Christmas cookie tray a

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10 home design trends to watch out for in 2018

It's all about warm shades, rugged textures and simple fixturesCool neutrals, white kitchen accessories and marble is out, and earth-toned shades, stonework and concrete accents are in, says Houzz for its 2018 home design predictions.Here are the ten design trends expected to define the upcoming year:Photo credit: Rikki Snyder © 2015 Houzz1. More color in kitchens. Houzz says white will always be a classic color for kitchen design, but homeown

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REALTORS: 7 ways to make your listing look more expensive

A more luxe-looking home will sell for a higher priceAs a listing agent, it’s your job to help your clients get the most out of their sale. Anything you can do to make the house look more expensive is likely to help boost buyer interest and sales price.But how do you make listings look more expensive?The methods range from very simple to completely replacing older or dated items. Encourage your client to think of any updates as an investment i

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Where Owners Forget to Lock Their Doors

A burglary occurs about every 20 seconds, and some homeowners may be making it too easy for intruders. A burglar may knock on the door first to check if a resident is home. Some will then test the doorknob—if it’s unlocked, they’ve got easy access.In a survey of 1,000 consumers across the country, home security review website SafeHome found that many residents lock their doors, but many also forget to do so. For example, residents in the

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