Real Estate

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The Household Handoff

Within the past year, we sold our former home and bought a new one. That’s a lot going on in one household, let me tell you! So when some of our friends shared with us that they were doing the same, it brought back lots of memories! It was a bit of a scary process, so I thought now might be a good time to speak to some of those things, in case what we experienced can be helpful to anyone else. 

The process of selling your home can prove a challenging one due to the inevitable complications and setbacks. Patience is key here, however, there are actions one can take to initiate and speed up the selling process of their home. Below, I’ve detailed a few fundamental principles that can heavily influence the rate at which your house will sell.

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Property Styling

Property styling is a service many sellers may be unfamiliar with, however, this alone can heavily influence the selling rate of your home. Property Styling, or house staging, refers to the process of optimising the visual representation of your home in the hope that it will increase the asking price, as well as the rate at which it will sell.

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This is done by adjusting and implementing different lighting fixtures and furnishings and photographing them in the property to introduce a sense of elegance and glamour. For instance, house staging in Melbourne is now a multimillion dollar industry and is commonly practiced all around the world among those who long for a generous asking price and swift sale. This is for good reason, given the success rate of property styling over the last decade. Reports even display that property styling can not only double the rate at which your home will sell but, more often than not, attract more interest and with it, a higher asking price.

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Why Forethought is Hugely Important When Buying a House

Buying a house is exciting and it’s easy to get caught up thinking with your heart, instead of your head. Thinking about what your must-haves are can help to keep you on track instead of getting distracted by how “pretty” a place is. (That may or may not be one of MY personal down-falls!) Of course, it’s always a good idea to get a first-hand look by checking out a few display homes in Sydney (or model homes in your specific area) to see fixtures and layouts in person. This is what we did when we first started looking for our home!

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Nevertheless, when you’re looking at a new house, nothing replaces an assessment by a professional. A home inspection and a pest inspection really are crucial. Don’t take anyone’s word for it, have a thorough check performed to avoid any unforeseen issues in the future.

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Knowing what you really need in a house will help keep your emotions in check, so consider the following things when you find a place that gets you excited.

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Quick Tips For Moving Into A New Home

I was thinking the other day, “I’ve never heard anyone say ‘I LOVE moving!!!'” I mean, really! Have YOU ever heard someone say that?

However, from the three times I’ve moved in my adult life, I’ve gleaned a little bit of information on the process. For instance, I don’t think I will EVER move again without hiring professional movers. I just won’t do it. And now that our last  “moving” escapade is behind us, I thought it would be a great time to share some tips with everyone! Even though moving is often seen as an ordeal, especially if you have to pack a house full of stuff that you’ve acquired over the years, it need not be as exhausting and nerve-wracking as you imagine. It’s really all about how organized you are!

Quick Tips For Moving Into A New Home! #moving #realestate

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The secret to reducing stress and making the move go as smoothly as possible is to dispense with the idea of rugged individualism and ask for help. The more help you can get, the easier it will be to move. Usually, the best type of help available is hiring professional movers like North American Van Lines who can manage the logistics of packing, loading, transportation, and unpacking for you. While a do-it-yourself approach is often seen as cheaper, when you consider the cost of your labor, getting everything organized, and driving a large truck across hundreds of miles, will probably prove much more cost-effective in the long run. Moreover, working with experienced movers who have all the right equipment (like a 2 wheel dolly) will make everything go more smoothly. 

Once you’ve made your big move, you’ll be able to settle into your new house quickly–if you do it in an organized and methodical way.

Young couple is moving into new house with lot of boxes. Woman is pregnant.

Here are some tips on finishing unpacking, settling in, getting to know the community, and planning that perfect housewarming party:

1. Unpacking

Once you’ve moved in you’ll probably feel a little tired and overwhelmed by all the changes you’re going through at a rapid rate. You may also feel a little anxious about how to unpack and settle in because there appears to be so much that needs to be done at once.

Here are three steps to take to get moved in the quickest and most effective way possible:

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Everything You Need to Know about a Home Inspection

As you may have heard me say a time or two (or two hundred) here on the blog: we recently moved into a new home! Yadda yadda yada…

One thing we made sure to tick off our checklist when buying this home (and our previous one, too, actually) was the home inspection. I’ve seen way too many shows on HGTV where there was no inspection done, and the buyers ended up with a hot mess of a project on their hands. Not me! No siree Bob! 

In fact, with our current house, termites were actually found in the garage, leading to a termite inspection, in turn leading to a treatment. We paid for the inspections, of course, but the folks who were selling us the house paid for the treatment. It worked out way better than it would have if we hadn’t gotten that inspection done!

Everything you need to know about a #homeinspection over on the blog today!

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So when Michelle from The Inspectors Company contacted me regarding a home inspection blog post, I was all for it. These are important, folks! Let’s see what she has to say…

The little things are usually what draws us to a particular home. The marble countertops, brand new appliances and a dream bathroom with a gorgeous walk-in shower. But more often than not, you tend to find all sorts of problems only when you scratch the surface.

When buying a home you have to remember that there’s usually more than meets the eye. You wouldn’t want a home that demands constant, often expensive renovations. But how can you know about the weak foundation, bad wiring, plumbing or a leaky roof?

Architect Checking Insulation During House Construction

Easy: Hire a Home Inspector!

As soon as you sign the purchase agreement, you need to get in touch with a reputable home inspector. The same goes for both old and new houses. Neither is devoid of issues. When buying a new home, a home inspection is necessary, and the cost is nothing compared to the peace of mind you get in return.

How to Find a Reputable Home Inspector?

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Perfecting An Action Plan for When Your House is Showing! (FREE PRINTABLE INCLUDED!)

If you’ve been around the blog at all, you’ve seen the action: you know we recently sold our home, bought another one, and moved. I have to say, I’m SO glad that’s over with!!! Soon you’ll start to see projects from the new house pop up here, but right now, I’m still touching on a few things related to the selling process!

If any of you has ever had your house on the market, you know one of the most stressful parts of the details is when you get a showing. 

Now, you WANT the showings. You WANT the action! You want someone to walk through your house and look at it and comment on it and want others to see it. You want someone to LIKE your house – because you want someone to BUY it! But, when you’re in the middle of a busy day and you get a call from a realtor that says, “Can a buyer see the house in 30 minutes?” – WOAH. That is enough to throw you for a major loop!

Couple with new home

If you’re a single person, or even a couple, this kind of thing can be worked out fairly easily. But, if you’re a couple with infant twins and a dog and a cat and childcare folks coming and going and home maintenance folks coming and going and cleaning folks coming and going (because you can no longer handle things on your own anymore), well. That kind of action complicates things quite a bit! 

Perfecting an #actionplan for when your house is #showing on the market! #realestate #freeprintable

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When our home was on the market and showing, the girls were 8 months old, I was working part-time, my hubby was working full-time, and we had childcare, home maintenance and cleaning folks all in and out all week long. So one never really knew what any given day might hold. I got everyone together and made sure we were all straight on “the showing plan”. Here’s what mine looked like:

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