You want some new digs and you have decided to sell your house. Just get a real estate agent, have a few open houses and wait for the offers to come in—if only it were that easy. In reality, many people can see months or more pass without finding a buyer. But, there are lots of things you can do to ensure a more timely sale and here a few important ones to consider.

Price Low

The usual strategy is pricing the house for as high a price you hope to get; if you get a reasonable offer that is below asking price, you might consider it. Or, if the house is sitting there for longer than you expected, you might decide to lower the asking price. The opposite strategy, which may seem a bit unconventional, may work in your favor. By pricing the house for less than it is worth—nothing dramatic of course—you may end up getting closer to your desired price. A lower price will bring in a lot of competing bids, with some making offers beyond the selling price to snag such a great home.

Do Not Underestimate Curb Appeal

How your house looks on the outside is just as important as how it looks on the inside; and in some respects, even more important since this is the first thing potential buyers see. Make sure the lawn and shrubbery is neatly manicured. Paint the shutters, reseal the driveway,add color with some flowers. Repaint the exterior if necessary.

Stage the House

To sell your home more quickly, you might consider making some changes that make it look buyer-friendly. Consider removing some furniture to make rooms look more spacious. Instead of all the family photos, buy some inexpensive artwork to hang around the house—this is good for de-personalizing the home and helping the buyer better picture himself there. Repaint brightly colored walls in neutral colors. Clear out clutter and address any broken window screens and other unsightly problems. Make sure areas like the kitchen and bathroom are spotless. Even though the buyer knows that the artwork or bedding is not coming with the house, all of these little touches make the overall home more appealing on an emotional level. Often, when buying a home, the buyer wants a place that feels right, which mean he or she will be more inclined to make a decision based on emotions.

Have Your House in “Move-In” Condition

Unless you are marketing your home as a fixer-upper, it will work to your advantage to make sure the house is in “move-in” condition right from the get-go. Most people are not that enthused about having to fix things right from the start and a home that they can start enjoying from day one is going to be much more appealing. If something needs to be repaired or replaced, take care of it before you begin selling.

Sweeten the Deal

There are lots of different incentives—mainly monetary—that can make buying your house more appealing than buying another one. You might consider offering to pay homeowner association fees for a year or put money towards closing costs. Offering to pay for a home warranty is another option, and may be a particularly attractive one, as it may make homeowners feel more secure in purchasing your house.

About the Author: Kelli Cooper is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about all things real estate. She highly recommends visiting nhwusa.com for more information about home warranties Phoenix or home warranties Las Vegas.

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Today for breakfast Melinda decided that she wanted chocolate muffins. So she found a recipe on the internet and we started making them! …Well, actually, she made them, I just read the directions. Anyway, the fun thing about this was that we had to use the oven. What’s so funny about using an oven? Well, I’ll tell you. When I first arrived here one of the things Melinda warned me about was the Smoke Detectors. “They go off at the tiniest hint of smoke,” she noted. “They are very sensitive.”

It’s been about two months now (Holy Jersey Cow! Thats quite a while!) and I haven’t heard them go off once! I admit, I began to wonder if the Claybrooks really had been telling the truth. (Haha, just kidding) They mentioned that if the oven was ever used, or if the toaster was ever used, then the Smoke Detectors would go off. (Let’s just say, my Toast and Jelly days were finally over, just because I’m too afraid to use the toaster)

Then the other thing about the Smoke Detectors: They are all linked. If one of them goes off then they all go off. It’s like when a baby cries during the Sunday meeting. When one starts, they all start. And before you know it the entire congregation is crying. Even the ones that aren’t children. -Or like when you yawn. If a person sees you or hears you or even thinks about yawning, they unavoidably, without fail yawn too. How bizarre is that!?

So, the chocolate muffins were made and divided up into their own little hole, then placed in the oven to cook. After about ten minutes or so Melinda asked me, very serious, I might add, if I was ready. I had to ask why.

“Because,” she said handing me a checkered hand towel with an earnest look, “I’m going to open up the oven and the Smoke Alarm is going to go off.”

I took the hand towel slowly from her grasp and remained in the hallway, just under the small white sensor pressed against the ceiling, while she disappeared into the kitchen.

“Okay!” she hollered. “I’m opening the oven!”

Quick as a flash Melinda opened the oven and quick as a flash she yanked the muffins from the depths of the oven. (She did it so fast, in fact, that on the last round, more than half the muffins fell to the ground. It was really rather funny. I laugh just thinking about it! Of course, they’re were only three muffins in the pan to begin with, but hey, it was still more than half)

I remained under the detector watching as Melinda worked. So far the alarm hadn’t gone off and I was beginning to wonder if it ever would. I guess I wasn’t too surprised when it finally did. (Beep! Beep! Beep!) I was a little busy laughing at folly’s to fan the smoke away. Melinda came round bopped me lightly on the head with another towel and started whipping away the smoke from around the abhorrent sphere.

Although I had plenty of good laughs at this small act, I was a little disappointed that I had not been entreated to the full effect. The alarm only went off twice. The other detectors in the house hadn’t had a chance to go off yet. Oh well. I’d like to say simply, “better luck next time” but somehow that doesn’t seem to fit right. Oh well.

When we were each done eating our muffins (which turned out rather well, if I do say so myself) we decided on a couple of things. The house, for one, is a boy. The car, however, is a girl. The car is a girl simply because she has her days of when she feels like starting or not. Plus, it just looks like a girl. Then the house is a boy because, as Melinda put it, “It makes weird noises.” And it does. Really. Whenever I find myself home alone, the house makes the strangest of sounds. There are times I even think that I’m not alone, because it makes so much noise. We also decided that the smoke detectors alone aren’t really a he or a she. They’re just an “it“.

So yeah. That’s how my day went. Interesting hu? ….yeah, you’re right. It was actually very boring….Oh well. That’s life!

I guess the lesson to be learned here is that the unpredictabilities of life are indeed very unpredictable. Strange things can happen and quite often do. …-Oh, and another lesson is that you should always have a towel handy when cooking muffins. You wouldn’t want to disturb the neighbors or give yourself a heart attack.

Julia Willis

From my experience, all Christmas presents should be no bigger than a shoe box. Period.

Now before you think I some kind of Christmas scrooge, let me say that I really love Christmas, but every year it goes like this: We bundle up our little tots and stuff them into our oh-so-cool minivan to cart them to Grandma’s house. There, they load up on sugar and beverages (not the best combination) and open so many huge presents that their heads are about to explode. Somehow, even though we have instituted the gift exchange rule, it never seems to work. There are weird exclusions for the youngest members of the family and they get way more than their share of the loot.

Then it’s time to go and we have to try and figure out how to fit ten pounds of potatoes in a five pound sack in order to make it back home. The kids are so overwhelmed with stuff and they really would be just as happy with one or two special gifts.

Now I know that there is no way I am going to convince all the doting grandmas and aunts of the world not to buy gifts for their special little ones, so I beg you, stick with the shoe box rule. I have no more room for giant castles, enormous plastic furniture, or life-size anything. Please.

From my experience, I can tell you that one of the hardiest plants I have every tried to kill is the Lucky Bamboo plant. I am also happy to say that it has thwarted all my inept attempts to end its life. In other words, this plant want to live. Live, I say! Live!

I’ve killed cacti, bonsai trees and even ferns have withered under my watchful eye. But the lucky bamboo has actually thrived with little more than adding water which I do too infrequently. Yet it continues to grow and sprout new leaves.

Not only has it lived through my neglect it has managed to become of visual interest. The twists and turn of the stalk and the green foliage have caught me attention more than once while sitting in my office.

If your thumb is not green, but black like the death you inflict on your houseplants, then I can tell you from experience to try your luck with a lucky bamboo, you will finally be able to say you have stopped the killing spree!

Seriously, these plants are beautiful and easy to care for. Here are some lucky bamboo care instructions, just in case. I have one at home and one at work. They also make great office gifts that require the smallest of commitments.

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From my experience Paradigm speakers are the best bang for the buck you can get for your home theater! Over the years I’ve owned many different brands of speakers including Cerwin Vega, JBL, Infinity and Bose. Yet none of these can compare to the price and sound quality of my current Paradigm home theater setup. And to top it off, the Paradigm’s cost less than my previous Bose speakers. I currently have the Mini Monitor system, except that I opted for a larger center & surrounds.

The first time I heard Paradigm speakers in the showroom, I fell in love with their rich, vibrant & authentic sounds. But it wasn’t until my Mom was visiting and said, “Wow, I can’t believe how good this sounds, it’s better than the theater,” that I truely marveled in how good a value they are. It takes a lot to make people, like my mother, who normally say they can’t tell a difference in sound quality take notice of how good something sounds.

From my experience you should never fry bacon without wearing a shirt. Hot grease hurts. Ouch.

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Whether you own a property, or you’re simply renting it, discovering damp in your home is far from being the most pleasant experience. At its absolute worst, it can feel like a problem over which you have little control, and it always makes your home feel that little less homely. By knowing your enemy and the danger it poses, you can be better prepared to battle against it:

How Does It Happen?

Damp typically comes from one of three sources, two of which are structural. ‘Rising damp’ is the infamous problem of moisture rising up through building materials from the foundations when the ground is saturated. Though typically only reaching about 1.5 meters from the source, this is more than enough to give your house an ugly looking tide mark. Read the rest of this entry

Whether you are acting as the general contractor (GC) for the construction of your new home or not, it is advised that you work with a check list to ensure that important details are not missed when building a new home in Virginia. Home builders with experience usually have a pre-determined method that has proven successful, however, every project is different, and requires a different level of oversight. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have a detailed list of process requirements and key construction steps, in order to ensure that the contractor is on top of the project from beginning ‘til end.

Before breaking ground, do your research!

By this point, you will have chosen one of the many Virginia home builders you interviewed as your contractor. Propose a weekly meeting with your contractor to evaluate the checklist, so as to not miss the important details before it’s too late. Research the industry to familiarize yourself with common terms as well as local codes and requirements. Formulate your checklist from the ground up. Here are a few general items you’ll want to include on your checklist: Read the rest of this entry

The Art of Plumbing

Since making the brave, but certainly right, decision to live alone at the age of 42 I have to admit that there were some advantages of having a man about the house (albeit a fat, forgetful and argumentative one).

Approximately 4 months after my ex moved out one of my pipes sprung a leak. It was a total disaster, and made worse as I realized very quickly that I did not even know how to turn off the water supply.

By the time an emergency plumber arrived several gallons of water had flooded through the bathroom and into the adjoining rooms and down the stairs. The worse hit room was my children’s. The carpet was soaked, and several books and toys that had not been put away were damaged beyond repair. Read the rest of this entry

Insurance is one of those things we hope we never have to utilize—because it means something bad has happened—but is important to have. This is especially so when it comes to a significant asset such as your home. Like other types of insurance, you have many options when it comes to crafting a policy and many carriers to choose from. When finding the best policy for your needs, it is good to do a little self-education.

Carefully Examine the 4 Key Areas of Insurance to Get the Best Policy

When it comes to getting the best policy for your needs, you need to carefully consider everything involved in the four key areas: liability to others (your dog bites someone and he sues you), protecting the structure of your house, living expenses if you were to be forced out for any reason, such as extensive repairs after a natural disaster, and your belongings—do you own anything of value that you should insure?

Consider Replacement Value Insurance

If you need to completely rebuild your home, you will want a policy that will cover as much of the rebuilding costs as possible—policies that pay out regardless of the costs are not that common any more. The next best option is extended which covers up to 100 percent value of the home plus a percentage to cover the cost of rebuilding in the current market. You also want to make sure it covers your possessions in the same fashion—you do not want the ‘’cash value’’, you want to be able to replace items with similar items.

Have a Thorough Understanding of the Claims Process

While insurance companies may offer the same services and policies, how they provide them can differ drastically. It is important to have a thorough understanding of how the claims process works, especially the part that involves cutting you the check. Will they pay out an entire claim upfront or just a partial amount with the rest to come after meeting certain stipulations? If you need to replace belongings, will they just give cash value first and not offer replacement value until after you have purchased the new items and provided receipts? How long will you have to replace items and still be able to make a claim for reimbursement?

Consider Getting an Umbrella Policy

Good liability coverage is an important part of your policy, given the litigious nature of American society. If someone gets hurt on your property or is hurt as the result of the actions of someone in your home, there is a good chance you will have a lawsuit on your hand that will start in at least the low millions; most insurance policies top out liability at 300,000. If you have any assets that you could stand to lose in a court battle, consider buying an umbrella policy that will offer additional liability protection.

Consider Floaters for Big-Ticket Items

For more expensive items, such as a computer or collectibles, standard coverage may only pay out a fraction of the replacement value. If it is important to get fully reimbursed, you will need to purchase ‘’floater’’ insurance for each individual item. If you do purchase floaters, it is good to review them periodically to see if you still require them for certain items. Just renewing your policy each year and paying to insure items that have lost their value is a waste of money.

Kelli Cooper is a freelance writer who covers a range of topics in the insurance realm. If you are in the market for a luxury home in Florida, check out some Miami luxury real estate.