For those wanting a steady return on their money, houses can be a sure bet. When the baby boomers started madly buying houses in the 1980s, suddenly real estate seemed like the path to instant wealth. The real estate markets fluctuate constantly. There have been times when house prices have gone down. However if you…
Bi-weekly and weekly payments Most mortgages have the option to allow payments to be made on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This option may be desirable for two reasons. The first is it can save you money as you can expect to pay off your mortgage about 4 years sooner. This can save you dramatically…
Curb appeal. They say you can only make one “first impression,” and people usually form their first impression within 30 seconds. The front of your house is a good place to spend a little extra time and money. Plant flowers, trim bushes, weed, pick up leaves, repaint your front door, replace tarnished house numbers or a…
1. Failure to effectively market the property. Good marketing distinguishes your home from hundreds of others on the market, selling its benefits not just its features. Open houses and print advertising (the most obvious) are only moderately effective. Only 1% of homes are sold at open houses, and just 3% of people purchased their homes…
We all know instinctively what colours we like and which we don’t. This should make choosing paint for your home easy, shouldn’t it? In fact, it is difficult to choose the right colour unless you recognize the subtle presence of undertone, the colour underlying the colour. What?!? Most colours are made up of combinations; for example,…