How To Get The Highest Price When Selling My Home?

Picture of the "Gingerbread House" in Essex, Connecticut, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many people are looking around for ways to sell a house while ensuring that they make the maximum amount of profit from the sale. The problem is that most people who ask themselves, “How do I sell my house?” are only aware of the most common method for selling a house, and that is to go through a real estate agent. The problem with real estate agents is that they typically charge very high commission fees, which will take a big chunk out of the profit, you would otherwise be making from the sale of your home.

However, there are other ways to sell your home, and by following the steps listed below, you will be able to sell your house yourself and ensure that you keep all of the proceeds.

Renovate Property

If you are looking to sell your home for the highest possible price, the first thing you need to consider is the shape your home is in. If your home is rundown or not in the best possible shape, then this will significantly affect how much you are able to sell it for. Therefore, the first step before you even consider listing your home for sale is to renovate your property.

Now this doesn’t mean that you need to completely remodel the entire house, and the actual amount of renovation you will need to do depends on just what shape your home is in. If the home itself is fairly modern and in good shape, you may want to just think about doing some work to the property itself. Make sure the yard and garden are in good shape, as well as any other buildings such as a garage or shed. If the paint on your walls is faded or stained, you should think about repainting, as well as fixing any cracks or holes in your walls. Even doing a little bit of work to make the home more presentable will go a long way towards increasing the value of your home.

List Online

Once you have your home in the best possible shape, then you can finally start thinking about listing it for sale. Most people simply choose a real estate agent to sell their home for them, but if you are serious about getting the most money from the sale, then you need to consider listing your home for sale online on one of the many for sale by owner real estate websites and portals, such as ForSaleForLease.com.au. These sites charge very small fees for listing your property, and they could end up saving you thousands of dollars by avoiding the high commission fees charged by real estate agents.

Setting up a listing on these sites is also incredibly easy. Just make sure that you spend some time writing a high quality, accurate description of the property. You should also have good quality pictures of the different rooms in the house to let people see exactly how your home looks. By listing your home on one of the most popular for sale by owner websites, you should be able to quickly sell your home and make a large profit from it.

Sell Privately

After listing your property online, you can sit back and wait for people to show interest. If you have interested buyers, you will then need to invite them over to inspect the property. At this point you will probably start receiving offers for your home, and then you can negotiate the sale directly with the potential buyers. This will allow you to have total control over the final sale price, so you can ensure that you sell your house for the highest price possible.

To sell your home privately, all you need to do is find a buyer online, negotiate the sale with them, and then have a lawyer draw up the contracts and paperwork for you to ensure the sale is done completely in line with the law. Overall, selling your home privately through an online real estate portal or website is definitely the best way to ensure that your house sells for the highest price, and also to ensure that you see the highest percentage of profit from the sale.

Contributor Profile: Written in behalf of ForSaleForLease.com.au – a Sell My House Real Estate Agency that services the greater part of Australia.

Black Friday - 5 Tips For Finding The Best Deals

Black Friday quickly approaches each year. It seems as though each store tries to add more items to its list of deals, but are you getting the best items available? There are some ways that you can find the best deals possible before they are sold out.

Newspaper Ads

This is the most common way to find Black Friday deals. Circulars are usually placed in the newspaper a few days before the big shopping day. Go through each of these ads to find the stores that you want to shop at, and tuck them away so you can thoroughly look through them. When you have the ads for the stores, circle the items that you want to get. This will make it easier because you will know what you want and the price of the item.

Internet

This is another way that you can find the best deals available. Some stores release their ads early. You have to be careful when looking at these because some of them are from the previous year. Pay attention to the online date that it was created. There are some deals that you can find online that are better than those in the store.

Word of Mouth

While your friends are out shopping early, call or text them to find out what the best deals are in the store. You can also ask them what is sold out and what items are still on the shelves. Make sure you get to the store in time because some stores only have sales for certain hours. Another technique is while you go to one store, your friend can go to a different one. Get the items from each store, like Vineland Electronics, that you both want so that you don’t have to stand in line at two places. Then you can separate everything later. 

Organize

Before you look at any kind of ad, you need to make a list of who to shop for and what they want. If you have a short list, then shopping will be easy. Make a budget for how much you want to spend as a total and how much you want to spend on each person.

Call the Store

If you have any questions about things that might be excluded on Black Friday, then call the store and ask someone. Some stores can’t reveal certain information, especially about larger items that will be on sale. However, you can usually get the basic information about times and prices.

Black Friday is a fun day if you know how to plan your trip. You can usually get the bulk of our shopping completed if you don’t waste time looking for things that you have no intention of buying. Make a plan, and stick to it so that you benefit from the amazing deals that this day holds.

Starting A New Business During Economic Hardship

The current economic downturn has made life difficult for many businesses. This may make you think that it would be a bad time to consider setting up a new business but this may not be the case. Careful planning and the use of existing facilities can help reduce start-up costs. It is useful to consider the following points.

Simple Is Best

The usual advice when starting a new business is to ensure that you have found a niche market and this has worked very well for many successful businessmen including Tunde Folawiyo. In times of economic hardships it is also better to look for a business idea that is simple. Many businessmen have started a business because they themselves had a need for that product or service. This can make it easier to devise your business plan as you will have personally experienced the gap in the market. This will make you perfectly qualified to devise a product or service that will fill that gap and meet customer needs.

Use Existing Resources

Initial costs to start a business can be very high and it can be difficult to find financing when the economy is struggling. It makes sense to try and reduce start-up costs wherever possible and using existing resources can help. Laptops and smart phones are extremely common and most will have the necessary business technology. Existing laptops can be used for video conferencing to reduce phone costs and can be utilized for internet marketing to spread the word about your new business. This would reduce the need to pay for marketing.

Inventive Financing

It can be difficult to get a bank loan for a business start-up in times of economic hardship. Successful businessmen such as Tunde Folawiyo know that sometimes you have to be inventive to be successful in business and financing a new business is no exception to this rule. It may be possible to meet most start-up costs through credit cards. Asking customers to pay in advance can also generate enough of a cash flow to cover some of the costs. One of the main benefits of financing your new business in this way rather than seeking financing from investors is that you will retain complete control over your business and will not have to answer to anyone else.

Sell Yourself

As the owner and creator of the business, you will be its recognisable face. It is vital that you can sell your ideas and your vision for the business. This applies whether you are talking to customers, potential investors or new customers. It is important that you can demonstrate a strong sense of self belief particularly when the economy is struggling. If you don't believe in yourself then neither will others.

It Will Get Better

Starting a business in times of economic hardship may not seem like the right time but the economy will improve. So even if things are difficult at the start you can console yourself with the thought that you are dealing with the worse times immediately and things will improve as hopefully your business will grow along with the economy.

Loan Tips For People Over 50 In Financial Trouble

By the age of 50, most people hope their financial situation will no longer be a concern, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case due to either a lack of adequate preparation or issues brought about by unforeseen situations. Even so, worrying about money at this time in your life isn’t ideal and could well cause a lot of unwarranted stress, which is why you’ll need some good, impartial loan advice, right? Well, luckily for you I’ve been doing some research over the last few days and am now confident I have some information that really could make a big difference to your quality of life.

So, spend the next few minutes reading through the paragraphs below and assess exactly how the information could be applied to the situation you currently find yourself in. Having trouble with paying bills and keeping up with other financial commitments on the run-up to Christmas is never going to be particularly enjoyable, and this is why it’s important for you to make the right moves at the optimum time to keep your family secure. 

Asking Your Bank For Money

As long as your credit score isn’t unsightly, you should have no trouble convincing a high street bank to lend you some funds. For the most part, they are usually one of the cheapest options, with interest rates as low as 4%, which is perfect if you’re looking to make repayments over a long period. The person you speak to at the bank is likely to consider the income you have and run a quick credit check before making an offer, still, you might be surprised by the amount you’re entitled to, so don’t overlook them when seeking capital. 

Enquiring About Private Funds

Just as the bank might lend you money, there are also many private companies who offer the same basic service so they will be your next port of call, should the previous option produce less than encouraging results. You will inevitably have to pay more interest of this type of loan, but often the repayments can be made over a longer term, so it’s swings and roundabouts really. 

Getting In Touch With Short-term or Payday Lenders

Although some people are less than enthusiastic about this type of lending, so long as you read all the small print and always make your repayments on time, the services these companies offer are actually pretty useful. It’s certainly true that interest rates can be considerably higher than you might find with the options listed above, but at the end of the day you’re agreeing to a short-term loan, so why should 3000% APR bother you? You should have the money paid back in a couple of weeks at most. Still not convinced? Well, Ferratum's blog has some handy articles about this kind of lending and the wider loan market, so perhaps you should take a look.

Anyway, now you know about the solutions available on the market today, I hope you feel less stressed and a little more optimistic about what the future could hold. You have to remember that no financial situation is ever as bad as it seems and that there’s always a way out if you just do some research.

See you soon!

Affordable Technologies to Help Watch Your Senior’s Safety

When we get to a certain age, determining the living situation that would be best for us and our relatives can be a painstaking process. Nursing homes and in-home care are popular choices, though they can be costly for individuals with low retirement savings. Additionally, they might not be entirely necessary if an individual is physically independent and able to take care of their own daily needs.

This leads many seniors to opt for a third option: living independently or with only a spouse. Not only is this the most cost-efficient arrangement the great majority of the time, but this also allows those who dislike professional care to watch after themselves. However, even physically capable seniors can succumb to certain risks when there is no form of oversight keeping an eye on their well-being.

Whether you are a senior in such a position yourself or merely have a loved senior relative in this situation, there are a few affordable ways that you can keep an eye on elderly residents without sacrificing their independence or breaking the bank.

Medical alert systems

In addition to securing their house, you can also help keep an eye on seniors with a trusted emergency call button. These are particularly useful for seniors suffering from heart disease, advanced stages of cancer, asthma, or other terminal diseases, with sporadic instances in which medical assistance is required. These are practically a must for these individuals who still want to retain their independence despite their condition.

Advancing technologies in these services have given them a level of affordability and versatility that allows even the most active seniors to go about their days unimpeded. Among the most popular options for these programs are fall detectors, which can help bring medical assistance even if a senior is incapable of reaching a help button. There is also a feature that some services provide that provides the GPS location of the senior in case they ever become lost without a means of communicating with others.

For decades, choosing between in-home care and a nursing home-style facility seemed like an insurmountable dilemma for homeowners as they advanced in age. Fortunately, we live in an era where technology enables everyone to maintain the independence they desire without compromising their safety. Best of all, these options are generally more affordable than professional caregiver services and residences.

Home monitoring services

While home security systems have long been favored among homeowners as a convenient solution for monitoring their homes, they’re also convenient for residents living alone. This is for two reasons: first, properties with fewer residents have statistically demonstrated higher chances of being burglarized or invaded. Second, fewer residents result in fewer incidents involving false alarms and a greater chance of not compromising passcodes (or other sensitive security-related details of your property).

Due to the significant number of retirement communities and retired individuals in the area, ADT in Fairfield, California, is a popular option for seniors. In addition to offering flexible affordability, their Pulse app (accessible via Smartphone) enables residents and family members to program their systems to send messages whenever a property’s alarm is triggered. Using this technology, residents can also remotely deactivate and reactivate their systems, which is an excellent feature for particularly forgetful residents.

In addition to home security systems, you can also equip the property to detect fire, gas leaks, and a variety of other environmental hazards, depending on the location of your residence.

Life Insurance for the 50+ Crowd

If you are over the age of 50, chances are you have been bombarded by insurance brokers and salespeople trying to sell you a life insurance policy. They come at you from all angles – on TV, in the mail, over the Internet -- telling you every possible reason why you may or may not need certain features within a policy.

But what does all of it mean? Do you even need to buy these policies? Is it worth it? You want to make sure that if you do end up buying a life insurance policy that it makes financial sense for you. This means taking your time and choosing the right insurance plan based on your lifestyle and financial situation. 

Help Protect Your Loved Ones’ Future

The biggest reason most seniors carry life insurance is that they want to help provide money for expenses and debts so that their kids or grandkids won’t be left to pay for them. A home mortgage, funeral expenses and other large expenses can surface after a person dies and add to the suffering of surviving loved ones. The bottom line is, you do not want your loved ones to experience a financial loss after you die.

Cover Funeral Expenses

As much as most of us hate to think about it, there will be a day when we are no longer on this Earth. Chances are there will be some sort of post-life ceremony in your honor, be it a memorial service or funeral. We often underestimate the cost of such an event, but for those who are unaware how much money it costs, it can be an astronomical fee. According to some estimates, an average funeral today costs about $6,000. So be sure to factor in burial or final expenses into your life insurance policy decisions. 

Provide a Financial Safety Net

If you are in still earning a decent income when you suffer an untimely death, it may be difficult for your loved ones who depend on you financially to live. Your surviving spouse may not be able to comfortably retire and your children or grandchildren may not have enough to go to college. This is when having a good life insurance policy is very important.

Even if you are older and living the retired life without earning a big income, your family finances should be stable. If you had a life insurance policy in place from earlier in life when you were earning more money and your expenses were higher, it may be time to adjust your life insurance policy to see that it fits your current needs.

Find the Right Type of Coverage

There is such thing as term life insurance, which covers you for a specific amount of time, usually 20-30 years. Or, another option may be a whole or universal life policy, which is a form of permanent insurance that does not end after a specific number of years.

Consulting with a trusted financial planner or insurance agent is a good way to find out what type of coverage, how much and for how long you need. Having a life insurance policy in your back pocket can help ensure that your golden years are comfortable, secure and enjoyable.

By Samantha Rivers
Samantha Rivers is a freelance writer and editor who covers insurance, finance and related topics both online and in print. She is an editor for UpwardOnward.com and can be found on Twitter @sassysammybee.