Archive for February, 2009:
Real Estate Staging Mistakes To Avoid
Home staging is a concept that has really come into its own in the last couple of years according to expert and writer, Barbara Jennings, of the Academy of Staging and Redesign. As the real estate boom has busted and so many houses have gone into foreclosure or are on the brink of doing so, real estate staging is one critical step every homeowner should utilize to help their house take center stage.
Attention to detail makes the difference. When staging for sale, one should follow some specific tactics to achieve the best outcome. Here are five basic mistakes to avoid:
1) Never sell a property empty. All too many people remove everything from the property and enlist the services of an agent to show a completely empty home. While this process involves less risk of damage or theft of furnishings, it is the worst way to put a house on the market. Buyers can see the shell of the property, but they will struggle to make an emotional connection with it which is essential to the process of getting them to make an offer.
2) Never sell a house with clutter. On the opposite side of the spectrum, many people try to sell their house while still living in the house and they don’t realize there is a huge difference between living in a house and selling a home. Homeowners often allow their rooms to become cluttered. They over decorate or severely under-decorate.
3) Never sell a home that needs repair. Pay attention to the little details - because buyers will notice every little issue and magnify it in their minds. No one wants to buy a house that requires repairs - even little ones. Repairs will have to be made anyway after the home is inspected.
4) Never sell a dirty house. Living with your own dirt is one thing but no one wants to buy a filthy home. Your home must pass the white glove test to sell.
5) Never sell a property that smells. The nose is one of the most powerful senses we have and when a buyer enters a property, they will pick up on odors that the homeowner does not notice. A smelly house is one of the biggest turn offs to prospective buyers. Air fresheners can help but they only mask over the odors and do not eliminate them.
Smart owners ask their neighbors, friends and relatives to walk through their house before they are listed on the market. It costs nothing to get their opinions and could serve as valuable insight into what additional house stagingmight need to be done.
Barbara Jennings has over 20 years experience in the interior redesign and home staging industry. Barbara’s Academy of Staging and Redesign is the world’s largest and most affordable home study interior redesign and home staging training center.
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Tax Lien Investing: How Do I Get Started Investing In Tax Liens?
It’s not unusual that many people interested in Investing in Tax Liens really have little understanding of what is involved. Individuals desiring to invest in liens usually under estimate two things – the amount of money needed to actually get started investing in tax lien certificates and the amount of time that is involved in finding tax liens that will be profitable.
So How do I Get Started Investing in Tax Liens??
To get going, let’s briefly discuss the amount of time involved in investing in tax lien certificates. Tax lien sales in most states (for a list of tax lien versus tax deed states go to taxesandliens.com/liens_&_deeds_by_state.php) are usually held on weekdays during normal business hours. Therefore you will need to have the time to go to the sale to bid on the properties that you are interested in. Some states let you mail in your bid, but it’s to your advantage to be at the sale. Other states and counties are even hosting their auctions on the Internet.
Attending a tax sale auction is less than half of the time that you will need to spend if you want to invest in purchasing profitable tax liens. Before you even get to the point of going to an auction you must perform some type of due diligence on the properties that are in the tax sale. The listings of properties that you obtain prior to the sale from the tax office, usually do not tell you anything about the property or its condition. Quite often this tax sale list will only give you the tax ID, owner on record and amount owed in back taxes. These list commonly don’t even give you the location of the property - just a parcel or tax ID number!
This leaves you with need to research the assessment information on the property and find the address (you can find this information here taxesandliens.com/county_tax_assessors.php). It is highly recommended that you physically go to and inspect the property to be sure that the assessment information is up to date and that the property has investment potential. You want to make ensure that the property of interest is worth considerably more than the amount due in back taxes. Remember that you will probably have to pay the property taxes on this property during the redemption period (unless of course the previous owners finds a way to redeem it) before you can foreclose on it and get title/deed.
And here’s another piece that investors typically underestimate when they get started in tax lien investing - how much money is required to for Tax Certificate Investing. Many investors want to get started with less than $250 to invest. Nice try, but this is really not enough. You might not need as much money for investing in tax liens as you do for tax deeds, but you will most likely need at least $2K to get started. Remember, that even if you are able to purchase a lien for less than $250, you still have to pay the taxes on that property until the lien redemption period is over. If you don’t pay these taxes the property could end up in next years tax sale and another investor can purchase that lien.
Investing in Tax Liens is not like buying a bank CD or U.S. savings bond. Any money you put in to buying a government tax lien becomes trapped, you cannot take your money out and you do not get any interest payments until the property owner decides to redeem the lien. If the property owner does not pay up on the back taxes and redeem the property you have to wait until the redemption period is over, and then go through the foreclosure process or deed application process, before you get the property in your name.
If Tax Certificate Investing is something you really want to do, it is recommended that you have at least $2000 to dedicate to investing. Make sure you will not need that $2K for any of your expenses (or you may end up borrowing money somewhere). You also need to plan on at least a few hours on conducting due diligence and attending the tax sales. If all you have is $2000 you will probably be going to only one or two sales each year and thus only need to invest a few hours of your time every six months. If you really want to get in to tax lien investing aggressively you should have $5K to $10K, and at least 10 hours a week to spend on meeting your goals. With $5K to $10K to invest you can go to more sales and buy a few liens each year instead of just one or two.
The more time and money you invest in learning Tax Certificate Investing - the greater your return will be. Did this answer your question on How can I Invest in Tax Liens??
For more information Please Visit Investing in Tax Liens and/or How can I Invest in Tax Liens?.
Why Furnishings From A Cebu Furniture Manufacturer Is Best
Cebu Philippines has been dubbed the “Milan of Asia”, and if you know your geography, you know what it implies. Despite the lack of a major source of material and the difficulty in obtaining them, Cebuanos still come up with globally competitive products many the world over are in admiration of. Why? What is the secret? In talks with many of those in the industry and with those outside of it, they all agree that the number one factor for the continuing stature that the products enjoy is the genius and creativity of the Cebuanos and of the designers in cebu city philippines.
The lack of rattan, a major component, has challenged them to come up with other materials that may substitute for rattan or may be combined with it and thus lessen their need for it. With materials like stone, aluminum, wrought iron, wood, coco and sea shells, bamboo, banana bark, abaca, steel, leather, tikog, sea grass, lampakanai and other indigenous materials, Cebuanos come up with the most contemporary and exciting designs ever, yet still retaining the beauty of form and function in the resulting products.
The second factor is the skill and artistry of the workers. Cebu has a history of its people’s ingenuity in making do with what they have, given the land they cannot really depend on for food and livelihood. Cebuanos are used to making things work with whatever is on hand for them to work with. And because they are surrounded by beautiful, natural scenery, they can’t help but turn out things of beauty. They are naturally artistic. Capitalizing on masterful Filipino skills, the Philippine-made furniture today is a fusion of eastern craftsmanship, natural materials, age-old traditions, clever designs and modern technology.
Current Trends
Every year, since 1988, Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition or “Cebu Xcite”, is held to showcase what a Cebu furniture exporter has to offer to the world. The show, dubbed Cebu X, is held the first week of March at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, Cebu, Philippines in Cebu Philippines. Organized by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc.(CFIF).
It is now the “must-see” show among the many furniture design shows in Asia. The show has long been recognized as the foremost exhibition of its kind in the Philippines, and through 17 years of design innovation and the occasional revolution, it is an influential barometer of the region’s design direction. Make your reservations now to attend the show at the CFIF website.
Based on the industry’s latest offerings, and on talks with a Philippine furniture manufacturer, Alan Murillo, we can presume the following design trends in furniture:
* First, the trend to use mixed media as material for furniture. There are reasons for this, one of which is the scarcity of materials that have been used for furniture. Now, manufacturers and designers are using non-traditional materials and traditional craftsmanship mixed with modern technology. The materials may be ethnic but the sensibility is modern. Another reason for this mixing of materials is the new realization among the Cebu furniture export manufacturers not to waste nature’s bounty, but to enhance, protect and preserve it, as much as possible. Not only for this generation but for future generations as well.
* The use of material that makes the furniture light and airy. This is what the Europeans call the Asian lifestyle trend, or what some dubbed as the tropical feel, or the urban ethnic. The material may be indigenous- coco shell, sugarcane stalks, abaca, rope, sea grass, -but with the consummate Filipino craftsmanship and artistry married to the state-of-the art machinery, the results are urbane designs, unmistakably contemporary, thoroughly modern.
* The result of all this is what Mr. Murillo calls a “responsible design.” The design with a social conscience. Materials such as coco and bamboo, long used locally in relatively basic applications are now transformed into highly evolved finished pieces that comply with the strictest international standards on the use of non-toxic chemicals and the preservation of the environment. When designing furniture now, they see to it no laws-social, environmental, or otherwise-are being violated.