Immobilien Vermieten

It can be quite exciting and inspiring to buy a home for the first time. However, it can be quite tiring and stressful if you are a first-time buyer. This article will give you a couple of tips that will help you make sure that the process of purchasing a house is enjoyable and stress-free.

1. Set your Budget

Before starting your research, we suggest that you think about financing this purchase. If you cannot pay in cash, you will have to borrow the required money through a mortgage. For a deposit, you will also need a lot of cash. Typically, it is between 5% and 10% of the value of the property you want to purchase.

2. Identify your Needs

Once you have set your budget, your next move is to look for a property that can meet your needs. Now, if you want the property located near a certain workplace, station, or school, you may want to mark them on the map. This will help you identify if the property is near the spot. Apart from this, you may want to prepare a list of all the stuff that you desire in your property.

3. Put your Home on the Property Market

Some buyers want to sell their existing home prior to looking for a new one. According to experts, it’s not a great idea to do so. If you have not put your existing home on the market, you may not be able to secure the deal that comes your way.

4. Start your Property Search

Ideally, you may want to start your research on the internet and the websites of popular real estate agents. Most of the websites allow you to filter the search results by the number of bedrooms, price, and location.

5. Sort the List

It won’t take you more than a couple of hours or days to create a list of properties that might meet your needs. So, what you need to do is create a shortlist list of the ones that can satisfy your criteria. It is not a good idea to look at a lot of houses in a day. The reason is that this will make you forget the details quickly.

6. Make an Offer

Once you have decided on a property that can meet your needs, you may want to decide on the price that you need to pay. It is important to keep in mind that every property comes with an asking price. And there is the price that you will be willing to pay. So, your role is to negotiate with the seller before making payment.

7. Agreeing on the Price

Once you have made an offer, it is up to the seller to accept or reject it. If they say that your offer is too low, you may have to offer a higher amount. Once the negotiation is over, your offer will be accepted and the deal will be done.

Long story short, these are some of the tips that you may want to keep in mind when looking for a home to buy for the first time.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Shalini M

Not everyone is willing to use a real estate agent, since they do take a commission, usually around 7%. That means, by selling your own home, you’ll end up with upwards of $10,000 that would have gone to an agent. And given today’s slow market there is a very real chance your home will sit unsold for a year or more.

Today, more than ever selling your own house can not only be more profitable, but it is your best chance at getting it sold quickly.

In this article, I am going to show you how to go from „selling your own house“ to „I SOLD my own house“.

In a hot market selling may have been as easy as putting a „for sale by owner“ sign in front of the house and collecting offers. But let’s face it, times are tough and most houses are sitting unsold for months and years.

It’s a war zone out there. Foreclosures are at an all time high and that creates a lot of houses for sale on the market. In order to survive in a war zone you need special skills and a competitive advantage. With this special training you can get your house SOLD, despite the doom and gloom of the newspaper headlines.

If you’re selling your own house you need a secret weapon. And that weapon is highly specialized marketing!

Here is a killer marketing tip that will give you a competitive advantage over all other sellers on your block.

Don’t list your home in a traditional method. Instead of „starting high“ and being talked down do the EXACT OPPOSITE. Start low, get a lot of attention and let the buyers drive the price up. I am talking about a do-it-yourself auction style sale.

What is working best now is what’s called a „round robin auction“. Here is how it works:

First you will advertise that your home is for auction. In these tough times buyers are looking to get a good deal. Auctions are the place to get great deals, and your message will leap out at them.

Next you will hold an open house for two days only, Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 5 pm. This will allow you to funnel all the buyers through your doors all at once.

Those that are interested in the property will place their name and phone number along with the price they would like to bid on an „initial bidding sheet“.

On Sunday night you call all those people that put in a bid and conduct the auction. You will simply call down the list tell them the current bid amount and ask them if they would like to raise or pass. You will go around and around making calls until the highest and best offer has presented itself, hence the name „round robin auction“.

Now that you have found your buyer you will meet with them and get the paperwork started.

That’s the unique marketing method that is working now. And if you are planning on selling your own house there is no better method to attract droves of buyers and compel them to make offers on your house.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by N Big

Have you ever spent time and energy planning an Open House, just to have less than five people attend? Have you ever had a ton of people show up at your Open House, and been unable to convert a single one of them into a sale or a future client? Are you unsure about why your Open House failed?

Open Houses are now more important to the real estate agent than ever. A report in 2015 by the National Association of Realtors Home Buyers and Sellers indicated that 48% of home buyers cited the Open House as an important source for most of their information. The reasons for this are obvious, for many it’s the first time that they’re getting to smell, see, and feel the home in person. It’s also a way to see what other people think of the house, which is a powerful push in a person’s perception of a particular home.

I’m Cindy Bishop of Cindy Bishop Worldwide. I pride myself not only on being a successful real estate agent with over 28 years of experience, but a knowledgeable and helpful trainer and coach. I’m committed to making everyone who comes into contact with me succeed, and have compiled the following open house tips for you, both from my own experience, as well as teaching and coaching friends of mine. Use them to succeed, and contact me if you have any questions at all!

Here are the best ways to make your Open House perfect:

1. Pick a unique property, that’s easy to find.

We often don’t have control over which property we’re showing, but when we are able to select a house at which to host an Open House event, we should look for properties with the following:

* A direct route to them with very few turns. Street names are easy, and street signs are visible.

* Properties that are well kept, and visually pleasing from both the inside and outside.

* A home with some kind of „conversation starter“. It has a unique feature, and is not just four walls. It might have an infinity pool, a walk-in closet, or a newly redesigned kitchen.

* Your signage should be larger than life. On the event day, you need something to make the signs stand out even more. Balloons are often used, or you could even try streamers, or pinwheels. Be creative, just try to find something professional, but that catches the light and people’s attention.

2. Have your Open House event at the right time.

* Don’t have your event after dark. Plan your event to end at sunset.

* Consider having a separate open house preview, for neighbors only. And then an open-to-the-public type of event later. Neighbors love this preview event concept, because it makes them feel special, and they love suggesting who should live in their neighborhood. It also allows them to start thinking of friends and family they want nearby, and they become part of your sales force for you, as well as your advertising force for the actual open house.

* If you do have an event only for neighbors, consider taking out a camera and interviewing and recording them talking about the neighborhood. This is something you can add to your website, or social media, or have on repeat loop during your Open House. For example, imagine how powerful it is to have a recorded testimonial from a mother in the area about the school district?

* Don’t pick a date and time where people are not available, for example, the majority of people work Monday through Fridays from 8am-5pm, and may not be free on a Wednesday at 3pm. Additionally, people are usually not free on holiday weekends.

3. Make your Open House event the right vibe, and the more exciting, the better!

* Entertaining music is a possibility, but be careful that it’s not distracting and that you avoid certain genres or language that may be offensive. Music may be seen as a way to cover up noises or mechanical failures in the house. Make sure that you’re sensitive to how the music is being perceived.

* Snacks are a must! Try wine and cheese, or beer and wings. The most important part about the food is that it needs to match what type of neighborhood you are in. Fried chicken and hamburgers probably aren’t appropriate at a million-dollar listing, but champagne and caviar probably aren’t appropriate in a first-time homebuyer situation, either. Just a word of caution; however, if you are serving alcohol, be very careful about who you serve. You may even want to get someone on your team to help you out with this. The last thing you need is for someone to drink at your open house as a minor, or someone to drive off over intoxicated and get into an accident. If in the right kind of setting, having comfort foods is especially welcoming and makes many visitors feel more at home. Careful to avoid foods with bad odors or smells, as you don’t want them attributed to the home.

* Consider leaving a hand-written sign to „Help Yourself“ along with a list of ingredients, so that visitors feel like they are able to eat the snacks provided without fear.

* Consider having a slideshow or interactive photo board featuring the home at various times of year. You may want to show the home off in summer months, for example, if it’s currently January and the garden and pool are frozen over.

* Consider making a table, desk, or station with local school information, neighborhood information, etc. The more resources you can provide, the better. You want the guest to stop at this station and pour over the resources, and ask as many questions as possible.

* Make sure to engage each and every visitor so they have are interested, and want to stay longer.

4. Don’t just advertise your Open House, create buzz around it.

* Create an event on social media, and share it with all of your friends and clients, as well as everyone on your e-mail lists. Facebook ads have become an amazing resource for reaching a ton of people in your area that wouldn’t have been in your networks otherwise. And it’s incredibly cost-effective, for what it does. You should filter the Facebook ad to include only people in targeted zip codes. You can also un-invite or exclude people who work for other realtors or competing brokerages.

* Flyer surrounding businesses and schools in the area of the listing. Knock on as many doors as possible.

* Visit neighbors‘ homes with nice newsletters or invitations. The nicer the invitation, the higher the chance that they will pop in to see what all of the fuss is about. Some agents even suggest using wedding style invitations.

* Don’t just advertise on one channel. You can try Facebook events, Twitter, your own website, your e-mail list, your newsletter, NextDoor.com, and even Craigslist. Just make sure you follow all of the appropriate advertising and marketing laws as designated by your brokerage and state laws.

5. Logistics, Logistics, Logistics

* Make sure everything is in order so that you look your best, and the house looks it’s best. it should be clean, light bulbs should be new, dust should be gone, air fresheners should be working, the climate should be controlled. I’ve even heard of certain agents baking cookies in advance of the big event so that the house feels and smells extra homey.

* Consider removing clutter, which makes navigating the home difficult. You can also remove or hide offensive art, or anything that might make someone feel uncomfortable. But be careful- make sure the homeowner doesn’t just throw the clutter into closets or cabinets! People care more and more about storage these days, and if it looks like the cabinets and closets are busting at the seams with junk, they’ll automatically assume that the amount of storage space in the house is not sufficient

* Use natural light to your advantage. Make sure all window treatments are open and all curtains are drawn. All light switches should be turned on, regardless of where they are. You don’t want someone afraid to go in the basement, or thinking they aren’t allowed to enter the garage.

* Make sure the home owner is not present. The last thing you need is them having an emotional breakdown because they are going down memory lane, or answering a question incorrectly. People also feel uncomfortable freeing roaming when the person who owns the property is looking over their shoulder.

* With that said, valuables, if left in the home, should be secured. At the very least, you should know what they are and where, and make an inventory of them. I strongly advise you insist that the home owner take them out of the property before the open house, so you’re not held liable for them in case of damage or theft.

* Use your team. If you are alone at an Open House, you may be spread too thin. If you leave for a minute to check that a sign on the corner hasn’t fallen down, you may miss someone who pops in to find no one there. Have one person for signage and the guest book, one person on food and drink detail, and that leaves you free to talk to and engage guests.

* Have a loan agent or lender on hand, in order to answer any potential questions the home buyer may have about the process.

* Make sure you have the necessary paperwork required. You can print out a copy of the MLS but it’s strongly suggested that you make a booklet, flyer, or something more personalized to the property, and to yourself.

* Make sure you know the neighborhood, and have done comparisons of values in the neighborhood. You may lose credibility if someone asks you a question and you’re unfamiliar with this territory, and I’m sure you’d rather look like a pro!

6. Use the Personal Touch

* It’s not enough to have each visitor sign in. You should take detailed notes on your conversation with each person. If you can’t remember this, a helpful suggestion is to hide a notebook or tablet inside a kitchen drawer, and make notes as the day goes by.

* You should remember one thing about each visitor and bring it up at some point during their tour of the home. „Jerry, wouldn’t this be an amazing place to store your golf clubs?“

* Don’t try to sell anyone. They will come to you, and request the information they need, when they need it. This is a time to establish relationships. Your only objective should be to make this home (and yourself) memorable.

7. Follow Up

* Add all visitors to your e-mail list, as well as your newsletter list. AM Open House is a great app and resource to make sure you’re keeping on task with this.

* For those visitors who were seriously interested in the home or in you, handwritten cards should be sent out thanking them for coming, and encouraging their business in the future. Take out that handy notebook you stashed, and make personal notes in each card. They’re more likely to keep it the more personal it is. Above all, make sure your contact information is on each card.

* Some agents even send videos. You could forward on a Facebook live video of the open house, or send a YouTube video of the listing. You could even send some kind of greeting card video for a special way to say „thanks for attending!“ BombBomb is a great resource for this type of video.

* Text message is a wonderful way to contact people, and has a 95% open rate. It’s less invasive than a phone call, which people may avoid answering if they don’t know a specific caller. Send a very specific text message with a thank you, the property address, and more information on the property, or a link for more information.

* Send a follow up to the follow up starting with the subject header „I forgot to tell you… “ – You can then point out a feature you neglected to tell them about on the current property, or even point out other properties that you may have listed, if this one fell short for them.

Of course, the best resource for an Open House is a coach, who can suggest strategies unique to your community and clientele. Not only is this more effective, but a coach should follow up with you to make sure that everything went smoothly, and question each step if it doesn’t.

Cindy Bishop is the Managing Director of Cindy Bishop Worldwide, a real estate education company specializing in Business Enhancement and Growth training for the Real Estate Community. Cindy is an active coach specializing in real estate agent business development.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Cindy D Bishop

When selling your home, it is extremely important to show your home at its potential. Here are a few simple things you can do to increase the attractiveness of your home to potential buyers while still keeping within a budget. Some of these items are do-it yourself projects and some require the help of a professional. Either way these changes will help you get top dollar for your home and also have a great return on investment.

In cost ascending order, here is what you can do to better present your home:

1) De-clutter, De-clutter, De-clutter – This is probably the most cost effective improvement you can choose to do. When it comes to showing your home, less is more. Remove religious items, family photos, gadgets and knickknacks. Keep in mind, you want the buyer to remember the home and not your collection of seashells.

2) Clean – I know you are busy, but grab the glass cleaner and the vacuum and get rid of those dust mites and smudgy windows.

3) Upgrade hardware – Are those handles on your kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors still from the 70’s? Changing the hardware is a simple and cost effective way to give a new, modern look to an old cupboard door.

4) Upgrade light fixtures- Along the same lines as #3, change old, outdated light fixtures and electrical cover plates. These are cheap to replace yet make a huge difference in the appearance of a room. Don’t forget to make sure to replace burnt out light bulbs as well.

5) Paint – Freshen up the interior of your home with a new coat of paint. Use a neutral colour to make the space appear larger than it is and also to allow the buyer to envision their own furniture in the space. Neutral colours are the best way to go as it allows the buyer to remember the space and not the bright orange wall colour you chose in the 80’s.

6) Upgrade flooring – I know the old shag rug in the living room is a classic, but a potential buyer probably won’t agree. If it’s in your budget, replace it with simple, neutral broadloom or hardwood floors. If hardwood is way out of your budget, opt for laminate.

7) Kitchen Upgrades – We all know women make the final decision when buying a home. We also know that one of the first rooms a woman looks at is the kitchen. If it’s not in your budget to re-model the kitchen then consider replacing those old appliances with stainless steel. Stainless steel appliances are sleek and will give your home that modern touch.

8) Curb Appeal – OK, so the interior of the home is looking spiffy, we can’t forget about the exterior – after all the front yard is the first thing the buyer sees when they pull up to the home. Make a good impression and make the home more inviting. Grab that lawn mower and hedge trimmer and add a few flowers. In today’s market climate it is more important than ever to make your home more attractive to potential buyers. After all, you only get one chance at a first impression so why not make it a good one!

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Joy Paterson

Greed: This one is a biggie. It was easy in a seller’s market to get in touch with your greedy side. Feeling like Midas, anything you asked for from a buyer turned to gold in your hands. Drunk with that kind of power, buyers were often left feeling helpless to comply if they wanted your home. In a balanced market, or even in a buyer’s market, many sellers have not kicked the greed habit. Ironically, greed is costing those sellers money. Ask any real estate agent and they will tell you stories of deals that were blown because of a $300.00 item that could not be agreed upon. No longer with the advantage, many sellers are refusing to make any concessions if it means less money in their pockets, but now the buyer’s are free to move along to the next house on their list. A seller may balk at fixing a $500.00 item in the house, or providing an inexpensive home warranty, but when the buyer moves along to an accommodating seller, the greedy seller is left to wait for another buyer – all the while making mortgage payments on the house they can’t sell. Bad move.

Unrealistic Expectations: Anyone who has sold a home in a seller’s market is going to have a hard time grasping a buyer’s market. If you want to sell your house, you have to forget everything you remember about selling your house in the past. Odds are that your home will not sell in a week, nor will you receive multiple offers. Unrealistic expectations are the foundation of blame and resentment, and they keep you from selling your home. The first few weeks of having your home on the market is filled with hope, anxiety, and irrational exuberance. It’s completely normal to believe that your home is somehow more special than the others on the market, and yours will be the exception to the tough market. Once it becomes clear that the bidding war has not materialized, and your home still sits along with the others, a home seller with unrealistic expectations is crushed. Stay positive about your home, but don’t blind yourself to what selling it will entail. A home seller with a realistic view of what it takes to sell a house in a balanced or buyer’s market, can easily adapt to changing market conditions, use constructive feedback to improve their home, and in return sell their home faster.

Pride: If you really want to sell your home, make the promise right now that you will never utter the following phrase: „I’m going to send that buyer a message.“ If you enjoy sending messages, then perhaps you could raise carrier pigeons. If you want to sell your home, drop that phrase from your vocabulary. The message that sellers send, when they respond to buyers that way is „I don’t want to sell my house to you. You have insulted me.“ In the end, all you are left with is your pride, and that house that just will not sell. As an active Ebayer, I have never witnessed a transaction in which the seller of an item got indignant at the lowest bidder. It’s all business. Divorce your emotions from the home selling process, and you have an advantage over the angry sellers in your area, because the buyers that they turn way with their „messages“, are going to buy a home – just not theirs! The message to send to a buyer should be in the form of a counter-offer. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Impatience: You want this home sold. Now! The impatient seller can’t understand why their home hasn’t sold in the first week. By the third week on the market, the impatient home seller is fuming, and wondering how to get out of the listing agreement. Are you an impatient home seller? If you’ve chosen your real estate agent carefully, and believed when you signed the listing agreement that they are up to the job, then sit back and let the market work. The impatient seller calls their agent more than once a day for updates, even if there has been no activity on the house. The question, „why isn’t it selling?“ is regularly pleaded over the phone. Are you, the impatient seller, doing everything you need to do to get your home sold? Have you done the things your agent suggested to get your home in selling condition? Did you really listen to the comparable pricing data your agent provided you? Or did you have a set price in your mind and refused to move from it when listing the home? The impatient seller can create an enormous amount of stress for everyone involved in selling the home, and it’s totally avoidable. In the end, the timing of the sale of your home will be a combination of price, condition, and luck. No amount of impatience is going to change that.

Ignoring the market: Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is disaster for a home seller. Yes, we know that your neighbor sold their home for the same price you want for your home, but that was four months ago. The residential real estate market is more fluid than ever now. Educate yourself about current market conditions, not last year’s market, not even last month’s market. A home seller who ignores the market will interview a few real estate agents, read the data provided by the agent, then ignore the data and list with the agent that gives them the least argument about pricing their home unrealistically. Real estate agents do not price homes, sellers do. The agents will provide valuable information and input to help a seller choose a price. Some agents will refuse to take a listing if they feel the seller is unrealistic about pricing, but many others will take the listing with the caveat that the seller be open to reducing the price later. With so many other properties on the market, an overpriced home will sit there like a deli tray at a gathering of vegetarians. Then, the seller will be chasing the market by lowering the price after watching the prices around them fall. Eventually, the house may sell, but the price will be determined by the market, as it always is. If you are guilty of ignoring the market, you can save yourself a lot of time and headache by scheduling a meeting with your real estate agent to go over the current sales data for your home, and setting a realistic price, now.

Stubbornness: When selling your home it’s best to imagine yourself as a supple tree gently swaying with the wind, instead of a donkey with its heels dug solidly into the dirt resisting all attempts to be budged. Stubbornness can show up in many situations. When you are contacted to schedule a showing, do you leave the house? Though it’s a fact that your home has a better chance of selling if you are not there for the showing, do you refuse to be inconvenienced by having to leave? You may tell yourself that the buyers can work around your schedule. They won’t. The chance for a sale often vanishes because a buyer feels uncomfortable with the homeowner in the house, and cannot freely assess the house. Expect to be inconvenienced when you sell your home. It’s part of the process.

Being Uncooperative: Are you a partner with your real estate agent when it comes to getting your home sold? Do you resist all suggestions by your real estate agent to make changes to your home that will help it sell faster? I’ve had this conversation with home sellers many times. Is it fair that people judge your home based on the things that are not going to be in it when you move out? No, probably not. Do buyers judge your home based on those things? Absolutely. I’ve seen buyers lose their enthusiasm for a home based on a decorating theme that didn’t suit them. No matter how many times their real estate agent might remind them that they can decorate in their own style, it’s too late. The home is now referred to as the „duck home“, or the „doll home“, or the „pink home.“ Every house gets a nickname when buyers are shopping. Don’t let your refusal to cooperate stop your home from being the „perfect home.“

The sale of your home requires the cooperation of countless people, many of whom you’ll never meet. The key word here is „cooperation.“ We, as home sellers, expect those that are working to complete our sales transaction to be cooperative. What about you, the home seller? Are you willing to meet the buyer halfway in negations? Are you willing to work within someone else’s schedule to get something signed? Remember, you may be selling a property, but in the end, real estate is about humans. Be a good one.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Diana Hathaway Timmons

Every homeowner wants to sell his or her property for its maximum value. And, too often they end up choosing an estate agent simply on the basis of whoever provides them with the biggest initial valuation. However, this will be a costly mistake.

What your house is valued at matters. If you get the estimate wrong, it might sell for a price, less than what the actual worth of the property is. On the flip side, even overpriced houses will put off prospective buyers from viewing your house. Moreover, hefty selling prices can even result in a long wait before any good offer comes in or might not sell at all. Getting the valuation done right agent is thus recommended.

Here are a few aspects estate agents take into consideration during property valuation!

Few Factors Estate Agents Keep In Mind While Valuing A Property

1. Local Amenities

During property valuation, one of the major factors which can drive up the selling price is the actual area where the house is situated in. Aspects such as how close the house is to schools, shopping malls, banks, restaurants and parks definitely affect the final selling price. A property which has good transport links will get a much better price than the house that’s located in secluded places.

2. Size

When it comes to getting your property valued, the size of your home is another vital aspect which estate agents keep in mind. The number of bedrooms that the property has affects the marketing of the property. Even the size of every individual room largely determines buyer demographics.

3. Aesthetics

Other than the obvious considerations like keeping your house well-maintained, tidy and clean, there are few other aesthetic factors which can help you in raising the value of your property. Properties which offer great views or are close to water bodies will always achieve a better selling price. Just the way hotel rooms with scenic views cost more, so do houses near a river or sea.

4. Kerb Appeal

Estate agents believe that the way your property looks from outside is as important as the interiors. After looking all around your property, the agent will determine if your front garden looks neat and well maintained and whether your property stands out from the rest. A house with great exteriors will certainly fetch a better price than the ones which don’t have.

5. Potential

Though the size of the home plays a vital role in property valuation, so is the flexibility of the property which is being valued. Agents even check if a particular property can be extended. A house which has the potentiality to be improved can help a lot with the selling price. Properties with the scope of improvements and renovation can drive up selling prices significantly.

Now that you are aware of the considerations, what are you still here for? It’s time you get your property valued by qualified estate agents!

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Alex Cooper

There is nothing more fun than an old-fashioned road trip. I love taking to the open road and exploring our country. Now, I’ve been a „road tripper“ for some time and though I love air travel, I love the road trip because that’s how you can really experience the country. So it’s time to get your favorite tunes and munchies ready and plan your open road trip adventure with these ten easy road trip travel tips.

1. Plan your trip. First, you need to determine where you’re going to go and then plan your trip. Planning doesn’t have to take a long a time, but you do need to know the route you’re going to drive and points of interest along the way that you’re going to want to stop and explore. Half the fun of a road trip is seeing the sites along the way. I like to MapQuest my trip and have that as my main plan of attack for my road trip. GPS is very popular these days and I recommend them, but you can’t always rely on them when you hit construction zones or accidents on your journey. That’s why it’s essential that you have a real map with you for the areas you’ll be traveling to and to plan alternate routes if necessary.

2. Make your hotel reservations BEFORE you go. Part of the fun when traveling on the road is stopping wherever your heart desires, but there’s nothing worse than a „no room at the inn“ experience on a road trip. You may not realize that there is a „Comic Book Trade Show,“ „Strawberry Festival“ or convention in town while you’re visiting and there are no rooms to be had. If you do not book your reservations in advance, not only are you running the risk of having to sleep in your car but also you can’t manage your road trip budget effectively. If you’re traveling with your family or a group of friends, consider staying at an all-suite hotel or even renting a time share, a great option for families taking a road trip. Did you know that 90 percent of people who own a timeshare don’t utilize it on a regular basis? Many great offers can be found at some of the bigger hotel chains that offer timeshares and many of them even have a washer and dryer. For my road trip to Scottsdale, I booked a fantastic one-bedroom suite with a kitchenette at a time share property directly through the hotel for just $100/night including tax at the Sheraton Desert Oasis Villas.

3. Give your car a full tune up before you go or consider renting a car. One week before you go on your road trip, take your car in for a tune up and ask your mechanic to ensure the car fluids are topped, air pressure in your tires is at its best for highway driving, and any other necessary concerns regarding your vehicle are addressed. Should you need to get something fixed, it is best to do it at a place you can trust before your road trip. Plus, it can be more expensive when it is a have-to situation. Also, make sure you pack a roadside safety kit just in case of an emergency. For me that kit includes my American Automobile Association membership card (Premier Membership). If you have a car that is no longer under warranty or has automatic roadside assistance, then a American Automobile Association membership is a necessity as it will save you a fortune in the unfortunate event you have a break down and have to have your car towed. If you’re at all concerned that your current vehicle is not „road trip worthy,“ then you may want to consider renting a vehicle for your road trip. I did this for my trip to Arizona as I found a great deal on a rental car and had the peace of mind for my road trip.

4. Pack your own food and plan a picnic. I used to be addicted to stopping at fast food joints on a road trip. There was something that felt fun about that on a trip but I’ve since learned that I prefer to pack my own food for my journey. It doesn’t just keep me eating healthier, but it also saves money, too, especially if you’re traveling with your family. Also, if you plan ahead, you may find that there is a great stop for a scenic picnic in your travels and packing a picnic is so much better than flying through the Drive-through. If you do make a stop, either for a picnic or to explore a cool sight along the way.

5. Bring great music or audible books with you! Music is truly the soundtrack of our lives and every road trip needs a soundtrack. I think of my trip to Seattle every time I hear a Phil Collins song from „No Jacket Required“ because that was the primary music I was listening to on that trip. I think of the Bahamas Harbor Island and the amazing walks on the Pink Sands Beach every time I hear Wilson Phillips music. It’s sort of like having a theme song for every vacation but hearing the music even today will evoke fun memories of wonderful trips. I also love catching up on books I’d like to read but somehow find it easier to listen to. That’s where audio books come in and you can download them to your mp3 player, iPhone, or other PDA device. !

6. Don’t forget to pack a boredom buster bag for the kids. One thing I’ve learned from producing for TV’s „The Travel Mom“ Emily Kaufman, is that if you’re traveling with kids, you need to make sure you have plenty to entertain them during your road trip. She calls this the boredom buster bag. Don’t forget to pack some kid music your children like along with fun travel games that include magnetic board games. DVD players are an option for really long trips and as long as your child isn’t prone to car sickness. Of course, electronic games will keep your kids occupied but I would encourage you to limit the time on these toys especially if you’re traveling through some great scenic areas. It’s an excellent chance to bond as a family and your child’s memory of the trip will be lost if they’re lost in a Game Boy.

7. Remember, a road trip is as much about the journey as it is about the destination. One of my all time favorite road trips was the day my niece, Jessica, and I drove 52 enchanting miles on the „Road to Hana“ on the island of Maui in Hawaii. I’ll never forget that the guide book said, „Remember, Hana is not a destination, it’s a journey.“ Hana is located about 52 miles from Kahului, however a typical trip to Hana takes at least three hours, as the road is very winding with approximately 620 curves over 59 bridges, 46 of which have only one-lane. This delightful road trip is a memorable journey that winds through a lush, tropical rain forest that is laced with tumbling waterfalls, black sand beaches, scenic lava cliffs, fresh fruit stands, and tropical hillsides. Jessica and I stopped at least ten times including one stop to picnic on that black sand beach. We took photos by waterfalls, delicious fruit stands and beautiful tropical flower gardens. You should treat your road trip vacation the same way we did our Road to Hana: Enjoy your road trip as a journey, not a destination.

8. Make good use of every stop. I like to plan my stops for fuel, food, and restrooms so that I utilize my time efficiently and don’t waste time making three stops instead of one. Probably the most important thing is that every time you do stop, make sure everyone in the car uses the restroom (even if they think they don’t have to right then). This will cut down on the stops you’ll make only for that purpose. Also, if you’re traveling with kids, and you just need to stop for the restroom, I recommend stopping at a Starbucks. Parents can get a coffee or an ice tea, the restrooms are clean, and there are not a lot of distractions for kids (like toys to buy) that a truck stop or gas station may have. Use the Starbucks store locator at their website to help you plan your stops before you go. Do be a „good egg“ and make a purchase at Starbucks while you’re there.

9. Avoid Trouble. When you’re on a road trip, you need to be street wise. Don’t be a target for crime by leaving your valuables on the seat in your car (DVD players, Game Boys, etc.) and don’t advertise you’re on a road trip with pillows and blankets every where. When you park your car, hide your valuables and road trip creature comforts. If you are proactive at keeping your „I’m on a road trip clues“ clearly hidden, any thief or troublemaker should just walk right by your car. Other street wise considerations is to always park where there is good light and foot traffic and make sure your windows are rolled up and the doors are locked whenever you leave your car. You may also want to purchase items like „the Club“ if you like that extra insurance for safety. Finally, when you’re driving, watch your speed. Speeding gives you the chance to get a ticket and more importantly, it decreases your time to react if the need should arise. If you are the driver, you are responsible for your passengers. When you see signs that say, „Speed limits are photo enforced,“ believe them. Other good driving tips include avoiding rush hour, especially in bigger cities, and whenever possible take turns driving with other people in the car. You’ll also want to avoid driving at night if you are not familiar with your surroundings.

10. Get a Go City Card and save up to 55% on attractions and theme parks at your vacation destination. Last year, I flew my 8-year-old niece, Alexis, and 10-year-old nephew, Tyler, out to Los Angeles for their spring break (using Southwest Airlines Reward Miles, of course) and we took a road trip down to San Diego. That’s when I discovered the money saving Go City Card for San Diego. With this card, I saved hundreds of dollars in admissions to Legoland, the Wild Animal Park, the San Diego Zoo and other attractions including a Whale Watch on the Pacific Ocean just by purchasing a Go San Diego Card.

Instead of paying individually for each local attraction, you pay one price for up to 40 attractions (depending on the city your visiting) and you get to create your own experience, tailoring your activities based on what you like to do, while also enjoying tremendous savings. For example, with the Go Los Angeles Card, you can choose one, two, three, five, or seven day cards at a low, pre-paid price to gain access to 40 included attractions. This saves up to 55% compared to buying tickets directly at Universal Studios Hollywood, LEGOLAND California, Knott’s Berry Farm, Paramount Studios, the Queen Mary, and many more attractions. Go City Cards are available in many cities and vacation destinations in the U.S. including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Honolulu, Orlando, Miami, Seattle, Blue Ridge and even Toronto.

Final Tips: Don’t forget your cell phone and make sure you’re „hands free“ when you do use it while driving. In many states, it’s the law, but it’s also down right dangerous. Always use your cell phone „hands free“ when you drive. Don’t forget to update your software on your mobile before you leave because you don’t want to be charged higher rates for roaming charges. Finally, it’s a real good idea to email a copy of your itinerary to other family members or friends in case of an emergency – this is especially a good idea for women traveling together. Now, drive safe and have fun!

You can get more details at my website at Best-Travel-Deals-Tips.com.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Marianne Schwab

Today, relaxing in tanning beds to achieve the perfect tone of bronzed skin is a common activity. This $5 billion a year industry used to be reserved as a luxury for those in the upper class, but now millions of people enjoy this indulgence, regardless of income. Many of these people want the benefits of a tan, but just don’t have the time to bask in the sun, so they take advantage of the controlled exposure to UV light.

This popularity created a new trend in the creation of home tanning beds. As the prices for a tanning bed for sale decline, more people are buying them for their home. This article details the pros and cons of investing in home systems, including some factors to consider before purchasing a tanning bed for sale.

It Costs Less

Visiting a salon can get expensive over time. Many people have a hard time justifying a trip to a salon, especially those who consider it a luxury. While purchasing a home tanning bed for sale requires an upfront investment, it eliminates the monthly fees of a salon, costing less in the long term. As it can require many salon sessions to develop a base, plus additional sessions to maintain it, it is possible to pay for your home system with your salon savings in a short time.

It Is Convenient

Although visiting a salon offers people the convenience without having to spend hours out in the sun, home tanning beds offer even more convenience. Instead of jumping in the car and driving to the salon, home users simply walk over to their home system.

Offering a higher level of convenience, these home units provide you with the option to tan whenever it’s convenient for you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the middle of the night, an hour after work, or right when you wake up in the morning, you can tan anytime. Home systems offer a great alternative to those with busy work schedules, especially those who travel frequently or work odd hours because they don’t have to try to arrange their schedule to fit their salon’s schedule.

Lastly, home units offer year round treatments. Whether it’s a bright and sunny day in July or a snowy day in February, people with home systems can maintain their tan anytime in the privacy and convenience of home.

The Cons Of Home Tanning Beds

While there are plenty of pros, there are also a few cons to owning these systems. First, you must manage your own exposure level when using your home system. This includes monitoring the amount of time spent under the lamps per session, the number of sessions per week, and even the use of protective goggles and lotions.

You will also have to keep your system maintained, including replacing the bulbs regularly so it always provides you with an even tan. Regular cleaning is also crucial to the long life of your system. Finally, you will need to make sure you have the proper supplies on hand, including goggles, lotion, and bulbs.

By keeping the pros and cons of tanning beds in mind, you will have the knowledge necessary to decide whether a home tanning bed for sale is right for your lifestyle.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Chris A. Harmen

It should be understood that the areas of a house that a person spends the most time in are the areas to focus on. Usually, no other room competes with the bedroom(s) or the heavily used home office. And yet, we can take apart a whole floor plan and interpret the effects of other areas of the house as well. A poorly placed bathroom or kitchen could affect the whole family.

Some of the energies in a house are invisible, but powerful, and were created when the house was built. Energies from the earth move upwards as the foundation is being established. Energies from the sun and stars penetrate downward and are captured in the house when the roof finally encloses the house. The timing of the roof going on is called the year of Construction.

With a multi-storied house or building there will be repeating energies. For instance, if you have a bedroom directly over a dining room, those two rooms will have some similar influences. And so, it is also true with basements and attics that they will usually contain a similar energy as the rooms they are above or below.

This becomes very relevant when attics and basements are remodeled into rooms that are used on a regular basis. Like any other room in a house, they may require certain element remedies. As well, yin-yang theory comes into play because attics and basements are typically areas that might need more light than what they were originally provided.

Attics that are turned into rooms often have sloped ceilings and some times the ceilings are lower than normal. Low ceilings are good for concentrating, but not at the expense of being so low that it feels congestive or one becomes claustrophobic in the space. Basement ceilings are sometimes left unfinished, where beams and air ducts or exposed plumbing lines are not ideal to have over head for a heavily used area.

Another aspect of yin-yang theory that becomes more evident with attics and basements is temperature. Heat rises, so an attic may become uncomfortably hot and a basement may be perpetually cold. Just like their depiction in movies, people often feel spooked about their own attic or basement, as if every one of these spaces gets occupied by a ghost. It’s kind of interesting that we anticipate on instinct that a dark, cluttered, neglected space might be inhabited by spirits.

If an attic or basement is just used for storage, then having a lot of lighting is not critical. People ask me all the time if they have clutter or storage areas in certain parts of the house, if that can have a negative impact on some area of their lives. This is usually not the most important thing to be concerned with. In fact, we can say that if you are able to put all your extra miscellaneous things in the attic or basement, better there than filling up rooms that you use regularly, where you need more open space.

There are no other mystical secrets to reveal about attics and basements. They just need to be balanced according to yin-yang theory in order to be comfortable as living spaces. Not too dark, not too bright. Not too hot, not too cold. They should have high enough ceilings to function in and stable enough flooring to feel safe walking around. After that, they can be evaluated like any other floor in a house with all the other Feng Shui principles applying.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by Kartar Diamond

When it comes to optioning the house, the primary question an investor should be asking themselves upon an acquisition is whether or not the option selected will contribute to the sell-ability of the house, relative to the actual cost. Obviously, there’s a point of diminishing return if one builds a Taj Mahal in a land of tract homes. Despite the urge to go all out and deck the place to the tee, please resist the temptation. Doing so will only cut down on your return. This is particularly important given the fact that since it is an investment, an investment with an unknown value, it isn’t prudent to put some of the potential gain at risk by purchasing unnecessary design upgrades that aren’t critical.

More often than not, homebuilders are aware of this vulnerability. This is more then ever true for investors, for whom they will provide a glut of options and upgrades that are grossly marked up. This type of financial exploitation provides an income stream that is indispensable to many homebuilders, such as KB Home, who are notorious for their exuberant cost upgrades and options. This system is so elaborate that their design department is a whole corporation of its own-which is known as KB Home Studio and rivals that of most high-end design centers. Not only are these stand-alone profit centers, KB Home has a separate business unit with senior vice presidents, AVPs, regional heads, etc., to take care of this organizational monster. The great thing about this apparatus is that it offers a plethora of design upgrades and options that are really top-shelf. The only problem is that you usually have to pay an arm and a leg to get these wonderful amenities.

To relate a story, the first time I went through a KB Home Studio, it was baptism by fire. I spent over eight hours in the design center, split over two days. At $35,000 plus in upgrades, I estimated that it cost me about $4,300 an hour to shop in their design center. You can see why I was happy to get out of there. Keep in mind also, that you may be required to pay a fraction of the upgrade costs in the form of a deposit soon after selection. This is almost a certainty and industry standard. On average, the deposit amount runs 25 percent to 50 percent and are usually nonrefundable. The consequence of this deposit requirement is apparent, in that it makes it more difficult, especially as an investor, to walk away from a transaction.

In spite of the latter, you can see on a pure convenience factor, it’s hard not to like that a homebuilder can offer you lots of options. Having the „convenience factor“ available is all good and well; however, it becomes somewhat of an entrapment issue when the builder offers a plain vanilla box without any or few upgrades. In these cases, sometimes builders will only go to „code“-meaning, only providing what is necessary to have the local housing department or building and safety, at the city or the county level sign off on the property and give it a certificate of occupancy. This for instance, may mean no rain gutters, no landscaping in the front or back, unfinished garages, which typically consist of drywall with a coat of primer, or an unfinished garage consisting of the latter but with exposed 2×4 studs, sheetrock, chicken wire and black installation coversheet. Other more obvious „standards“ include all vinyl flooring and small 4×4 white tile for the kitchen countertops, or cheap laminate for that matter. To top it all off, in terms of complete ugly-fication, you might get the builders‘ special quarter-inch clustered marble countertops in the bathroom.

There’s a reason why even home design centers at Home Depot or Lowe’s highlight these amenities, and that’s because they’re cheap and nobody really wants them. Consequently, many homebuilders offer the standards in order to eek out as much money as possible out of each home they build. As a result, a new homeowner and/or investor is essentially forced into buying options and various upgrades in order to avoid the home looking like a plain Jane. Having too much of a plain Jane can actually hurt a home’s value. As an investor, it’s up to you to define the balance without overspending on a new tract flip. That’s the nature of making a business decision: you have to use your judgment. I’ve seen some homes that were literally destroyed from the inside out given the extreme lack of appeal that permeated the house as a result of no upgrades. As an example, spending an additional $4,000 to $6,000 on upgraded floorways and kitchen countertops is probably well advised. Most carpeting, even if it doesn’t have stain guard, should be adequate for most homes. Don’t be pressured into upgrading into a thicker padding for the carpet. Just go with the standard one-quarter inch, since most builders will try to get an extra $700 to $1,200, if not more, added to the cost of the house just for upgraded padding.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Source by D Sidney Potter