Make your home stand out to buyers in a challenging season by upping its coziness and showing its potential.   With people away on trips and cold weather making house hunting less appealing, winter can be a challenging time to sell your home. On the other hand, fewer homes on the market means yours will get more attention from buyers. By upping the cozy factor, making the most of winter assets and paying attention to details, you can make your house really stand out.   Here are nine ways to prepare and stage your home for success, and create a warm and welcoming vision for buyers, even when the weather … [Read more...]

The time has come to sell your house and move on to the next chapter in life. Which means you have to get ready to show your home in order to entice potential buyers. And depending on how long you’ve lived there, it’s probably not clutter free after all those years building memories.   But before you start making trips to the dump, we here at Lighter Side compiled some simple and creative ways to quickly declutter your home so you can make the best impression when those buyers come a knockin’.   1. Simplify things by choosing one room at a time to work with.   2. Keeping your rugs minimized to one or two … [Read more...]

Whether you’re prepping your home for sale, or plan on enjoying it for years to come, getting it into tip-top shape should be a high priority. A priority, mind you, that doesn’t have to break the bank. Here’s a list of 18 satisfying home upgrades that you can perform yourself with little to no specialized knowledge or experience.   1. Learn how to cheaply and easily make an ugly backsplash a thing of the past. Find the directions here.   2. Tired of that ugly ceiling light cover? Want to focus the light on a smaller area? This DIY shows how to create a drum shade for your ceiling light.   3. Here’s how to make … [Read more...]

It won’t be long before you’ll be greeted by little ghosts and goblins shouting “Happy Halloween!”   Now is the time to make your home safe for trick-or-treaters. We’ve gathered nine ideas to get you started.   1. Secure railings. Young children, and the adults who often accompany them, will need the security and support of railings while climbing steps to get to your front door. If you’ve been putting off fixing that rickety railing, it’s time to get out the toolbox and make it secure.   2. Clear walkways. Trick-or-treaters are too busy counting candy to pay close attention to where they’re walking, so it’s … [Read more...]

Pumpkins and candy corn and eyeballs…OH MY!   1. Gilded Pumpkins Gourds make great decor all autumn, and a dose of metallic paint makes them less haunted house and more modern home. View the tutorial here.   2. Plushie Eyeballs Easily make some fun throw pillows with a few felt scraps and hand stitches. View the tutorial here.   3. Spooky Hoop Art A quick, simple way to whip up some rad wall hangings: fabric and embroidery hoops! View the tutorial here.   4. Treat Bags Stash candy, remotes, knick-knacks and more in adorable felt treat bags. View the tutorial here.   5. Candy … [Read more...]

As someone who helps high-level salespeople reach greater levels of achievement, I hear quite a few people complain about real estate agents — from loan officers to title companies and beyond. However, most people don’t understand what it’s actually like to be an agent.   For example, did you know that real estate agents are one of the most sold-to niches out there? There are more people trying to extract money (and time) from agents than almost any other profession. Imagine being hounded like that from every angle.   Agents are grossly under-appreciated, too, in my opinion. You probably have no idea how much stress an … [Read more...]

Staging your home properly can not only get it sold more quickly, but it can also help you net money when it sells. The best part? You don’t have to break the bank in the process. The five golden rules for Home Staging on a Budget are: De-personalize While your family photos are beautiful and your kids’ drawings on the fridge are adorable, buyers want to be able to picture themselves in the house. That means putting away your photos, clearing your closets from unnecessary clutter, and using matching hangers to give your closet more visual impact. Maximize Declutter and maximize the area in your home. Stuffed closets make your closet … [Read more...]

Timing the housing market to the moment when interest rates are low and buyer demand is high may seem ideal, but if everyone had the ability to see exactly when home values are at their peak, we’d all be millionaires.   The decision to sell your home should be based on a variety of factors that are both financial and emotional. While you should definitely pay attention to market conditions as part of your thought process—and those conditions will absolutely impact your home sale—you should always keep in mind that the choice to buy or sell a home is completely individual.   Reasons to Sell Homeowners have a variety of … [Read more...]

Consumer Guru Clark Howard wrote a few days ago a blog post to ask the question whether real estate agents are needed. He began by pointing out, "with all the technology out there for home buyers and sellers, do real estate agents really matter anymore?" He continued, "For buyers, the research you can do online and with your phone is amazing. Apps like Redfin and HomeSnap will let you drive down a street, pull out your smartphone, aim it a house and snap a picture. Based on your GPS coordinates, the apps will tell you almost everything about that property. You don't even need to know which street you're on!"   Let me start out by … [Read more...]

From the first decision to invest in real estate to actually buying your first rental property, there is a lot of work to be done. This task may be daunting for the first-time investor. Owning property is a tough business and the field is peppered with land mines that can obliterate your returns. Here we'll take a look at the top 10 things you should consider when shopping for an income property.   Starting Your Search Although you may want a real estate agent to help you complete the purchase of a rental property, you should start searching for your investment on your own. Having an agent can bring unnecessary pressure to buy … [Read more...]