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First you must emotionally detach yourself from your home. With any luck it will not be yours for very long! What you are living in is about to become just another piece of real estate available for sale. That being said, take inventory of your necessary possessions and begin packing away everything that you can live without.

Strive to create the most neutral environment possible. This will attract men and women alike. Prospective buyers will more easily visualize their own furnishings in the property if it is not cluttered with your belongings.

Remove excess furniture and instantly have a larger room! This is especially important for small spaces. If you have a sofa, love seat and chair consider removing one piece. Many rooms have just two upholstered pieces and look beautiful. The same rules apply to the bedroom. If you have access to a baby crib why not turn the smallest bedroom into a nursery? Add only a rocking chair and the space will appear enormous!

Wallpaper is typically a huge turnoff to home buyers. Everyone has different taste in decor and leaving paper on the walls will limit your buying audience. All they see is work as they will become responsible for removing it. Consider taking the paper down yourself or hire the job done. The small investment now will become a huge payoff later.

Color plays an important role in the home buying market. Stay away from bright colors when selling. That neon yellow bedroom MUST go! The hot trends today are the darker creams and taupes. A fresh coat of paint will go a long way in freshening your walls and buyers will feel your property is move-in ready!

Clear the counter tops of all small appliances but replace with living plants and a couple of strong scented candles. The benefit is twofold. The counter tops appear more spacious and the scented candles (I recommend apple pie or cookie dough) leave a nice aroma in the room.

These are general tips that apply to every home. You may want to contact a Staging professional to address your specific needs. Remember a small investment now could tremendously increase your property value!

Julie Rieman is an accomplished instructor in the arts faux painting and interior redesign. She offers two and four day classroom or online interior redesign training. If you live in the Twin Cities area, you can invite Julie into your home for a personalized consultation.

For more information about any of her decorating services and training opportunities please visit: http://www.allaboutredesign.com http://www.allaboutwalls.net

[tags]home staging, real estate, decorating tips, interior redesign, training[/tags]

As a former real estate agent I have attended more home inspections than I can remember. During all of these inspections I encountered the same home inspector over and over again. Why him? Because I reccomended him.

This home inspector did at least 20 inspections for my buyers.

WHY him? For one reason - I was comfortable with him. He was the path of least resistance.

He happened to be the first inspector I ever used. As a rookie agent, buyers would ask me who do you recommend? I would always refer him. It’s all I knew and he did a decent job like most would.

So my point is this… If I were a home inspector I would concentrate my efforts on building relationships with new realtors. The last year I practiced real estate was 2004 and we had, on average, one new agent starting a week. Each one of these agents could equal 20 inspections like I did to my inspector.

As a realtor we would get tons of flyers and newsletters from inspectors and we would throw them all out. New agents are eager to learn. I would offer to come in and give new agents a starter course on the home inspection process. Build relationships with them, and they can be a huge source of revenue. And it won’t cost you a penny…

Kerry Mann runs a Milwaukee Home Inspector directory http://www.himilwaukee.com. He offers free listings for home inspectors…

http://www.himilwaukee.com

[tags]home inspector, home inspection, home business, real estate, house, home, home inspection business[/tags]

So you’re getting ready to move into a new home - congratulations! Make this transition as easy as possible by reading these handy tips on getting you and your family prepared. There’s a lot that must get done when you move into a new house. Some things can easily be overlooked. You don’t want to have a bad moving experience and sit there after the fact realizing what you should have done differently.

Let’s get prepared to move! The first thing you should do is to decide what you should and should not move. Think about having a garage sale. Not only will you lighten the load for your move, you’ll earn a little cash at the same time!

Make sure to get estimates from several moving companies or truck rental companies, depending on how you plan to make the move. I was quite surprised during my last move to find that costs varied greatly from one company to the next.

Plan your travel itinerary and make any transportation and lodging reservations in advance. Make sure to leave a copy with friends or family.

Transfer your checking and savings accounts. Many financial institutions will be happy to open your new account by mail. This will save you a step when you arrive and have other things to deal with - like unpacking!

Request medical records from doctors and dentists, including eye glass prescriptions, dental x-rays and vaccinations.

Obtain your children’s school records to make for an easier transfer.

One step that is guaranteed to save you headaches is to draw up a floor plan of where your furniture should be placed. This will help avoid confusion for you and your movers once you arrive.

Remember to pay any existing bills and close out any local accounts.

If this move is employment-related, record expenses incurred during your house-hunting trips and any other moving expense. Some of these common expenses are tax deductible.

Moving is a stressful time for almost anyone. Use these tips to make your move a little more enjoyable. After all, you’re moving into a new house, this should be an exciting time!

Kris Kombrink has been working in his family-owned real estate business since 1995. Specializing in Geneva, St Charles and Batavia Illinois residential real estate his team stays on top of the latest trends while maintaining superior customer. Learn more about his team at http://www.kombrink.com or email kris@kombrink.com.

[tags]moving,tips,advice,real estate,movers[/tags]