Real Estate Kid

So my parents are constantly, constantly talking about the future and what they are going to be doing in the future and where they are going to end up.  That got me thinking that I would never, ever want my parents to go into a nursing home, no matter how badly they are.  I would much rather have them live with me.

Well, did you know that there are actually a ton of awesome, cool senior homes that you can put seniors at that actually assist them with living their lives?  There are and that is what we are going to talk about right now.

Finding the ideal senior home can be difficult and challenging but you want to make sure that you screen every single senior home that you go do before you even think about taking your parents there.

In the real estate market – heck, in the sales market in general you are always going to have to deal with making cold calls.  When you are making cold calls, there is always a certain fear that goes with calling a client out of nowhere.  Well, in this blog we are here to help you get through that fear.

Firstly, let’s start with you making a list of why you might be the ideal person for the client to work with.  This involves listing things about yourself such as your skill set, experience, what markets you have done and the benefits the client will get when they are working with you.

You want to post this list right near the phone so that you can refer to it whenever you are looking to make some calls.  Next, set some realistic goals – that is the big one.  If you can only call ten people, do it, but make sure those ten people are people that you touch.

Real estate agents who are trying to sell a home or rent a property are not always completely honest. They use some advertising tricks that almost always have an entirely different meaning.

For instance, if you have a real estate agent try to pressure and scare you by insisting that another buyer or renter is interested in the property you like, don’t freak out. This is one of the oldest tricks of the trade. If it were true, the agent would already be cashing the deposit check.

Agents who insist you are asking too much may just want to get the quickest sale possible; you may want to do some outside, independent research on the value of your home.

What does it mean when a house is “better than new,” exactly? Probably that it is way more of a fixer-upper than you think it is.

Many tenants believe that their landlords are fully in charge, that what they say goes, unequivocally, without argument. This is a huge misconception, but sadly one that many inexperienced landlords tend to believe.

The relationship between landlords and tenants is not quite so one sided. Sure, a distressingly large amount of the time, leases are more in favor of the landlords, but the rental laws and codes in your local area are designed to protect the tenant as well.

This means that if your landlord does not provide you with a “universally acceptable” amount of hot water, water pressure, heat, and so on, you are well within your bounds to argue this, to talk to code inspectors about this, and even to withhold rent until you are satisfied. This does not mean you can withhold rent because you cannot paint or put up wallpaper, because you do not like the layout of the rooms, or because the landlord will not purchase the refrigerator you want. It means you can do so if you have no water pressure, if you cannot manage to get enough water to take a hot shower or run a hot bath, or if your apartment is not sufficiently heated, and your landlord makes no means to correct it.

When you are dealing with renting, there are a few key points that you will certainly want to take into consideration.  For one – when you own a home, you have home owner’s insurance.  That way, if a flood, a fire, a break in – anything happens, your stuff and the home itself is covered.  When you are renting, it can be tricky to do that.

That is exactly why renter’s insurance was developed.  That way, if any of the above happens, your stuff is covered but not the place that you are renting from – for that would be covered under the home owner’s insurance.  All renters should have renters insurance.

You never, ever know what is going to happen and you always want to make sure that you cover your butt – that is what this particular insurance can do for you.

Yes. Smoking is bad. But some of us still do it, and we do it with the intention of keeping it completely private so that no one else suffers from our secondhand smoke.

We understand the issues non smokers have with that; many of us are polite and accommodating, and do not go around blowing smoke into the faces of babies, young children, or senior citizens.

For all of that, however, an increasing number of apartments, duplexes, townhouses, and rental homes have a straight up smoking ban these days. Are they allowed to do that? Absolutely. Are you entitled any rights no complain? Nope, but you can move.

The fact is, while some smokers may not think it is fair, when you are sharing a home or a building with other, non smoking tenants, it is completely their right to think about their health. They do not want the risk of secondhand smoke, so you will simply have to take it outside — or quit altogether.

You know all of those emails you used to get, saying that the wife, husband, child, or lawyer of some major figure in Nigeria, South Africa, or Timbuktu were ready to send you forty thousand billion dollars if you would just pay a small fee?

Well, there are lots of scams quite like that currently revolving around rental properties. It is disheartening — and easy to fall for, if you are desperate for a place to live.

The people behind these scams count on that. They also count on our eagerness to get a good deal. The house of your dreams might be available for one thousand a month … but the owner is out of the country, has no one in state to talk to you, so you have to pay a couple of hundred dollars to get the key to the property.

Beware of such scams. Do not let your eagerness blind you.

To be completely honest, most people in today’s day and age, don’t have to worry about relocating, however if you are in the type of business that is constantly changing … you might have to deal with relocating.  This is where it gets hard, especially if you have never lived anywhere else or if you are moving to a state you know absolutely nothing about.

Firstly – figure out where you are going to go.  If you office is in a town, figure out what might be around that town so that way you can compile a list of possible neighborhoods and towns for you to go to.  Next, do you research – this is important, as you want to make sure that you find some place safe and secure.

Next, engage a real estate agent.  No matter if you are buying or renting, a real estate agent will be able to provide a list of possibilities for you!

Finding an apartment is something that is really – really hard.  Recently, I’ve had to find a new apartment in Boston and let me tell you – it isn’t easy!  If you are moving to Boston, let me give you some tips and tricks on how you can find the perfect apartment for you and your family!

One of the first things that you need to do is make a budget.  I can tell you that Boston is very, very expensive and I have to say that if you do not have a budget, you will not be able to move.  Budgets are seriously an important part of finding any new place, but in Boston especially.

Next, look online and get in contact with some people.  Finding the ideal apartment does not have to be really difficult, you just have to make sure that you find the right person to contact.  Brokers are fantastic help with finding the right place for you!

When you think about it – the kitchen is something that is very, very important to a hell of a lot of people.  When you are looking to buy a home, what is the first thing that you judge?  For me, it is how big the kitchen is and how well it is designed.  While most home sellers can not remodel their entire kitchen in order to sell their home, there are a few little touches that you can do.

For example, bright colors – not only on the walls but also on the cabinets are very, very popular it seems.  When you are looking to do a change in the kitchen and make it brighter and fresher, why not paint the cabinets a bright color?  It will help make your house sell in the long run.

While I don’t exactly agree with lime green – another bright color would really help make your kitchen pop!