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showcase homes

showcase homesThere are beautiful homes all around the world. People are going to extreme measures to create homes that go beyond the comforts that we normally have at home. They are creating luxurious homes that have themes and most of them are designed to make you feel as though you have arrived in paradise. The thing is, the people who create these homes are happy to show them off once they are completed. It can make you dream big for your future home, whether you are trying to buy one already completed or hoping to build your own piece of paradise. That is where Gamma Estate Tours can help. They are a premier real estate showcase that can show you what true dreams can be made of.

Building Dreams

beautiful homeThe people who have devoted themselves to building their dream home are people like you and I. They have an idea and they work to find an architect that can see their ideas and bring them to life. These homes start out as an idea and a drawing. From there, they become true works of art that homeowners want to show off. In doing so, you get to see what life can be all about. You can see how to turn your home into something grand.

Showcasing Real Life Homes and Dreams

showcasesGamma Estate Tours is a company that devotes itself to photographing homes the way they were meant to be photographed. They offer professional photography services for any property and they can turn it into a tour that showcases your home’s best features. There are even options to have it photographed during the dusk or the daylight when lighting is subtle and romantic. This is perfect for homes on the beach or farmhouses that have a unique style. It can make homes appear more romantic and can help you build your own dream home with ease. It can also make it easier to sell when these houses are put on the market so that the home owner can move on to other projects.

 

A More Affordable Home Pool Option

selling a homeYou may not always think about the things you can do to your home if you want to create a higher resale value for it, but occasionally, it is a good idea. There are a lot of small things you can do to the interior. However, those things will not make the curb appeal better to a potential buyer. One of the easiest ways to upgrade the outdoors is a swimming pool. This is an expense that not many families are willing to take on before they sell out. Therefore, you have a more affordable home pool option if you want to increase value without breaking your own bank.

Increasing Interior Appeal

preparing to sellBy increasing the interior’s appeal, you will have a better chance of having a potential buyer imagine that they are able to live in the home. This means repainting so that the shadows of your photos will not show, putting down new flooring or at least cleaning the existing floors, and repainting cabinets. It may also include changing out faucets and some smaller appliances to give it an updated look. You should consider putting your personal items into storage, at least the items that you are able to put there until the sale is in the works.

Easily Done Exterior Upgrades

above ground poolYou may want to repaint the exterior of your home or have it pressure washed before you attempt to sell it. The exterior of a home is one of the first things your potential buyers will see. A good impression from the exterior can make the interior look even better to some people. If you have the money for a pool and you live in the southern states, you will be making a good choice to do it before listing it. If an inground pool is not a viable option, you may want to consider another option. The Ultra Frame is the best above ground pool according to The Above Ground Pool Guru if you want a more affordable option for your home.

Bringing It All Together

curb appeal

With just a little time and effort, you can upgrade your home to bring you more money on a completed sale. You just have to make someone fall in love with the home that is there, the home that you have spent time in, and the one that you have loved. You will make it look like it has been well taken care of and every little thing that you do to it will benefit you in the end. You can take the time to pressure wash the driveway or weed the flower beds, you can remove leaves from the roof and gutters, and do a variety of other things that do not cost a dime and it will all make your home one that someone else will love spending the rest of their lives in. Why not take advantage of it and do what you can? It will come back to you when you add $10,000 or more to the property value of your home.

DIY Home Pest Control Solution

insects antsSummers are getting longer in a lot of areas and winters are not getting cold enough to kill off the bugs that bug us the most. Most people want their home sprayed monthly, just to keep up with the increase in pests that are sometimes inside and outside of their home. This is one of the reasons that pest controls have become more expensive, which is also a reason for many home owners to find a new DIY home pest control solution.

The Homeowner’s Nightmare

mosquitoWhen spring and summer return after a long winter, many homeowners are shocked by the number of insects that come out of hiding. These insects come out to torture people by swarming, biting, and overall annoying them until the people go inside of their homes to wait until they go away. However, when the bugs disappear, so does the warm days of spring and summer. This poses a problem for people who love to be in the great outdoors, but no one wants to spend their hard-earned money on pest control solutions that cost a fortune. They start searching for effective ways to control pests without hiring a professional.

Most Effective DIY Options for Pest Control

swarm of gnatsControlling pests is not easy to do. It takes a lot of time and effort to get the upper hand. If you have a yard full of mosquitoes, you should start out by eliminating the standing water near your home. This is difficult for people who live in areas that are heavily wooded, but most people can do it with ease by changing out their pet’s dish, eliminating buckets and stuff that may hold water, and using tablets in water that doesn’t ever go away, such as a creek or a pond. You can also get propane traps for your lawn. They are effective, but they cannot quickly get control of insects. If you want quick, you may want to consider a mosquito killer spray from Proven Pest Prevention since many will fog the yard and keep bugs at bay for hours.

How Long Does Relief from Insects Last?

If you eliminate the standing water that you can get rid of, you will gain control over pests. It is not a fast method, but it is effective until you start to leave water sitting again. For some people, a few days of rain may be enough to let mosquitoes start breeding again. The propane traps are able to control pests for quite a while since they attract and then trap insects. Most of them are able to keep bugs at bay for a month or so before their attractants wear out and then they will work again when you refill it. After using it for a few months, you should see noticeably fewer mosquitoes and other insects and this effect could last for months. Fogs and sprays are effective for several hours. Their effect is immediate so that you can go outside without the fear of getting bites and enjoy the best parts of summer. You can go out and enjoy a barbeque or a swimming pool again for only a fraction of what monthly pest control specialists would charge you. What more could you hope for?

Outdoor Accessories for Spring Showings

spring thawIt may come as a surprise to some homeowners, but people often end up making a sell during the spring months over all other seasons. This is because the grass is greener and new life is changing the world. It is a season of possibilities. People who live up north retire to the south and many people who live in the south choose to go where they can see cooler summers. All this change makes it a great time to not only put your house on the market, but stage it for a quick sell, especially if you have a little fun with it and choose outdoor accessories for spring showings.

The Beauty of Spring

springWhen we think of spring, we think of an awakening. Flowers and trees that have been sleeping during the cold winter months are coming back to life. Animals that have been hibernating are waking up. Birds that have gone away to escape the winter are now singing, building nests, and flying everywhere. People also start moving around more freely during the spring. They start venturing out to parks, planning their summer fun, planting gardens, and more. This is why spring is also the time for upgrading from your current home to a newer one. Luckily, there are also plenty of things you can do to your home to make it appeal to a potential buyer who is focused on the spring “awakening”.

Upgrading the Great Outdoors

spring landscapingSpring is new. It is a time when we imagine pastel colors and white. If you have a little extra cash to put into staging your home, you should play on this idea. If you have a white home, pressure wash it to ensure that it is beautifully white. If you do not have a fresh coat of paint, then before listing and trying to sell it you may want to consider applying fresh paint. It may cost you a little money, but the results will be worth it. Green grass from extra fertilizing, newly planted flowers in beds, and other things will make top off the instant curb appeal in the front of your home. The backyard can have a little less flowery stuff, but if you have a swimming pool you should make sure it is clean enough that a potential buyer can imagine the summer parties they will have there. You may also want to look into putting the best outdoor speakers with bass around your pool area since it will further encourage the “party” image of your back yard.

Listing Your Home

Before you list, you may also want to keep in mind the inside and make sure that it is “springy” as well. To do this, you will mostly want to clean your windows and ensure that your window dressings are also clean. You may want to install new blinds that are bright white because this will make the home feel brighter and allow in more natural light. Beyond that, always remember to keep your personal items to a minimum. You want the house to feel open, bright, and new for the potential buyers who will certainly come looking at it.

Giving Back to The Community- Living Building Challenge

green livingCan you imagine a home or some other type of building that is fully self-sufficient? A building that is able to take in more power and other resources than it actually uses? This could be the best way of giving back to the community and it is being done through the Living Building Challenge. It is something that many communities are hoping to start doing, because they feel that every construction can make the world a better place to live.

The Living Building Challenge

living building challengeIf you are wondering, “what is the living building challenge?” you aren’t alone. It is something that not many people are aware of, but it could be something that you hear more about in the near future as more and more people start trying to do things that improve the environment. The challenge was set forth in 2006. The goal was to create a building that could be self-sustaining. This can be done using salvaged materials, private gardens, and more. They also enable the building owner to collect natural resources and use them at a later time. For instance, rainwater harvesting so that you can hold water to use for the garden, out into the fields, and into the home.

Upgrading Local Buildings

living roofOne way that communities are starting to embrace the challenge is to use solar panels when they can and putting more windows on sunnier sides of the home or office buildings. Some newer buildings are also using radiant heating sources since they heat the floor of a home rather than the air to create warmth. Composting toilets are also becoming more common in areas outside of an RV or campsite. This allows people to use waste as fertilizer. To increase the fresh air in the building, there are people who are creating living roofs. This allows them to build in smaller areas and have less of an impact on the trees and grass that would normally be covered up by the new buildings.

A Positive Impact for All

When a community comes together to create buildings that are self sufficient and have a lower negative impact on the environment, everyone wins. Power bills drop, pollution declines, and everyone gets to have a community that is closer together. More people will be producing their own fruits and vegetables, so they will eat healthier foods. By collecting and storing rainwater to use for cleaning, water the lawn, or the garden, people will use up less of our water supply. This will be helpful when there are times of drought and people are most concerned about wasting water. When you reuse old furniture or old metal to turn it into something newly useful to you, you are cutting down on the waste that takes over landfills in your area. It just brings everything together so that you have less of a negative impact on the land that we all depend on to be there for our future generations. This is not only helpful to you at this time, but your great grand kids and their children.

Remodeling the Kitchen; Cabinets Included

remodelsThere is a lot of emphases put on improving the way your home looks before you attempt to sell it. However, not many homeowners want to sell want to invest a lot of money into their home because they are done with it. They want to avoid the expense, but get the most profits for it. There is a way that you can upgrade even in the kitchen. If it wouldn’t cost you a fortune would you consider remodeling the kitchen; cabinets included?

The Kitchen Matters Most

kitchen remodelsWhen selling any home, most homeowners have specific things that they look for. Not only must it have the right number of bedrooms, but it must also have the right kitchen and bathroom. The kitchen quickly becomes the most expensive area to upgrade, but it could make the difference between a sell or no sell. Most people like a modern kitchen that are large enough to allow them to have family gatherings in it. You may not be able to change all areas of your kitchen, but you can make improvements that will modernize it and make it noteworthy to a potential buyer.

Small, But Important Upgrades

shelvesIf you have outdated appliances, you may want to consider upgrading them. However, you do not want to go out and purchase the most expensive appliances. Instead, look for things that are energy efficient and those that have a good warranty that can be transferred to a new owner. There are other things to consider when buying appliances and most of them will relate to the amount of cabinet space you have in your kitchen. For the cabinets, you should avoid wasting money as much as possible. Instead of creating a space that you feel is a dream kitchen, complete with a Lazy Susan in the corner, stick to the basics. If you want to skip out further on the price, you may consider just repainting the existing cabinets if yours are in good condition. When you repaint the cabinet, you may also consider updating the hardware on them. Add fresh knobs and pull handles and the entire kitchen will soon look like a newer and more modern setup.

Most Popular Cabinetry Pieces

To ensure that your cabinets are perfect for a majority of people, you may want to think about what they are looking for. When choosing colors, a lot of people like the look of grey cabinets. Along with this, many people like bold fixtures, faucets that work from a touch and those that resist fingerprints are both impressive. Many people also like easy close doors and drawers to protect little fingers. If you have a kitchen that lacks storage, you may consider adding an extra one if you can. If you are unable to add, you may consider putting up some shelving to give the new owner more space. If your sink is outdated, you may consider adding a farmhouse sink since many people are now choosing them when they purchase a new home build. To help you get more ideas of affordable and easy kitchen remodels, you may choose to look into Designers Choice Cabinetry. Their cabinets are beautiful and perfect for even small kitchen spaces.

Staging A Home for Virtual Tour

stage kitchenWhen you are trying to sell a house on today’s market, you are not limited to local buyers only. Your real-estate agent will most likely want to set up a virtual tour so that you can advertise to a broader range of people. This is great news because it may mean that you have a successful sale much faster. However, a tour of your home is something that does require you to stage your home. Do you know what goes into staging a home for a virtual tour?

Setting the Stage

pictureIt may sound silly, but when doing a virtual tour, your home is the stage. This means that you have to make it look great to other people who will see it. With this, you should keep in mind that less is more. If you are still living in the house, this may seem difficult to do, but it is necessary for you to eliminate the clutter and remove the personal items that you are able to remove. You should keep only the clothes that are needed in the closet, only the necessary foods in the pantry, and keep everything else down to the bare necessities. For some people, it may feel as though they are moving out prematurely when they are trying to stage, but it is for a beneficial cause.

Why Staging is Necessary

When staging, you are allowing people to envision themselves in your home. They will not be able to do that if the home is filled with your own items. If you have a lot of clothes in your closet so that it looks cluttered, the potential buyer may feel that the closets are too small. If you have a lot of toiletries in the bathroom, your counters will look too small. You are better off to have a small picture frame with a decorative tea tree oil lotion recipe in it than to have pictures of sea shells on your bathroom wall. Sea shells are more feminine and may not appeal to a male buyer. You need your home to appeal to everyone if you want to sell it faster.

Always Ask for Help

stagingIf you are not sure what it will take to get your home staged and ready for a virtual tour to be created, you can ask for help. Chances are good, your real estate agent will have a lot of ideas for what they like to see when setting the stage. Pick a professional such as Professional Edge Consulting, to get the best idea.  They may tell you the areas that need to be de-cluttered or what pictures may need to come down off the walls to make it more appealing to others. They may also know of someone that they can hire to come in and do the tough stuff for you. Either way, if you happen to get a quick sale out of it, you will be better off since it will mean that you can begin the next chapter in your life. Your buyer will also be able to get started with their future. Who wouldn’t want that?