22Dec/16
staging a home for a quick sale

Staging Your Home For A Quick Sale

Staging your home is one of the best ways of achieving a quick sale and it’s not as difficult as you might think. Of course, we all know that selling a home is stressful but the stress can really mount up if you have few viewings and no offers as the weeks go by so avoid that prospect by staging your home before it goes on the market. If you want some inspiration take a look at one of my latest favourite home shows Buying & Selling with twins Jonathan and Drew Scott. They turn up with impeccable staging ideas, a self storage unit to hide away the clutter and a sledgehammer; and within 2 weeks they completely transform a home – and then sell it for way more more than it cost to do the work.

Some home owners feel that buyers will either want their home or not and that nothing much they can do will change their mind; but this really isn’t true. Just think of the time and money that goes into show homes for new developments and you will realise that how a home is presented is important to help buyers visualise living there themselves. In fact, once you’re done watching Jonathan and Drew go and view some local show homes for tips on presentation. Before you know it you will be moving house to your dream place.

23Nov/16
buy my own home

Will I Ever Be Able To Buy My Own Home?

I hate to think that I might be part of Generation Rent but I’m quickly heading that way and wonder whether I will ever be able to buy my own home. Living in the South East means that property prices are so high as to be almost out of my reach and yet I am paying more in rent than I would on a mortgage – if only I could get a mortgage I would actually have more spare cash at the end of each month than I do now paying rent. The mortgage lending criteria are so stringent now though that I stand little chance of getting a home loan unless I can come up with a large deposit and that looks unlikely unless I win the lottery or inherit some money from some long-lost auntie I didn’t know I had. Or maybe guarantor loans are the way to go to raise the deposit – if only I could persuade my parents to act as guarantor.