In every home that I have ever been to, the living room will always sets the tone for the home’s vibe. The living room is also the area where most of your social activities happen. How you put on a living room is crucial, it can either make, or break the vibe you’re going for.

Like any other thing that comes your way, there’s always a perfect spot for a certain item. If you’re looking to sell your property, let us give you three common mistakes that a homeowner makes when arranging their furniture around their living room.

1. FOCAL WALL NOT FOCAL
If you are neglecting your focal wall, chances are, you don’t even know what a focal wall is. A focal wall is the first thing that hits the eye of a person when they enter the room. Mostly, focal walls sports a fire place, a window, or for most cases, an entertainment setup. When putting up your living room, the mission is to simply be mindful of the angles you’re playing with. Make it a point that most of the seating space is facing or angled towards your focal wall.

2. OVERCROWDING IS NOT YOUR FRIEND, EVEN FOR YOUR FURNITURE
   Cramming up too much furniture can make a space feel smaller. I can attest to this, and I can’t even begin to fathom the freed up space I am now enjoying when I ditched my unnecessary furniture around my space. Pro-tip, base your settings around a couch, a couch is the quintessential element of your living room as it is the biggest, and most important item in the living room. Once you’ve set up the couch, introducing small pieces around it comes into play. If it comes your way, play with it a little more till it hits the sweet spot, if it doesn’t, ditch it.

   3. YOUR COUCH IS AGAINST THE WALL
   If you have a square room as your living room, then the chances of having a couch placed against a wall is pretty high. The only time a couch is justifiably placed against a wall is when it’s in a corner, or if it’s in corner section. May we suggest putting a space between the wall and the sofa as it helps to create space, and give the illusion of a larger room.

For the new homeowner, making their sanctuary clean is one of their top priorities. Once your client have put in the time to make their home squeaky clean, you can extend your services by giving them pro tips and tricks to maintain the cleanliness of their home, and keep it that way (well, for a longer period of time). Lucky for you, we’d be sharing these 3 odd tips that actually work to help you keep your home clean, lustrous, and free from those pesky house scum.

EXPLORE THE VERSATILITY OF CAR PRODUCTS
Now you might be wondering, why are we discussing car products when we’re clearly talking about homes. Hold up! hear us out! One of the tilting things that you get to clean around your home are mirrors, most especially the mirrors from your bathroom, or any transparent material that’s in it; Take a glass door for example. Who’s the suspect for this? Soap buildup! Now we let’s playback a bit, and talk about car products once again. You can eradicate these soap buildups by using a rain-repellant product that’s mostly used in maintaining the windshields of a car. Basically, it gives off the water lily effect on your glass and mirrors. It creates an invisible shield, and eliminates soap building up on the surface.

PROTECTANTS EXIST FOR A REASON

What protectants do is in the name itself, they protect, and that’s what they do best. We’re talking protectant furniture sprays, and sealants that are specifically designed for carpets. The thing about these products are, you only need to use them once a year, so you really get your money’s worth. Say for example, you care a lot about your flooring, whether it’s wood, laminates, or tiles, protectants will protect your flooring from spills or any liquid related fiascos you might encounter. Like repellants, protectants mostly does the same job.

PUMICE STONES
If you don’t know what a Pumice stone is, it’s a porous and abrasive stone made for skin care. You could actually use Pumice stones to combat dirt and grease. You can bid chemical based cleaners good-bye. Just be sure to wet your Pumice stone before using it

 

How can you tell that the real estate agent is bad at what he does? Are there signs that can tip them off?

Hiring a good real estate agent, where not only you invest your time and money but also your trust, is not a walk in the park.

For starters, you need to do your homework- searching and researching is key. Thorough inquiry can get you a long way because not only do you get an initial evaluation on your agent, but it also doesn’t leave you clueless when your agent starts talking.
Most often than not, sellers do not realize these variables until it’s too late. When the feeling of suspicion starts to lurk, it hits you, and the agent you hired is beyond the concept of awful.  Given all of that, it’s good to know the early signs that you’ve hired an awful real estate agent. In all the first steps that you’ve taken in your life, it’s nice to have someone who truly knows the ropes. Equipping yourself with a legitimate professional is sure fire way to get the job done.

And today, we’re going to enlighten you on these “red flags” to clearly define the line between a good and terrible real estate agent.

1. THE PRICE IS NOT RIGHT.

An unjustifiable price makes it all wrong. It’s probably the main reason your home is not doing good on the market. Overpricing is overpricing. And even mustering all the marketing in this world won’t sell an overpriced listing.  Also, trust is an easy thing to give most especially if you haven’t weaved your way through the technical know-hows of a certain industry.

Trusting your agent is a pretty normal thing, like when you trust your agent telling you your home’s worth. It’s natural to feel like that your home yields value worth more than it is. But amidst those, it’s an essential skill to understand that an awful agent will equate to an awful job at pricing your home.

2. HORRIBLE INTERNET MARKETING

It’s 2018 and internet marketing has greatly touched the industry of real estate. It’s also the way agents go when they sell homes in this current time’s market. There are agents whose skills are locked and loaded when it comes to marketing homes online; and there are bad agents who are just plain awful at marketing on the web. They don’t know how, they do not care, and like their skill set, their internet marketing skills are borderline sickening.

3. NO. COMMUNICATION. AT. ALL.

Spotting a bad agent is easy. If their communication skills are off, most likely the sale process is heading to a fiasco. Being left in the dark is no fun. Not having a clue on what’s going on with the sale is downright outrageous, head numbing, and unnecessary. Communication is crucial to any given situation.

4. DUAL AGENCY

As a kid, I was taught that I can’t serve two masters in one time.

Does this apply to the industry of real estate? Certainly. It’s almost laughable and doesn’t make any sense if you think about it- that this thing actually exists in real estate. A dual agent is basically the face of both the seller and buyer. An apparent conflict of interest is clearly evident. How do you do that? it’s simple- you don’t. Imagine paying an agent thousands of pesos to become a facade and to represent the best output for you. The goal isn’t about getting the payout at all costs, well guess what? that’s what a double agent does.

As of this moment in time, you should already know that not everyone can be the best at what they do, and also know that some can be one of the biggest jokes at what they do, or in the industry they’re at. The thing is, agents are only doing their jobs, and some agents are just really bad at what they do. The best thing you can do to discern the two kinds is be mindful of everything that comes your way in relevance to your agent. Just be mindful of these four red flags to begin with, once you spot one of these red flags being manifested by your agent, maybe it’s time to reconsider, or better yet, contemplate on getting  a new one.

Reaching the top of the pyramid of the real estate market is an instant goal to the everyday real estate agent looking to make a name for themselves in the industry. Along the way, there are obstacles and challenges that needs to be surpassed, but like most apprentices, they have equipped themselves with a mentor in their agency who can guide them along the way. These are just bits and pieces of the total picture that an agent needs to take notes on to advance their career and weave their way through puzzling maze of real estate sales.

1. Remember that you’re not here to sell

The thing with real estate is- an agent’s job is not to sell. You should try to manage and guide your clients. When a client feels or finds out they have been “sold,” you are likely on your way to the road of resentment and customer dissatisfaction. Instead, provide advice, educate, keep your clients focused on the goals they described for you. Put the needs of the client ahead of yours. You’re not only selling a house, but a sanctuary, ready to be filled with memories and a lifetime of nurturing.

2. Value Creation
   The best piece of advice you may ever pick-up in this career path is to create value. Focus on creating value for your clients, initiate trust with our audience. Trustworthiness will be the single greatest asset in your books. It will lead to greater opportunities within your industry and will help forge wonderful client relationships.
3. More options, more opportunities
   Be a trustworthy adviser. By introducing multiple options that can fit their preferences to a potential client, you can guide them to the best option that they can get rather than pushing something on them. Tell the client if your readied solution isn’t the right fit for them, Yes, you might lose a sale and not bring home the “W” but the trust you forge with people by being genuine brings out more long-term value than any individual sale.
4. Be Personal
   Most aspiring agents training on the sales boot camp is about getting the “prospect” to do what you need them to do. Get the contract signed, then you go for the kill. You are there to curate, your ultimate responsibility is to serve the client and to cater to the client’s needs.
5. Go Hard, or Go Home
   Be obsessed for the right reasons. Obsession is the key in this industry, be obsessed with pulling in clients to acquire your product or service. Be obsessed with providing them with the highest level of service and satisfaction. Be obsessed with catering to their needs and trusting your business while you’re at it.
6. Open your ears, open your mind

Being a good listener is key to sales success, actually being a good listener is the key to everything if you’re vying for success. Listening shows that you care, and makes it easier to understand what the prospect’s needs and wants are and how you can attack those demands — which then helps you package a solution that actually works. For the most times, prospects simply need to convince themselves. Sales kind of works like gravity- it just needs a little push. In those cases, you just need to listen and validate what they’re saying

7. Do your thing

Constantly make your calls , the more relevant events that’s related to your cause you go to, the more follow ups you do, the better your sales results and report will be. It’s the little things that get you, track your activities and you will clearly see that it boils down to how much you are actually doing that generates sales. Meetings and brainstorming sessions are awesome. However, these activities won’t drive sales- implementation will.

Buying a house and making it a home is a big deal.  Buying a home can be a borderline frustrating and nerve-racking experience, most especially if you’re a first-time home buyer.  May these three tips help you expedite the process, and make your house-shopping initiative a tad easier.

1. HIRE THE RIGHT AGENT
You’ll be working closely with your real estate agent, so it’s essential that you find someone you trust and get along with well. The right buyer’s agent should be highly skilled, motivated and knowledgeable about the area. Also, watch out for sugarcoated statements from agents. Remember, it’s their job to get you a house, and earn their commissions in doing so. It’s smart to be mindful of what they say, what they show you, and where they take you.

 

2. THE RIGHT HOUSE, RIGHT NEIGHBORHOOD

You may assume you’ll buy a home that’s going to be perfect for your family, and that could be ideal if you want a big yard that comes with a lot of room. But if you’re willing to let some space go for less maintenance and extra work, and you don’t mind paying a homeowners association fee, a condo or townhouse could be a better fit.

But even if all your variables are right (The house, the time, and financing), the neighborhood could be all wrong and won’t even fit your vision.

So be sure to

Research: nearby schools within the vicinity, even if you don’t have children, since that constraint affects home value.
Look at: local safety, crime statistics, and neighborhood know-hows.

Be mindful of the nearest hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores and other amenities you may use if ever you decided to settle to your chosen home location. Have a quick car ride through the neighborhood on various days and at different times to check out traffic, noise and activity levels.

 

3. WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE AND STICK WITH IT.

Be on the look out for properties that cost less than the amount you were approved for. Although you can technically afford your preapproval amount, it’s the ceiling that will probably get you— and it won’t cover your other monthly expenditures or problems like a broken pipe that arise during homeownership, especially right after you buy. Shopping with a firm budget in mind will also help you make better and wiser decisions when the occasion arises.