Letterboxes are usually made of cheap materials, which is why they deteriorate after just a few years of use.  Of course they are exposed to the elements all the time and it is not surprising that they can become an eyesore in a very short space of time.

Since a letterbox is one of the first things that you notice about a property, it makes sense to give this important piece of architecture an overhaul and give your property an instant uplift.

Painting an existing letterbox is the easiest way to upgrade your letterbox and perhaps adding some new numbers but if you really want to make a statement for visitors to your home consider replacing your old daggy letterbox with a brand new one.  There are so many choices.

• Classic cast iron aluminium
• Sandstone
• Architectural
• Timber
• Fence and Wall
• Brass and chrome

You can find many of these at your local hardware stores but I love to shop online where I can find an extensive range all in one place. An Australian company that delivers direct to customers is Mailmaster. They have a stunning range of letterboxes that will help you add some style and class to your home.

I love the fact the fact that they colour match your mailbox to match either your gutters, window or garage door trim or even some other feature colour of your home.

House Numbers are also a cost effective addition you can make to your home that can really make a statement.  I see a lot of homes in my line of work and it never ceases to amaze me that very few people bother to display their home with prominent house numbers. It is also very frustrating trying to locate homes that have paid little attention to displaying home numbers especially a night.

While you are investigating buying new letterbox at Mailmaster don’t forget about the house numbers.  House numbers should be clear enough so that police, the fire department, paramedics, etc., can quickly locate properties in an emergency. House numbers are often the only way that first-responders can identify their intended destinations. For a small investment you can reap disproportionately large rewards that will add massive value to your home.

It is over 5 years ago since I started renovating houses for profit. When I first started out as a green behind the ears beginner, I had no experience whatsoever in renovating and I had to learn everything the hard way. I had to create my own templates, checklists and record keeping documents over a period of a few renovations and believe me record keeping is not really my preferred area of expertise!!

I was so ecstatic when I went to a property seminar a couple of years ago and discovered Dean and Elise Parkers “Renovation Toolbox”.  Dean and Elise are hugely successful property renovators and have been mentors of mine since I discovered their Step by Step renovating system.

I loved the “Renovation Toolbox” so much that I actually used it as a reference tool while teaching students in my “Renovating for Profit” course at WEA. Recently, Dean and Elise have updated the “Renovation toolbox” to an even better version called “The Complete Renovation System”.

If you are new to renovating I thoroughly recommend checking out the new update. I believe it is the most comprehensive training program on profiting from renovation projects on the market. It has everything you could possibly need to know including:

• full colour manual
• six complete case studies
• six DVD’s, six CD’s and
• over 70 pages containing thirteen proven profit making checklists.

The Complete Renovation System is designed for those who wish to make lump sum cash profits within six months or buy investment properties with little or no cash! My first deal back in 2005 made me $30,000 profit which was more than I earned in the previous 12 months working a 9-5 administration job.   So I am living proof that property  renovating can quickly replace your existing income and lead to an excititing  new lifestyle. The Complete Renovation System will help you achieve that goal in no time at all.

If you want to find out more  Click Here

I was recently browsing the Australian Property Investor Magazine website and was heartened to find an article listing the Top 12 tips to Getting a Great Property Valuation.  Especially when I read that the Number 1 tip was Home Presentation.  It comfirms what I consistently preach to my clients (both home owners and property investors) that a combination of Home Staging and cosmetic Renovation are not only great tools to add value to a home before selling but  you can also squeeze extra equity out of your current home or investment property prior to refinancing.

Please find below the part of the API article written by  Michaela Ryan

It’s quite frustrating to have your home loan application knocked back or the loan amount reduced because the valuation came in too low. Here’s 12 ways to get a good one.

Investors periodically have their properties revalued in order to finance additional investments. For example, just say your property’s value has gone up by $50,000. Most lenders will let you borrow around 80 per cent of that value ($40,000) which you can use as a deposit for another property purchase. In order to work out exactly how much they’ll lend you, lenders will often send a property valuer around. So we’ve asked a couple of industry experts for the insider’s word on property valuations. How can investors get the highest figure possible?

Phillip Grahame from Herron Todd White says, “The main things in a valuation are the size and functionality of the dwelling and the size and location of the land.” So obviously the chances of a favourable valuation mainly come down to your choice of property in the first place. And of course, it also depends on what the property market in general is doing at the time. However, according to our experts, there are a number of things you can do to make sure you pull off the best valuation possible on the day.

1. Presentation

Grahame says presentation is the most important thing to take care of when you have an upcoming valuation.

“(Make sure) the gardens are looking nice and the clutter throughout the house is cleaned up and all that sort of thing. Because first impressions, even with property valuers, do count,” he says. “If it’s freshly painted and really neat and tidy and presents well, as it would to a buyer, then we’re going to be more positive on that particular property.”

Mark Ruttner from First Valuation Group agrees, “The owner should provide a property in a state of repair similar to an open for inspection. “There’s nothing worse than rolling up to value a house and all the clothes for the last two weeks are on the bedroom floor; the toilet seat is up; dishes for the last week are still sitting in the sink.” Ruttner suggests mowing the lawn and trimming the edges. He also says any external painting should be fully completed, as first impressions can be significantly dampened by incomplete paintwork.

to read the other 11 Tips    Click Here

• Are you afraid of the process because you are not sure how it works from start to finish?
• Do you fear that you’ll sell for far less than your house is worth, or be unable to sell at all?
• Would you like to know how to make money when you sell?
• Would you like to increase the value of your home by $10,000 or more in one weekend?

Sound impossible? – well we helped one of our interstate clients transform their home in one weekend and they made $15,000 more than their previous offers!

After an unsuccessful auction campaign where no one showed up they started getting offers $20,000 below their asking price.

How did they do it and how much did it cost?

Following the recommendations in our Sold For Top Dollar Transformation Package™

• They changed the layout of furniture in some of the bedrooms
• Converted  an office into a home theatre room
• Converted one of the six bedrooms into an office
• Added some soft furnishings

All this was done using their existing furniture! Oh and I forgot the cost ………..$150.00!

They turned $150 into $15,000 in one weekend!

"Most home owners don’t realise that they only need to spend pennies to make thousands of dollars more when they sell."

Would you like to sell your home for much more than you ever imagined?

Our new online consult enables us to work with clients all over Australia to get amazing results like the story above.  We didn’t meet our client in person; in fact we never left our office! Our unique step by step system and questionnaire supported by photos of your property enables us to tailor make an action plan to transform your home from For Sale to SOLD!

Click here to find out more about our

Sold For Top Dollar Transformation Package™.

 

This week we have been receiving all of our exciting goodies that will be placed in our goodie bags on the night of our book launch for Sold For Top Dollar. We were very excited yesterday to receive a huge box from Selleys full of Selleys Liquid Nails – High Strength. Last night I went home from work and wondered what I could test this product with. I had a new house number to stick up so thought I would give the Selleys Liquid Nails a whirl. I was quite impressed with how easy it was to use, no mess and no strong odour. It will take a couple of days to fully adhere but so far I am very impressed. Its my kind of product – fast, clean and easy to use. It has so many various uses.

Selleys Liquid Nails High Strength Selleys Liquid Nails High Strength is a premium grade multipurpose construction adhesive that delivers a consistently strong and lasting bond on most building materials. Shrinkage and thermal movement in buildings can cause bonds to weaken over time, but Liquid Nails High Strength is flexible enough to response to movement allowing a strong bond to be maintained over time.

Features

• Strong bond – which will cope with shrinkage and thermal movement, so you know the job will last.
• Adheres well to wet and dry timber, so there is no need to wait for the timber to dry.
• Easily extruded and easy to use in low Winter temperatures, so it allows you to continue with the job at low temperatures.
• Paintable when dry, to give you a neat, quality finished job.
• Doesn’t drip, sag or string, so there is less mess when you are using the product
• Is available in a range of sizes and delivery styles.
• Meets requirements specified by Australian Standard AS 2329-1999.
• Bridges gaps on rough and ill fitting construction material
• Has a life expectancy, when cured, of 20 years
• Not for use on polyethylene, polypropylene, Teflon, silicone or polystyrene.

To see how to use this product, what materials it is suitable for and handy tips go to the Selleys Website to see more.

Imagine 80 per cent of potential buyers make a call on your house based on their first view of it. What sort of impression do you need to make to encourage them to come inside for a closer inspection rather than driving off after a quick street view?

Whether we like it or not, first impressions do matter. Whether or not first impressions are cruel and can mislead the viewer is irrelevant because that’s the reality with which we have to deal. Now while a trained house hunter like me will not be dissuaded by a first impression, 80 per cent of people rely on first impressions from which they make a huge leap to the final judgement! Do we want to alienate that 80 per cent? No way! And if 80 per cent are so significantly affected by a first impression, shouldn’t we be getting a wow response from that first impression? Absolutely!

For most people, buying a house is an emotional investment. Most buyers form an opinion in the first 30 seconds. If you haven’t grabbed their attention with that wow factor then as sure as night follows day, they will not even expend the energy to get out of their car and come inside.

Here are 3 rarely followed but sure-fire Top $ Tips to greatly enhance the street appeal of your home.

Top $ Tip 1

Get your front windows professionally cleaned. Cleaning windows so they are streak less and blemish free really is a job for professionals. Clean sparkling windows are one of the most powerful, unspoken ways in which a proud homeowner can say welcome, so invest in a professional clean.

Top $ Tip 2

Get your lawn mowed and the edges trimmed. Even if it is a dry patch, make sure it is not a weed-infested dry mat. If you have time, investigate replacing with artificial lawn but if nothing else, at the very least, make sure the “lawn” is cut, fertilised and watered. Green lawns will make you thousands!

Top $ Tip 3

Dress your front entrance. Set the tone for the rest of your home with a welcoming entry featuring a clear path to your front door, well-tended greenery, a beautiful front door (This may require painting or adding a new door handle or new numbers), and striking potted plants as a feature either side of the front door. Creating a welcoming entrance that makes people feel good from the moment they approach your front door will entice them inside. Whatever it takes, make it look better than it did.

Street Appeal embraces everything between the street and your front door. It doesn’t take much to make dramatic style improvements that will add massive value to your home.

Well the silly season has come to an end and the New Year has begun. At this time of year Charyn and I like to re decorate our homes and our office starting the year a fresh. We would like to inspire you to start the New Year with some of these budget decorating ideas…

Most of us have boxes of photos that never get seen. Pull out some favourites and replace some of your old framed pictures with new ones. Frames look great grouped on side tables or a mantle piece. They also look good grouped together in odd numbers on a wall.

Re-arrange your furniture. You would be surprised what a difference this can make to your home by just moving your furniture around, removing pieces all together or swapping items around from room to room. Why not move that tub chair from your lounge room into your bedroom, for a nice reading nook?

If you have a few empty bottles lying around re use them as single vases. We like clear glass in varied sizes and heights; you can group them in clusters as a feature anywhere in your house.

If you have any spare fabric lying around you could re cover some cushion inserts for your sofa or bed. Floral, gingham or stripes are fun patterns for summer. Most fabric shops have sales on at this time of year so if you don’t have any spare fabric you maybe able to purchase some at a great price.
Rejuvenate an old piece of furniture. You may have an old coffee table, arm chair or cabinet that just needs some TLC. You would be amazed at what a difference some new fabric, paint, handles or varnish can make to your once funky and up to date piece of furniture.

Take advantage of the after Christmas sales. You can really pick up some great bargains at this time of year. We love Freedom Furniture for their sales and never walk out empty handed. You can pick up great decorative items like vases, throw rugs, candles, cushions, bed linen and other great homeware items.

Add some new plants around your home to help bring the outside in. You can divide or take cuttings from some of your existing plants and plant them out in some new pots. There are some stunning pots around even your cheap stores are selling them and for unbelievable prices!

Purchase some new towels. Adding a new colour to your bathroom always makes things feel bright and fresh. Try placing rolled up towels or face washers on a ledge or vanity with some nice candles to make your bathroom feel more luxurious.

We hope some of these ideas have inspired you to take a look around your home and see what you can either re use, rejuvenate or repair to freshen up your home. Enjoy your shopping in the sales, because we certainly are!

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Clutter is the Number 1 problem my home staging clients battle. It’s not a problem exclusive to people getting prepared to sell their homes. Even I struggle to keep my house uncluttered! My dining table inevitably doubles as an office desk with the never-ending onslaught of daily mail and brochures continually piling up waiting for me to pay my bills and file the rest either in the appropriate place or, more likely, in the bin! It is usually when I am expecting company that I frantically race around cleaning up the paper trail and returning my dining table to its deserved “home beautiful” state! In the real world not many of us manage to keep our house free of clutter and looking like a page out of a glossy magazine 24/7.

Many of my clients are faced with the same dilemma but on a larger scale. They have committed to sell their home and I come in and tell them they have to clean up their clutter pronto before they even think about any other improvements! I explain to them that de-cluttering is an essential part of preparing your house for sale, and is virtually cost free. For some people de-cluttering is a very daunting task because there is a lot of emotion attached to our personal belongings and it can be very hard to part with stuff we have held onto for a long period of time. I recently had a client who booked me for a consult and when I got there she only wanted advice about the front yard. Now in the preliminary phone call with her husband I knew the house was built in the early ‘60s and they were not selling for about 18 months. I presumed the house was original in some rooms and would most likely need updating. Even though I wasn’t shown the whole house, it was obvious that getting the house to a sale ready stage would be a formidable task judging by the large amount of clutter in just the room we were in. After discussing the front yard makeover, my conversation gently turned to the inside of the house and it soon became clear that although my client knew there needed to be some upgrades and changes made before the house went to market, she couldn’t even think about that until she had dealt with the clutter. Her mother had passed away about 12 months previously and she admitted to me that she actually had about 4 rooms overflowing with her Mum’s most valued possessions. Her adult daughters who lived interstate didn’t want anything and she had come to the realization that neither did she. However some of her Mother’s things were of great value such as bone china dinner sets and other precious items and I guess she felt obligated to hang on to them. She had to deal with the emotional attachment to her Mum and since Mum was no longer there, the attachment had transferred to Mum’s things.

I suggested maybe she needed some outside help with a professional declutterer to get her started. Sometimes when we are overwhelmed by a job that seems too hard to start, getting help from a professional is a great solution. I know when certain jobs are too big, even for me and I am quite happy to outsource when necessary to get the job done! Here’s an example of the amazing results you can achieve by removing clutter from your home…

“Break each room up into manageable tasks”

“Keep the best and get rid of the rest”

Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional it is vital you DE-CLUTTER before putting your home on the market. Not only will your eventual move be easier but you will create an open, spacious and simplified look that buyers will love.

7 Top De-clutter Tips

1. Make it a manageable project by doing one room at a time 2. Get organized with boxes, bags, masking tape and a permanent marker 3. Break each room into small tasks with a time line i.e. clean out bookcase – 1/2 hour 4. Divide your clutter into 4 categories

• Garbage bags for rubbish
• Carry bags for clothing going to charity, or to be given away
• Boxes for garage sale/auction items
• Boxes for the stuff you are keeping and that will go straight into storage ready for your move

5. Keep the best and get rid of the rest. If it makes you smile or feel good, keep it. If you have no particular emotion to it, or if you have a bad reaction to it, ditch it       6. Have a garage sale, or sell some things through EBay or in your local paper. You may even make a profit from shedding your excess. 7. Pay it forward – your excess clutter can be someone else’s treasure. The beautiful jacket you’ve held onto because one day you might be a size 10 again – give it to a friend and make her day! Toys, books, magazines & collections – the local kindergarten or school may appreciate a donation of some of these items. Old photos – put together a photo collage or photo gallery and give to your children or grandchildren.

De-cluttering your house is the absolute first thing you need to do to prepare your house for sale. And if you are not selling, it is still the best thing you can do to create more space and feel like you have moved to a new place!