Does Your House Need a Professional Stager to Sell?

 You love your home and your decor is just perfect. So, why is your real estate agent telling you that you need to hire a professional stager? Do not be insulted. See this as an opportunity to launch your home into the welcoming arms of a buyer. Who needs a stager? Some people need these professionals more than others.

It's Been Sitting and Sitting

As you follow the real estate news and information available online, you know something is wrong when your home is not moving. If your home has sat on the market without selling for six months or longer, now is the time to consider staging. It can help to paint the picture for potential buyers of what the home could be and how it would suit their needs. If you need a new tactic to get people back into the home to see what it has to offer, staging can help. It may help you to avoid a price reduction initially, too.

The Guy Next Door Is New

Another common problem home sellers have is selling their older home, which is sitting in a newer neighborhood. If your neighbors have newer homes, potential buyers may see your property as the least desirable in the neighborhood. Even if you know that is not the case, you may have to show potential buyers what this property can really do for their bottom line. Staging can help to convince them that buying your home means they are getting a well-loved, cared for and excellent investment. Even better, it will be clear that your property can rank just as high as the other guy's.

It's an Empty, Blank Slate

Perhaps you have already moved on, but you cannot truly move on until you sell this property. The problem is, your home's vacant, empty, and without so much as a kitchen table in it. This could be a reason why it is not selling as fast as you like. People cannot see how the home will look much less work for their needs. With some well-placed furniture on the other hand, you will have a stellar looking property that people can see themselves living in for years to come. Empty rooms may not be as welcoming.

It is a Cluttered Mess

Let's face it. Sometimes we have too many dust collectors to keep a home organized. Perhaps you have a picture of each of your children from each school year and activity covering every inch of wall space. On the other hand, you may have so much stuffed in closets that if anyone dares open the door, they risk things falling on them. When you realize that you have too much, call a stager. The stager can help you to pack up what is not needed so buyers can see the real bonuses of the house.

Do you need a professional stager? If you are unsure, ask your real estate agent for some guidance. Do not be afraid to commit to the hiring of one. After all, they could end up helping you to make your move easier, not to mention sooner.

Images Via Flickr by fragileheart, Via Flickr by livinginacity, Via Flickr by dorsia, Via Flickr by puuikibeach

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Telephone Etiquette Tips

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whether your at work, in your home, or on your cellular phone, here are 8 telephone etiquette tips everybody should be using.

1. Always say who you are at the beginning of every call. When in the office, always answer a telephone by saying: “Hello/Good Morning, Service Department, Jane Doe speaking.” From a cell phone, either simply say Hello, or state your name, Hello, Jane Doe here. Do not answer by using words such as “yeah” or “yes.” When placing a call, always state your name along with the name of the person you are calling. Example: “Hello, my name is Jane Doe from XYZ Corporation. May I please speak with Ms. Jane Smith?”

2. Be aware of the tone of your voice. Don't sound overly eager, aggressive or pushy. It's crucial your tone expresses confidence and authority. Don't recline in your chair when speaking on the telephone, you project more when sitting upright. Sit up in your chair or stand during the conversation. When at home, use a personal tape recorder to privately record your own conversations. You will then hear how your sound to others.

3. Think through precisely what you want to say and discuss it BEFORE you make a call.
Write down the points you want to talk about and questions you want answered. In other words, anticipate and expect you will be directed into a voicemail system; plan your message to be as direct and specific as possible, asking the person to respond to specific alternatives or questions. Do not say, “Hello, it’s Jane Doe, call me back.” At least state the subject about which you want the person to call you back about.

4. Don't permit disruptions to happen during conversations. Don't carry on side conversations with other people around you. The person on the telephone takes precedence over someone who happens to walk in your office or passes by while you are on the phone. If you must interrupt the conversation, say to the person, “Please excuse me for a moment I’ll be right back.” And when you return, say, “Thank you for holding.”

5. Particularly when leaving messages, speak clearly and slowly. Don't use broken phrases, slang or idioms. Always leave your return telephone number as part of your message, including the area code . . . and S-L-O-W-L-Y, including REPEATING your telephone number at the end of your message. Practice leaving your telephone number, by saying it out loud to yourself as slow as you have heard an informational operator say it.

6. Build the habit of always turning off your cell phone ringer when entering a meeting, restaurant, theater, training class, or other place where the purpose of your visit would be interrupted or others would be disturbed by hearing your cell phone ring. If you are expecting an important call, inform the caller you will be in a meeting during certain times and state you will monitor your message indicator for when it illuminates you will excuse yourself to leave the meeting and return the call.

7. Always speak into the telephone receiver with an even and low tone of voice. Particularly when speaking on a cell phone out in public, be sure to monitor how loud you may be. Move the phone ear piece just slightly away from your ear and listen to yourself speaking. Discover whether you are speaking too loudly or too quietly for the other person to hear you.

8. Do not allow yourself to be distracted by other activities while speaking on the telephone, such as rustling papers, chewing and eating, working on the computer, or speaking with someone else. Most importantly, do not use a hand held cell phone while driving. Get a headset or speaker phone for the car. Always treat every caller with the utmost courtesy and respect by giving him/her your undivided attention.

Proper phone etiquette is very important to the growth and survival of your business. It's the way your customers communicate with you. A poorly operated customer service phone system will just anger your customers and cause a loss of business.

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Childcare – An Expertise Work at Home Moms Can Use To Earn Online

Family Child Care (Photo credit: heraldpost)

One of the most favorite topics for parents of newly born babies is … anything related to parenting or child care, and knowing that every second, three to four babies are born, we can be sure that there will be no shortage of people looking for all sorts of advice and information online. Not to forget the child care industry that employees millions of workers. Looking at all these statistics and people who will be seeking information related to childcare, all mothers have an expertise or experience by default that can help them earn some part time income without leaving their homes, simply by researching and writing on the topics related to childcare. 

And the best part is, you will keep learning new things and getting useful information while writing on these topics. Following are five practical ways to earn while writing on these topics … 

Write for sites like eHow or About.com:

If you have good writing skills, then you can apply as a freelance writer at the sites like eHow or About.com. You will have to hone your writing skills a bit, but if you can get selected for a site like about.com, then the pay is well worth your time and efforts. Even if you can’t find a job at these high paying websites, you can turn towards any of those revenue sharing websites. All you need is to choose your topics cleverly and every now and then, some of your article will go on to become a continuous source of passive income for a long time to come. 

Write for childcare or babysitting websites:

There are many websites that cater childcare or babysitting industries like sittercity.com or care.com. Knowing that the content is becoming of paramount importance for any website, you can get in touch with these websites and offer your services as a content writer. You might need to have some writing samples, preferably some published ones, but you can arrange some by writing a couple of articles for article directories, or even better, at a blog as a guest blogger.Then you can proceed to use these posts as samples while getting in touch with established blogs or websites discussing the topics like family, childcare, parenthood, babysitting, and offer your writing services. 

Start your own blog:

As earlier suggested, there is no shortage of people who are expecting a baby, or they've just had a baby, and they are all ears for any kind of advice or information related to feeding, clothing, caring, educating, or looking after their kids in general. And these parents will always listen to some help coming directly from a parent who has “been there and done that”. The best part about blogging is, you don’t need to do extensive research, and all you need is to simply share your own experiences, or recommend some good products or solutions, which have helped you in one way or another. Once you have established a community of parents or moms, you can start earn by placing ads, or affiliate links on your blog. 

Publish an E-book:

Writing and earning from an e-book is a route that very few writers take, yet it is one of the most profitable ones. The idea is to choose a niche, which is in demand, and caters a specific problem instead of being too broad, and then write an e-book with the possible solutions. You can search for many different platforms where you can promote your e-book. An e-book can create a stream of passive income, and who knows your e-book can turn out to be a big success and you might be able to land yourself a real book writing deal with a publisher. 

Try Freelance Writing Jobs:

You can search at freelance jobs portals like elance.com or odesk.com with keywords like childcare, baby care, parenting, babysitting, and the likes. You will find many start-ups that will be looking for writers. Once you've formed good relationship with some of your clients, you might be able to get better work from home jobs like social media manager and the likes.

Bio: Misheal Rome shares promotion code for care.com and sittercity code for babysitters looking to sign up with the childcare sites like sittercity or care.com. And that’s not all, at her website you will also find a lot of tips and reviews for products and services which are useful for work at home moms.

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Finance for First Time Car Buyers and Students

If you are buying a car for the first time, there are chances that you have a limited credit history. As a student, you may not have any credit history at all. This makes it difficult to get a good rate on a car loan and may lead to being rejected completely. Here are some steps to take to help get finance for your car.

 

Shop Around for Vehicles and Loans 

Do not just jump for the first lender offering you a deal. Shop around for different cars and finance deals available. The problem is that there is only a 14 day cooling off period but once this is gone, you are stuck with the loan. It can take months to find the perfect car and interest rate – and should take this time to avoid feeling pressured in taking a deal. 

Save Up a Big Deposit 

Save up for a big deposit for your car to help with being approved for a loan. By having 50 percent of the car price as a deposit, you will prove to lenders that you are sensible with your money and they are more likely to see you as a lower risk than the average first time car buyer or student. You will usually need at least 10 percent towards the total of your car. Another benefit of saving money is that you will need to borrow less, which will mean a shorter term or smaller monthly repayments to help with budgeting.

 

Establish Credit before Buying a Car 

At least six months before looking for a car loan, you should establish a credit rating. This could be from a credit card, a store card or setting up credit agreements with your mobile phone operator for example. This will help to show that you do stick to agreements and will help lenders see you as a lower risk. 

Look Into Different Types of Loans 

There are many different types of finance agreements for cars. Look into each of your options to find the best one to suit your needs. For example, hire purchases may offer you the benefit of arranging your credit through the dealership but is only available on cars under five years old, which are more expensive than the majority of first time or student cars. 

Budget for the Finance Deals 

Be sensible with the amount that you want to borrow, the term of the loan and the monthly repayments. First time buyers and young students have the dream of owning a flashy car but they are expensive and there are high chances you will be rejected for the loan. You will have to stick to the monthly repayments for the entire duration of the loan so avoid borrowing too much and struggling to afford all your outgoings. 

There Is the Option of Refinancing in the Future 

You may find that taking a loan with a higher interest rate is beneficial. After a couple of years, you will have the benefit of refinancing, which will help you gain lower interest rates and cut the cost of the total loan. 

Being sensible with your borrowing is extremely important. Build some credit at least six months before you start looking for a car and stick to the agreements. This will prove to lenders that you re sensible. When you are ready to start looking, shop around to find the best option for your needs. 

Author Bio: - Edwin Miles works at CarFinance247 as an Underwriting Manager. CarFinance247 is one of the fastest growing website that deals with automobiles in the U.K. where Edwin currently lives in Manchester. They have been doing their utmost best to build a high quality website that unites car buyers with the make and model of their choice.

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Property Investment in Today’s Economy

Planning: In today’s ever changing economy, property investment has become an important topic of interest with people wondering what to buy, when to buy and so on. A lot of questions like these surround property investment. Consumers should make sure that they are making the right decisions in on all elements of buying a property. With real estate prices poised to trend up and interest rates at all-time lows, can you REALLY afford NOT to invest in to new build real estate? 

Safe and secured investments 

When buying a property, you should first ensure that the property that is going to be bought is loan free and not over-priced if it is second hand. Also keeping in mind the surrounding area, you should understand what kind of increase of property rates can be expected which will give the owner high yields in the future. For example, if you live in Perth, Australia, try looking for house and land packages in Perth to get an idea about property rates. However, the best investment you can make is in new construction property which delivers on consumer demands. 

Where to buy

The buyer should make a complete examination of all the factors related to it. The government issues Municipal Bonds to pay for highways, building of schools and other project which seem to be a good and safe investment. Additionally, is the property being built in sustainable communities and neighbourhoods? There is no point of building a neighbourhood which, in a few years, will be nothing more than a commuter village or town and have no real ‘soul’. 

Money in hand

In order to buy a property, you have to first decide how much money to invest and what kind of return you're looking for. Real estate is an excellent investment and hedge against future inflation. History has shown us that real estate, no matter how battered the market is, always rebounds to new highs compared to the past. You only have to look at some of the richest people on the planet; not one of them rejects a property portfolio. In fact, a large element of their investing portfolio is real estate. 

Property is for living in

By and large for most of us a property investment will invariably mean buying a house or apartment to live in. in addition, a property is also an element of most people’s retirement nest egg, therefore the investment has to be right, as too does the area in which you choose to live.

Real estate construction companies have to deliver ever better products to increasingly demanding consumers. Low maintenance property, energy efficient property and aesthetic designs are all demands being made by consumers. But where do you start looking for the companies which stand out and deliver on consumer demand?

You can start by looking for house and land packages in your neighborhood. For example, if you live in Perth you should search for house and land packages in Perth to see what kind of deals are being offered, and how to make the most of the money you have to invest.

Ali Asjad is a writer and blogger. He is also an active real estate investor with reasonable portfolio. He researches subjects such as house and land packages in Perth as an element of his work.

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Should You Use Retirement to Pay Off Debts?

Retirement (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

If you're experiencing financial stress, it can be logical to look for a source of money to pay off your debts. For most folks, the largest chunk of change they have is their retirement fund. But does it make sense to "borrow" from your future to pay for your past? Let's examine both sides: 

Pay Off the Debt 

Taking money out of your retirement account to pay off hefty debts can make sense. If you're over 59 and a half, you can withdraw from your account with no penalties. While you'll be taxed (at your income bracket) for the money, if the interest rates on your debt are high, it could still be worth it. Think about it like this: If you're facing a 20% interest rate on a credit card, but only a 15% taxation on your withdrawal, you're putting yourself ahead +5%. You can start putting that 5% each month back into your retirement account to build it up even faster. 

Plus, paying off your debt comes with a whole slew of benefits. You'll pay far less in interest over time, you'll improve your debt to credit ratio and you'll have more available money each month to save or contribute to your expenses. However, there are serious downsides to pulling the money from your retirement account. 

Don't Touch That Account! 

Every story has two sides, and debt repayment is one of them. If you're younger than 59 and a half, you'll face a 10% penalty for early withdrawal from your 401k. On top of that, you'll also face taxes on the money you withdraw. While you could still come out ahead, even with those mitigating factors, it's more of a risk. Plus, your retirement fund functions as savings for a serious emergency. If you find yourself unable to work for some reason, you'll want to have the money available. Using it to pay down debt could seriously weaken your long-term financial position if you're not careful. 

Other Factors to Consider 

If you suspect that you'll pay off your debt only to have it accumulate again, then absolutely don't borrow from your retirement fund. If you build the debt back up, you emptied your retirement fund for nothing. Using your retirement savings to pay off debt means committing to living as debt-free a lifestyle as you can manage. 

This is especially bad if you decide to pursue bankruptcy at a future date. Your 401k is typically protected under bankruptcy law, and if you emptied it only to rack up more debt, you may have lost a significant portion of your savings for essentially no reason. 

The Verdict 

If you think the penalties are worth it to you and you have a financial plan moving forward that includes far less debt, then pull from your retirement account. However, try to look for alternative solutions first. First, immediately stop accumulating new debt. Cut out the non-essential "goodies" from your life and put that extra money toward your debt. Look for a credit card with lower interest, if you can. Take steps to pay off your debt with your current income. 

Remember, at retirement, you can realistically only withdraw 4% each year to make sure your money lasts. If you have $600,000 saved up, that's only $24,000 a year. Borrowing from your retirement account now reduces your starting capital and decreases the amount of money you'll have each year in retirement. Although in some cases, you can withdraw money from your retirement account to pay your debts, it's never a decision you should make lightly. 

About the Author 

Carly Lance loves to blog about personal finances whenever she can. She also is employed as the blog and marketing manager at Personal Bankruptcy Canada, a company that deals with people going through bankruptcy in Canada.

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