Category Archives: organizing

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, selling, tips, wifi

Face it! We are up to our eyeballs in the digital age.

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Face it! We are up to our eyeballs in the digital age, and your house needs to be become part of the adventure. Everyone is looking for “Hey Google” this, “Alexa” that “Cortana” help, or “Siri” that. This trend is one that will not go away. It is here to stay.

google nest mini 2
google nest mini 2

Many older homes are not fully wired for internet or any other digital gadget that the world of communication is throwing our way. Sure, some of them come with the alarm system, wired smoke alarm, or internet accessibility in every room, but for today’s buyer that may no longer be enough.

 

Rewiring the home properly for internet could be an expensive and time-consuming undertaking and the price will vary depending on how large your home is, such as a two story and the type of foundation. That is why many of the internet providers just string your internet/TV service wire on the outside of the house and not through the walls, ceiling, or crawlspace/basement. It would be better to have someone do it properly for you prior to scheduling your cable and/or internet service.

We chose to have our house rewired properly. If the cable provider wants to make any cable upgrades, they must come down the wall like all the others. We only have one main entry point from the outside of the house and on the inside the wiring will remain the same. That means if the interior wiring also needs upgraded, the installers will have to make a trip into the attic.

Smart OutletAlso, changing out some of your electrical outlets for outlets with USB charging connectors is a low-cost way to add to your device charging stations.

 

Another reasonably priced gadget to install is the keyless entry door locks. These upgrades are convenient and will also prevent you from being locked out of you home. The lower priced units do not have wify access, but the more expensive one do. When you would like to open your house remotely you would have to get the internet enabled keyless entry units and the price will vary depending on the brand and features you are looking for.

keyless entry lock
keyless entry lock

In this day and age you have all kinds of toys you can add to your home that are Wi-Fi enabled and fun to play with. Lights, heating/cooling, ceiling fans, vacuum cleaners, appliances, faucets. They sky is the limit.

 

The bottom line is you might have to be prepared that today’s buyer is at least looking for some smart-home tech that is included in the deal: smart thermostats, smart smoke/carbon monoxide detectors, smart home security cameras, and smart locks.

education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, tips

Wide and open spaces

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open spaceThe open floor plan has been a housing trend for many years already and it looks like it is not going to disappear anytime soon.

The open floor space layout is really nothing new but has evolved over the years back to the one room living space where everything is done in one room. The only exemption from the past is that we no longer sleep, cook, and live in the same room. Continue reading Wide and open spaces →

commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, Team work, tips

Mastermind, a tool in your toolbox to achieve your goal.

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Mastermind, a tool in your toolbox to achieve your goal.
Mastermind, a tool in your toolbox to achieve your goal.

A mastermind group can be an effective tool to help you accomplish your goal, virtually any goal. It does not matter if it is a business or personal goal.

Many of the Mastermind Groups consist of two or more people, who work together in perfect harmony, to help each other to attain a specific goal. If two heads are better than one, five or six can kick it into high gear.

Members are committed to each other

The key to a great Mastermind Group is that members are committed to each other and are willing to hold each other accountable. Meaning that you will do what you commit yourself to do and that you are attending the scheduled mastermind group meetings. Depending on the group, a meeting could be in person, video, or a phone conference call, monthly or quarterly.

The group members need to be committed to meet. Less than that will be a waste of everyone’s time and effort. One of the main goals for all the mastermind group attendees is to help each other to get things done.

Attending a mastermind group can be a time commitment depending on the group size.

Each of the members should be given 15-20 minutes of time to discuss challenges, progress, or goals. They should have another 10-15 minutes to give their feedback, thoughts, and possible discussions about the given information. The larger the group, the more diverse the discussions or exchange of ideas could take. Due to that it is good to keep the group small. Maybe 5-10 members.

It is all about accountability and trust

To keep the flow going, make one of the members a facilitator. Make certain that no one member gets stuck in the facilitator role. Have the facilitator role rotate between members.  The facilitator will keep everybody on track and make certain that no one member dominates the conversation.

When a Mastermind group is formed or new members are added, the facilitator also gives everyone the ground rules the group will work under. This should include attendance, format of the meeting, confidentiality, making decisions, and dealing/settling conflicts. When needed, outline grounds for dismissal from the group, such as after missing a certain number of meetings or violating confidentiality.

You also should meet in an area where outside distractions are limited.

Chemistry of a Mastermind Group

Many times a mastermind group is formed without it actually being called a Mastermind group. This happens through casual networking or you happen to bond and feel comfortable and great around or with certain individuals. When you are looking for a mastermind group, look for groups who give you that exact feeling and when you cannot find a group like that start your own.

You might start with one person that fits the criteria you are looking for in an individual and together build your group.

education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, tips

Buying homes through a tax sale

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There are many different ways to invest in real estate. The more common known due to some of the DYI shows on TV are the rehabbers/flippers and the income/rental properties.

Another way to invest in real estate is tax sales. Continue reading Buying homes through a tax sale →

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, Team work, tips

Paying for your investment properties

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Since the mortgage meltdown, it has become harder and harder for Real Estate investors to receive financing through a traditional lending company and many of them have to find additional means to finance their investment properties. Continue reading Paying for your investment properties →

Inspiration, organizing, planning

Things to consider before you jump into buying your house.

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You are graduating from college, you have your first real job in your field of expertise, and you are ready to purchase a home and get out of the apartment you are currently in.

Before you consider looking at homes on the internet, or with a REALTOR, there are several things you should do first. Continue reading Things to consider before you jump into buying your house. →

buying, commitment, Communication, education, green, Inspiration, organizing, planning, recycle, selling, Team work, tips

Is a Condo for me, or not?

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House4_403_604Urban renewal is becoming more and more popular. Most of the people moving back in to the urban areas are baby boomers and executives with some free time on their hands. For this reason most of them are choosing to live in a condo. The trend of turning former apartments or an old factory in to condos has helped to turn around some of the urban areas. You can find great homes for reasonable pricing or a top notch location for a higher end price.

Before you buy a condo you should do some research into the condo rules and regulations? Each community will have their own fees and rules. You should familiarize yourself with each of these to understand what rights and responsibilities you as the condo owner will have.

Find out who is enforcing the Condo rules and regulations? Is it a homeowner association? A management company?

Most of the time condo owners are responsible for everything on the interior and the association is taking care of everything on the outside of the building. In some cases you may have an assigned parking space in an underground parking garage. When the condo is on a lake you may have a boat dock you can lease.

Some of the condominium associations might charge you an additional fee that helps them to offset any exterior repairs they might encounter and that fee is most of the time part of the condominium fee you have to pay, in addition to your mortgage and insurance payment.

Some other things to consider is that when your condo is on the 38th floor, are you willing to run down 38 flight of stairs in emergency? You may also have other restrictions due to the building or condo associations rulings.

The nice part with a condo is that you are only responsible for the interior of your condo and the condo association is responsible for the exterior of the condo. You don’t have to worry about cutting the grass, fixing a roof leak or making any other exterior repair. The downfall is that the exterior maintenance upkeep is only as good as the condo community management company.

Either way, like with everything, there are positive and negative things you need to consider when choosing a condo to purchase. When you have any additional questions about condos feel free to contact the Settles Team.

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, Team work, tips

Demystifying what a Real Estate Agent does in a real estate transaction

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“What does a real estate agent do” is a frequent question that is being asked. Let me see if I can demystify what a Real Estate Agent does during a transaction.

Many of the things a Real Estate Agent does are many times done outside of the public eye. What the public sees mostly is the interacting directly with our buyer or seller clients.

Depending on in what state you are buying or selling your real estate, you may have different types of real estate agents involved in the transaction. Each one of them may have different obligations they need to fulfill during a transaction that is either governed by local, State, or Federal laws/rules.

None of them are allowed to disclose the following information to either party, whether it is to a buyer or seller, unless agreed to in writing by both parties.

a)      Any material or confidential information (except adverse material facts or risks actually known by Licensee concerning the physical condition of the Property, and facts required by statue, rule, or other requiring entity).
b)      That a Buyer will pay more than the offered purchase price for the Property.
c)      That a Seller will accept less than the listed price for the Property.
d)      Other terms that would create a contractual advantage for one party over another party.
e)      What motivates a party to buy or sell the Property?

Most commonly, everybody knows the Buyer or Sellers Agent. That could be either a Broker or a Salesperson (some states). More and more, there are now also Transactional Agents that formerly where dual or limited agents. A Transactional agent does not represent a buyer or a seller. They are a neutral go between for both parties to help them complete a transaction.

A buyer’s agent is ONLY representing a buyer and not a seller at the same time! A buyer and seller are represented by the same Agent during the same transaction is commonly called a dual/limited agency and it is not legal in all states. In many cases the dual/limited agent has been replaced with a transactional agent and it has to be understood and agreed to in writing by all parties.

Feel free to contact us and ask for the Agency relationship brochure that explains the difference between a Buyers, Sellers and Dual/Limited Agents.

Due to the different in the governing bodies that govern what a Real Estate Broker/Agent is allowed to do, you need to check with your State directly. There are basic functions a broker does that is pretty much within reason the same in every state.

  • Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) — an estimate of the home’s value compared with other properties located within the same neighborhood or within a certain distance of the subject property. (competition for the subject property)
  • Total Market Overview — an objective method for determining a home’s value, where a CMA is subjective.
  • MARKETING — Marketing the real property to prospective buyers.
  • Facilitating a Purchase — guiding a buyer through the process.
  • Facilitating a Sale — guiding a seller through selling process.
  • FSBO document preparation — preparing necessary paperwork for “For Sale By Owner” sellers.
  • Real estate appraisal — in most states. Other states a broker has to be licensed as an appraiser.
  • Home Selling Kits — guides to how to market and sell a property.
  • Real Estate consulting – based on the client’s needs.
  • Leasing for a fee or percentage of the gross lease value.
  • Property Management – In some states the broker has to hold a Property Management certification.
  • Exchanging property.
  • Auctioning property – unless the state requires an auctioneer license.
  • Preparing contracts and leases. (not in all states)

When you have any questions about this or any other Real estate related topics, feel free to contact the Settles Team. We are never too busy to help you with any of your real estate related needs.