Home Investment

There is a lot that goes into deciding which house to buy. Money factors in, location factors in and most of all you want to love the place you will eventually call home. Here are ten tips to help you find the perfect home!

1. Put your roots in the ground: When looking for a home you want to pick a home that you could see yourself living in for many years, at least 5-7 years ideally.

2. Leave room for growth: Because you’ll want to stay in one home for several years you want to find a place that can adapt as your life changes. For instance you might have a new baby or if your child moves back home after college. Leave options open for those family planning moments, and even if you don’t have it in the budget to get a home big enough to fit those future needs you can look for one that will allow you to build on in the future.

3. What can’t you live without: Write down the features you require in a home, such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms, garage, formal dining room, family room and living room or great room, and the size of yard. These should be the items you absolutely cannot live without.

4. Check the surroundings: You aren’t just buying a home to live in when you pick a house out you are also choosing a neighborhood to live in. For instance It is preferable to buy a home that is in an up-and-coming or well-cared-for area. Homes in areas that are declining may lose value and never recover. Looking into the school systems and the crime-rate are also important factors.

5. Keep it in the budget: Understandably you want the best thing that your money can buy. However when buying a house you will need to check your finances, including looking towards current and future expenses, and don’t exceed that. It’s better to buy a home that you can easily afford than one you have to work to find money for.

6. Don’t limit yourself when looking: Make sure that you are seeing as many different homes in your price range as possible and don’t limit yourself to just old or just new, look at both.

7. Location matters: A house that is located on a busy street might be bothersome as a homeowner than one that is located inside a quiet neighborhood. Not to mention that when it comes time to re-sell your home will most likely be worth more if it’s located in a quiet area opposed to a busy one.

8. Pick your “type”: There are many different types of homes out there, so figure out which type best suites you whether it’s a single-family-home, a condo, a townhome, etc. You’ll want to pick a type that works with your lifestyle and your future plans. For instance a single-family-home will have to be maintained by the homeowner while a condo will have someone else to look over all of those needs.

9. Distinguish important from not so important: A small thing that can be fixed shouldn’t detract you from buying a perfectly good home. For instance you might go into a home and not like the paint, the cleanliness or the carpet but those are not things that are permanent so it’s something you should be able to look past. On the other hand you might be able to put a marble in the middle of the room and have it roll, you might have a slab issue and that would be something that would be something you wouldn’t want to have to deal with.

10. Look to the future’: Although you want to look at your house as a home first and not an investment you should put some thought into how easy or difficult it might be to resell the home eventually.

Purchasing your first home is an exciting time and transitioning from renter to property owner presents a long list of significant long-term benefits. Yet, there are numerous thoughts and fears many have when considering buying their first home.

When beginning the initial process of owning a home for the first time, most people spend a fair amount of time looking around for the perfect house, in the right neighborhood and in the right location. Selecting the right property that is a good fit on all levels and ensuring the location will meet all of your requirements is obviously a big part of making sure your short-term and long-term needs are met.

However, as you get past the initial stages of simply looking at different properties and trying to determine your exact needs, you may find buying a home is a bit more involved than you first realized. Most first-time home buyers go through feeling a little overwhelmed at the beginning and a top notch realtor can offer significant help for first time home buyers.

Financial Help for First Time Home Buyers

Plus 5 Important Tips

Think About Today and the Future

When you are looking around for the right home to purchase it is important to think about what will meet your needs today and in the future. Most of the time, buying a house is not only a financial commitment but also a commitment of time; meaning, you will probably live in the home for at least several years.

If you don’t have any children a small cottage on the lake might sound fun now, but if you decide to have kids in a few years it may become impractical very quickly. Thinking about your current lifestyle and how it might change in the coming years is an important consideration and can help make your home purchase successful on a long-term basis.

Choose a Realtor Carefully

Choosing the realtor you work with is a very important consideration, perhaps the most important. A good real estate agent can help make the home buying process much easier and much more successful. Real estate agents are experienced professionals who know what to look for, what to be careful of and all the important details that you will need to take care of throughout your first home purchase.

Some real estate agencies offer special programs that can provide significant help for first time home buyers such as down payment assistance, tax credits and special mortgage programs. There are even a select few real estate agents that are willing to give up a portion of their commission and offer it to home buyers as a cash back rebate. If restrictions on cash back rebates exist due to guidelines of the lender, then buyers can apply the rebate towards closing costs instead. Either way it is a significant financial bonus and can provide tremendous help for first time home buyers.

Pay Attention to the Type of Mortgage You Accept

Knowing the price range of home you can really afford is based on many factors such as your credit score and your debt to income ratio. Knowing your budget from the lenders perspective is very important so you do not waste your time looking at properties that do not fit your budget and do not fit a lender’s criteria either. A well-seasoned realtor can assist you with the mortgage pre-qualification process so you are ready to not only make an offer on a property, but you are actually able to secure a loan and close on the property successfully.

In some trending real estate markets the seller will not even consider an offer unless the buyer has a pre-qualified certificate from a lender. Working with the right realtor who can help you get pre-qualified and who is also affiliated with multiple lenders, title companies and home inspection services will help you be prepared for a successful buying process. Additionally, it will allow you to negotiate on the selling price of a home from a position of strength.

The details, terms and costs involved with your mortgage are important for knowing how much a home will cost you on a monthly basis and over the length of the entire term of a mortgage. Knowing if there is a free down payment program associated with the loan, the interest rate, term and closing costs are just a few of the considerations you should be clear about before committing to a mortgage. One very important element of a mortgage is if the interest rate is fixed or variable.

A fixed interest rate will give you a set rate of interest for the entire term of the mortgage, which will result in a predictable monthly payment that is the same month after month from the very first month until the last payment is made. A variable rate mortgage will typically offer a fixed rate for a short period such as 1 year, 3 years or 5 years and then the rate will fluctuate based on a set parameter such as the London Interbank Offered Rate, also referred to as LIBOR.

Other Expenses In Addition to Your Mortgage Payment

We all know it is important to make sure you can afford the monthly payment for a new home, but what about the other costs involved with home ownership? Besides your monthly mortgage payment, there will be other costs involved with owning a home that some first-time buyers may not have thought about. Take some time to make a list of all the possible expenses that will fall under normal maintenance for any property you are considering.

For instance; will you need to maintain your yard up to the standards set by the neighborhood homeowners association which means purchasing lawn maintenance equipment or hiring a service to do it for you. What are the costs for your monthly water, electric and gas bills? Is there adequate WiFi and or cable service available and the fees associated with it.

Keeping a home in top condition is not only important for maintaining a quality standard of living and following the rules of the HOA, city ordinances or even just implied rules based on how your neighbors care for their homes but also for the resale value of a home.

Resale Value

When you look around at all the different properties available it is always a good idea to listen to the advice of your realtor on what homes present the best resale value opportunities. Depending on the area you are in, there will be certain properties that lend themselves to higher potential resale values due to the number of bedrooms, how much property the home sits upon, the school district or other factors.

An experienced realtor will know the area well and what will sell quickly. Listening to their advice will not only ensure a good decision today but can also save you from big headaches when you try to sell the property many years from now.

An Experienced Realtor is the Best Help for First Time Home Buyers

Buying your first home or even your next home can be a little intimidating and it does involve making several careful decisions. However, working with an experienced realtor who works for you specifically as your buyer’s agent rather than a transaction agent will help keep the process smooth and successful.

“We cannot imagine a better home buying experience. Our Realtor was professional, courteous, and straightforward and did whatever it took to get us a fair deal and made sure that we were buying a home that was right for us. On top of all of that, they offer a 1% rebate back on the purchase price of the home! I would recommend them without any hesitation… you simply won’t find a better realtor. They gave us $3850 cash rebate when we purchased our home through them. Thank you Kellie and Kent Lighthall.”

Stay on your goal to purchase your first home and explore the available programs offered by some realtors; like down payment assistance and home buyer’s cash back rebate program as both are available to all home buyers first time or next time purchasers.

The idea is all about the exterior look, presentation, as well as preparation, with the goal of selling a house faster and getting a higher market value. Try to make your home memorable so that it can stand out in buyer’s mind. Increase your home curb appeal, eliminate clutter and dirt are the main ideas to sell your home. Here I will discuss staging tips that help homes sell more for top dollar.

Get your home windows efficiently cleaned in and out as well. Polishes the floor, wood, deeply cleans the mirrors, removes cobwebs, clean the kitchen appliances, dry-cleans the drapes, and shampoos the carpets, dusts the blinds, and washes all the windows in your home. You can hire a cleaning crew to sparkle your home. Make your home free of offensive odors; try to use good quality fresheners to create pleasant aromas.

Eliminate the extra furniture from your room can give a brighter and larger look. Bathroom and kitchen counters should clean. Apply the 50% rule that can help you to eliminate the clutter in your home. Clutter makes homes seem disorganized and smaller. Have you noticed that expensive homes can be sold quickly due to their comfortable, clutter-free layout?

Pay particular attention to the front exterior. Buyers will pay more for energy-efficient and green such as blown in cellulose insulation, dual-flush toilets, tankless water heater, low-emissivity energy start-rated windows, programmable thermostats, sealed ducts, solar systems, and home automation systems.

Make your home look bright as well as spacious. It is better to change the light bulbs, re-carpet your home, and use the neutral, colors to give the great look to your home. Try to convey an image of neutrality. Give plenty of light from different sources. An interiors designer advises combining a variety of lights such as ambient lights, accent lights, and task lighting. These are stylish as well as functional.

Setting the right Price of your home strategically is the key decision to sell. One easy but important technique for pricing your home is to spend the day and looking at your competitor’s homes.

Buyers pay extra attention to the bathrooms and kitchen. An updated kitchen and bathroom can add big value to your home. However, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It is best to purchase all new cabinets and save your money by buying prefabricated cabinets. You will need to update hardware like a cabinet doorknob, as it will not add any value to your kitchen. You can also swap out one item, like an outdated microwave or stained sink for new stainless models.

We all have seen many movies featuring automated devices. They seem fascinating and almost unrealistic. However, not all of them are results of camera tricks. Today, the advancements in the world of technology have made it easy to own automated devices and gadgets. Anyone can get such devices for the home at some extra cost. Popularly known as home automation devices, some consider these devices as a part of home decor, whereas for some people, these are of great importance.

People use home automation gadgets as per their requirement and use. One can buy such devices from the local electronic store or through online electronic stores. These devices are roughly divided into two classes, i.e. security, and comfort.

Home Surveillance: Feel Safe While Alone

Earlier, regular burglar alarms were used to safeguard the home against the possible break-ins. However, today they are replaced by state-of-art home surveillance systems. Regular alarm systems use to make a sound in case of any break-in, giving burglar ample time to ransack the home and escape. Now the things have changed a lot. Once installed, a home automated system allows you to turn on the lights with a single touch on the remote controls and prevent the crime. Alternatively, it can be programmed to turns on the light automatically in case an intruder enters your premises.

A home surveillance system comes with modern burglar alarms, light regulation and safety measure activating features. One can easily get high-end systems with best universal remote through online electronic shopping, and make the home safe from burglars, thieves, and trespassers. With universal remote controls, you can quickly take command of the entire home automation system, even while sitting in the comfort of your living room. In addition, you can also protect your loved ones from tripping over in the home by using your automation gadgets. Just one touch of your home surveillance remote control and you are guaranteed with utmost security.

Enhance Your Comfort in Just One Touch

Everyone wants to use the latest technological advancements and enjoy the comfort. How about switching the television, fan or light while sitting on the couch, or ensuring whether the windows and doors are locked or not without physically going around the home. Home automation allows you to bring your imagination to reality, with just one touch. With home automation, you do not need to wait for someone to do the work for you.

Home automation offers a convenient way to do work more neatly and elegantly. Once installed, the system remote controls allow you to manage the electronic gadgets that are compatible with the system. It is one of the few ways to improve your life. One can easily find loads of automation devices on the online electronic stores. However, once you purchase the device, it is advisable to stick to do-it-yourself mode, so that you do not have to pay for professional service fees.

Short-term trading techniques involve a combination of skill, intuition, and experience by a trader. Traders make money by taking short-term positions in securities after identifying opportunities in both bull and bear markets.

Mastering short-term trading requires certain attributes in a trader.

The following factors are fundamental for a short-term trading strategy to ensure your losses are minimized while your gains are maximized.

Risk control

The risk involved in short-term trading is commensurable with the returns i.e. high risk, high reward. However, prudent risk management strategies should also be applied to short-term trading for a trader to control the risk involved and to realize the objective of the trade in the form of capital gains.

Some of the risk control measures that short-term traders have to master include the limit order or a stop order.

The limit order is an instruction given in advance about the price points where securities can be traded (buy/sell). It is used for maximization of the trader’s portfolio by ensuring that the trader takes advantage of the securities price points whether the price is falling or rising by triggering either the buy limit order or sell limit order respectively.

On the other hand, the stop order is an instruction given to a broker on the extent to which an investor can sustain losses on a given portfolio. The stop order, therefore, reduces the investor’s risk by cutting losses before or at a particular price point.

Technical skills

Markets are characterized by reoccurring conditions after certain periods or during specific events. A detailed analysis of the data gathered in a market extensively shows patterns in the market that become predictable. Mastering short-term trading requires the capacity to identify the accurate timing of occurrence and the conditions/events leading to the occurrence of the anticipated cycle for exploitation by the trader.

The technical analysis should also be meticulous enough to determine the trends in the performance of a tracked security over a very short period, including a day or weeks. Having such a capability places you in a better position to be a successful trader. The identified trends being relied on for decision making should have clear recurring bottoms and breakouts as a sign of proper technical analysis.

Another technical tool that a trader has to master is the ability to read different market data presented in various formats. For example, a short-term trader can use the moving average of a particular security to determine the best moment where the price is declining to executive a call.

Timing/experience/intuition

Short-term trading is characterized by holding a position for a very short period of time, sometimes seconds, and releasing the position to realize a capital gain. This requires mastery in the identification of opportunities in the market that are driven by the prevailing condition in the market, especially market sentiment. Exploiting the volatility of the markets is, however, a risky strategy because unforeseen events may disrupt the anticipated outcome of the identified market opportunity.

Essentially, trading is a strategy for realizing quick capital gains in the securities market.

Chris Bouchard is a strategic consultant who works with non-profit leaders and social entrepreneurs to apply concepts and techniques to identify complex strategic issues, find practical solutions, and devise strategies to create and win a unique strategic position. He also offers project development, proposal writing, and project evaluation services.

3 Factors which determine your investment strategy

You may be wondering what is the right investment strategy for you, but without knowing anything about you, any advice on which investments are right for you may in fact be the wrong ones. There are basically three factors that determine which are the right investments for you, they are:

1. Your age

2. Purpose for the money

3. Your risk profile

Starting with your age. It would be rather silly of you to invest all your money in growth funds if you are aged 65 because if the market takes a dive such as was the case during the 1987 sharemarket crash and to a lesser extent, the Global Financial Crisis during the early 2000s you have less time to recover from these setbacks whereas the young ones have time on their side.

The purpose for the money is the second factor.

Decide whether you require the money in the short-term, medium-term, or long-term.

Short-term would be up to a year.

Medium-term is 1-5 years

Long-term is longer than five years

Short term expenses would be, a bank account for emergencies, a holiday within a year, dental expenses, or t pay for the kids schooling for a year.

Medium-term would be savings for a car.

Long term would be your retirement fund, saving for a house deposit, or saving for the trip of a lifetime.

Your risk profile is a determining factor in where you invest your money. If the thought of the sharemarket taking a dive will give you sleepless nights then investing growth stocks in the sharemarket is not for you. A better option would be managed funds where you will be given a choice between growth, balanced, and conservative funds.

It is important not to get into debt for there is a cost to debt and that is interest. Interest adds to the cost of goods bought with borrowed money, and this adds up to a fortune during a lifetime of borrowing for consumables. This is called bad debt because the value of the item declines over time.

There is such a thing as good debt though and this is your first home because the value of the property increases during the lifetime of the loan but even this is not always a good option for some people if you live a kind of transient lifestyle.

“Everyone is to their own,” so only you know what makes you tick so your personal circumstances are the determining factors which govern where best to invest your savings.

You must do your homework before you invest in anything, whether that is the sharemarket, managed funds, or gold. There is so much information available on just about everything, and that includes finance. It is just a matter of learning the ropes and having a financial strategy which suits your personal circumstances.

The SEO services, that’s the tool giving the boost to your business in a great way. In today’s time, just by being online does not help in getting more business. In other words, your online visibility is of no use if your target customers do not notice your presence. SEO- the abbreviated form of Search Engine Optimization is an essential part of the online marketing strategy. SEO is an effective tool that helps in diverting more web traffic to your website. Thus, helping you in a great way by leading your potential clients to your web page. You spend a huge amount of making your company’s website, but unable to fetch the potential leads to your website. And, the World Wide Web is a place where you have to compete with millions of competitors. So, due to lack of skills your money, an essential asset, get wasted, as well as the clients get shared.

Hence, select an effective and professional SEO service, helping you with the higher ranks on the search engine page. With the proper and skillful use of the SEO services, your business surely going to have fruitful results. Today’s market provides you with abundant SEO service providers. Access the one, which fulfills all your requirements. Search for the SEO, rendering you professional and skilled services. They can really help in adding the volume of traffic to your website. It is better for your company to choose a professional company, as they provide you with the best services at affordable price. Hence, you get a cost-effective package, useful in increasing your business.

On your part, you need to do a detailed study of the SEO service providers. The process of SEO can prove successful only when it is handled by the expert and efficient professionals. The service provider with profound knowledge and proficiency in the field can help you in getting the desired results. These companies offer you various promotional plans and develop SEO friendly websites. The companies, providing you SEO services thoroughly go through your current website. After finding the weak area of your site, they will render you with the best possible solutions, using their internet marketing techniques.

Here are some of the SEO techniques taking your webpage on the top of search engine results.

Some of these techniques include:
Strategic planning and analysis
Keyword/key phrase research analysis
Content/website optimization
Link building tactics
PPC advertising
Search engine submission
SEO reports SEO consulting.

Hence, by applying these techniques and many more, the SEO services IT company in Singapore can make your site the most visited one among your top competitors. So, the next time the search engine’s spider crawls your site, you get it on the top pages. And, hence, higher the profit graph of your business.

Search engine optimization has come a long way since its humble beginnings. Strategies that were amazingly popular and effective in the early 2000s are simply disastrous for your website now. Also, search engines have evolved tremendously. Their algorithms are getting better and better at discovering bad websites filled with duplicate and irrelevant content, which doesn’t bring any value to readers.

Surprisingly, these already obsolete SEO techniques and strategies are still popular among some web designers and digital marketers. Let’s take a look at some of the worst SEO techniques that will utterly TANK your website… Try to avoid them at any cost:

Keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing was pure magic until the early 2000s – that’s a fact. Nowadays, however, it’s a disaster waiting to happen – and it will happen. This technique is literally a massive red flag in the eyes of Google, and your website will be instantly banned and deindexed from the search engine. It does sound crazy, but some people still do it. Think about it: a website selling fishing supplies would be something like: “the best fishing supplies here; we only have fishing supplies, right for you; come get your fishing supplies here, we are all about fishing supplies” – all in a sentence…

Duplicate content
If you have copied content on your website, it’s bad. Google hates duplicate content and will love to let you know that. Duplicate content, however, is tricky. For instance, if you are the original creator of the content, and other websites copy the content (with a citation), you are good to go. However, if Google sees that your content is not the original copy, your website will be penalized. Keep doing it and your website will be deindexed.

URL hijacking and typosquatting
Making typos is only human, right? Well, Google is now capable of detecting when typos are not entirely human errors. When webmasters hijack URLs, they essentially build a website around a typo. For instance, creating malicious domains built on similar reputed brands will get you penalized by Google instantly. Also, changing the country code won’t get you far. What’s more, you could easily be sued by the original brand or company.

Shady redirects from expired domains
Using the 301 redirect was working well back in the early 2000s and, amazingly, there are some webmasters who are still doing it. Exploiting expired domains is now penalized by Google and other serious search engines. Also, getting redirected to an old website, via an older one, and finally getting to the malicious website is bad business for your company as well.

Content automation
Getting a lot of content on your website is daunting, that’s a no-brainer. However, using a quick fix, like content automation, will get you into a lot of trouble with Google. This technique is used to create “ready to publish” content, filled with spun articles, images, headings, alignments, and so on – all poorly done. What you do get is simple: a website with a lot of content which simply cannot be read by a human being. Your website will experience rank loss and will get blacklisted in no time. What you have to do, however, is to get good quality content, written for human beings, not for search engines. Keep in mind: You are not fooling anyone, especially Google.

You have surely heard it many times and you probably know that SEO is short for search engine optimization. However, do you really know what it is and how it can help your internet business? What it really means can be broken down into two different issues. You will have two different ways that you can use this to get traffic to your site from monthly SEO packages. SEO is when you optimize your website using keywords that the search engines will pick up on. The keywords are what tell the search engine what the webpage is about. You also need to do search engine optimization by doing some optimizing off your website. In other words, you need to start building links back to your site that will help you get your site natural web directories rankings.

So, how can you use SEO two different ways to get monthly SEO packages? Here is what you need to know about search engine optimization that will help you get traffic from search engines that you don’t have to pay for. This is where you use keywords in your website content that the search engines will pick up on. It will take time for you to get listed in the natural results but just keep putting fresh content on your site using your chosen keywords.

The more unique and fresh your content is, the faster your website will be listed. However, you don’t want to overdo it. Put new content on your website once or twice a week or even once every two weeks. You don’t want to try and rush SEO because if you do then you will quickly find that you can’t. So, take your time and make sure that you do as much SEO on your website as you can. The second way that you can use SEO for your business online is to get inbound links from other websites. Search engines think of a site as being important when it has a lot of links pointing back to it from other people’s websites. So, you want to make sure that you get as many links pointing back to your site as you can. In this way you can get the most from this search engine optimization method.

By the time you have found monthly SEO packages to do your marketing campaign and you may be ready to sign the contract. Make sure you read it carefully, being fully sure that it is what you want. Taking the extra half an hour to look at all of the fine print may just save a headache in the future. It’s time to go home from work, and at the end of the day you should feel good about being on the way to the top of the search results.

If you’ve been looking for easy ways to make money online, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Don’t get me wrong. Easy ways to make money online do exist. However, they are not going to be found on any list you come across on the Internet. Why? Because most of those “easy” ways don’t really work.

Do they work in reality? Not really. Will you earn extra money doing it though? Sure, but you will also make more from your nine to five job. The hard truth is that there are only real easy ways to make money from home.

What are these easy ways to make money from home? Well, for starters, you could write blogs for other people. You could also use social media as a way to make money from home. In either case, you will have to set up your own blog or website.

You could also sign up with an affiliate program and sell other people’s products. If you’re selling someone else’s product, all you have to do is display the link on your site. From there, visitors to your site will click on the link and then make a purchase. That’s pretty simple, but if you can find a way to make extra earnings, your earnings could be very substantial.

However, what if you can’t find any extra tools to help others? That’s fine. You can still make extra money by selling your skills. There are plenty of individuals who are interested in selling their skills to others. You can teach them how to do something, and then once they’ve learned the technique, you charge them a fee. Some folks won’t mind paying a fee to learn something new, and if you can make your tutorial downloadable and easy to follow, you can have a booming internet business selling other peoples’ skills.

Finally, you can earn money from home by developing your own website. This is probably the easiest way to earn a side income from home. It won’t make you rich, but it will help you supplement your income. And it’s a great way to help your loved ones. If you’re looking for a fun way to make extra cash at home, you can’t go wrong by exploring all the possibilities.

The truth is that there are several different ways to make money from home. It’s important to explore all your options, as it varies greatly from person to person. That’s why it’s so crucial to have extra tools to use. However, if you can’t find any extra tools, you’ll have to develop some on your own. It varies wildly. And it will largely depend on what kind of skills you possess.

Extra tools for extra earnings are basically everywhere. You just need to be resourceful. But you should also realize that you won’t be paid an hourly rate by any means. The earning potential can be quite great, but it depends on your ability to market yourself. So as long as you have a product or service that people want, you could earn a side income with ease.