1) Granite Countertops – Granite countertops add luxury and appeal to any kitchen, and are great for entertaining in the kitchen. Granite will also add style and appeal to your bathroom.

2) Hardwood floors – Want to instantly update an outdated home or living space? Hardwood floors add modern appeal to any home, and ultra-modern types of wood, such as bamboo, are more affordable than ever and available in a variety of different colors. Tile floor is okay to work with, but chances are, the tile is outdated. Shag carpet needs to be ripped out immediately!

3) Steel faucets and appliances will instantly update a home and are highly resistant to rust and residue. Replace kitchen faucets and nozzles and consider a steel dishwasher.

4) Hurricane-proof/energy efficient windows and doors are a must, especially in the state of Florida, where tropically storms are an annual occurrence and sunlight can be scorching, even while sitting in your living room. This is a must when it comes to safety, but energy efficiency will add even more appeal, plus you could be eligible for tax credits.

5) Upgrade appliances like your refrigerator, washing machine, microwave, dryer, and dishwasher. Upgrade towards energy efficient appliances, which will also save you and the buyer money.

6) Flat-top stoves are the way to go and completely trump electric coil stoves, plus they are much easier to clean. They are a lot more stylish and updated.

7) Landscaping is important but is often overlooked. Make sure the laugh is properly sodded and cared for. Plant flowers and beautiful the living space. Make it appear inviting and welcoming. The same applies to the backyard. People want the option to entertain.

Is there a wooden deck out back or a patio outside? If not, you may want to consider installing one, if it’s conducive to the property. The same applies out front. If there is one already, make sure it’s structurally sound and free of mildew and termites.

9) Is there a driveway on the premises? If not, you need to install one. It’s relatively inexpensive and will do wonders for accessibility and appeal of your front yard.

10) Are the walls inside the home an outdated color? Is paint peeling? Add modern hues or neutral colors to make a living space more attractive. Warm hues, like golden and beige will instantly add warmth to white walls, and update the home, plus they look beautiful with the reflection of sunlight.

Direct Express Realty is a realtor specializing in St Petersburg Foreclosures and REOs. Contact Direct Express to Invest in St Petersburg Foreclosures or for Remodeling Investment Property in St Petersburg.

Checklist of things to do before making an offer on a new home purchase.

1. Check past utility costs.

Get the sellers to show you past years utility bills. This will help show you how much you can expect to spend every month on top of your

house payment. Don’t let unexpected high heating and cooling costs get you into financial trouble after you own the home.

2. Check with the local government to make sure any improvements to the property were done within guidelines.

If rooms have been added or a garage enclosed or other improvements made which required building inspections to be done, then double

check to ensure that the proper permits were obtained and building codes adhered to. These improvements can be a potential problem during the lender’s underwriting process for some types of loans.

3. Check with the neighbors for potential issues.

Stop by the home at different times of day and talk to a few of the neighbors. Often you can find out about potential problems such as home owners associations which don’t live up to their responsibilities, or who are too strict to allow you to put up the fence you plan to install

after you move in.

4. Check with local and state authorities for planning and zoning problems.

Few things are more disappointing than moving into your dream home only to find out that a highway is scheduled to be built one street over in 3 years, or that the land backing up to your lot is zoned for industrial use. Your real estate agent is supposed to be aware of these things, but

don’t rely on it. Double check these things for yourself. It will be you who loses half the value of your home because of that highway, not the agent.

5. Get estimates ahead of time for improvements you plan to make.

If you plan to add a garage or enclose a garage, or build or deck or add a pool or any similar improvement, then get written estimates before

you lock yourself into a contract. Be particularly sure to get these estimates if the possibility of those improvements was important to your decision to purchase the property.

6. Get your real estate agent to provide you with the details of comparable properties which have been sold recently.

Even if you believe that you have a good feel for values in the area,

have your real estate agent complete a market analysis and provide you with comparable sales within the area which justify the sales price. This will help make sure you don’t offer too much for the property, and can also be used to justify the offer you are making.

Once you buy a home, you get all the problems that go along with it.

The time to check the details is before you are contractually locked into buying the home. The details listed above can make the difference between a dream and a nightmare when it comes to your home purchase.

Logan Chierotti is a Denver, Colorado resident who has had experience as a real estate agent and c

urrently works in the Yoga industry. Logan Chierotti enjoys writing about real estate, yoga, fly fishing and much more.

The real estate market in North America is very competitive. In order to claim full value for their property, sellers must ensure that their property stands out on the market. In order to do so sellers must know how to market their property correctly. Within this article, we’ll take a closer look at five key features that buyers are now searching for when they come to review property.

1) Luxurious Bathroom Additions

The modern buyer will immediately focus their attention on a home’s bathroom features when they arrive to review the seller’s property. In order for sellers to impress potential buyers, there are a few key bathroom additions to consider. These additions don’t necessarily have to costs thousands of dollars. If the seller’s home renovation budget is minimal, they can easily create a great-looking bathroom space by conducting simply home improvements, such as increasing the size of line closets. In addition, a simple skylight can often change a bathroom from a dark, dingy area into a vibrant-looking space.

For those with flexibility in their budget, adding a second bathroom to the home has been shown to in marker studies to vastly improve not only the speed of the home sale, but also the final price received.

2) Special Rooms

One great way to ensure a property stands out on the market is by turning one room into a specialty area. One of the latest trends gaining traction within the real estate market is turning spare rooms into exercise rooms. With a renewed focus on personal health across North America many people are delighted to lean that their potential dream property has an area dedicated to healthy living. Consider purchasing some cost-effective gym equipment and turning that large, expansive room into an exercise paradise.

3) Energy Efficient Features

With energy prices rising almost weekly now, home buyers are on a constant search for properties that offer highly efficient electrical equipment. Some of the latest products available on the market place include argon-filled windows, which help to keep in and trap heat and tank-less water heaters, which allow homeowners to save hundreds of dollars through superior water heating efficiency. Before installing these any of these features within a home, it’s important for homeowners to speak with a qualified professional about the unique specifications of their property. Installing these features in older homes can sometimes be quite expensive in homes that don’t have the ideal structural capacity for them.

4) Aesthetically Attractive Appliance Finishes

When buyers are entering the kitchen area of the home, they want to see a modern-looking area replete with the latest appliances. While homeowners may not have the budget to purchase high quality appliances for their home, they can mitigate this by installing features that have attractive finishes. The most popular style on the market is to have white finishes to all appliances, however stainless steel items are becoming increasingly popular, and will likely be the most-chosen style in the years ahead. Sellers should consider installing low-cost stainless steel products within their home if they wish to capitalize on this trend and improve their property’s overall value on the market.

5) Improve according to Your Current, not Future Budget

By adding the preceding elements to your property, you can ensure that local buyers stand up and take notice of the home you’re selling. Remember – don’t splash out on items you can’t afford hoping to recoup the value in the sale price. Try to find cost-effective, yet valuable improvements and you’ll notice a swift increase in interested buyers.

The Toronto condo market is hot right now. And there’s price points for everyone. Whether you’re looking for new Toronto Condominiums or resale, there’s options out there for you.

Be sure to get clear on your budget, the neighborhood you want to be in and if the condo lifestyle is right for you.

Ian (The Condo Hunter) has mentored with one of Canada’s biggest real estate investors and is the founder and chief blogger over at Toronto Condos HQ. A site dedicated to helping consumers get the best bang for their buck and move into the lifestyle they want.

For each of us the word “ethics” probably holds a different meaning. For those engaged in business enterprises of whatever nature, in its deepest, broadest and most idealistic sense, ethics should hopefully mean, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This is the ethical basis for virtually all religious and moral systems in the world. If only all people could heed that simple lesson.

For example, in a property transaction involving multiple agents, what happens when a conflict arises between one licensee’s personal rules of ethics and the “questionable moral values” displayed by another licensee cooperating in a joint transaction?

A dilemma is created for both licensees, of course. Objectively, what can the licensee do whose personal sense of ethics has been offended, other than to engage in a meaningless “my opinion is…” exchange with the other licensee?

By exercising the Golden Rule standard in business relationships, individuals then would not need to impose their own sometimes faulty personal values or preferences on others. Since, ultimately, your own conduct is all you can control, it is important that you strive for high ethical standards in your transactions.

Learning and following state laws and regulations will help you to avoid discrimination and other forms of unlawful conduct. In California, sets of laws exist which govern ethics and professional conduct for salespersons and brokers. Those laws are covered in the “Real Estate Law” book published by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE), as well as the “Reference Book,” also published by the DRE.

There is wide public interest in how brokerage businesses are conducted. If the individual ethical performances of brokers and salespersons become too deficient, more government regulations are probable. Such additional government regulation need not materialize if each broker makes proper ethical decisions for his or her own business enterprise, recognizing that the best interests of the citizens in the community should be served before his or her own.

As a business professional, you should comply with the Business and Professions Code and the Regulations of the Commissioner of Real Estate or the relevant laws and regulations in your state. If you observe the ethical practices that are required of you, you will be providing a better service to your clients, customers and consumers.

By complying with the spirit as well as the letter of the law, you may avoid discipline from your state’s real estate department, government regulation will be less necessary, and you will help to promote the profession to a higher level.

Michael Lustig has been a California Real Estate Broker and the Owner and President of Real Estate License Services, a California real estate and insurance license school, since 1978, offering state-approved license courses in 47 states and the District of Columbia. He is the author of 35 books on real estate and insurance topics. For resources for real estate and insurance professionals, including courses, books, study guides, and more, visit http://www.relstone.com

Selling your home can be a very emotional time and is often spoken of being one of the most stressful life experiences other than a loved one dying or divorce.

Sometimes it is to upgrade to a new home. Other times the decision to move, has taken some time and anguish or is triggered by an unforeseen event like moving cities due to changes in employment. Whatever the reason it takes some time and effort to sell your existing home and buy another one. It is also a costly exercise with legal, bank, government and agents fees adding significantly to the financial pressures of the home move.

Everyone wants the transaction to happen quickly, easily and for the maximum financial benefit. There are many ways to achieve this goal and assist with the speedy sale of your home. Newer Homes often have more appeal to purchasers than dated homes which require renovation or building work to bring them up to date. The proven ways to add significant value to the sale of a home are to home stage the property, to fix all the maintenance issues and to apply Feng Shui principles to the home, to make it more appealing to a buyer.

Our television sets are filled with renovation and property shows confirming these techniques can make a difference to the financial return you get when selling a property.

Anyone buying a property is influenced by their first impressions. It is important to make the front of your property and the path leading to the front door very appealing, as consciously and unconsciously potential buyers will have almost made up their mind about a property before they walk in the front door.

They need to be enticed out of their car and into your home to even start the process.

Basic Feng Shui principles start with getting the path leading to the front door and the area around the front door clear and energised to allow the chi to flow gradually into your home. First Impressions will decide whether someone even gets to the front door to view a property or just drives on to the next property to view. If the home is badly maintained with rusted gutters, paint peeling off the walls, has weeds in the garden or the front lawn is not mowed will have a significant bearing on the potential sale and price achieved.

While these may appear common sense items, it is surprising how often one small part of them is overlooked and has a subconscious influence on achieving a maximum potential sale of your property.

Also they may all appear western concepts and yet there origins are steeped in Feng Shui traditions of getting the chi to flow up your garden path, into the front door and around the home. The front door is seen as the “mouth of chi” just like the mouth in our body is where all the energy and chi enters.

The first recommendation on any Feng Shui Practitioners Consultation for any property is to remove the clutter, fix the maintenance and to make the front of a property look like something to love, not something that repulses you day after day when you arrive home.

Wherever possible it is good to have a curved path to your front door linedwith plants with circular leaves. Get rid of any plants with spiky leaves along this path, as they are seen as repelling potential visitors to your home. Having been involved in Feng Shui, building, renovation and property for over 25 years it has surprised me, and many of my clients at the difference this simple trick makes to getting potential buyers to your front door.

Next make sure the front door is clearly identified by colour, plants or garden ornaments clearly defining your front door. Get rid of any rubbish; repair all maintenance items no matter how small and clean the front of the house either by repainting the painted surfaces or washing down other areas with a high pressure water cleaner.

Yes these are all common sense items and yet they are also based on basic Feng Shui Principles which make the chi flow smoothly and easily to your front door.

Once inside your home Feng Shui principles again dictate that chi should flow easily to make the potential buyers feel comfortable and relaxed. Again clear the clutter, fix maintenance items and repaint as necessary with neutral colours. Give your home some fresh new energy, and allow buyers to see how they can put their furniture and decorations into your home.

Look at your artwork and furniture, and remove anything controversial or which makes rooms look more cluttered or crowded. Create a sense of space.

Feng Shui is all about the intuitive feelings people have when they are in any home. You want them to feel happy, relaxed and comfortable and not want to leave.

Other ways to freshen the house up using more esoteric and energetic Feng Shui ideas is to light candles or incense, have fresh flowers in your home, bake some bread or pleasant smelling food in the oven so that you appeal to all your buyers senses, not just the visual. They will become more attached if you can get their sense of smell, hearing and feelings engaged.

All of these changes will affect the Feng Shui feeling and flow of chi in a house, and ensure it is sold faster and for a larger financial return.

George Birdsall wrote the best selling book Feng Shui – The Key Concepts in 1995 and has sold over 50,000 copies so far. More about his feng shui books, consultations and speaking can be found at his “Feng Shui website. He also writes a blog on planning your home improvement projects to save time and money at “his Renovation Plan website. He lives in Bowral Australia and loves organising anything in ways that Save Time and Money for himself and his clients. His business focuses around Project Management and Client Advisory Services to clients ranging from home owners to multinational corporations

Any real estate agent will know that marketing his business is a very crucial component of his success. Many real estate first timers have sufficient capital to set the business in the right direction but lack marketing strategies to push the business above the initial stage. In such a case, the business stagnates as it does not reach the targeted consumers enough to trigger their interest and desire for the services offered. If you have interest in joining this field, you should note that just like all other businesses in the service industry, marketing your services will take a substantial part of your business budget, especially if it is in the initial stage and you are looking to grab a chunk in the market. Here are some real estate marketing strategies that could come in handy.

Creating a website for your real estate business is very advisable in the recent times where many people flock the internet for information. Many people consult the internet when looking for service providers; hence, you should make sure your agency pops up as one of those results they get when they enter keywords related to the industry.

You have to understand that you are not the only agent who is seeking potential client’s attention and interest. There are many others and you just have to stand out from the crowd. You can achieve this by ensuring that your website is also unique. It is very wise to employ SEO at this point. Optimizing your site give you the privilege of your URL appearing on the top of search results when online visitors use search engines. You can hire an expert to optimize your site for you and increase your chances in the market.

The website you create should be user friendly. Many surfers consult the internet to find answers to the dilemmas and problems. They do not have the whole day to wait for a particular webpage to load, especially since their situations might be urgent. Also, internet services are costly hence a page that takes long to load becomes an added expense to the person surfing. Ensure that your website is simple but very eye-catching. Avoid complex designs that would make loading time unnecessarily long.

Apart from creating a website, the internet can also be another tool for promotion in social networks and blogs. Creating pages in sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and others will do a lot of advertising for you as many people throng these sites and them stumbling upon your adverts could be an advantage to you.

Alongside the virtual advertisement, you will need to be vigilant on physical marketing too. By use of media, placards, bill boards and posters, you should saturate the environment where your potential clients frequent with your presence.

Your promotion strategy will be highly determined by your budget. The technique you choose to market your services with should be within the parameters of your budget and at the same time workable. Study your target group and choose a marketing technique that will reach them in the best way possible.

When employing real estate marketing techniques, you have to understand that your logo and brand should be unique and unforgettable so that you leave a lasting impression in the minds of your target clients.

Dave is a real estate expert who specializes in real estate marketing.

Not a pretty or comfortable subject in which to talk about, but it is important that if going through a divorce that you know your rights and steps in which you must take in order to protect yourself from financial ruin. Just because your soon to be ex says they will be amicable doesn’t mean that this will be the case throughout this difficult time.

First of all, take the proper steps to ensure that your credit is not or will not be affected. Access creditreport.com for your free copies of your credit report available through Transunion, Experian, and Equifax. One you get all three, compare each of them to the other to be sure that nothing derogatory or potentially marring information is listed on there. If so, you can dispute whatever item listed that is in question.

Next make a list of your debtors and your spouses. Know which debts are secured such as your house or car, and those that are unsecured are debtors such as credit cards or credit at a furniture store. Those accounts that you have with your spouse are joint accounts where each spouse is held liable. Vehicle and mortgage loans in both spouse’s names are the responsibility of both spouses. In regards to a vehicle loan in both spouse’s names the vehicle can either be purchased by one spouse from the other, or sold. If a mortgage loan is in both names, and one spouse want to retain the home, then one spouse can obtain a new mortgage loan in only their name paying off the current loan, and dividing any equities between the two parties. If one cannot obtain a mortgage loan then either the home can be sold and the equities split and the current mortgage loan paid off and satisfied or the individual can ask a family member to assist in the re-purchasing of the home. If there is no mortgage owed on the property and both parties agree for one spouse to retain ownership of the home, then it is wise to have your attorney draw up a quit claim deed which dismisses any future claims on the property from being on the one spouses shoulders and solely places it on the shoulders of the spouse who now owns the property solely. Or a warranty deed can be granted as well which is where one party holds the title free and clear and solely has the right to sell it. If getting a new mortgage loan on the property, know that a new property appraisal will have to be done, and that it’s possible that the property may appraise for less than what is owed on the mortgage. New mortgages must also get new title policies which will protect you as the new owner from any liens or judgments that are made against your spouse without your knowledge.

In any case it is imperative to have items such as mortgage issues and any creditor issues and what is owed by whom and who is responsible for what laid out in the separation agreement then transferred to the divorce decree so that there will not be any legal implications moving forward. Any accounts in only one spouses name are considered individual accounts where only that spouse will be held accountable for the debt owed. Also, be sure that if you and your spouse have a joint credit card such as a Visa® or MasterCard® that the account is either frozen from the use of each spouse or that the account is paid in full and then closed.

If you have to sell your home then disconnect yourself as much as possible. This is a very trying time and not the time to be alone for sure. Put things into perspective and know that one chapter of your life is coming to an end with many other glorious chapters of your life in which to experience. Give your home a thorough cleaning, start packing, give unwanted items to a donation center, make your landscaping as pristine and attractive as possible, and hire a professional real estate agent to represent you and your best interest. For legal advice during this time of your life, it is best to seek the advice of an attorney.

Tim Ryan specializes in helping buyers find great deals on Naples Real Estate. You can visit Tim’s website where you can find thousands of Naples homes for sale.