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Working from home? No, working from Paradise!

Working from home has become the new reality for many of us in the past year. Many found themselves in this very new and – no doubt – challenging situation. Depending on the circumstances of each individual it could mean to either be alone at home or to find a quiet corner in your busy family home. Both situations come with their very own set of problems as well as advantages.

I found myself in the second scenario. The bedroom became my office as well as my husbands’. In each video conference we hoped none of our children would storm in to scream out the latest mischief one of her siblings did… To tell a long story short: I believe many of us homeworkers wished for better working conditions.

Buy a covid friendly home

Buying a new home that better suits our needs in this time definitely crossed our mind. Looking at all the complications though, made us soon realize that it does not seem to be a good time for that, not just yet.

I saw many articles popping up about covid friendly homes – meaning it is NOT friendly to the actual covid virus but rather helps people to live with the new situation. There is a lot of speculation going on how such a home would look like.

Others might also suggest that soon there will be a vaccine and everything will be back to normal again – just like the time before the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Another thing to consider is that your house might not be worth what it used to be due to the financial impact the pandemic had on the real estate market.

Therefore, it might be a hasty move to sell your home and get another right now.

What you can do

Many people did not go on their annual holidays abroad this year out of fear or due to complications, such as needing to be quarantined when they return to their home country. But what if you would get the chance to combine your holidays with your new working from home situation?

Speaking with many who worked from home even before the spread of the covid, you can be free to choose where you like to live. This is fantastic. I know some who choose really nice places where real estate is very cheap. They were able to keep their costs of living down and at the same time live in a great location.

If you like to get an idea where it would be very cheap to buy a house have a look at this map:

https://www.propertyunder50k.com/map_view.php?

Paradise Guaranteed

I recently came across the Barbados Welcome Stamp – basically it is a special visa for remote workers who want to work and live in Barbados for 12 months. So, if you are looking for a change and you like to try another country for a year why not have a look?

Looking to buy, sell rent real estate? Visit www.all-real-estate.com

5 Smart Tips to Renovate Your House and Make it More Expensive

If you are trying to sell a house and make the most of it, you better make sure to turn your property into a super-attractive home. Let us be straight about it and tell you that it’s not an easy job – at least not in most cases – but it definitely pays off to renovate your house and make it more expensive.

You’ve probably brainstormed hundreds of possibilities, but do you know the most productive house repair tricks? If you don’t know where to start, check out five smart tips to enhance your real estate and sell it for the maximum price possible.

1. Take Care of Street Appeal

Humans are visual beings who judge other people and things almost instantly. According to reports, it takes a person only seven seconds to form the first impression. In other words, your house may have only a few seconds to impress potential buyers.

How can you help prospects fall in love with your property? The answer lies in street appeal. You can improve it using many different tricks, with the most popular being:

Mowing the lawn to make clear yard lines
Cutting the trees to make them look neat and clean
Replacing lanterns and other outdoor lights
Repainting the front fence

2. Free Up Some Room

Do you know what really impresses house buyers? It is a place with enough room to add personal stuff and make it feel like home. This is exactly why we recommend freeing up some space before the next prospect pays you a visit.

You can do it by removing personal things from the living room, kitchen, and bedrooms. Take out your family photos, souvenirs, and all other items that might interfere with the visitor’s experience. The bottom line is that you need to depersonalize the property and let your guests imagine what they would do with it.

Keep in mind that this trick applies to all properties, from small downtown houses to 30a home real estate.

3. Consider Kitchen Upgrades

A kitchen is almost always the central point of every house. Everything revolves around this room, so you might as well consider completing a few kitchen upgrades.

A tip that proved to be useful is to introduce natural light to the kitchen. If you have nothing but a small window, think about replacing it with a much larger window. Of course, there are lots of minor solutions to think about here such as refurbishing the floor or replacing worktops.

Any idea that can make a new chef more comfortable is welcome.

4. Beware of Details

You probably know that the devil is in the details, a proverb that perfectly suits the real estate business. If you want to get the highest price for your house, you need to pay attention to the smallest features that are easy to repair but make a huge impact on buyers’ decisions. This is what we are talking about:

Wall cracks that make your house look old
Dust and dirt in lower corners and spider web in the upper corners
Broken flooring elements
Faucet leakages
Malfunctioning door handles
Any other broken or dysfunctional elements

5. Think about Energy Efficiency

House owners who make their property energy-efficient can impress potential buyers and convince them to complete the purchase. Details such as wall insulations and double-glazing windows can look great in the eyes of a typical client for two distinct reasons – financial and environmental. Of course, it will also make the price of your home skyrocket.

Up to You

House renovation goes a long way, especially if you need to repair a lot of interior elements. However, you can speed up the process if you focus on the essential improvements only. In this post, we showed you five smart tips to renovate your house and make it more expensive. Can you renovate your place like this?

AUTHOR BIO

Leon Collier is a content creator at several thesis writing services in Edinburgh. Apart from working at the essay writing service UK, Leon is a blogger who specializes in business, real estate, and finance. When not writing, you can find him behind a book or playing tabletop games with his friends. Follow him on Twitter @LeonCollier12 Follow him on Twitter @LeonCollier12

Image:

Photo by Roelf Bruinsma on Unsplash

How to avoid Real Estate Scams

Our real estate portal can be a great way to find somewhere to rent, to buy a cheap property or to sell your house. But with any online space there’s always a risk of hoaxers being active and attempting to trick you.

With thousands of live ads at any given time, it’s hard for our real estate websites to stop every fake ad or block every fake user instantly. Therefore, being aware of what to look out for is a big help to avoid real estate scams.

What does a Real Estate Scam look like?

Real Estate scams trick potential buyers or home sellers into thinking they are dealing with a legitimate contact but it is actually a scammer.

Unfortunately, there isn’t just one method that fraudsters use.

For Sellers

So far, the only known scam on our website are fake enquiries. This means someone sends a message to the advertiser through the contact form on our website.

Once the advertiser replies to the enquiry the scammer can use his email contact to spam him with emails.

He might tell a story of “being a soldier in Iraq that likes to invest in your country” or “being the widow of president so and so who likes to move to your country with all her millions ”. Stories like that definitely ring a warning bell.

We also recommend that you discontinue communications with the enquirer if he/she:

doesn’t want to travel to see the property or asks you to come and see him
wants to buy the property for a higher price than asked
likes to know your bank details or to wire funds via money transfer services
wants to pay in advance

For Buyers

As we have no way to check the authenticity of an advertised real estate, we recommend caution before giving sensible information to anyone you don’t know. This is standard online practise.

Scammers will usually pose as genuine sellers and post fake ads. That’s why they are very difficult to spot.

The ad can be for anything, rental properties or real estate for sale. Most probable, it will even include pictures and other details – maybe copied from a genuine seller’s ad.

We recommend that you discontinue communications with the seller/landlord if he/she:

asks for rent payments or deposits in advance
seller claims to be unavailable and insists on payment before you can inspect the property
seller is very interested to get all your personal data

Also, if you are still not sure, you can do an internet search using the exact wording in the ad, many well-known cheats can be found this way. If the advertiser is a real estate agent you can also look up his business information to see if he is legitimate.

How to protect yourself from Real Estate Scams

Being informed about possible dangers in itself is already a protection. It helps you to be cautious and to look out for warning signs.

We all heard this many times, if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

We focus on advertising cheap properties for sale our website, therefore many times it looks too good to be true. But of course, that does not mean they are fake ads.

A good indicator is to search for similar properties for sale in the same location. Also see if the real estate needs major works. You might be looking at a fixer-upper. Only if the price seems far lower than the competition you may question its authenticity. Often the reason for one real estate being cheaper than others is its condition, location or legal problems.

Use a safe legal procedure to buy Real Estate

Fortunately, most countries have a certain procedure in place when it comes to buying properties.

This makes it almost impossible to go through with a Real Estate Scam until the end. For example, in many countries it is mandatory to use a notary or lawyer to deal with the sale. Even if the seller requests a deposit as a down payment before the sale, this can already be handled through a trust account of a notary.

Sticking to the official process is a simple and very effective way to safeguard yourself against real estate scams.

How to report a Real Estate Scam

Have you spotted a fake ad on our site? Please, drop us a quick message in our contact form.

Do you like to report a scam? Depending on the country you are from there might be different places that are best for you to report the scam.

Here are just a few

Australia – https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam

UK – https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/scams/reporting-a-scam/

USA – https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds

A cheap pool for your home

Summer means pool time. For many of us, a pool is the epitome of having a good time. Especially in summer holidays a pool is one of the things we don’t want to miss.

But if you usually visit a public pool or leisure centre, that might not be an option right now. On the other hand, building your own pool at your home is a big and expensive venture.

As we have around 39ºC (102ºF) right now, I happen to find myself desperately searching for a cheap pool solution. Little did I know I would find the hot trend of the summer.

What about a stock tank pool at your home?

What is it, you may ask. Well, it happens that these inexpensive farm items were originally designed to water livestock. Now, it seems people have discovered them for their own pleasure. They are appearing in gardens across the world.

It’s a great idea, inexpensive and has a certain charm to it. How can you get one?

Choose a “pool” size

First step would be to find your local farm item supplier and see what options are available. In most areas the biggest round troughs are the most popular. Naturally, they would offer the best swimming experience.

Pick the right spot

Next or at the same time you need to decide where to set it up. You will need a spot with a level foundation. This means it needs a solid, level base free of any rocks or sharp edges.

Add pumps and chlorine

Of course, you like to enjoy your pool for as long as possible. Therefore, you will need to add a few things to keep it clean and safe. I found a very detailed description on how to do it (it has very nice pictures of stock tank pools as well that might give you some ideas). Check it out at Hey Wanderer blog

If you rather buy a house with a pool, check out find cheap holiday homes.

You have a house for sale? List it with us for free.

How to Find Cheap Land for Sale in Texas

You are making a wise decision if you are planning to find cheap land for sale in Texas because buying a property in the other states can break the bank. If you see the estimated value of the combined areas in the United States, the total will be around 23 trillion dollars.

If you will look for land in Texas, the average value per acre is only around 7,500 dollars. The agricultural property is one of the reasons for its reasonable price, which makes Texas one of the ideal places to look for cheap lands.

Why Buying Land in Texas Is More Practical

There are a few reasons why buying land in Texas is more practical. The most obvious is that most areas in Texas are agricultural. Moreover, here is why purchasing an estate in Texas is the right choice, especially if you will use it for agricultural purposes.

Local government is less strict on controlling the state’s real estate development.
Agricultural lands provide a massive amount of reduction in annual taxes.
Financing companies are willing to lend to farmers and landowners.
You can be eligible for the Federal income tax Schedule F.

As you can see, if you will use the land for farming, wildlife conservation, and timberland, you can save a great deal in Texas.

How to Find a Cheap Land

Now that you know that Texas offers a better deal than with any other estates, you can lower the price more if you know how to buy one at a lower price.

Aside from paying for the land, you also need to consider the other variables like tax receipts and land surveying. Most often, the new owner pays for tax receipts. You also need a service of a land surveyor to ensure that you are getting the exact land measurement for the price you paid.

The common types of properties that are cheap are the property, foreclosed, and government-owned. The only con is that it is not easy to find these properties on your own. You need to contact a bank to ask for foreclosed properties or ask help from mediators like land brokers, auctions, and realtors.

Sometimes, you can find the best deal on e-commerce websites like e-Bay and Craigslist.

The best way to acquire the lowest price is to buy a land that is away from the city and establishments offering essential goods, such as grocery stores, schools, and gas stations. Next is to find the owner and haggle directly. If you are lucky, you can come across the owners who are willing to bargain for a low price to get rid of the property.

As you can see, it is not difficult to find cheap land for sale in Texas.

Author: Kelsey Mickens

How Covid-19 affects house prices

Experts are far from agreeing how Covid-19 affects house prices. Most pros advise investors to stay calm.

There is no clear answer to the question of how the prices for residential or commercial real estate will develop as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

House Prices Forecast

The forecasts range from price drops of up to 25 percent to stable prices and even further rising rents to further price increases.

We are currently in a situation that never happened before therefore it is very difficult to predict the outcome as we cannot compare it with any other time in history. There is one thing though experts agree on which can be summed up in the following quote

“There is only one thing certain and that is that nothing is certain.”
— Gilbert K. Chesterton

House prices forecasts are for this year or a maximum of twelve months. Afterwards, the experts seem to agree, the prices tend to go up rather than down. All on the premise that the recession will be overcome by 2021 at the latest. Nobody speaks of a price bubble that could burst.

Corona would at most lead to a cycle break, meaning a temporary interruption of the general upward trend.

Real Estate is “concrete gold” – a rather safe investment

Although the price boom we saw before covid-19 would be a thing of the past, real estate seems to stay a rather safe investment compared with other ventures.

Researchers cite five factors for their forecast of short-term price declines: rising interest rates, less influx into booming cities, emergency sales due to less liquidity, for example among freelancers, fewer new buildings and less demand from investors.

The good news for home owners is that we currently have no indications of falling house prices.

Capital investors who were interested in buying an apartment before the epidemic are advised to simply pursue their plans. Residential properties still offer relatively good returns.

Conclusion

People need to live somewhere. Even if some who were planning to buy a house can’t do it anymore due to financial difficulties, they still need a place – meaning they rent a place, which in return is good for the owner as he receives the rent.

Surely, we always like to get a good bargain that’s why some buyers are hoping that the current situation will make houses more affordable.

11 years ago, we set on a quest to find the cheapest houses in the world and are surprised with what we found. So much so, that we created a website for cheap real estate. Check it out at https://www.propertyunder20k.com/

Real Estate for Preppers

I just stumbled upon a few websites for preppers when I looked up how to make my own yeast (there was none left in the shop). That’s when I discovered that there is a whole trend out there, it looks like everybody wants to become a prepper these days. There are also a few real estate websites offering properties for preppers.

What are preppers and what is real estate for need?

Preppers or survivalists are people who prepare for emergencies, including probable disturbances in social or political order, as well as preparations for personal emergencies, such as job loss.

The main focus is on self-reliance, stockpiling supplies, and gaining survival knowledge and skills. Among other things preppers often stockpile food and water, prepare to become self-sufficient, if possible, off-grid living, and build structures such as underground shelters that may help them survive a disaster.

Why do so many look for real estate for preppers now

The covid-19 pandemic has caused many people to re-examine their way of life. It created a wave of interest in rural living and particularly in prepper properties. Relocation to rural areas where one can be self-sufficient to some degree is an increasingly attractive possibility.

A lot of workers have been sent to work from home, and discovered, they actually love it. They are seeing its many advantages. With internet available in even isolated locations, the feasibility of working from home has gone up radically.

It can be immensely satisfying to grow your own food.

Less populated areas = easier social distancing

People in city areas are feeling restricted to their homes or apartments. In such densely populated places, social distancing can only be accomplished by staying at home. In less populated areas, or maybe suburbs where a house comes with its own big garden there is plenty of opportunities for outdoor activity, while easily maintaining a proper distance to others.

If you are planning to become a prepper, survivalist or maybe you are just seeking some more space outdoors by moving to the countryside, have a look at our real estate listings.

Time of opportunity for a real estate investor?

The covid-19 outbreak has affected every industry. As new unemployment numbers come out it leaves people speechless. There is no guide book for times like these. Some real estate investor may see a opportunity to hunt for real estate offers.

Many home owners didn’t have the money to pay their mortgage this month. Also, many tenants could not pay their rent as a result many landlords are in trouble to make their mortgage payments. Looking at the current mess on the real estate market many see this as an opportunity for property investors. Some already speak of a real estate recession.

But not so fast

Of course, we can already start thinking about possible consequences for the real estate market. Nevertheless, we need to keep in mind that we don’t know yet what exactly we will have to face as this covid-19 pandemic continues.

A possible scenario

One scenario would be a compressed but normal recession and it would probably look a lot like the 2008 recession, but quicker and deeper. Of course, it is not difficult to imagine other set-ups where a larger disaster awaits.

There is not much else you can do than to…

Stay positive

We should not forget that the real estate market moves very slowly, and the covid-19 pandemic is still young.

It is very unlikely that all of a sudden people will sell their homes for next to nothing. Even if home owners get under pressure because they can’t pay their mortgage anymore, we need to keep in mind that this will happen to thousands of people – most probable they will receive some sort of help to prevent them from losing their home.

Time of opportunities

No doubt, there are and there will be more opportunities for a real estate investor. This is a good time to go hunting for real estate bargains.

Real Estate Investor to the rescue

At the same time, nobody feels good about taking advantage of disaster. Therefore, it has to be noticed that many will be happy to find buyers quickly even if it means to sell for less. A real estate investor may be able to give exactly that help that the home seller needs at this time.

Find great real estate offers on www.propertyunder100k.com

Less new home listings

Spring is naturally a time when sellers put new home listings for sale as more people are looking for a house to buy. Home sellers hoping to take advantage of the buyers new born enthusiasm after the winter period. But this year, new listings dropped significantly in March and early April as the Covid-19 outbreak embraced the globe.

Real Estate Portals report less new home listings

Zillow, inc. reported yesterday that newly listed homes in the U.S. were down 27.1% from a year ago in the first week of April. They reported that the number of newly listed properties usually increases in late March and early April as home buying season starts. This year it’s been quite the contrary as many states have suggested or instructed people to stay at home. New listings in the U.S. have fallen 19% from the beginning of March.

No surprise

We can see the same trend happening on our website with international real estate listings. The number of new listings dropped slightly as well as the number of people who made enquiries about real estate offers.

It is totally understandable that people had other things on their mind than getting a new home. Nevertheless, after the first weeks past we can now see that the number of enquiries is slowly coming back to normal.

Social distancing cooled the real estate market

While the covid-19 outbreak and the resulting social distancing have cooled the real estate market considerably, it isn’t completely motionless. Buyers, sellers and real estate agents have started to change their activities as they adapt to public health requirements. They make 3D Home tours available or make home viewings via video conference.

Therefore, it seems like a good time now for all home sellers that are in a wait-and-see-mood to get their home for sale out there.

Need for new homes is still there

Although there is a particularly strong wait-and-see pattern similar to what happened during past pandemics we can see that customers still interested or actually needing to buy a new home even if they are not going to walk-throughs or able to close on transactions in person. Especially smaller and cheaper properties are in high demand.

List your home for sale

If some predictions turn out to be true and house prices will fall dramatically due to the covid-19 outbreak wouldn’t it be better to sell your house today rather tomorrow?

Don’t wait any longer, list your home for sale today.

Real Estate After Quarantine

This temporary quarantine made many people think about their values and goals in life as well as their work situation and their homes.

Although, this isolation is only temporary, life itself has always and will continue to change.

Our social interactions will be different for months, if not years to come. Our economies will eventually grow again, but the way we do business will have progressed. This is true for real estate as well.

Next time I like to quarantine on a tropical island…

One thing is certain, everybody needs a place to live, therefore real estate will always be needed. As much as everybody would like to improve their homes to be able to quarantine in style in case this happens again, it has to be considered that the financial situation of most people changed. Therefore, the housing market needs to adapt. Cheap real estate will be needed more than ever before. “Cheaper” meaning more cost effective.

This of course can mean that people have to downsize or reconsider what they really need in their home – simply back to the basic needs.

“Cheaper” doesn’t mean uglier

It’s true that many houses for sale that are on the lower end of the price range don’t look too good. But to be honest most of them only need a little bit of TLC and they can be a cosy home.

If you need to downsize, why not sleep on a sofa bed in the living room?

How can real estate agents adapt to this new situation?

You as a realtor can continue to do what you are really good at – be there for your clients and understand what they need in their circumstances. This is a new situation for all of us and for some it may be hard to adapt. Maybe some can’t picture themselves in a smaller, simpler home.

Whatever step someone needs to take, you can be there to help and make this a good experience.

What exactly does this mean?

You have to think outside the box, but yourselves in the buyer’s shoes. It maybe time to rethink how real estate deals where done in the past and see new ways that can make the whole process simpler, more time effective and more cost effective.

Will you go with the flow, let the waves take you wherever they go, or will you build a ship and go your own way?

Pick your boat and get on your way.

What is your idea of real estate after quarantine? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.