Working remotely is a gift and a curse. For professionals with busy households, the idea of taking work home is an opportunity for disaster.

But the number of people working remotely has grown by over 91 percent in the last decade. Follow these 10 tips for working remotely to remain productive and connected to your team throughout the day. 

1. Use a Surge Protector

Protect your tech while working from home. In the office, you have a dedicated department making sure your computers and office equipment remain safe in the face of a power surge.

But at home, you’ll have to take the necessary steps to make sure all your computing equipment and devices are connected to a surge protector. Surge protectors can help prevent physical damage to your computer if lightning strikes nearby.

Physical damage to a computer can be irreversible meaning your work for the day, or year could be lost if you don’t properly protect your devices from electrical threats. 

2. Set Boundaries With Family

Saying ‘no’ might be hard at first, but just because family members can see you doesn’t mean you’re available. Say no to taking your sister to the airport or picking up your friend’s sick kid from school.

Protect your time by saying ‘no’ when family members ask you for help because you’re working at home. Your employer still expects you to devote company time to company activities. 

3. Turn off Alerts

Your social media channels work hard to make sure you know everything your friends and family post throughout the day. To be productive working from home, you’ll have to work twice as hard to avoid social distractions.

Turn off any Facebook or Instagram notifications that come to your phone. Silence text message alerts and aim to check email only from your computer.

Hiding distractions help to keep your mind on the task at hand. Give yourself a break mid-day to check missed messages so you don’t feel like you’re missing out. 

4. Check-in Often

Overcommunicate with your team while working remotely. This helps everyone feel connected and avoids the chance for things to slip through the cracks.

Check-in before and after meetings to make sure your team understands its action items. Ask questions in multiple ways to make sure you understand what project expectations are to make sure you don’t waste time going down the wrong path.

Missing deadlines while working remotely can make it appear you’ve been off-task instead of that you simply misunderstood a deliverable. 

5. Clean Your Workspace

As the saying goes, ‘a clean desk is a sign of a messy drawer.’ Even if you only straighten up the clutter on top of your work surface, you’ll feel more focused and alert throughout the day.

Clean up as you snack to prevent a buildup of trash and napkins in your work area. Limit the number of cups in your area by keeping a refillable water bottle on hand that keeps your beverages cold. 

6. Don’t Forget to Eat

When you prepare for work in the morning, packing a lunch or planning to eat out are two easy options that allow you to maintain a tight lunch schedule. But when working from home, you can easily forget to plan out what you’re eating for the day.

Cooking a new meal each day or driving to your usual lunch destination can be time-consuming. Pack dinner leftovers in meal prep containers for easy reheating the next day.  

Have premade salads or pasta dishes on hand in case you don’t cook dinner the night before or want a lighter lunch option. 

7. End Your Workday

No matter whether you’re working from home or cottage country, the end of the workday can sneak up on you once you’ve gained momentum. 

Start and end your workday at your usual times to avoid burnout. It may be tempting to ‘get ahead’ by working longer hours at first, but over time you’ll find that your professional like is infringing on your ability to do simple things like run errands on your off time. 

8. Use a Focus Timer

Working from home with young children around can be a challenge. Instead of trying to do your workday continuously for hours on end, set up a focus timer to complete the day in bite-sized chunks.

For example, devote 45-minutes to each work session with 15-minute breaks in between. This gives you time to interact with your child as needed to prepare snacks, answer questions or deal with any problems that happen around the house. 

9. Solve Conflicts by Phone

If any issues arise with your coworkers throughout the day, call to resolve the issue by phone. Emails, Slack and text messages can lead to further misunderstandings that fester when you aren’t able to speak face to face. 

The best way to quickly resolve the issue and move on is to make a quick phone call to connect with your team. Follow up the conversation with an email confirming how you plan to move forward.

10. Make Time for Small Talk

Water cooler conversations are a time to make personal connections with coworkers and managers. You miss these important moments to emotionally align with your team when you work remotely.

Make time every day to check in personally to share thoughts and ideas with your team. Ask about their child’s soccer game or anniversary plans for the coming weekend.

If you have an instant messaging system through your employer, consider requesting a channel for casual updates and announcements so that everyone can feel connected while outside the office. 

Tips for Working Remotely

One of the best tips for working remotely is to remember your company culture. You want to be aligned with group dynamics even if you’re alone for weeks at a time.

This means checking in with your coworkers about work and non-work related projects throughout the day.  For more information and tips, check our blog for updates. 

If you’re buying a home and you don’t have a 20 percent down payment, you’ll be charged something called PMI, or Private Mortgage Insurance.

Before you apply for a new mortgage, it’s important to ask your lender, “How much is PMI?” so you can factor that into your monthly payment.

Read on to learn more about Private Mortgage Insurance and what you can expect.

Why Do I Have to Pay PMI?

The purpose of PMI is to provide protection for the mortgage lender, not necessarily for you. This monthly premium is factored into your mortgage payment. It covers a portion of the balance due if you end up defaulting on your loan.

Even with Private Mortgage Insurance, you can still face foreclosure if you don’t pay your mortgage on time. It also will not protect you from a hit to your credit or keep your score from lowering.

In a nutshell, PMI is really for the lender’s benefit and doesn’t do much to protect you. Without at least 20 percent equity upfront, the lender is assuming more risk. However, if you do put 20 percent down on your home, you can avoid paying PMI.

Conventional mortgages allow you to remove PMI once your home reaches 80 percent equity. FHA loans, however, require PMI for the life of the mortgage regardless of how much equity you’ve gained.

How Much Is PMI Going to Cost Me?

The rate of PMI can be as low as 0.55% to up to 2.25% of your loan amount. The amount that you pay really depends on several factors, and you can talk to a broker like Linda Ching for more information.

When you ask, “How much is PMI,” the monthly cost depends on the size of the loan, your down payment amount, and your credit score. The bigger your mortgage loan, the more your PMI will cost.

Borrowers with good credit scores tend to pay less in PMI each month since they’re considered lower risk. And, even if you don’t have 20 percent to put down, your PMI should still be lower if you contribute 15 percent as opposed to 5 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages will have a higher PMI cost than fixed-rate mortgages. It’s important to try and get an estimate of how much your PMI will be before you buy a home so you can factor it into your budget.

Once your lender determines the cost of your PMI, the premium is added to your total monthly mortgage payment. It should be listed separately on your statement so you know exactly what you’re paying as part of your total cost.

Understanding Your Mortgage

From principal and interest to insurance, asking “How much is PMI?” upfront will help you budget your new home purchase. If you have 20 percent to use as a down payment, you can avoid PMI completely.

If you’re still unsure about your home loan budget, talk to your lender or a mortgage broker who can help you determine what you can afford. 

To view our properties or to learn more about real estate tips and information, visit our website today.

Did you know that the average American home appreciates 3 to 5 percent every single year? So if you own a home for 20 years and then sell it, your home will be worth anywhere from 60 to 100 percent. more.

Talk about an incredible way to make money.

But with so many different types of investments out there, you may feel overwhelmed with all of your options.

That’s why we created this guide outlining the top 6 benefits of investing in real estate. Keep reading to learn more.

1. A Steady Income

Let’s start with the basics. When you own a property and rent it out, this means you can enjoy a steady income month after month.

For example, if you own a home that has a mortgage of $1500 and you can rent it out for $1800, that’s an extra $300 in your bank account every single month.

And who wouldn’t like that extra passive income? Plus, someone else is paying your mortgage on that property.

As you’re deciding on what property to buy, spend some time doing research. What locations near you would be the best for renting?

Where are there lots of young families or other young people who are looking to rent? These areas are often a great place to purchase.

Also think about other areas with lots of renters. Often towns with colleges or universities are a great consideration as well.

2. Extra Tax Benefits

Next, one of the biggest benefits of investing in real estate are the tax incentives.

The federal government rewards property owners in the form of tax breaks as a way to encourage people to purchase property.

Let’s say someone earns $100,000 as a business owner running a retail store and you make $100,000 in a year through rental properties. At the end of the day, you’re going to keep more of that money.

Here are 3 of the best tax benefits:

• Since you’re not a typical small business owner, you don’t have to pay any self-employment taxes
• Depreciation tax benefits are a huge win as a property owner
• You also get a break on your taxes the year that you make your purchase

The best part? There’s no catch. These benefits are available to all property owners.

3. Appreciation

We’re not talking about giving thanks. We’re talking about a different kind of appreciation, this one being an important financial topic.

As you own your property, it will increase in value over time. This is what naturally happens in our economy.

Think of it this way. Every month, you pay off part of your mortgage, decreasing the size of your loan. And while this decrease is happening, the value of your home increases.

So what does this mean in the long run? You’ll be able to make a lot of money in terms of appreciation, which is one of the best loopholes of real estate.

Let’s say you bought your place for $200,000 and you hold onto it for 11 years. At that point, it’s worth $275,000. That’s $75,000 extra you’ll make from appreciation as well as everything you’ll make in equity.

4. Diversify Your Portfolio

When it comes to investing, it’s always smart to diversify your portfolio. What does this mean exactly?

Think of it in terms of the phrase, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” If you invest all your money into one company’s stock, for example, what happens if they go bankrupt? That would deal you a major blow.

To avoid this potential disaster, it’s a great idea to spread out your investments in various different types. These could include stocks, bonds, and real estate.

Out of the 3 types, real estate is still the safest bet when it comes to investing, so it’s okay if you focus the majority of your money there.

5. Strong Returns

Here’s another important point to consider: real estate offers super competitive returns compared to other investment options.

The truth is that there are countless investment options available, including 401ks, bonds, stocks, and tactical asset allocation.

When compared with one of the most popular, stocks, real estate tends to outperform stocks two to one in terms of returns. It’s a no-brainer.

6. Protect against Inflation

To wrap up, there’s one additional benefit we want to address when it comes to investments: it’s great at withstanding inflation.

Most of us have heard of inflation. This is a common financial concept that says that prices tend to increase over time in our market.

The bad news is that other forms of investments, including lots of stocks, are often negatively affected by inflation over time.

Real estate, on the other hand, is really good at withstanding these negative consequences. Shelter is a necessity. There will always be demand for apartments and homes.

Because of this, your real estate investments will continue to increase in worth as time goes on, which is the goal of every type of investment at the end of the day.

The Top Benefits of Investing in Real Estate

Investing in stocks leaves you with an asset that can be worth zero dollars at some point.

The best stock picking service should help you make the right decision depending on your investment goals. You should consider investing in a stock-picking service only if you have some extra money to invest and you are confident in your investment skills.

On the other hand, real estate is a tangible asset impacted by the land it sits on and the improvements you make, so it will always be worth something.

There you have it: 6 of the top benefits of investing in real estate. While there are many different forms of investments, real estate is one of the best out there.

Now that you’ve read through these tips and tricks, it’s time to consider your specific situation. Does real estate investing make sense at this time in your life? How much do you have saved already?

Answering these questions will help you make the right choice for yourself and your financial future.

Want to learn more? Check out our blog for more interesting articles like this.

Moving, it seems, is becoming more common than ever before. In fact, on average, about 40 million people in the U.S. alone move to a new home every single year.

But why do people move? What are some of the driving factors that cause them to make the decision to leave their home behind for a new opportunity?

Here’s a closer look at seven of the most common reasons people sell their homes.

Why Do People Move?

1. They Need More Space

Many times, when people buy their first home, it’s not intended to be the place in which they live forever. Instead, these are known as starter homes, and eventually, families start to outgrow them.

It could be that they need more yard space to accommodate the new family dog, or more bedrooms, or a bigger garage. Regardless of their specific needs, they need more space and a new house is a perfect solution.

2. They’re Moving to a New Location

Sometimes, life takes you to a new city, state, or even country. Whether people are moving to a new location because of a new job opportunity or just because they want a change of scenery, they’ll typically need to sell their house in order to do so.

Many times, when moving to a new area, they’ll need to sell their house quickly, so they might turn to a “we buy houses company” to get the ball rolling.

3. They’re Experiencing Relationship Changes

As personal relationships change, many times housing needs do as well. If a couple is moving in together for the first time or getting ready to be married, they might move into a new place to call their own.

Likewise, if a couple is divorcing, they will look for a new place to start the next chapter of their lives.

4. Their Financial Situation Changes

In the event of a promotion or starting a new job with a higher salary, people might take that opportunity to move into a more expensive house.

On the other side of things, if someone is laid off or fired, they might need to move to a more affordable home while they adjust to these changes.

5. Their Family Is Changing

A young couple that’s expecting their first child might look to move into a bigger house that can accommodate their growing family. Or, empty nesters, whose children have all moved out might want to downsize to a smaller place.

As a family changes, their home needs change as well, often leading them to move.

6.  Their Home Needs Too Much Work

Countless home remodeling television shows make it look like anyone can do their next home project themselves. But, the reality is that few people have the time, skills, or desire to tackle a big project.

When a home gets to the point that it needs a lot of work done, some people find it easier to just move than to try to deal with the stress of a remodel.

7. They’re Experiencing Health Issues

As people get older, they might start to develop mobility issues, making it hard to move around their home. Elderly homeowners might decide to move from a two-story home to a ranch instead, so they don’t have to worry about using stairs.

Similarly, if a family member requires the use of a wheelchair to get around, they might move to a place with more accessibility.

Good News for Buyers

As you can see, there are many different answers to the question, “Why do people move?”

This is good news for buyers, as it means that homes are constantly popping up for sale. Where one family’s journey ends, another can begin.

Looking for a new garage door? There are more options than you’d think.

Garage doors come in a variety of different colors, styles, and materials with additional features and add-ons available. If you are about to start your search, you should know how to buy a garage door and what will fit the style of your home  

 

How to Buy a Garage Door

If you’re in the market for a new garage door, you’ll want the best door that suits your home, is easy to operate, and that will last you for many years. A new garage door can boost curb appeal and choosing to insulate could save you money on your energy bills. 

Below are some of the basic factors to consider when looking for the perfect garage door for your home.  

Type

Sectional doors move up on a vertical track and as it bends it will run parallel with the ceiling on a horizontal track. This is the most common across the United States.  

Roll-up rolls around a large cylinder in the garage up by the ceiling.  

Side-hinged doors look like large barn doors when opened and closed. Hinges on the side let this door swing open. 

Slide garage doors bend to the side and run parallel to the wall. 

Tilt-up tilts up instead of bending and can either extend past your house like a canopy or retract into the garage 

 

Material 

Wood is beautiful but requires a lot of maintenance. They need to be stained and painted every few years and they are prone to rot due to exposure to the elements. 

Composite wood is made of fiberboard with a wooden frame. These doors are filled with polystyrene insulation for increased energy-efficiency. 

Aluminum doors are great for weather resistance and their durability but are easily dented. This type of material does absorb heat from the sun and it will require more energy to cool this space down during the hot months. 

Steel is low in maintenance, energy-efficient, and offers many customizable options. 

Vinyl is durable, easy to maintain, but it can be more expensive when insulation is added. 

Fiberglass is lightweight and quiet. The outside of the door is fiberglass while the interior is a foam core and supported by a steel frame 

Accessories & Added Features 

Windows let in natural light and are aesthetically pleasing. 

Insulation provides energy-efficiency and can save you money on your energy bill while leaving your home a more comfortable environment. 

Automatic door openers are very common and require strong motors and safety sensors to stop the door from closing on any objects. Door openers are on small remotes and personal codes can also be used to open the door. 

Does It Fit Into My Budget? 

Before you go shopping, consider how much you want to invest in a garage door. What you’ll be paying depends on the factors listed above. Prices can range from several hundred to several thousand depending on what you want. 

Installing a new garage door adds a solid return on investment. Nationally, this number gives an ROI of 85% on average.  

Take into consideration the cost to hire a professional if you are sticking to a strict budget.

Choose What Fits Your Needs    

Garage door shopping isn’t something you get to do very often. Don’t walk into it blind. Know how to buy a garage door and everything that’s offered on the market today. 

Check out our blog for more guides on home improvement.

Did you know that roughly one hundred bolts of lightning strike the ground every second? With so much lightning in the world, it seems practical to take every precaution to protect yourself and buildings.

If that’s the case, then why are there so many steel buildings in rural areas? Do metal roofs attract lightning?

Believe it or not, steel buildings do the exact opposite — they resist the lightning. In this article, we’ll explain how they work and why you should consider them. Let’s get started!

So Do Metal Roofs Attract Lightning? No!

It’s a common mistake to believe that metal attracts lightning. It doesn’t attract lightning — it conducts it. It doesn’t matter what type of material it is — lightning will hit it all indiscriminately.

What does matter is how high up a building is. Lightning is much more likely to strike objects that are high up.

That’s why huge buildings like the Empire State Building require massive lightning rods to absorb the energy and divert the lightning. Otherwise, the building itself would be struck which is unsafe both structurally and for the inhabitants.

Why Are Metal Roofs Better Than Wood?

Now that we know we know that metal doesn’t attract lightning we can explore why it’s a great material for roofs. You might be thinking that wood would be a better material since it comes with a higher electrical resistance.

But wood is too resistant — when lightning hits it ricochets back off of it. This flash of reflected lightning can hit people or objects and cause fires.

So why are metal roofs better? When properly grounded lightning hits the roof, which then travels rapidly through the framing and safely into the ground.

If you’re interested in a metal roof, then consider metal buildings offered by dependable local companies like The NC Builders.

Extra Precautions You Can Take To Prevent Lightning Damage

If there are electrical components in your metal roof building, then you may not want the lightning running through your building frames. This can cause an electrical overload and potential fire. The solution is a lightning rod.

A lightning rod protects a building by absorbing the lightning bolt and transferring it to the ground through a wire. This, in turn, protects any electrical systems or individuals in the building.

However, we don’t recommend installing a lightning rod yourself. As this MIT article notes many things can go wrong with even the slightest miscalculation. When the stakes are life and death, it’s always best to go with a professional instead.

Want More Articles On Home Improvement? Check Out More Sky Five Properties’ Blog Posts

We hope this article helped you answer the question ‘do metal roofs attract lightning?’. When properly grounded, these structures are safer than many other types of roofing.

If you want to learn more about home improvement — as well as other real estate and personal management subjects — then make sure to keep reading Sky Five Properties’ blog.

Boston you’re my home!

Boston is one of the best places to live in the world. The city has great schools and ample job opportunities, and it’s a wonderful environment to raise your family.

Where you choose to live is one of the biggest decisions of your life. The worst thing you can do while choosing a house is to not explore and learn about the neighborhood.

Read on to find out about the 10 best Boston suburbs and what they have to offer.  

The Best of the Best Boston Suburbs

There are a lot of suburbs to choose from around Boston, and they all offer something different.

If you’re not familiar with the area, read this article to figure out how to find the right real estate agent in Boston. 

If you’re looking to live in a Boston suburb, you should know that it won’t come cheap. The average income and house prices vary, but house prices in these areas often range from $500,000 to millions of dollars!

With no further ado, here are the top 10 Boston suburbs.

1. Lexington 

Lexington is at the top of the list because it is as classy as they come. 

To live in Lexington, you’ll need a hefty income, but it is worth it.

Lexington gets our badge of being one of the best Boston suburbs to raise a family. Schools are top-notch and the neighborhoods are safe. 

2. Brookline 

Brookline is another wonderful place to raise a family due to its safe streets and top schools. 

Looking for stuff to do in Brookline? There are plenty of book stores, cafes, parks, restaurants, and bars.

3. Newton 

Newton is a town for both young professionals and families alike. There is much to do, and people who live there have the money to do it. It ranks highest in income among Boston suburbs. 

4. Cambridge

Cambridge may not be as safe as the other top suburbs of Boston, but that doesn’t stop people from wanting to live there. 

Cambridge is among the most desired places to live in Boston due to its liberal culture and remarkable history. The nightlife in this area is booming!

Schools in this area are great, as well, but don’t rank as high as their comparative neighborhoods. 

5. Belmont 

Belmont is a beautiful dense suburban town filled with fantastic people. Most of the people own as opposed to renting, which means you’ll get to know your neighbor. 

6. Winchester

Loaded with history and great schools, this Boston suburb is ranked highly amongst other neighborhoods.

7. Waltham

Waltham is a good suburb for commuting to Boston. Check out Moody Street for bars, restaurants, book stores, and more. 

8. Sudbury

18 miles west of Boston, Sudbury is a little further away than some of our other suburbs, but the commute is worth living there. 

There’s not much in the way of nightlife, so this isn’t really the place for young adults or young professionals. Instead, this is a wonderful place for families to live in. 

With a population of around 19,000, it is one of the less crowded Boston suburbs.

9. Somerville

Somerville has long been a popular part of the Boston suburbs. Its been heavily gentrified, so what was one a hip low-key part of town has quickly become an expensive neighborhood loaded with families.

10. Arlington

Arlington is quickly becoming a trendy Boston suburb. People have flocked to Arlington over the past few years and it is, like Somerville, being gentrified.

Which Boston Suburb Is for You?

Now that you know a little bit about the Boston suburbs, which one is right for you? Are you destined to raise your family in the neighborhood of Newton, or do you want to enjoy being a young professional commuting from Cambridge? 

Whatever your needs, one of these best Boston suburbs is for you.

Looking for more articles like this? Check out the rest of our website for other valuable real estate information. 

There are more than 40 million homes that are rented in the United States.

If you are thinking about renting your property, you can make extra income and help others. Although this is a great way to make money, it still has its challenges and responsibilities. 

Continue reading to discover some of the best property management tips to give your residents a spectacular place to stay! 

1. Convenience Is Key

One of the best property management tips is to make things as convenient as you can.

If you are having residents pay in person with a check or cash, it is easy for payments to go missing or unpaid. Giving your residents an online option to pay their rent can help ensure that you get all of your money.

Residents can also use these online resources to stay up-to-date and in communication with you. 

You can require residents to use automatic, online payments when signing the lease or offer it while testing the process out. There are many online rent payment companies that you can work through if you are unsure where to begin. 

2. Choose Your Residents Wisely

When you rented your first apartment, you may have wondered why there were so many requirements to take care of before moving in. 

Background checks, talking to renters, and calling references may seem a bit excessive, but they are necessary. Neglecting to do these things can result in your letting irresponsible people move into your property. To have the best community within your rental space, you need it filled with the best people.

Make sure that you do not discriminate during the screening process. Finding your residents should be a thoughtful process that involves various steps. 

3. Maintain the Property

Another rule that you should follow while owning property is to check on it and maintain the space. 

Every couple of weeks or months, you should inspect the property for damage or repair issues. By keeping up with the maintenance of your building, you can prevent large damage that costs more. 

Working with a residential home remodeling company can help if you don’t have time to make repairs and upgrades yourself. Before any resident moves in, you should fully inspect and repair their building.

4. Perfect Your Lease

If you want to be a successful property manager, you must ensure that your lease is perfected and doesn’t change often.

Make sure that your lease is easy to understand, fair, and strong. Don’t use written leases that can easily be changed if you don’t have to. Even month to month rentals should be documented.

You can have your lawyer look over your lease to ensure that there are no loose ends. Although most residents will be pleasant and cooperative, you may come across some that try to manipulate the lease.

The best thing to do is to be prepared for these situations so that they never become a problem. Don’t have residents sign your lease until it is complete. 

5. Don’t Let Things Slide

As mentioned above, most tenants are cooperative.

However, you will eventually come across more difficult people that try to overstay their contracts or don’t follow your rules. 

When these sorts of things occur, you must not hesitate to use notices and warnings. Depending on the situation, you can decide when to give notice to residents. Although this can be difficult, it can help prevent you from having to evict someone. 

Make sure that when you send out notices, it is documented. Some people may try to take you to court, so you should do whatever you can to be prepared. 

This isn’t to say that you should never give people any leeway in the time of their stay. Putting your foot down when you’re feeling taken advantage of, however, is a good idea. 

6. Offer Excellent Service

To keep your properties filled with tenants, you must make sure that they are satisfied and getting their money’s worth.

If you rent apartments and property, you will want to make sure that everything is cleaned up and repairs can be made swiftly. You want your tenants or businesses to be able to trust you and know that you care about customer satisfaction. 

When you are managing property, you must treat every person fairly and with respect. If complaints are made, do what you can to reasonably make accommodations. Once you have good tenants, they won’t want to leave if they like where they stay. 

7. Give Back Deposits

Unless there is major damage or evidence that rules were neglected, you should do your best to give residents their deposits back. 

Some instances that may cause you to keep the deposit, however, can be if a tenant broke their contract, abandoned the property, or has unpaid rent. Other things that you should keep deposits for at if there is any smoke damage (on no-smoking properties) or animal damage.  

You should never withhold deposits from people that you are upset with or because they found a way out of their lease. Just because someone can find a loophole, doesn’t mean they should lose this money. 

Use These Property Management Tips

If you are renting property or working as a landlord, you likely understand the importance of rules.

Utilizing these property management tips can help you become more efficient and offer your residents a better place to stay. All of this can result in a more profitable business so that you can start saving money. 

Be sure to check out our blog for more articles about home rentals and preparing your space with remodels! 

According to the National Association of Realtors, more than 6 million homes are sold each year, the vast majority of them being existing homes.

There are so many things you can do to help make sure that you get the most out of selling your home. A home sellers checklist can be the perfect tool to use so you can track everything you’ll need to do during this busy time.

Read on for 5 of the best things you can add to your list to increase your home’s selling value!

1. De-Clutter

De-cluttering will not only make a great impression on everyone who looks at your house, it will make it easier for you to do the other things on the home seller checklist.

Put away anything that will get in the way of cleaning and improving your home’s appearance. You can also put away any items that you think won’t impress home viewers.

2. Do a Deep Cleaning

You know how refreshing and satisfying it is just to be in your home when it’s fully cleaned and looking its best. A deep cleaning job can make your whole home feel cozier, a place that anyone would be eager to move in to. A quality carpet cleaning job can lighten your carpets and make your home seem newer.

3. Put Up a Layer of Fresh Paint

You have to strike the right balance between spending money on your home that will make it sell for more, but not spending money on projects that won’t increase your home selling price by much.

A layer of fresh paint is one of the most effective trades you can make, making your home appear much nicer while costing relatively a little.

4. Emphasize Your Home’s Curb Appeal

The key to getting your home ready to sell is curb appeal. While it’s a little hard to define, curb appeal is basically everything about your home that makes it look nice from the curb.

People want their home to reflect well on them to visitors who see it from the curb, so knowing how to sell your home means making it look as nice as possible for future owners. A few tasteful potted plants, a well-lit pathway to your front door, or some porch furniture can be a great way to make your house more attractive to potential buyers.

5. Prioritize Your Photos

No matter how nice you get your home looking, if your photos of it are low quality, people won’t be able to appreciate the quality that it has. Make sure you put as much care into your pictures as your home, and you’ll have more than enough people interested in viewing your home.

A home-buying company is a great way to supercharge the speed of the whole selling process. Check out www.creamcityhomebuyers.com to learn more about selling your home as quickly as possible.

Work On Your Home Sellers Checklist

We hope you learned something helpful in this piece about home sellers checklists.

To learn more about finding great properties and selling your own, check out our other pages.

Whether you want a fence for the aesthetic, the privacy, the protection, or all of the above, you’ll need to make sure that you’re working with a reliable fencing service.

Are you wondering how to find the top fencing companies near you?

Keep reading to learn about great tips for finding a reliable fencing service in your area.

1. Ask Friends and Family

Who can you rely on more than your friends and family? If any of your loved ones have had some fencing work done, then you should go straight to them for their opinion.

They can tell you all about their experience and even if it was negative, at least you can cross that specific business off your list. If they rave about the company, then you should feel pretty confident about doing business with them.

However, it doesn’t hurt to do further research.

2. Compare Reviews Online

If a fencing service has been in business for a decent amount of time, then they should have some reviews that you can check out for more opinions and impressions.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t read only one review and move on. Rather, it’s more helpful to read a few or more reviews of several different fencing services. That way, you can compare and contrast what they have to say.

If you only read one review, you can never be sure if a glowing review was left by the business itself. Similarly, you won’t know whether a negative review was left by the business’s competition.

3. Look Into The Business’s History

Once you’ve narrowed down your commercial fence company search list, you should contact the businesses and ask questions about their history.

The longer a fencing service has been in business, the more experience they’re going to have at their disposal.

In addition, you should ask the fencing service for a couple of past clients that you can contact. Past customers can tell you all about their experience which will go a long way with helping you to make your decision.

Just be sure that the customers are fairly recent because a business can change a lot in a short amount of time.

4. Get a Quote

While it’s important to get a quote so that you have a better idea of what you’re dealing with, you shouldn’t pick your fencing service based on the price alone.

A low price could mean that the fencing service plans on doing a subpar job while a high price could mean that you’re being overcharged.

Any quote you receive from a fencing company should be considered against the other information that you’ve figured out, including business history and reviews. That way, you’ll feel confident when buying a fence.

Are You Ready to Hire a Reliable Fencing Service?

Now that you know all about these great tips for finding a reliable fencing service in your area, you can turn that dream fence into a reality.

Do you want to stay up to date on all things related to real estate, business, financing, and more? Bookmark our site so that you’ll never miss out.