Housing Humor

Below are a few cartoons I found in relation to housing/real estate.  Enjoy:

the above cartoons were found searching google images: real estate humor and using the following website: http://capropertyfinder.com/real-estate-jokes-pictures-comics-cartoons-humor-one-liners/

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse- Be Creative

Everyone is going "green" these days trying to save the environment by keeping waste out of the land fills.  I have a few projects that you might want to try with pre-existing materials or furniture you have or can cheaply purchase from local thrift shops or free off of craigslist.  There is a "free" section on craigslist that has a huge variety of items people have set on the curb- first come first serve. 
On my last visit to my local City Union Thrift I found a pair of old dining room chairs for $6 a piece.  I purchased some black fabric 1/2 price from JoAnn's to recover the seat cushion and the chair back, along with some thick foam (also half price) to cover the wood on the back of the chair, and a pint of black paint from Home Depot. Below is the before and after photos of my repurposing of old dining room chairs made into a little fancier office chairs. 

 

 

 

Below is another quick and easy project using an old canvas and fabric.  Cut the fabric a little bigger than the canvas, staple the fabric to the back of the canvas and hang. 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorites, you can use small canvas, cut down pieces of wood, foam, or just use thick paper as a backing.  To create a similar look to the below you need to pick out several different patterns of paper (scrapbooking works best), cut down the paper to the size of your canvas/wood and glue to the backing, and hang.  Simple and creates an interesting wall art. (The backing is left over wood from a wood working project-free)

 

 
 

Below is random lengths of wood painted different colors and nailed together with initial of my last name(the C was left over from our wedding decorations), we use this as wall art in our basement bar.

 

 

Below is the actual runner from our wedding backed with a canvas, surrounded by wedding memorabilia. 

 

 

There are tons of DIY projects on Pinterest and Google images to start getting your mind in creative mode.  This will  help keep unwanted items out of the landfills and create new purpose or meaning to old furniture or house hold items and possibly spruce up your home at the same time.  I think these DIY projects are fun and bring out your creativity, you can make something NEW again. Feel free to share your ideas!

Showing Feedback- Take One for the Team

When your house is on the market and open for the world to see on the internet you begin to get showings set up through agents and individuals. People contact their agents and show up at your place to take a look around. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and they will share all the flaws or issues with you after viewing your home. They aren’t always pleasant and can sometimes frustrate you as you don’t feel the same way. Remember you chose the layout, the location, the colors, and the furniture. You are a bit bias. You really need to step back, walk through your home and act like you were a buyer walking in for the first time, be picky. Find things that bug you and either fix them or know that people may complain or mention in their feedback. They may mention things that you can’t fix, like traffic noise, location, neighbors, etc. They will mention things you can fix and you might want to depending on the difference it will make and how much it will cost, will it change the overall look. If it is commonly mentioned over and over from buyer to buyer it might be worth the change. Most commonly they will mention the price and how they feel it should be lower, remember everyone wants a deal. They are comparing your home to others on their list in the same price range. They are seeing what they can get for the same asking price, if your home has less amenities, rooms, etc they will comment. But remember no matter the price any one can put in a contract regardless if it’s near the asking price, if they really loved it they would send in an offer at minimum- far less than your asking price. Some comments might make you feel better about your home like good curb appeal, nicely decorated, good location, it’s not all bad. Take feedback with a grain of salt. Everyone has different tastes.

For Sale by Owner- Allowing Strangers in Your Home

Some homeowner’s first inclination is to put their house up for sale by owner when they decide to sell. They want to reduce the amount they spend on realtor commissions. I too was one who put my first home up for sale by owner and successfully sold it without an agent! I did all the advertising, marketing, showings, negotiating and writing my own contract, scheduled the inspection and appraisal, and set up the closing with the title company. It’s was a great learning experience and a good prerequisite to becoming a licensed real estate agent in two states. When you put your home up for sale by owner you are letting strangers in your home. These could be people that may not have any interest in purchasing, just wanting to peek around your home. You never know if they are pre-qualified or if they can even afford to purchase your home. They could be your neighbors down the street wanting to see if you have updated your kitchen or bathrooms or just checking out the floor plan. You are probably thinking, when agents bring buyers to my home they are still strangers. That is the case, however when you have an agent bringing buyers to your home, you have the comfort of knowing they are pre-qualified buyers. Not only do they have the intention of purchasing, they have a letter from a bank confirming they are able to afford your home. It should put your mind at ease knowing it’s not some random person off the street that is strolling around your property. Plus when buyers visit your home they feel uncomfortable when you are present. They don’t feel like they can look around and open doors and explore like they would like to in order to make the big decision to purchase your home. When you have an agent show your property the buyers can freely mention the good and bad items of the home without offending you, the owner.   It is a big decision to sell your home.  If you plan to list your home for sale by owner soon or in the future, I hope you consider that you will be allowing a stranger in your home knowing nothing about their intentions.