My Own Home
Choosing Your New Home Decorating Style

An easy rule to follow when choosing your home decorating style in the transition zone is to apply the same color style to both the interior and the exterior. For an architectural home decorating style such as craftsman or ranch, heavy, dark wood pieces, sturdy clean-lined furniture with earth tones and lots of earth tones, would work best. Here are four of the more popular home decorating styles that would work best in this zone:

Transitional - This home decorating style is casual and comfortable, just like the name says. Just because it's casual, however, doesn't mean it has to look that way. Bright and bold is how to design your living room and the furniture in this zone should reflect that. To dress up the space and give it a light airy look, choose pale furniture with minimal lines and fabrics. Add a few cushions on the sofa and maybe throw in a few accent pillows in coordinating colors.

Floral Wallpaper - When choosing home decorating that focuses on the floral theme, it's important to think about the different types of floral wallpaper available. Think of types such as toile, floral and other prints that have a light, airy feel to them. Floral wallpapers work great in the dining room and kitchen. In fact, you might even want to use floral wallpapers for your bedroom!

Pro Decorating Tip - Another great home decorating tip for this era is to incorporate mirrors in your design. Mirrors can be used to add depth and a sense of space to any room in the house. To make it even better, try using mirrored accent pillows on your sofa. You can even go as far as putting a mirror over the bed for that extra pop of sleeping beauty! This is one home decorating tip that will truly give your new home a unique, refreshing look.

Elegant Style - Elegant home decorating usually takes place in the dining room, family room or the kitchen. With so many options available to you today, there's really no excuse not to get the look you've always wanted. Whether you choose to go with a traditional French style table with a carved top or contemporary, eclectic furniture, you'll find that choosing the right pieces of furniture makes all the difference. Just remember, no matter how "gorgeous" your new furnishings are, they still need to match the rest of the home. For instance, if you choose an intricate table with glass beads for your kitchen, don't add a metal bowl with fake fish to the decor. It just wouldn't make sense!

Don't be afraid to be creative when choosing new home decorating styles either. While old furniture may be perfectly suitable for your design style, it may not look quite as elegant in your home. So, try looking at other period pieces of furniture to see what kind of things they have in common with your design. If they have similar elements like floral patterns or geometric shapes, you can often use those elements in your new home decorating style.

Home decorating is not always easy. You do have to get creative when trying to figure out how to decorate. However, once you have chosen your new decorating style, there's no need to be afraid of mixing and matching furniture, colors, and other decor items. In fact, many homemakers turn part of their living room into a craft room so that they can work on their decorating hobby while enjoying some good family time. Just remember to take it easy when decorating so that your home is welcoming and comfortable!
Steps For Successful Home Buying Process

First, the real estate agent takes the lead role; this includes negotiating the best terms for you to purchase the home and putting together a strong closing offer. This is the beginning of the negotiating process. In this role, your real estate agent should make sure that you understand everything in the transaction agreement, that you are comfortable with the terms and conditions of closing, and that they can explain these options to you in layman's terms. You want to feel confident from the very start, that you are communicating with someone who understands you and your wants and needs.

Next, the lender takes the lead role. Your real estate agent should now be communicating with your lender on your behalf as well. This gives you the chance to shop around and compare lenders and the price range of homes. Your agent should also be communicating with prospective buyers about your home buying program, making sure you understand what is offered under each program. You want to learn what you are getting for your money and what you don't have to give.

When you close the deal, you need to know who is getting paid what. This is where your agent steps in. They should be using all of their leverage and resources to get you the best possible interest rate and payment on your home buying loan. Working with your lender, allows you to negotiate more affordable payments.

Another important aspect of home buying and selling involves your listing agent. Your list is where potential buyers will find your home. A great listing agent helps you sell your home faster. If they see potential buyers looking at your home, they will make changes to your home inspection report or staging to attract those buyers. They will also make changes to your advertising materials, maybe adding a flyer or two.

Your personal financial history is the most important factor in determining the outcome of your home buying and selling experience. Your credit score will determine your interest rate, your loan amount and your monthly payments. The better your credit score, the better your chances of obtaining lower interest rates and better loan terms. To ensure you have a great credit score, it is advisable to get a free copy of your credit score from one of the three national credit bureaus once per year.

Before buying or selling a home, make sure you are in the clear financially. Work on your debt to income ratio. This ratio is used to determine whether you will qualify for the best mortgage rate. It is also used to calculate your monthly house payment.

It can take several months before you qualify for your mortgage. Make sure you work with your real estate agent during this time. During this time your financial condition, employment history and credit score are checked. The main reason mortgage lenders require a credit check is to protect themselves. Once they have ensured your finances are sound, you will be approved for a loan.
Selling Your Home - A Few Tips

First and foremost you need to be prepared to accept the reality that the house isn't going to sell at or near the listed price. Many people don't like this reality and instead prefer to have things working the way they want them to. Remember that as-is your home selling price will always be lower than what someone else would pay for the home based on comparable sales in the area. If you are a good negotiator then this fact may not quite seem all that important. It is however something to consider when you are trying to close a deal.

In addition to preparing your home for showings, it is equally important to prepare for negotiations. This means that if you have been shopping around for a while, you can now compare prices with other properties and see which ones come out as the best value. However, do not get too carried away - if the offer is very low, you need to know whether this is a good selling price or not. Negotiating skills will be put to the test during showings so ensure you are sufficiently comfortable using them before showing your home off.

Another home selling strategy is to develop a full-service marketing plan. Your real estate agent can advise you on a whole host of marketing strategies including advertisements in local newspapers, listing flyers at homes for sale, holding open houses, etc. Your real estate agent can also help you develop a full-service marketing strategy. You could even consider hiring a professional inspector to take a look at the condition of your home. Real estate agents and inspectors can help develop a full-service selling strategy which includes finding potential buyers, placing ads in local newspapers, showing your home off at open houses, and developing a full-service marketing strategy.

Negotiate prices. Buyers are often offered a discount up to seventy-five percent below market value if they purchase your home through a listing agent. In addition to negotiating prices, a listing agent can also help you negotiate your closing costs. A listing agent will help you arrange financing as well as arrange for buyers' loans and escrow.

Make sure that you get your buyer to buy from you. You can work with your listing agent to have the buyer come to your home. A listing agent can help you find potential buyers and negotiate terms of the deal. Listing agents usually make up their commission when they sell a home and do not charge a buyer's fees.

Conduct a home inspection. Conducting a home inspection is very important when you are selling a home. Conducting a home inspection will alert you and your buyer of any problems that might be a problem down the road. Buyer's home inspections will also save you money as you will have a more informed perspective on the home's condition. When conducting a home inspection, get an independent professional home inspection company.

Negotiate the terms of the contract. Buyers are often offered at a set price that must be met by the seller before they will consider purchasing the home. To help you negotiate the contract, you may want to enlist the services of a good real estate attorney or broker. A good lawyer will be able to negotiate the terms of the contract in your favor and can prevent the seller from submitting a less than perfect offer.
About Home Improvement

Here are some of the benefits of home improvement:

- Increase the market value of your home. When you make any home improvement, it is obvious that it will increase the value of your home. You can consult real estate agents or you can check with your lender about the same. The former would have a list of possible homes and the latter will have a compilation of homes with comparable price. When you check out your listing, you can get ideas about how to improve your home so that it can hold its value or get higher.

- Renovate your home. Do not think that this is a one-time exercise. Sometimes, renovations can turn out to be beneficial in the long run. For example, when you replace your doors and windows, you get a better design. You can also increase the quality of air in your home by replacing the heating system.

- Work with your architect. Sometimes, it becomes necessary to consult an architect when you want to remodel your home. You can discuss your ideas with them and you can make plans that are practical. It is much easier to change the overall layout of your home than to fix something that does not work properly. If you hire an architect, you can save a great deal of money on hiring other people and on remodeling.

- Improve your landscaping. Your home is a reflection of your taste, lifestyle and preferences. Therefore, your landscaping should be in keeping with those things. Do not make unnecessary changes to your landscape. Instead, try to improve the conditions that allow the growth of healthy trees and plants. This will help you have a well designed home.

- Use up to date technology in your home. For any home improvement project you should make sure that you use up to date equipment. For example, if you want to replace your old boiler with a modern one, you should make sure that you have the latest models.

- Have a work schedule. Having a regular schedule for any home improvement project is important. You need to work in a structured manner. For example, if you want to replace your old heaters with new ones, you need to make sure that you set aside a certain period of time for the work.

It is not difficult to accomplish these home improvement tasks. The most important thing is that you have a plan and follow through. Also, you must be prepared for any unexpected circumstance. If you are planning to remodel your home yourself, make sure that you follow a step by step plan.

One of the easiest home improvements is to replace the light bulbs in your home. For this task, you will not only need some tools but also a bit of creativity and ingenuity. First of all, you should try to figure out what kind of bulbs you need. For example, you can use compact fluorescent bulbs if you have room in your bathroom or kitchen. This way you can save a lot of money on your energy bill.

Removing old wallpaper is another home improvement fix which does not require any tools at all. However, it is a very difficult job as you need to rip out all the old wallpaper. Of course, it can be done with the help of a professional if you want to reduce the mess in your home.

You can choose to change the style of your home with new furniture. This is one of the most popular home improvement fixes which can be done by yourself. Before buying new furniture, however, you should make sure that the furniture can be fixed easily into the space available. Another important thing to consider when buying furniture is its material. Of course, if you cannot afford to buy new furniture, you can always add a few chairs or tables on your porch or patio to improve the look of your home.


Also, you might want to convert garage to living space.