Tag: Sell

Guest Post: 7 Reasons You Should Sell Your House Online

Is it time to move on, move up and move out? Do you need to sell your property in a stress free and easy to manage process that will leave you with more moolah for home improvements? Then you need to sell your house online. Here’s why:

1. You Don’t Need To Leave The Sofa. Yes that’s right, you can sell your home without even leaving the sofa. That’s providing you have a laptop or a tablet and the internet at home. The beauty of using an internet estate agent is that they prefer to do business online, so from initial sign up to general communication you can use email, an online account on their website and even Skype for your calls.

2. You Don’t Have To Deal With Salesmen And Receptionists In Branch. If you live a quiet life you may well enjoy popping in to town on a rainy day to catch up with your estate agent on the progress of your house sale, waiting around in their shiny office and having to make small talk with the receptionist while the sales men gets off the phone. However, if like most of us you find salesmen trying on your patience, you will be please to know that online agents work differently by giving you a personal account manager at the end of the phone and on email.

3. You Can Save A Lot Of Money. By cutting out the high street sales man you will be saving hundreds, probably thousands of pounds in estate agent fees that would normally be wasted on fancy shop fronts, neon lighting and receptionists. Online agents tend to cap their fees or work on a fixed rate for all so there’s no need to worry when you achieve a good sale price that all of your profit will go on commission.

4. More Potential Buyers Will See Your Property For Sale. Internet estate agents have some special marketing boosters up their sleeves when it comes to selling your property. Because they are online, they are able to effectively capture massive lists of email address and to send out details of your property to those who may be interested as soon as it goes online. Add to that the ability to feature properties to have them sit at the top of the main pages of websites like RightMove, and you’ll be fighting off the viewing requests with a stick.

5. You’ll See Real Life Feedback. Having a customer account on the online estate agents website lets you see all sorts of reports and information that you may not get from a high street agent. You’ll be able to see statistics on how many people have clicked on your property details, how many people have asked for further information and whether there has been any useful feedback to take on board from previous viewings

6. You Can Work Out Of Hours. Because the online agents don’t have a branch, they don’t expect everyone to be able to work within their hours. No storming through rush hour traffic in your lunch break to steal a chat with these guys – you can email them at your leisure and log in to your account whenever you take fancy.

7. You Get All The Things You Would With A Non-Online Agent. Even though the cost of selling your house online is much cheaper, this doesn’t mean the service you will receive is not as good. You’ll have everything you need from a floor plan to a for sale sign and even someone to come and show people around and close the deal for you while you’re still sat on that sofa.

June 8, 2012
Guest Post: 7 Reasons To Have A Professional Install Your Windows For You

What would we do without windows? They allow us to enjoy the beauty of a sunset without the annoying outdoor pests in the summer or watch a gentle snowfall without slipping and sliding on the sidewalk your husband forgot to shovel. Without windows a house would be a prison or a secret den of iniquity – which could be fun, but that’s another topic for another time. The point is, that when you need windows for either a new house or to replace your existing, worn out windows, you really should have a professional do the work. Here are seven reasons why a pro is a better choice for window installation.

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1. Sure, Your Friend Can Save You Money, But… We all have ’em – the friend who says he can do the job for a lot less money, as long as you throw in some beer and wings. Unfortunately, the job isn’t likely to get done anywhere near on time or to your satisfaction. Just wait until the first heavy storm with lots of wind and you will be full of regrets, especially if your windows aren’t where they’re supposed to be anymore. The only exception here is if you happen to have a friend who professionally installs windows. Otherwise, no mater how well-intentioned, it is best to politely turn down an offer from a friend to install your windows.

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2. Your Home Will Be More Attractive If You Sell It. There’s a reason why a professional is a professional. You are more likely to have a job done right the first time with a reputable pro. Now, let’s say you plan to sell your home soon. The only thing holding you back is that old couch on the back porch and those old windows. An expert is more likely to have the latest, most environmentally-friendly windows on the market. This makes your home more attractive for potential buyers. Anything a potential homeowner doesn’t have to add to their “to do” list is a selling point these days.

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3. Save A Little Green On Your Energy Bill. Getting back to the environmentally-friendly thing for a minute. If you are not looking to sell your home anytime soon, a professional window installation still has advantages. A window installing pro is more likely to be aware of local rules and regulations. This means your new windows will be properly installed and your old windows will be properly disposed of – another plus if you’re looking to avoid a fine from your local municipality. Then there is the reason you can really appreciate. Properly installed windows can save you some money on your monthly electric or gas bill. Let’s face it, we can all use a little more green these days.

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4. You Don’t Have All the Free Time In The World. You probably have a busy life, unless you are a Kardashian – in which case, you really wouldn’t be doing anything yourself. It’s ambitious to try to do the job yourself or get by with a little from your friends, but realistically this isn’t going to work. Let’s look at this more closely. You, your family and friends all have different schedules and it’s not very practical to spread a window replacement or installation project out over several weekends. A pro is paid to be there and get the job done, especially if they want paid.

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5. Resist The ‘Do-it-yourself’ Urge. The do-it-yourself approach is not a good really a good idea either, no matter how much HGTV you watch. Even if you just happen to be a professional window installer, paying jobs come first. Now back to the other 99 percent of us who aren’t professional window installers. You are not likely to have the time to get the job done all that quickly, unless you work through the night – bet your neighbors will just love that. If you tackle the job yourself, you are likely to run into extra expenses and unexpected delays. Give in and let a pro do the job. If you really must do something yourself, put up the curtains when the windows are done.

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6. Avoid The ‘Oh, Did I Need That Too?’ Syndrome. When doing something yourself, you are likely to forget something. It’s just one of those mysterious facts of life – like getting a phone call just when you step in the shower. The pros are likely to have everything needed to complete the job. For windows, this includes some form of weather stripping, paint, covering to protect your floor and furniture and possibly material for a new frame. The experts are likely to have the extras you tend to forget, not to mention the right tools for the job. Do you really want to be on a first-name basis with the guy at the hardware store?

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7. Your Insurance Company Likes Pros Better. Having a pro take care of your windows just might save you some dough when it comes time to renew your homeowners policy. Insurance companies, as a general rule, tend to frown on do-it-yourself jobs. A pro is more likely to use the correct materials and properly install your windows. This is likely to make your home more energy-efficient. In today’s green is good world, your insurance company is likely to be pleased. When it comes time to crunch the numbers for the value of your home, you just might be surprised to find that your home is worth a little bit more with windows that have been repaired or replaced by a pro. In a home market that’s worse than the last Adam Sandler movie, every little advantage helps.

Author Bio: George Dennis is president of King Shade and Window, a home improvement company that carries a range of custom, window roller shades.

March 12, 2012
7 Reasons The UK Should Be 100% Renewable

I’m going to put my neck on the line and say that, one day, the UK will become 100% reliable on renewable energy sources. It probably won’t happen tomorrow. Or indeed by next Tuesday. But I would like to think it will happen in our lifetimes. And, you know what, we should all be encouraging it. Because it would be great. Here’s why:

1. Expressions. Are you bored with hearing the same, tired expressions when you ask someone what the weather is like? “It’s chucking it down,” they say. Or, “It’s bloody windy!”. No, you’re probably not. But that’s because you see the weather only as something that influences what you are going to wear. When the UK becomes 100% renewable, this view will change. The weather, be it sun, wind or rain, will provide all our energy. And with something so serious, come serious expressions. Gone are the uncouth observations. In comes, “The energy is wonderfully blustery today”, “We’re being bathed in glorious energy” and “It’s that annoying energy that gets you wet.” We’ll sound like something from an undiscovered Jane Austen novel. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to it.

2. Defence. How you ever asked yourself, “Why doesn’t Margate get invaded more often?” Given its classic Arnold Palmer mini-golf course you’d have thought it would be a prime target. If you don’t have the answer, don’t feel ashamed. It took me a while to realise it too. Just off the coast of Kent is the world’s biggest off-shore wind farm. Yes, a farm of wind turbines. That’s why no one is invading. They’ll get chopped to bits in the propellers. When the UK is 100% renewable we’ll have these wind farms all over our coastline. We’ll be impregnable!

3. Barons. I don’t know any personally, so for purposes of this reason I shall invent a Middle-Eastern oil baron called Sheikhin Stevens. Now Sheikhin has a lot of oil that the UK currently buys off him so we can feed cars petrol. (And other stuff.) He’s a bit greedy is Sheikhin and so he charges us a lot. The good news is that he’ll soon be surplus to requirements. Because soon the UK will have their own barons. Biomas barons. And solar barons. People that produce their own renewable energy and sell it to renewable energy companies. Like St. Aldhelms Chruch in North London do by selling their solar energy to Good Energy. Who then pass it onto us and make a better planet.

4. Go Wild. Perhaps the best thing about renewable sources is that they never run out. At least we hope they don’t. And if they do we all die anyway so what’s the point in worrying about it? Assumption has it that sun, wind and rain will always be around. (Like a really good Earth, Wind and Fire tribute group I suppose.) The fact that it can’t run out means we can all do the things we want to do, but, in this day of fossil fuel reliability, are afraid to start. So, we can put the heating on at 2pm if we want. We can re-boil the kettle even though we did it thirty-seconds ago. We can leave all our lights on when we go on holiday. It’ll still cost us, but assuming that hurricane is still on the way we don’t have anything else to worry about.

5. Aesthetics. It’s a little known fact that gargoyles are simply statues that have been attacked by acid rain. I mean, would anyone really attach a granite troll to their house? Of course not, it was a mermaid before the rain got to it. Now, acid rain – as I am sure you’re aware – is a product of water droplets mixing with sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide. Products that are released when fossil fuels burn. No fossil fuels means no pollutants. No pollutants means no acid rain. No acid rain means nice statues of dolphins and kittens and Michael Jackson.

6. Industry. If you’re anything like me, you won’t remember the 1950s on account of the fact that you weren’t born. The UK was great back then though. That’s what Wikipedia says anyway. Our car industry was particularly strong. So strong in fact that we were the second biggest car manufacturer in the world. Now look at us. Bentley, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce are all owned by foreign fingers, we’re outside the top ten in terms of manufacturing and we actually consider a Skoda to be a viable form of transport. But there is a solar-powered torch light at the end of the tunnel. You see, no one has quite got to grips with inventing the car that runs solely on renewable energy sources. People have tried and either it looks like something from Minority Report or something only Susan Boyle should drive. So this is the UK’s big opportunity. When we go 100% renewable we’ll need renewable cars. So let’s be the biggest manufacturer of environmentally friendly cars in the world. And then let’s sell it all to BMW for loads of money and invade France. Something like that anyway.

7. Cows. I don’t know about you, but I think cows are a bit boring. Once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen the lot. A bit like an episode of Friends really. But cows do have their uses. Milk for instance. And methane. Only methane isn’t a good use. Some scientists, somewhere, have established that methane from cows account for 3% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. It’s not a great amount, but with the UK being 100% renewable we should really find a use for this fuel. And, as luck would have it, the Argentinians have already worked out of way of harnessing methane and using it for stuff like cooking. And they do it by strapping a plastic box to a cow’s back and shoving a tube… somewhere. Suddenly the countryside has got far more interesting.

January 9, 2012
Guest Post: 7 Reasons Why Facebook Is The Worst Thing To Happen To You

Today’s 7 Reasons guest post is brought to you by Jon Potter who works for Anicca Solutions, an online marketing agency. There are, according to Facebook, over 500 million people in the world with a Facebook account. That’s rather a lot. So many, in fact, you’d struggle to fit them in…anywhere. Even a Death Star or Tardis may have to admit defeat to that kind of number. So, you might say, a stupidly large number of people use Facebook, it must be pretty good, right? Wrong. Here are seven reasons why Facebook is the worst thing to ever happen to 500 million people.

1. Facebook Means Everyone Can See You. In A Creepy Way. Remember that weirdo you went on one date with and then never saw again? The one who kept a bottle of chloroform in their car and you assumed went to prison? Well, unless you’ve trawled through the complicated privacy settings on your Facebook account, they’re probably stalking you right now from their prison cell. Not a pleasant thought. But wait, it gets worse. Not only can they stalk you, but they can probably stalk your friends too. And your family. Yes folks, Facebook makes horror movies look more like documentary footage. Sure, everyone thinks they’re the plucky one who survives the entire film, but with 500 million other contenders out there, you’re almost certainly that nameless extra who dies at the beginning before the titles.

2. Facebook Sells Your Data. This has been said before and it might be a bit of a cheap shot. But, when it boils down to it, Facebook only exists in order to sell advertising based on the data you put in. They tell users ‘Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.’ But you can detect a bit of sarcasm in that when you read their message to advertisers: ‘People treat Facebook as an authentic part of their lives, so you can be sure you are connecting with real people with real interest in your products.’

3. Facebook Does Not Obey The King. In 1968, the wise shaman of popular music, Elvis Presley, issued a stirring call for ‘a little less conversation, a little more action please’. The people ignored his call (though they dug his funky music) and he issued it again, from beyond the grave, in 2001. Facebook would do well to listen. By providing a stream of news items, wall posts, status updates and comments, Facebook gives users conversations in a way never seen before. Facebook demands conversation above all else. Facebook does not want you going outside, it does not want you going to see your friends, it does not want you talking to them on the phone. Facebook wants you at home, alone, ‘chatting’ over its instant messaging service, commenting on your friends’ updates, writing on their walls. This way lies idle madness. Listen to the King, go out and see your friends. Add some action to your conversation and talk over a game of soccer or a trip to the cinema.* Go forth and be social in a way which Facebook cannot comprehend. Stick it to the machine.

4. Facebook Is Like A Horrible Drug Addiction That Steals Your Face. No, not because it sucks up your time (which it does), or because you can’t stop checking your newsfeed (which you can’t), or because you find yourself still logging on at 3 in the morning the night before your big job interview (which you do). No, Facebook is like a horrible drug addiction because, no matter how hard you try, you can never leave. You may think you have left Facebook. You may not have gone near the site in years. But somewhere, deep within the Facebook system, there is your face. And next to your face is your name. And next to that, are all the thousands of other details you put on your profile in the first place. Y’see, like Hotel California, you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. Facebook will horde your details and won’t let you delete them. Even if you ask really nicely. No, really. You’re in there forever, baby.

5. Facebook Takes The Fun Out Of Having Friends. Imagine you didn’t know every microscopic detail of your friends’ lives. Imagine you didn’t know, for example, that Kevin ate noodles for lunch, Sandra watched the entire Godfather trilogy back to back last night, and Michael thinks Woody Allen is the best director since Edison built the first film studio. Imagine that you then go out for dinner with Kevin, Sandra, and Michael and you say ‘hey, what have you guys been up to?’ Imagine the surprise and delight you experience when you hear about their lives and you don’t know it already. This is the surprise and delight that Facebook is stealing from you. Shame on you, Facebook, shame on you.

6. Facebook Is Going To Lose Your Identity. Earlier this year, the Sony Playstation Network was hacked and lots of customers’ details stolen. Facebook is, to hackers after personal information, the mother ship. How much do you trust Facebook’s security? More or less than you trusted Sony’s? Yeah, thought so.

7. Facebook Causes Anxiety. Yes, it’s true. A recent report from psychologists at Edinburgh Napier University found that ‘there is a significant minority of users who experience considerable Facebook-related anxiety, with only very modest or tenuous rewards.’ Pressure stems from deleting unwanted contacts, pressure to be entertaining and inventive, or fears over using the correct etiquette for different ‘friends’. The question is, though, can you leave the site? Not only do Facebook keep your details, but according to the study, ‘Like gambling, Facebook keeps users in a neurotic limbo, not knowing whether they should hang on in there just in case they miss out on something good.’

*Don’t talk over the film. No one likes that.

September 10, 2011
7 Reasons The Port Of Dover Must Not Fall Into French Hands

The Port Of Dover has asked to be privatised. It’s down to Dave and Nick to make the decision, but if they reply in the affirmative it means the prospect of it being owned by the French is very real indeed. Obviously this would be a travesty. I’m still coming to terms with France owning the fake Blackpool tower, I’m not sure I could take anything more. Here are 7 Reasons (naturally) why it must remain English. Or at the very least, part Scottish.

1. Douvres. That’s French. And rather conveniently for the French, it is French for Dover. If the French take over I’ll have to go to Douvres. I don’t want to go to Douvres. I don’t especially want to go to Dover (it’s near France), but, given the choice, I would much rather not go to Dover than not go to Douvres. Douvres sounds like a household appliance. Why would I ever want to go near one of them?

2. Bouillaboise And Chips. I don’t like stew at the best of times, so goodness knows how I’ll feel to a French seafood version on the day the French takeover the Port of Dover. Probably quite nauseous. I like my fish battered and covered in salt and vinegar. I don’t like my fish tasting like fish. And that is what the French do. They probably won’t let me have chips with it either. I’ll probably end up with frites or something else sub-potato-standard.

3. La Porte D’entree En France. If Google Translate can be trusted, this is what The Gateway To England will become. “The Port Of Entry To France”. Or, if the Queen says something – either about factual inaccuracy or unnecessary use of excess ink – we might get away with, Aux Portes de l’Angletterre. Either way, it’s not good enough. It’s still French to me.

4. Payback. As I am sure you are all aware – or if you are not Wikipedia is aware for you – Calais was, correctly, owned by the Kingdom of England up until 1558. I am not quite sure why we wanted it, but we did. Which suits me fine. Sometimes there shouldn’t be reasons for things. Anyway, the fact that we owned Calais and the surrounding catchment area has been bugging the French for many years now. So much so that they are desperate for a piece of us. It was one of the things that kept Napoleon awake at night. Instead of going the Bonaparte route this time, the French are going to try and buy us out. We must not let it happen. Our cash machines must not be infiltrated by Euros.

5. Inconvenience. A) We’ll all have to start parking on the wrong side of the ferry. B) Everything will smell of garlic. C) Britain will be invaded by an influx of berets. D) French people might move to Kent and commute to France everyday. E) The Port Of Dover will change time-zones.

6. Il y Aura Bluebirds Sur Les Falaises Blanches De Douvres. It’s enough to have Dame Vera Lynn turning in her grave, which, as she is still with us, just goes to show how desperate this situation is. I don’t want my bluebirds sur les falaises blanches-ing, smoking Gauloises, drinking cognac and selling onions on from bicycles. I want them over the white cliffs. Doing Bluebird things; in an English manner.

7. The French Invasion. It is going to be much harder for us to invade (as detailed earlier on 7 Reasons) if we have to get past the French in our own country first. Okay, it’s not as if I don’t mind a challenge, it’s just that I will now have to redraw my Risk board and re-deploy some readers troops. It’s just hassle really.

August 31, 2010