Whether you are redecorating or getting a house ready to sell, you may have at least one room that looks a little dinky. Following are 7 staging secrets to making a small room look larger: 1. Use a light, neutral color scheme. Tried and true shades of cream, beige, or pale pastels work best to ma
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11/28/2010
One of my listings is scheduled for yet another second showing this afternoon. This home has been under contract twice, and both times the buyers have backed out for personal reasons. The worst part is that it has now been on the market for 82 days. Although that is way under the average time on
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11/21/2010
Good news for home sellers in the greater San Antonio area. According to the Texas Association of Realtors, the average home prices in the San Antonio metro went up by 8.48% during the July-September quarter. At $195,817, this is a significant increase from $180,498 one year ago. The median price
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11/17/2010
Thanks to the hard work, persistence, and support of many of its members, the National Association of REALTORS® can add a feather to its cap in the cause of inclusiveness. More than 93% of the NAR's Delegate Body voted to amend Article 10 of the NAR Code of Ethics to prohibit discrimination on th
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11/16/2010
There's a saying that if you really want to get to know somebody, hire them or marry them. There is another way: rent to them. It's important to decide in advance what kind of people you want to deal with as tenants. Even if you hire a property manager to fade the heat, your renters are going to
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11/14/2010
At the conclusion of his post, J. Philip shows the floorplan of an overimproved master bedroom in his market. I see this a lot in San Antonio, Texas, too. For example, one of the most popular floorplans in many KB-built neighborhoods from the 1990s features a ballroom-sized master bedroom. It's
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11/14/2010
Last week I finally did something I should have done a couple of years ago: I replaced the single-paned windows in my home office with double-paned ones. In the winter, my office is easily the coldest room in the house, since it was originally a covered patio, later enclosed. The cold temperatur
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11/14/2010
Interest rates are at historic lows, and rental rates are good in San Antonio, Texas. When buyers consider a single- or multifamily property for investment, one question they don't always think about long enough is whether to go for instant rental income or start from scratch. Many investors thin
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11/12/2010
Because we are organic gardeners, we rely on predators instead of chemicals to keep voracious insects from gnawing our flowering plants and vegetables. Spiders fit the bill. Although the larger wolf spiders still tend to scare me, this web is the mark of a much smaller spider. In fact, I didn'
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11/08/2010
One of my pet peeves is when an agent specifically refers to their listing as a family home, or a home perfect for raising children, in the MLS description. What if buyers don't have kids (or grandkids)? Wouldn't that description turn them off from some homes and neighborhoods? It is appropriate
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11/06/2010