Category: Real Estate

Moving to a new home from your parents is exciting, fun and sad at the same time. You buy a home, sign all the documents and it’s yours. You’re just about to start the packing but wait. Have you made the checklist yet?

Getting ready for your home and learning what to tackle first takes lots of time as a homeowner. You may face many challenges once you step into the home. Therefore, it’s important to determine pre-move-in works to save yourself time and trouble.

Choose the tasks and make a priority list. Not to mention, check out for the budget and take decisions accordingly. Otherwise, keeping things to do at the last moment or after moving in can be a headache.

However, you have a lot going around already. So to make your list straightforward, this article will provide 4 important things to think about before moving into your new home. Thus, it’ll be easier to make a plan and put effort into getting them done.

The Ultimate Checklist Before Moving Into Your New Home

1. Check the Flooring

If it’s a brand new home, then you’ve nothing to worry about. But what if you bought this house with e carpet you hate? Are you considering changing it after moving in? Then you may have to move the furniture again.

So, do yourself a favor and change the flooring now if you’ve got the money. Replace the carpet or mattress with a new one. Or else, arrange a new flooring within a few days before moving in. Then, cover the floor with area rugs or mats so the movers can’t scratch the wood. Now place the sofa and relax.

2. Paint the Walls

Who doesn’t love the newly painted walls? Moreover, it’s easy to paint an empty room. Otherwise, you would have to move furniture, take off all mirrors or pictures, remove curtains, and a lot more.

However, you can paint the walls by yourself. But this may take a while to finish. So it’s better to hire a crew of professionals to get the job done within 2-3 days. Either paint walls in white or something light, or else depending on the furniture and light bulbs, choose your favorite color.

Furthermore, you can do crown molding to give the rooms an extra appealing look.

3. Get the Electricity On-Line

Lighten up your rooms with a track of lighting. New homes have all electrical outlets, but it isn’t easy to work with the older homes.

Hence, pay the electricians to install new lights, ceiling fans and add outlets for computer/laptop, TV, fridges, etc. Correspondingly, you can try smart motions to activate lights.

4. Check the Locks and Plumbing

Last but not least, you don’t know who has access to the locks. So before moving in, change them to stay safe. Either schedule a locksmith or install new deadbolts.

Finally, go and check the plumbing if you see water dripping. The last thing you want in the new home is a running toilet. So, call for a plumber and change the water pipeline.

In a Nutshell

Apart from the 4 important things, you may consider some additional facts before moving into your new home. Such as organizing the closet, vacuum out the vents, call for paste control, meet neighbors etc. Furthermore, before closing the deal, take the expert tips for guidance.

Graphic created by New City Moving.

Now, as you’ve done all the homework, just sit, pop up the champagne and enjoy the new home.

London’s neighbourhoods have played host to all kinds of pop up events for the past 15 years. From art exhibitions to workshops, bars and parties and even festivals, there’s always something lined up. New retail space is constantly emerging so you can be sure to find a suitable space for your unique needs.

Having a physical presence in a retail space for rent can give your brand a big advantage. Talk about the opportunity to connect with your customers, the ability to offer a unique customer experience and of course visibility for your business. The benefits are endless. However, you need to put in some effort to enjoy these benefits. Planning is everything.

The success of your temporary retail store will be determined by just how much effort you put into the planning process. Yet, the planning process is sometimes overwhelming so that you find yourself ignoring some of the important details.

The future of how we shop is changing, and as an entrepreneur you need to be ahead of the curve if you are considering retail. Here are some of the things that you must keep in mind as you plan to take up retail space for rent:

Choose the right location

 The choice of your location has a direct impact on the success of your temporary store. You are renting a retail space for a short period so you need to identify a location that will attract as much foot traffic as possible during that time. The location you choose will largely determine how many people you will reach with your brand if they will make any purchases and the sales you will make.

Just because London is a populous shopping destination is not a guarantee that your short term physical store will thrive. You need to narrow down to the demographics of the neighborhood you are targeting. Find out who hangs out there, what are their shopping habits like and where they prefer to shop.

Addressing such questions will help you find the best location for your store. You also need to look up information about your location of interest to see if there will be any activities happening at the time you intend to rent and how they will contribute to your store’s traffic and sales. For instance, will seasonal markets, music festivals or even sporting activities contribute the traffic coming to your store or will they be a distraction? 

Promote your temporary store

Setting up a temporary store in a prime retail space area in London is not a guarantee that you will get all the foot traffic you desire. This is especially true if you’re purely an ecommerce store. While it is true that the appeal of your store may attract some traffic, it may not be enough to translate to customers and sales.

Therefore, make sure you invest in marketing to popularize your temporary store. A good marketing campaign should be sustained to build hype before, during and after the launch. Promote your retail store on social media platforms and get people to share your posts. You can also work with bloggers and local influencers to help you spread the word.

Have a reasonable budget

It is a common belief that having an extravagant retails will translate to a unique experience for your customers hence, most businesses are willing to spend a fortune. In reality, this is not an effective strategy. The reason you have opted to pitch your presence in a physical location is to generate brand visibility that translates to sales.

This means that your goal is profit. To achieve this, you need to have a budget that takes into account all the basics you need to get the store going while leaving room for unanticipated costs such as fixtures and appliances. This will ensure that you not only make a profit but also save. Instead of being extravagant with your store, consider DIY décor that is affordable and has a personal touch.

Get proper permits

It is easy to get lost into the excitement of going all out and meeting your customers in person that you forget to take care of important documentation. Once you settle on a location, make sure you find out about the commercial and zoning requirements in the area. You may have to apply for a business licence to sell or have your temporary premise go through fire and building inspection. Make sure you get everything right before launching your store.

Retail space London can be a huge asset for your business when executed well. You can use it to boost revenue and elevate your business.

Born between 1980 and 2000, millennials are said to be a group driven by the technology revolution and fed by avocado toast. Certain characteristics and behaviors have influenced society’s overall perspective of this generation, such as the increase in single-parent families, the higher likelihood of college enrollment — and student loan debt — and various observations on their work ethic.

However, one place millennials are rapidly increasing their presence is within the housing market. Members of Generation Y are ready to invest in real estate, making up 35% of the homebuyer community. As traditional family structures are evolving, so are the demographics of those interested in purchasing a house, progressively made up of unmarried couples, single women and nonfamily roommates. With this diverse population, how can you be sure to attract a buyer? Read on to learn about what millennials want in a home.

Before They Buy

Loans and consumer debt can influence a young person’s decision to officially take on mortgage payments. This makes the cost of acquiring and maintaining a house of particular concern for millennial buyers. However, one of the biggest economic challenges for Gen Yers is not necessarily the mortgage itself, but rather paying off other accumulated bills. Over 44 million Americans are repaying a national student loan debt of $1.48 trillion. With many young homebuyers facing these unprecedented financial burdens, they’re looking for any way to mitigate long-term spending, including convenient locations, energy-efficient appliances, and new construction to prevent future upkeep expenses.

What Do They Want?

Before they even attend an open house, it’s likely that millennials will use the Internet to their advantage and research the location online. Growing up with more technology than their predecessors, millennials can be extremely savvy. With such easy access to information, Gen Yers value authenticity, transparency, budgeting and the environment. So, when it comes to purchasing a home, these concerns and amenities are deemed “must-haves.”

Sustainability is a growing priority that informs Generation Y spending habits. As one of the most educated populations, they prefer more green features in the house. Additionally, since so much of daily life is posted on social media, an aesthetically pleasing design and layout, complete with numerous electronic outlets, is a great way to win over young homebuyers.

There are additional factors that millennials are less likely to abandon than their parents and grandparents, including pet regulations and having to make immediate repairs. Since most Gen Yers understand the importance of affordability, a value that stems from years of the penny-saver college lifestyle and competitive job market salaries, they appreciate convenience and frugality. They also view homebuying as a rite of passage since it is associated with success and independence.

Because millennials are so influential to the housing market, it is imperative that sellers adapt to the increasing demand. Understanding what is important to Gen Yers will help the process for both parties. Learn more from the accompanying infographic and be prepared with our tips on how to appeal to millennial homebuyers.

Eric Krattenstein’s extensive marketing experience began at a boutique marketing agency where he developed dozens of successful innovative marketing strategies for brands ranging from startups to Fortune 500s. Prior to joining Asset Based Lending in 2016, Krattenstein served as U.S. Chief Marketing Officer for a European enterprise software company where he spearheaded the company’s expansion into the United States and Canadian markets. In his current role as Chief Marketing Officer, Krattenstein leads Asset Based Lending’s Sales and Marketing team that helps upward of 40 to 50 real estate investors close hard money loans each month.

What Millennials Want created by Asset Based Lending.

Property managers already know that there’s one particularly unglamorous part of the job that takes up more than its fair share of time—waste management. Whether it’s a single, multifamily building or an entire portfolio of properties dotted throughout a city (or even state), managing the challenges surrounding the effective and efficient disposal of waste requires input at all stages of the chain and must include all stakeholders.

However, while these challenges may, at times, seem insurmountable, there are in fact, a few elements that can be implemented to ensure waste management is less of a headache and something that everyone can be involved with. Here then, we take a look at five best practices that can be integrated into any property management operation to encourage better waste management for all stakeholders.

Understand Your Buildings

Whatever the size of your portfolio, or the mixture of tenant types, understanding the “habits” of individual buildings and the types of materials generated is key. Often, this will mean creating a profile of each building’s habits, then dropping down another level to identify the habits of each tenant type.

These profiles should include the volume of waste, the types of waste, and how these are currently being disposed of or recycled. Additionally, you should include facts such as container placement and building access, allowing you to identify where and how materials are disposed of and collected. If you cannot manage this alone, then there are other options available to ensure you can quantify your sustainability goals and understand where you currently stand.

Introduce Better Material Management

Today, waste management is about much more than simply dumping trash into a single container. We now split materials into multiple trash cans which are then collected by separate haulers at different times. With this in mind, optimizing material management and its routes through your building/s is critical to building an efficient system.

Color coding schemes that clearly identify where and how waste should be disposed ensure all stakeholders are on the same page—allowing the efficient separation of materials by cleaning teams, tenants and building managers. Additionally, ensuring everyone is aware of collection days so that waste materials can be promptly disposed of is also very important, bringing greater efficiency when removing materials from the premises.

Reach Out to Stakeholders

The bottom line is that stakeholders are waste generators and engaging them in the process of waste management is a great way to increase management efficiency while also reinforcing stakeholder responsibility. Visit your stakeholders and speak to them about their current habits and how they might be improved. Ask them about how disposal and recycling can be made easier for them, and always open up the floor to new ideas or thoughts.

There are numerous benefits to this approach. Firstly, stakeholders feel heard, allowing them to have a say in how they inhabit the buildings. Secondly, following that feeling of empowerment, recycling rates are likely to increase. Finally, there can be commercial benefits too, with a reduction in waste weights essentially driving down the cost of waste management for everyone involved.

Leverage Technology

Today, managing waste streams within the property management industry is made all the easier by the development of new technologies designed to track and report on waste generation and distribution. Put simply, data-driven insights give you the tools you need to identify where waste can be reduced while at the same time providing metrics on where waste is delivered so you can meet local sustainability legislation and goals.

Regular reports here are key, giving you a holistic overview of your building’s needs and where improvements can be made. Additionally, detailed metrics can give you insights into where materials are delivered, ensuring recyclables make it to the right facilities and allowing the organization of things such as food, clothing, or furniture donation.

 Spend Time On-Site

If despite the introduction of these best practices your waste management targets are still not being met, then either visiting your respective sites or appointing a “waste guru” can make a significant impact. This individual can take responsibility at all stages of the chain, either spending more time educating tenants or, at the other end of the spectrum, simply ensuring waste materials are correctly cleaned and sorted.

On-site management is among the most effective approaches when reducing waste, but it also provides an opportunity for tenants to give and receive feedback on a face-to-face basis. Clear communication across all sites and for all tenants is often enough to push things in the right direction, and even if you do have to spend some time on site, this is unlikely to be over long periods.

Clients are the life force of a real estate market. If you are a real estate investor and tired of running to chase leads, why not getting more clients in real estate instead of running on the rat race? Check out to know the best potential ideas on how to get real estate clients in the real estate market.

Set Realistic Goals

For beginners, it is advisable to start small and give yourself a warm-up period to gain some confidence and perspective. Talk to your broker about the firm’s average or the market standards. As a new real estate agent, getting new clients is hard work. So it is better to be realistic and set goals you can manage.

More: How to Become a Real Estate Agent.

Make Networking And Socializing A Priority

Home buyers tend to find their agents through friends or family members. So, getting yourself out there as an agent is very important in real estate prospecting. Socializing and networking is a great way to get good leads and generate business. Set aside time in your schedule to attend social or community events, professional networking events, or family gatherings.

Set Up A Strict Prospecting Schedule

Home buyers tend to find their agents through friends or family members. So, getting yourself out there as an agent is very important in real estate prospecting. Socializing and networking is a great way to get good leads and generate business. Set aside time in your schedule to attend social or community events, professional networking events, or family gatherings.

Prospecting is contacting people verbally or in-person solely to get their business. However, you need to set up a strict schedule every day for prospecting. You can call people you know, canvass neighborhoods, and ask old clients for referrals, check expired and FSBO listings, etc. Try various ideas and put in all your hard work regularly if you want to see results.

Ask For Referrals From Past Clients

All estate agents want to set up a referral business. There’s nothing better than getting clients who come to you recommended by previously satisfied clients. Don’t be shy in calling up your previous clients to ask for referrals. Give them your number and keep in touch with them regularly. This will make them feel special and more amenable to referring you to others.

Set Up Personal Meetings

Most people like to work with agents they know and like. Schedule some time to meet with people in person. Part of any successful prospecting plan is scheduling the time to meet people in your leads personally and being flexible about time. This practice generates trust and interest on part of the buyer and helps you grow as a realtor too.

Follow Up On Your Leads

Lead generation is not the only important part of prospecting. Successful prospecting requires you to follow up on your leads quickly and efficiently. Store contact information and keep a record of anything you learn about a prospect. Research details about neighborhood and community before calling them up. Prepare well for the conversation; it will surely impress the owner.

Go For Content Marketing

Content marketing can be a very useful prospecting method for new as well as established agents. Try to produce useful and valuable content for prospecting. Use web analytics to track what kind of content is getting most views. You can make some clever how-to videos or put some regular blog posts to share your knowledge and build your brand.

Meet Divorce Lawyers

People who are truly motivated to sell their homes can make for great leads. People going through a divorce often need to sell their homes quickly. You can work with divorce attorneys to get promising leads. You can also develop a mutually beneficial relationship with divorce lawyers by referring them to your clients who are planning to get a divorce.

Get Involved In Your Community

Getting actively involved in your community is another great way to get new clients and leads.  You can go to community events and socialize to get quality leads. Or you can simply help solve some problems related to real estate and others. Connecting with your community in a meaningful way can naturally grow your network of contacts and referrals.

Focus On Getting First Appointments

The activity that will most likely lead you to close is the first appointment. Agents generally win many of their clients in the first meeting itself. You should focus all your energy and hard work on securing as many first appointments as you can. You can try door-knocking, emails, open houses, networking, socializing, etc. to get first meetings.

Use Multiple Methods Of Prospecting(Like Door knocking, calling, and emails)

There is no rule that says you can use only one or two methods of prospecting. You can and should use multiple methods of prospecting. The tried and tested methods include door-knocking, emails, referral, listings, cold calling, etc. But why stop there? You can try automated messages, content marketing, Facebook and Instagram lead generation, networking, etc to get quality leads.

Use Real Estate Scripts

Using tried and tested real estate scripts is another great way of prospecting. Whether you use your own scripts or someone else’s, you’ll eventually start saying the things that you know will work. However, when you use other agents’ scripts, it eliminates the trial and error process. This enables you to see the desired results more quickly. So don’t discount it before you try.

Check The FSBO Listings

For-Sale-By-Owners or FSBO Listings indicate which houses are listed for sale and where. This list can easily become your main source for leads as the owners here are clearly ready to sell or people whose listing has been sitting for a while. You can call these listings and convert them into leads with some effort and dedication. Despite what many believe, FSBO listings can make great prospecting opportunities.

Check Expired Listings Too

Real estate agents should focus their lead generation activities on the listing side. Just like FSBO listings, expired listings can also become great lead generation sources. Some of the owners of these listings may still want to sell their house or want to look for a better agent. You can call these listings and see if any of them would like to work with you. There’s a good chance of you getting more listings than you thought you would.

Reach Out To Your Network Regularly

A good place to start building a network is letting your friends and family know you are a real estate agent. However, this is not enough. You should reach out to your sphere of influence regularly for them to remember you. Reach out to your past clients regularly and show them your appreciation. Also, try to meet or call people in your network as often as possible.

While prospecting it is inevitable that you will face rejection more often than not. However, don’t take it personally. This is part and parcel of real estate prospecting. Take feedback from as many people as possible and try to learn where you went wrong. Some hard work, diligence, and good humor along with the above tips for prospecting can help you more and more real estate clients.