Find a house that is accessible in schools, shopping centers, public transport, and not very far from your work, do not buy a house that is located in the middle of the farm, on the top of the mountain because it is not practical. You thought you ca save money, no you're not and besides living in place that is very far from a neighbor are quite dangerous.

Look for the best value for you and your family. Set aside the name of a village, subdivision, and condominium units in buying a house because developers normally charge a premium for their name, yet some offer lower prices but with the same features and benefits. As long as the place is good, safe and the price is not too expensive, It ca do.

Know the building details, safety and security of the family is one of our concerns when choosing a house. Does it have enough fire exit, back-up power, maintenance services and the like. High cases of accidents at home are reported everyday because some of the house has no safety facility.

When you visit your prospective house bring with you your family. Remember, you are not the only one who is going to live there. Each of the family members has the right to give an opinion about the house that you are going to buy. It is better to have a house that everybody like.

Okay, so in my first story. I admittedly was being nosy, a neighbor had put their large old Victorian style home for sale and I wanted to check out the inside. Well, I can honestly say I was disappointed, not just because the interior had been poorly decorated but also because of the mess. I have pets, I love pets, however even I noticed the huge stink from their pets. They had several Guinea Pigs and none of the cages were clean. I could smell the cat litter throughout the house. One of the kids bed rooms had nude posters all over the walls. Kids toys and junk was every where. Worst of all though, was an over flowing diaper pail, full of dirty diapers. I was surprised the real estate agent had even allowed them to show the house in this condition, in fact I believe they should have canceled the Open House.

In my second, and most unbelievable encounter, was when I was went to an Open house held by the realator selling his own home. You would think the place would have been immaculate, but you would be wrong. In fact it was so bad, I actually phoned the Real Estate office to complain about it the following Monday. The yard was messy, there was broken lattice work laying in the yard. Not small lattice, it was a big 4 foot x 8 foot piece, less the broken bits. The front porch was filthy. The Television was on, and there were cats and dogs everywhere. I recall vividly the little Sheltie dog getting hit when we walked in because it had urinated on the carpet. I remember this so clearly because it was hit when we made a comment about stepping in the wet spot, as we were accustomed to removing our shoes at the front door when entering homes. A big mistake in this case. There was dirt on the carpet as well, they immediately referred to their cat as doing this, by tipping over a plant. I don't know when the plant was tipped over, but obviously nobody was going to bother cleaning up the dirt. The dog was put out in the yard.

We proceeded to look around the house. The place was a mess, nothing was clean. It was obviously a bachelor pad.

Now you have to realize the realator who owned the home was there and following us around somewhat. This was for a reason as it turned out. We were about to enter one room which had the door closed, at this time he spoke up to inform us "Oh there is somebody sleeping in there, so open the door quietly." We did, it was obviously his bedroom, and the person in the bed (with the sheets pulled part way down I might add) was obviously some girl he had brought home from the bar the night before. He had told us that she was there with absolutely no shame at all. Fine if you don't want to feel bad about bringing home a girl, but to think it acceptable that she was still in bed half naked during an Open House was a bit odd. This was two o'clock in the afternoon. That was pretty much the tip of it all, we couldn't believe it.

The final tale is not about one occasion but several smaller examples of some poor Open Houses. On one it was obviously some important day in sports, Hockey if I recall. The realtor sat in front of the wide screen television the whole time, glued to the game. I suggest that you never schedule Open Houses on the day of a sporting event, or at least select a realator who is not into sports so much he cannot do his job. Inattentive agents are almost as bad as when home owners have their own Open Houses and follow you everywhere. If they are nervous about their valuables going missing, they should not have them in plain view.

I also remember one very smelly house. No, it was not pet odors, this person practically sprayed two or three bottles of air fresheners throughout their home. It really stunk. I am not overly sensitive to smells, but I know a lot of people are, or have allergies. I also know that many people use these air fresheners themselves and have become "immune" to their scent, so probably this home owner was not even aware of how potent their house had become. It was nasty.

One other time we went a house for sale and there were loads of naked women posters in the garage. It was obviously a workshop, but not only where the posters huge, the women were too. I am not a prude but when you have families looking to buy a home, you don't want to greet them with big naked women. Oh, did I mention we had to enter this particular home by walking through the garage?

The final story is brief but not actually about an Open House. Somebody I knew was going to put their house on the market, but the outside looked terrible as the paint had been badly pealing for years. So the realator had instructed them to paint the house before listing it. The house had been white and, I think, blue, but for some crazy reason they painted it two tone pink. Bright pink, and brighter pink. Maybe the paint was on sale, I don't know, but that was not a good way to sell a house.

The first step is to take a look at your present marketing system.

Most distributors don't even have a marketing system in place! Others have a marketing system so manual that they can't move away from their computers for even one hour. If you ever plan to achieve long term success in MLM, you must have an automated marketing system, and this system must be duplicatable so it can also be used by your downline as well.

When I said marketing system, what I mean is the mechanism you use to promote your business opportunity. Providing a simple step by step plan on how to promote your business is essential to duplication. When you create a marketing system and 1-2-3 success plan, you will be established as a leader in this industry.

One example of a successful marketing system is the funded proposal. All you need is an information product that appeals to your target market, and can be sold 24/7 via pay per click advertising. Once you gather customers, you start recruiting or "back-ending" those customers to your MLM. Then, you ask those new distributors to sell the same info product, gather customers, and then backend their customers to their MLM.

Another example of an automated marketing system is viral duplication. Now, I don't know if such a word or phrase exists, I just made it up. But the essence of viral duplication is to TAP into a recruitment or marketing method that WORKS, and then simply pass on the knowledge to your downline by providing VIRAL tools such as ebooks. Those free viral ebooks explain your methods and strategies on how to promote your business, and then they must pass that e-book to all their downline members as well.

Providing your downline with the same tools and resources that you are using is also important. Recommend autoresponder services, training courses and traffic exchange opportunities. All these will contribute to your goal of raising your success status and inspiring network growth.

One of the best you can do is have a business plan. You should treat it like a real business. Write out an outline for a plan. Fill in details of your business and where you want to be in the future. By creating an outline you will train yourself to complete those goals.

If you are just starting your own business, you might want to find an experienced person that might be willing to help you. They can guide you in the right path. With a business mentor and a business plan you should be able to have success in your business.

The most important thing is have the want to succeed. You need to have the desire to work long and hard hours. You may think that owning your own home based business gives you the ability to work when you want, which you are able to do, but you will succeed most when you work set hours and sometimes longer hours than you would on a regular job.

There are a number of reasons to automate these tasks. Email autoresponder marketing is simply free advertising to current and potential customers. This automation can be used to advertise your current services and products, an upcoming promotion or new price lists. Also, for businesses that repeatedly receive the same questions asked in emails, this is a perfect way to personalize and respond to those questions. Perhaps you want to offer your visitors a special bonus of some kind, such as recommendations. All of this can be handled by autoresponder scripts. Additionally, this becomes a free commercial of your business and provides a way to build constant relationships with your customers.

Personalize Your Messages

Attach a signature line. Your signatures act as your business cards. Include your name, company website, your contact numbers, and a brief tag line.

Always attach a signature line and tag line to every email you send out. This acts as a repeated reminder of your business. It creates your identity every time a potential and current customer sees it. The more they look at that signature, the more likely your company will leap to mind. Additionally, a great tag line will create an instant identity in the customer's head. When the customer needs your particular service or product, that tag line will be their first thought.

If you employ other staff, have them create a uniform signature line that everyone can use, or let each employee personalize their own signature with a different spin on the company. And for the home based entrepreneur with no additional staff, you can also utilize this concept by adopting several creative tag lines that influence a new campaign. This is a great marketing ploy that will bring exposure to you company. Certainly, like everything in the business world, there are rules and guidelines to creating your personal signature.

Pay attention to the length of your signature and keep your text between four to six lines. Ensure your email program doesn't cut off your text! Plan your content, but make sure you include your name, the company name, email address, phone number, and any other contact details, such as 800 numbers. Finally, don't forget a short personal message or tagline about your company. It should be memorable and a understated sell of your services or products.

High Quality Autoresponders

Many companies place a lot of time and effort into their autoresponders. They understand the affect and potential outcome on current and would-be customers. Developing a high quality autoresponder can help pull in another 10% of sales. And while overlooked by many, your best competitors understand the game and know which marketing tools to enlist. This is just another instrument to utilize; an additional voice to get the word out about the greatness of your products and services.

Conclusion

Autoresponders are an effective and authoritative email marketing tool, thrusting your message in front of thousands of potential customers. This is a priceless asset considering how many potential customers are on the internet searching for your particular product and service. Essentially, an autoresponder allows you to automate part of your marketing campaign.

You were very nice about signing up, but they do not want to pay up. They do not answer your emails or phone calls. You get no assignments too. That is so sad. What is really sad is you have to pay to get paid. If it is a very small fee and a work at home job is willing to pay you, it is not so bad. However, the scam programs that are not willing to pay make the legitimate programs look bad. People are scared to trust them. That is why it is important to report scam programs.

There is a place on the internet where you may report work at home scams. You may report scams at Better Work At Home Business Bureau. You will be able to give them the link to the website address and tell them why you are reporting the website. They might even help you get your money back, but I am not sure. The good thing about this site, you can find all of the work at home programs that are scams, and all of the programs that are not. Take a look and feel better about work at home programs.

Pay Off Your Debt

Often, first time buyers concentrate on saving enough money to make a down payment on their new home. A better approach is to eliminate credit card debt and other high interest consumer debt even if it means your down payment may be less. The reason for this is first, credit card debt is expensive. The average interest rate on a credit card is 14% or more than double the national average for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 5.875%. Second, credit debt will limit how much you borrow. Lenders will not allow your total monthly debt to exceed about 40% of your gross income. Your total monthly debt lenders consider includes credit card payments, student loans, car loans, homeowner's insurance, property taxes and your new mortgage.

How Much Can you Afford?

Many first time buyers wonder how much they can afford to pay for a home. This depends on two things: how much you can borrow and how much down payment you can make. Generally speaking, your mortgage payment, homeowners insurance and property taxes added together should not exceed 28% of your gross income. So if your income equals $8000 a month, your mortgage, property taxes and homeowners insurance should not exceed $2240. Then, you have to determine how much you can afford to put down with some extra left over for closing costs, which can add up to 3% to 5% of your home total value.

Types of Loans

Now that you have figured out how much house you can afford, it is time to start shopping for the right loan. A first-time buyer with a steady job and good credit can buy a home with little or no down payment. Still, the more money you can gather for a down payment, the more options you have.

Questionable Credit

What if your credit is less than perfect? You may want to check into a Fannie Mae loan or an FHA loan. An FHA loan will allow you to put down as little as 3%. Sometimes the seller may pay the closing costs or the lender may charge a premium interest rate, also known as rebate pricing, to fund the closing costs. FHA loans have no income limit, but they are geared toward first-time home buyers with low to moderate income, so they limit how much you can borrow.

Find the Right Agent

Once the decision is made to buy a house, hire an agent you can trust. Interview at least three people until you find someone who will serve your needs the best. Never hire an agent based solely on a newspaper or yellow pages ad. Ask the hard questions and listen to the answers you get.

• Spruce up your curb appeal. Before potential buyers see your home they see your yard. The first impression starts where the grass meets the pavement. Buyers notice your outside before deciding to set an appointment to look inside. Updating your landscaping can really make a big difference. Making your lawn look neat and attractive is an inexpensive way to add curb appeal.
• Remove any clutter from your yard. Make sure weeds are gone and the lawn has been cut. Adding a few colorful potted plants or flowers can be a nice touch to make your home appear more inviting as well.
• Check your closets and entrance ways. Closets can make a good or bad impression to potential buyers. Everyone wants a spacious closet. If your closet is overflowing to the brim with your personal items buyers will think the space is not big enough. It is crucial to clear out your closets. This includes the bedroom closets, hall closets, and the children's closets.
• Every closet should be clutter-free, neat, and contain only a few items. It is important to have the house cleared out with only the bare essentials.The key is to get your home looking as new as possible.
• Make sure your door is in good shape and add plants or a rug to make a good impression. The entrance way is a positive feature in your home.
• Transform your home to appeal to the masses. Many homeowners have difficulty when it comes to this step. Although you may love the yellow or red colored walls in your home others may not. Remember, you are in the process of selling it is no longer your home.
• Paint rooms with neutral light colors especially in the bedroom and bathroom. You must clear out personal items and trinkets.
• Your personal heirlooms may be special to you but many potential buyers will view it as junk. It detracts from showcasing the home. It is important that buyers focus on the home and not your personal stuff.
• The key to selling your home is to make it as clean and spacious as possible. Your home should be cleaned throughly. The kitchen and bathrooms should be spotless. To give your home a more spacious appearance you should clear out any bulky furniture or items. The more room the potential buyer sees the better they will feel about purchasing your home.
• Highlight your interior features through lighting. Open drapes and invest in powerful light bulbs to give your home sufficient lighting. The illumination of your home will make the design and flooring stand out.

Buying a home does take a lot of financial planning and time. Most lenders require having a hefty down payment before they would consider giving a prospective buyer a loan. At 5% to 10% down, from some banks, coming up with the money can be a difficult, and sometimes down-right-nasty, task.

With the home values rising constantly, I would always advise new home-owners to aim their prospects low. Don't take the best looking house that is available in the community. Choose a house that needs work, your efforts will definitely pay off in the end. All you would really need is a home that has a good structure and decent layout. Remember, you can always build value onto it!

Speaking from experience, my first home was a fixer-upper. It needed new windows, a new roof, porch, updated decor. You name it, it needed it. I bought the house for very little money and felt I was ready to take on the incredible adventure of owning my own home.

The saying, "It takes money to make money," is absolutely true when it comes to your home. Look at all the options available to you with everything from what kind of roofing you want to the decision of having hardwood floors or carpet in the dining room. This is a list of projects that will add tens of thousands of value to your home, and cost you a lot less.

Outside:

1. Pick up the yard, cut down trees, mow the grass, do some landscaping. All of these things are a major plus when future buyers come to look at your property. They don't exactly add value to the home, but it does make for a nice presentation.
2. Replace the roof. The roof of the house is a very big project that will raise the property value quite a bit. Having a tin roof is a very popular alternative to re-shingling. Sure it costs a little more, but the lifespan of tin is almost twice as long as shingles.
3. Rebuild that front porch; build a new porch or patio. Because the front deck/patio is attached to the house it does add value. Most likely, the value of the house will raise the same amount as it cost to build the porch.

Inside:

1. Update the decor, replace the carpet and windows, and buff the floors. These don't necessarily add more value to the home as to make it more appealing to the eye.
2. Remodel the kitchen and bathroom. Remodeling these two rooms can add so much value to your home. You can find new cabinets, sinks, showers, toilets, etc. at discounted rates everywhere because they sometimes have visual defects that can be buffed out with a little work. Remodeling a bathroom can add up to $10,000 to the value of the home while remodeling a kitchen can bring the value up $20,000+.
3. Re-finish the basement, attic, or add on a room. By adding on or re-finishing the basement and attic, the value of the home will almost double because of having more available space for living.

The average American renter is worth less than $5,000, while the average homeowner is worth more than $180,000. Get a loan, buy a home, and watch your equity grow.

What can you as a seller do? Well there are some easy and economical things you can do to give your house an edge against the competition. Here are just a few ideas:

1. First Impressions Count

   Remember the old saying “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”. First impressions are crucial! The outside of your home is the first thing your buyer will see, so make sure his impression is a good one! Mow the lawn. A neat and tidy lawn is very appealing. Pick up clutter, toys, hoses, etc. and put them away! Make sure your porch and entrance is clean and neat. Add a nice plant by the door and a chair or bench to convey a feeling of relaxation and ease. If needed, paint the door. A shiny, freshly painted door is to a house what make-up is to a face. It gives the entire façade a look of elegance and neatness.

2. Start Packing!

   Clear out small appliances, books, and other unnecessary items and put them in storage. This will help your home look clean and neat. It will make the rooms look larger and roomier which is a big plus when selling. Pick up litter boxes, pet bowls, pet toys, children's toys and items. Messiness is a big no-no!

3. Play Up Particular Features

   Many buyers love particular features like a fireplace or pool. If you have them, flaunt them! A nice patio area by the pool or a woolly throw rug in front of a fireplace looks cozy and inviting.

4. Replace Missing Items

   Missing light bulbs, switch plates, etc. give the impression that the home is neglected and run-down. Make sure these items are taken care of.

5. Minor Improvements

    Other minor improvements can help boost the value of your property. If you can afford to, paint the walls! Earth tones work best to inspire warmth and relaxation. Change the bath rugs, and shower curtain. New hardware for kitchen cabinets adds eye appeal.

These small steps will help your home look its best and give a good lasting impression which your buyers will take with them. Happy Selling!