All posts by Alysia Heun

How to Reinvest Your Tax Refund as a Homeowner

After receiving your tax refund, you might be considering some renovation projects for your house. Before you grab a hammer and get started, take the time to research what home improvements will increase your property value. Here are some easy ways to reinvest in your home while making the most of your tax refund.  

Curb Appeal

The landscaping around your house is the first thing people notice about your residence. By refreshing the exterior of your home, you can easily give it a whole new look without spending a large amount of your tax refund. 

One of the fastest ways to elevate the appearance of your yard is to add some flower beds. These simple gardens can include easy-to-grow perennials like purple coneflowers, hostas, daisies, or lilies. If you have a green thumb, you could even plant your favorite herbs to add some leafy greens to your landscaping. No matter what you decide to grow, ensure that it is tough enough to survive the seasonal weather of your region. You don’t want to spend time and money on plants that won’t last through the hot summer months.  

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Does a New Roof Boost Your Home’s Value

Are you considering putting in a new roof? Sure, this isn’t a project that’s quite as popular and snazzy as remodeling your home’s interior. However, it does have some advantages, especially in improving your home’s resale value; not to mention the newer and nicer appearance, the improved warranties and lower bills. Still, there are a few different factors to keep in mind when thinking about a new roof over your household. With that in mind – we’ll take a look at some of the most pressing ones.

Your New Roof And Home Value

Naturally, one of the main remodeling ideas behind putting in a new roof is to protect your home beneath it. However, there are other practical advantages, such as having better insulation. Plus, if you’re going to use one of the newer roofing materials, your summers won’t be quite as unbearable; the heat will be reflected from your rooftops instead of being absorbed. In terms of comfort and lower utility costs for AC, this is a great relief. 

And the functional additions aside, even if you just put in newer asphalt shingles, there’s an aesthetic appeal to think about as well. Of course, there are plenty of options available to you, including natural wood; many homeowners prefer it due to its objective and natural appearance. 

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Realty Executives Integrity Honors Long-Time Real Estate and Community Leader with 2020 Visionary Award

Realty Executives Integrity, of southeastern Wisconsin, is proud to announce Broker/Owner Dale Schaechterle as the first ever recipient of their Visionary Award. This award was created to honor a real estate professional who not only is a leader in their field, but works to develop the skills of his or her entire team and plan for a better future.

Over the past 35 years, Schaechterle and his wife Vicky, have made his name throughout Wisconsin real estate, establishing a brokerage of highly productive sales executives and putting together one of the most recognizable and productive teams in the area. Created as a unique approach to providing better service to consumers, Schaechterle and the Executives at Realty Executives Integrity are committed to customer service and real estate excellence. 

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Outlier Named One of Arizona’s Most Innovative Businesses

Outlier has been selected as a first-ever recipient of AZ Big Media’s 2020 Arizona Business Innovation Award. This award is given to local companies of varying industries that showcase innovation through disruption and stretching the limits of how business is done. 

Out of hundreds of nominations, Outlier was selected for its culture of entrepreneurship and technology development throughout each of the firm’s portfolio companies. Headquartered in Central Phoenix, the Outlier family of brands includes niche-leading businesses acquired and grown through innovation as well Outlier’s own start-ups, Atlas Packs and inDispense. Other Outlier brands include: Realty Executives International, Passport Health, Anmark, Pump it Up and Bounce U.

Outlier CEO David Tedesco’s intentions have always been to reinvest in the Valley, looking to grow and create opportunities for future generations within Outlier throughout Arizona. Because of the business model, careers are not rigid, but are opportunistic. Employees can be a part of different businesses and learn what they are most passionate about, helping recruit and retain top Phoenix talent. 

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Mike Tezak Celebrated for Dedication to the Fields of Business and Real Estate

Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Drawing upon his expertise in interpersonal communication, Mr. Tezak excels in numerous management and real estate positions. As the broker and owner of Realty Executives Premier, he has specialized in all areas of residential real estate since 2001. Years later, Mr. Tezak found success as the president of the eponymous Tezak Investments, which specializes in real estate investing and development in Northwest Indiana.

More recently, Mr. Tezak has thrived as a developer with Stonebridge and the co-owner of Premier Title Company of Northwest Indiana, which provides commercial and residential title services in the area. During the earliest years of his career, he gained valuable customer expertise in the field as a manager of table games at the Horseshoe Casino. An expert in his field, Mr. Tezak earned a Bachelor of Arts in business from Quincy University. 

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10 Things Agents Can Do Today to Get Deals Done Tomorrow

With social distancing regulations now largely in place across North America, many agents are prohibited from holding open houses. 

But rather than sit idle, there’s much you and your clients can do now to prepare for the day when the wheels of commerce start rolling again. Buyers can improve their buying position, and sellers can get their homes list-ready with a few proactive steps.

While it can typically take two to three weeks to get a property on the market, some brokers are telling their agents to use this time to get homes list-ready now.

That way, once the shelter in place and stay at home orders are lifted, you and your clients can hit the ground running. 

Be the first to market with these helpful agent tips and downloadable checklists for buyers and sellers. 

1. Enlist sellers to take video tours

Ask your sellers to take a video of their homes now. For helpful video-taping tips, see downloadable Sellers’ Checklist (downloads as zip file). There are many easy-to-use digital platforms for creating virtual walkthroughs and 3D scans in addition to simple videos recorded on a smartphone. 

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Best Apps to Get to Know Your New City

Navigating a new city is hard. Moving is one of the most stressful things a person will do in their life. Luckily, our phones make the transition a little easier by having a plethora of apps to download in order to thrive in your new home.

Apps to meet new people

We are social animals. We need people – simple as that. Making friends in your new city will be one of the first things you’ll want to do, and these apps make it so easy to connect with new people!

Meetup

Don’t just stay at home every night binging your latest TV addiction. Get out there and meet like minded people! Meetup makes it easy to do that. Whatever your interests are, Meetup most likely has a group for it. Whether you’re into running and want to train for a local race, a reader looking for a book club or an outdoorsman looking for people to hike with, Meetup has kindred spirits just waiting for you.

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Property Experts Share Advice for First Investment

It is almost always exciting to think about the potential that any property investment holds, particularly when you’re new to the business. While buying your first rental property is almost certain to be a lucrative maneuver, it’s important to proceed with care. 

The good news is that all of the most common property investment mistakes have been made before, and with careful, in-depth research, you’ll find it easier to avoid them. Our real estate pros have been in your shoes: begin your quest for knowledge by using their investment tips to your advantage. 

1. Still renting? Buy your own home before you invest in a rental. 

There are tons of reasons to rent instead of buying your own home. But purchasing your own residence before you invest in rental property gives you real-world experience while easing your way into the financial side of things. When you buy your own home first, you’re likely to get better interest rates plus you’ll need a far lower down payment. There are tax write-offs to consider, too. When you’re ready, upgrade to a new home and use the old one as a rental, or continue to live in your home and invest in a second rental property. 

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Eight Ways Real Estate Agents Can Leverage Downtime

These are rare times, when you’re forced to work from home and no commute! How could you spend your time? You could read Hemingway, tend that garden or binge-watch Netflix.

Or, you could use the time to polish your sales and tech skills, set up a lead nurture campaign or record a video email. Maybe find a new perspective on your business approach. 

If you can’t show or sell houses right now, why not use the time wisely in other ways? Here are eight ideas.

1. Sync your CRM

Tag your As, Bs and Cs and note their sources of lead origination. By integrating your CRM with your transaction management system, you can leverage synced contacts to reach out to past and future clients in new, personal ways while better tracking your ROI. 

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Six Ways to Create Wow-Factor Rentals

Most investors are interested in improving the value of their asset over time. Investors typically seek both capital growth – I.e. turning a profit when they want to sell – but also maximum rental yield and minimum vacancy whilst holding the asset. The best way to do this is to create maximum appeal for prospective renters in the area.

But this can be tough to do, especially in suburbs or cities that are flat, facing oversupply (too much choice for renters, which pushes rent rates down), or perhaps aren’t offering the property type that rental seekers are looking for in that area.

Many different home improvements can be made to the property to increase its appeal and functionality to renters. Today the team at Property Correspondent offer up some innovative ideas to make your property stand out from the pack in pursuit of the best quality tenants looking in your area.

Houses – Install a New Garage Door

This is a big one. Older garages often appear tired to renters and older garage doors often lack the security level needed to protect the tenants’ vehicles being stored. Garages and sheds should be in good condition to allow the home to look maintained. The garage door is one of the main features on buildings that influence the aesthetics of the home and the good news is there are many tools available to design your own shed or garage.

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