Is Buying a Fire-Damaged House in a Sought-After Area a Great Buy?

Are you someone who has always been fascinated by real estate and investment? Maybe you are a handyman or handywoman who likes to fix up houses as a side project? Perhaps you want to build a new home, but are having trouble finding a property? Regardless of the situation, you find yourself in, there are a few key things that you must always keep in mind when investing in any kind of damaged home. This article will seek to outline a few specific variables which you must consider when deciding whether or not buying a fire-damaged house is a good investment. There are plenty of opportunities to make money off of investing in fire-damaged properties, all it takes is a little hard work, the right information, and a little bit of luck! 

Cost

If you are looking to make a solid investment in a fire-damaged house, then one of the main considerations should be the actual cost of the home. This is a prime concern of any homebuyer, and can often be subject to some changes based on negotiations or other factors. If you are looking to buy a home in a nice area, you may want to look at things like property value separate from the home. If you can get a fire-damaged home on a good property, then you can often easily make a solid return on your initial investment. 

Value 

One of the most important things to look at when buying any home, not just a fire damaged one, is the overall value of the investment. Many different things can affect the desirability and worth of a property. It can be difficult to get a proper estimate on these prices if you are not a professional in the field. Experts recommend looking at other fire-damaged homes for sale to help gauge what you should be listing yours at. You should also use online resources to get a professional consultation from experts who know exactly what to look for in a fire-damaged home listing. By knowing the value of a fire-damaged home for sure, then you won’t have to guess at the potential return on your investment. 

Proximity to DT

Another thing that can affect the desirability of a fire damaged home is the distance to the downtown core in a large city. Many homes and properties in large cities can be worth a lot of money, so if you can get a fire-damaged home on one of these desirable properties, then you will be most likely to get a good profit on your property. If you find a nice area, then you may want to even consider demolishing or rebuild a completely new home on the property you have purchased.

Water

A trait that is extremely desirable for any homeowner or property developer is proximity to water. Many of the most expensive properties in the world are located on prime beachfront real estate. If you can scoop up a reasonably priced fire-damaged home that is close to some water, then there is a very good chance that this would be a great buy! You may have to either upgrade the property or home to ensure that everything is up to code and safe to live in, You may also just want to scrap the entire house and build something brand new on your amazing new waterfront property. 

Repair costs

One of the most important things to consider when potentially buying a fire-damaged home is the actual cost to repair the home. In some cases, it can be quite expensive to repair a fire-damaged home, due to either severe structural damage, or smoke damage caused by the fire itself. Get a few quotes from some reputable contractors, such as this company that provides smoke damage cleanup in Elkhorn Wisconsin, and you should have a much clearer idea of what kind of price you are looking at.

Hopefully, this article has been helpful and informative regarding the different things that you must consider to decide whether or not buying a fire damaged house is a good investment for you. There are many different factors which you should consider. The variables listed in this article are by no means comprehensive, so be sure to do some additional research on your own to ensure that you are getting the best deal and a good property. There is no reason to take a chance on a property you are not sure of. Put in the work and do the research, and you will have no problem coming up with something that works perfectly for you. 

How to Make Sure Your Office Is Regularly Cleaned and the Importance of Doing So

2020 has changed the way we do pretty much everything. Office management is no exception. As people begin to get back to semi-regular work, office cleanliness has never been more critical. Everyone wants to make sure that they’re doing everything possible to ensure that their staff, customers, and clients are safe and healthy. The following will explore some ideas for keeping your office environment as clean and virus free as possible.

Follow The Sanctioned Protocols

Before we reduce the risk of covid thorough cleaning, it is important to note that these suggestions replace the need for following government-sanctioned protocols. Masks, social distancing, and regular handwashing are all crucial aspects of keeping everyone healthy. Depending on where you live, the regulations regarding how many people are allowed in the office at a given time will vary.

Be sure to stay up to date on all recommendations and legal changes. Lately, the laws have been altered very rapidly. Just because last week you were allowed to have twenty people in a single room doesn’t mean you’re allowed to do this today. If you employ a cleaning staff, you will need to keep this in mind when scheduling your employee’s work hours.

Multiple Times Per Day

If you have many people moving in and out of your workplace or areas that are high traffic, these parts might need to be cleaned and sanitized more than once per day. Things like a door handle, refrigerator handles, the coffee maker, vending machine buttons, and printers might need a wipe down with bacteria-killing cleaning products every few hours. If your workplace is especially high-traffic, this might need to be done every hour or after every customer. Things that everyone touches like the elevator buttons or pinpad machines for debit or credit cards especially. 

When making a list of things to keep on top of cleanliness-wise, ask your employees to note what they touch and how often. There may be items you’ve never thought about cleaning, but they need a bit of your attention given our current situation. Make it clear that staff can come to you with ideas or concerns about the things they require for their work.

Daily Cleaning

Daily you want to be giving the whole office a decent clean. This means not only your regular cleaning tasks but also the wiping down of desks, chairs, light switches, keyboards, mouses, and other items. The bathrooms and kitchen(s) need special attention as these are areas where moisture can gather, and we know that viruses prefer wetter areas to dryer ones. If humidity is a particular problem in your workplace due to the climate or structure of the building or work that’s done, look into getting a dehumidifier—especially for damper rooms. You’ll also want floor cleaning machines to wipe away any grime from outside.

Deep Cleaning Once Or Twice Per Week

Deep cleaning involves cleaning all the unusual things in addition to the usual ones. Once upon a time, deep cleaning was a seasonal or monthly thing. This is no longer the case. Deep cleaning could mean taking all the dishes out of the staff kitchen cupboards and wiping the cupboards out before putting the dishes back. This could mean tackling the staff refrigerator and making sure all surfaces inside have been cleaned with a food-safe disinfectant (this is extremely important as many common disinfectants are harmful if ingested). It might involve wiping down the coat racks (everyone touches those hangers too). Even something like the trim or flat part of the door needs an occasional clean. Experts at mastermaid.ca emphasize that, given the COVID situation, these occasional cleans should come more often. If you and your staff are not equipped to handle this kind of work, there are professionals you can hire for a one-off cleaning or regularly scheduled visits. Especially right now, having a fresh pair of eyes can help you make sure that you’re not missing anything important.

Industry-Specific Cleaning

Depending on the work you do, and how much product is moving in and out of your office, you may need to take additional cleaning steps. If you have a head office, check with them about their recommendations, but also spend a bit of time researching what other employers in your situation are doing to keep everyone healthy. Make it clear that customers can bring suggestions to you regarding anything that felt unsafe or unclean while they worked with your team. And again, ensure that your staff is included in this conversation. There are always things that go unnoticed by everyone but one or two people in a busy work environment.

The above tips should help get you ready for keeping an office clean post-COVID. In addition to the above, try to schedule and organize work to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Keep desks the right distance apart and reduce the necessity of touching things wherever possible.

How to Host a Successful Wine Tasting Party

There are many reasons why one would want to host a wine tasting party. It’s not only a trendy and classy event, it’s also a great way to spend time with your associates and business colleagues. Such an event has the potential to impress your friends and coworkers regardless of background. And it can be a lot of fun!

Wine tasting parties are typically more upscale, but they don’t have to be. There are lots of different wines that are more affordable. And don’t forget, it’s also a party. It doesn’t need to be a stuffy event for wealthy New Englanders. Make it your event and cater to your guest’s likes.

It’s Not Just About The Wine

It’s also about the party. And every party needs a few things to be done right and to ensure everyone has a good time. You definitely shouldn’t ignore the basic elements of a party just because you got a bottle of Screaming Eagle. After all, high-quality wine drank from a plastic dixie cup while listening to Tom Petty isn’t going to impress your friends and family. Well, unless it does, and then that’s perfect.

Here are some of the basics you should consider when putting together your next wine tasting party:

• Proper glassware and plenty of it

• All kinds of wine equipment

• A music playlist

• Cheeses, grapes, and deli meats (or some other food that’s appropriate for the crowd)

• A spit bucket if it’s that kind of wine party

• A detailed printout or brochure of the wines to be sampled

• Post-sampling activities

• Atmosphere

When you have a wine tasting party, the glassware can elevate a cheap wine or ruin even the most expensive wine. Invest in the right kind of glassware so you can benefit from the full range of aroma and palate sensations. And make sure you’ve got plenty to go around. Several guests plus several wines equal a lot of glasses, and you don’t want to be running to the kitchen to wash up after every round.

To do it right, you need a lot of equipment. That includes a corkscrew, a chilling bucket, a pouring towel, a sommelier (just kidding), and a way to seal the bottles to preserve for later if you don’t finish them. Or better yet, invest in a wine dispensing unit. These units store and dispense wine while also preserving the bottle ad infinitum. WineEmotionUSA does a good job of reviewing and comparing various models and their benefits. Investing in one of those bad boys will raise your wine cred tremendously. 

You’ll need music to set the mood. Now, you just need to decide what that mood should be. That’s up to you and your guests. It’s probably not the best idea to choose a death metal playlist to sample your wine too, but then that’s up to you and your guest’s preferences. Remember, while you need a lot of standard equipment, a wine tasting party doesn’t need to be the standard stuffy event. Change it up to please and impress the particulars of your company.

Food is important. Not only do classic foods such as cheese, which help with tasting and palate sensations, but they also stave off drunkenness and upset the stomach. Anyways, your guests are bound to get hungry. So stock up on something a little bit heavier for some after-the-event dining.

Wine tasting can be confusing. That’s why it helps to have a written informative printout or brochure to help your guests remember and look for certain flavors. There is a lot of information about a single bottle of wine. These include flavor descriptors, origins of the wine, cultivation and processing methodology, name, and type of wine. This is all very confusing and hard to follow for one bottle of wine, much less 5 or more. 

You should have some post-sampling activities planned out. Regardless of whether you’re drinking the wine or spitting it out like the proper vineyard experience, some guests are going to want to hang around for a bit after it’s all over. Like any good party, make sure there is an afterparty plan. The list of things you could do are endless and vary based on you and your guest’s tastes.

And perhaps most importantly, make sure everything comes together to create an atmosphere that is conducive to the activity. Set the mood, attend to your guest’s needs, provide alcohol, and your party should go off without a hitch.

When planning your wine tasting event, it’s important to plan carefully and consider several aspects. Don’t worry though, now you’re prepared. If you find a good place to host the event, provide appropriate equipment, set up the atmosphere, and ply your guests with liquor, you’ll go down as the best party host in your social circle.

5 Tips For First-Time Real Estate Investors

Real estate investment is always a profitable business for those developers who know how to do it right. It offers lower risk with higher yields and allows you to diversify your portfolio, rather than limiting it to traditional stock market investment. Today, many people are considering entering real estate to make high profits in the long and short term. It's always a good idea to get into the property business, but like any other business, it's still necessary to take certain precautions so you don't waste your money and time. If you're a first-time investor, you may want to follow these five tips.

1. Assess your finances

You can't invest all your money in the business. The smarter thing to do is to define your capital so that you can determine the amount of money you can invest in the market to avoid unnecessary debts and mismanagement.

It is possible to enter real estate investment with no money at all, but you'd have to put your affairs in order. Lenders will want to see and crosscheck your financial history before giving out any money. Get a copy of your credit report and review your financial status. If you would need a loan to start, try paying down your debts and finding ways of improving your credit score to help you qualify for a better loan.

2, Research and define your market

What type of property do you want to invest in? Why do you want to buy the property? Is it to invest it, sell or use it? Single-family rental homes are the most common form of real estate investment. According to CBSN news, homeownership by families was reduced by 3.6 million. You must know the particular field to invest in, so you know how much capital you need and the type of profits to expect. Also, research to understand the ways to profit from your real estate investment. You can start by reading books on real estate investments and landlord tips. The bottom line is that don’t enter the field with little or no knowledge at all; that’s risky. 

3. Start small

You don't always have to start big to make it. Starting small could come with great benefits. It gives you ample time to get a better understanding of how the business is and to familiarise yourself with it. Consider getting a property at an affordable price; this way, you'll have enough to spend on home staging and other repairs you may have to make. You could start by scouting properties in an evolving area, where new and better schools, playgrounds, shopping malls, etc., keep being set up. Then later, after acquiring the property, you work on improving it. With time the property will appreciate, and you can acquire more properties with the profits realized. 

4. Don't invest with your emotions

Don't allow your emotions to run you. This means carefully analyzing every decision you make. Why are you investing in a house and not a ship? Your reason for investing in the boat shouldn't be because you like boat rides. It should be along the lines of because it generates the most profits and offers the highest market value. Don't merely invest in what catches your eye. Every property you invest in should be well meditated and should check out.

Have a listing you think should be featured contact us or email at Jeremy@offthemrkt.com to tell us more! Follow Off The MRKT on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

How To Achieve The Minimalist Look In Your Home

Have you found that your home seems to have an accumulation of random items? The thing about keeping lots of things in your home is that it makes each room appear smaller than it is. Plus, you risk the danger of getting labeled a ‘hoarder’!

You’re likely reading this blog article today because you want to get rid of the unneeded things in your abode. Keep reading to learn more about how you can start achieving the minimalist look in your home today, whether you live in an apartment or house:

Throw away the trash

The first thing you must do is go through each room and dispose of any items that have no value - financial or sentimental. Over the years, it’s easy for people to accumulate things and simply forget about them after a while.

Some people may even put items aside and intend to do something about them later but get caught up in other tasks. Well, now’s the time to take action and throw away any trash that you’ve been keeping unnecessarily.

If you’ve been keeping a significant amount of things that can only get described as trash, it might make sense to hire a junk removal company. They can come in and quickly remove and take away your unwanted trash, including large and heavier items.

Organize the things you want to keep

Once you’ve got rid of the trash from each room of your abode, the next step is to organize the things you want to keep. There likely are items that don’t have a specific storage area in your home, so you’ll need to organize and categorize those items.

When you’ve organized the miscellaneous items in your home, you should now think about storage solutions. Maintaining a minimalist abode means storing those random items away out of sight to achieve a cleaner, sleeker look in each room.

You can get storage solutions that are either hidden or integrated within various elements of your rooms. For example, you can buy beds with storage areas underneath the base. And you can make practical use of closet storage space by using shelving and racking.

Don’t crowd your walls

Having a minimalist home means keeping the look of your rooms as simple and clutter-free as possible. Crowding your walls with distracting paintings, photographs, and decorative items will only take you away from your goal of achieving a minimalist look in your home.

Your walls don’t have to be devoid of anything. But, you should only have one or two subtle items adorning your walls that don’t detract focus away from the rest of the room. Also, consider hanging frames with a small bezel (or none at all).

Final thoughts

As you’ve probably gathered, achieving a minimalist look in your home isn’t a challenging concept. The only thing you usually need to do is remove unwanted or unneeded items from your abode and store away things that don’t need to be in the open.

Thanks for reading today’s article - and good luck!

Eating In Like You're Eating Out In 2021

If you’re someone who typically loves to eat out, this past year has likely been a struggle. The best restaurants have faced closures that have been crippling if not fatal, and we’ve all had to make do with dingy home dinners while we dream about the shining lights of a downtown restaurant. 

Luckily, many favorite haunts have now reopened, meaning that for some, the no-eating out woes have come to an end. But, if you’re vulnerable or simply living in an area that hasn’t yet opened its hospitality doors, you may still be struggling to get by without a much-needed restaurant fix. 

With these restrictions in place untold amounts of time, many keen restaurant-goers are reaching the stage where simply waiting it out isn’t an option. That’s why we think that in 2021, you should make an effort to bring the restaurant to you, rather than going to the restaurant.

By this, we don’t mean getting takeout (though this is now an option in some areas.) Rather, we're talking about creating home-based meals that give you the same thrill as good food cooked by someone else. Keep reading to find out the best ways to make that possible this winter and beyond. 

Put time into your place settings

Aesthetics play a huge part in restaurant appeal. Why else would our Insta accounts be jam-packed with pics of restaurant tables? By comparison, your poorly planned and sometimes work-cluttered kitchen table doesn’t stand a chance. 

With that in mind, our first pointer is to take a little more care than normal over place settings. You don’t even need to sprinkle your tablecloth with rose petals or get overly elaborate. Simply making sure that you have a tablecloth in place is going to make the difference. Equally, decent placemats with well-laid cutlery can really bring the ‘eat out’ vibe you’re after. 

Make drinks a part of your meal

When we’re at home, we tend to drink when we’re eating or even after the event. Either way, hydration is an afterthought, which simply isn’t the case when you’re eating out. At a restaurant, your drinks are almost a more significant part of the night than your food itself. They certainly take the longest!

To make eating in feel more special, we therefore suggest making the most of drinks. Whether you prep cocktails or simply sip water, put in real effort here. Prepare the cocktails in advance and make them pretty so that you can sip while your food cooks. Even with water, a pretty glass bottle on the table before you’re ready to dish up could really make this feel like more of an event.

Find simple ways to make restaurant standard food

The idea of a home restaurant can often seem most daunting because good food isn’t always easy to make. With remote work coming to the fore and longer hours as a result of that, we simply don’t have any spare time. Luckily, creating good quality food needn’t be complicated.

Being at home all day has one significant benefit in that it provides you with a more prep time to save on cooking later. Most notably, taking the time to prep instant pot meals before you head to your home office in the morning could save you on cooking time altogether. There are a whole host of fantastic instant pot recipes anyone can make because they’re so easy, and they’re guaranteed to produce good quality options. Whether you fancy coconut lentil curry or a butternut risotto, your instant pot has you, and your time, covered. In fact, this could see you sitting down to enjoy something tasty as fast as you would if you really were going out!

Have someone else take care of cleaning up

Atmosphere, aesthetics, and good looks aside, not having to clean up is a definite restaurant plus point for most. Life’s just too short for dishwashing, right? This is especially the case if you’re going all out with place settings and meal prep, and it could put you off trying to make a meal special altogether.

That’s why our last and perhaps most important pointer is to ensure that someone else does the cleaning. Making an arrangement with your guest, friend, or partner certainly ensures that you don’t need to worry. With that out the way, eating at home can be even easier than eating out. After all, you needn’t stress about the drive home when you can just sink straight into the couch with another cocktail!