With so much home advice out there, it’s difficult to know who to listen to and what advice really matters! We’ve researched it all and, with decades of experience in the real estate industry as cash house buyers in Dallas, we’ve come up with a go-to practical list of all the best home advice, home decorating tips, and home repair tips just for you.
Tips for buying a house
Let’s start at the very beginning – the exciting but often stressful process of buying a house!
- Buy the worst house in the best area – The best home advice you can get when buying a property is that it’s all about location. After all, you can change your house, but you can’t change where it is. Buying an older home or a home that’s not the perfect fit for you may seem a bit disappointing but fixing it up yourself will give you a dream home in an area where it will gain the most value. When looking for a house, consider the schools, transport links, what the neighborhood is like, and whether or not it is increasing in value. You should love the area more than you love the house!
- Get a home inspection – Every dollar counts when it comes to buying a house but skipping a home inspection to save $500 can make it a very, very expensive process! Even flawless looks can hide structural issues, expensive repairs, pest infestations, and problems that cost thousands to repair. A home inspection puts this all out into the open so you can decide if a property is worth what you’re paying or not.
- You don’t need a real estate agent – Real estate agents and realtors are there to sell a house for as much as they can, which makes complete sense. But there are other ways of buying a house that don’t involve an agent that can save you money. Look at auctions, foreclosure properties, and cash for house buyers in Dallas as well. Many people also sell their home themselves to avoid real estate agent costs! Just remember to do your homework by getting a complete inspection and get an evaluation on the property.
Home repair tips
- Upgrade your DIY skills – Take the time to refine your DIY skills and build a collection of essential home repair tools. This will help you save a lot of money in the long term because home repairs can be expensive. Good skills that every homeowner should have include knowing how to unblock a drain or toilet, hang pictures, paint a room, pressure wash and clean decking and siding, and other minor repairs. You can even take courses on sanding hardwood flooring, learning to tile a bathroom or kitchen floor, and install laminate! The more you learn, the more you save.
- Prioritize your home repairs and upgrades – Of the best pieces of home advice we ever got was to decide what you can live with for a few years and what needs to be done as soon as possible. For example, if your furnace or hot water system is very old, it’s better to upgrade this and weatherproof your home to save energy in winter as well as save energy over the summer rather than fixing up your kitchen or bathroom. You should also shop around for quotes (ask your new neighbors for reputable contractors) and get an idea of what different projects cost so you can plan from there. There are also some good budget-friendly remodeling projects that are easy to fit in while you save up for bigger projects!
Home decorating tips
- Mount your curtains high up on the wall – When putting curtains and window treatments in, mount them close to the ceiling. This creates a long, elegant line that looks luxurious and makes rooms feel more spacious and the ceilings feel higher.
- Scale art and hang it at eye-level – Hang large pieces of art on big walls or fit a single piece of art onto a key focus wall. This creates a great focal point and keeps the space balanced. If you have lots of smaller pieces, plan out a gallery cluster on the floor and place them fairly close together on the wall about 1 inch apart. If they are too spaced out or you place small single pieces alone on a wall, they look out of scale and get lost on the space.At the same time, place them at eye level to catch the eye – about 57 inches off the ground.
- Odd number groupings – It’s a strange thing, but the human eye loves groupings of odd numbers! We’re not sure why this is, but a group of three decorative items – vases, planters, art, or anything else – looks so much more appealing than a group of four. Try these home decorating tips out for yourself and mix different items together in groups of three, with items of different height, material, size, and texture, and you’ll see for yourself!
- Use small rooms to make big statements – Another one of our most valuable home decorating tips is to go bold in small spaces. It might seem contradictory, but having a dramatic color, a busy wallpaper, or glamorous design in a tiny guest loo, laundry room, or entrance hall, really creates wow-factor. And it’s budget-friendly too!
- Know what paint colors really do – There are a lot of misconceptions about paint colors! Basically, the best home decorating tips tell you to go with a color you love, not necessarily what’s on trend – although looking at decorating blogs can give you great inspiration. In reality, light shades in warm tones give your space a natural, sunlit feel, cool tones make it feel serene and spa-like, and dark tones make spaces larger and more dramatic. Rather than thinking about the color itself, think about how you want your home to feel and how much natural light it already gets to help you settle on the right tones. Then, learn how to paint your home!
We hope you enjoyed our home advice, and that our home buying tips, home decorating tips, and home repair tips make your journey even better! Want to sell your house? Then read on!
Want to sell your house? Reputable cash house buyers in Dallas and sell your house in 24 hours
Ready to buy a new house but still need to sell your old house? Sell directly to our cash for property agency in Dallas! As reputable cash property buyers, we price your house according to the market, so you get a fair deal in record time, and we can even help you get out of foreclosure quickly!
It’s the perfect option if you want to sell your house as is without having to look for a buyer, deal with a real estate agent and pay their commission, do home repairs, or even empty the house.
Here’s how our process works at Shiny Key Properties
- You enter your information on our website. We’ll contact you directly to discuss an offer for your house (you can also get a free house evaluation from our website)
- You can accept or reject the FREE NO-OBLIGATION offer
- Cash will be deposited into your bank account – with no real estate agent fees or realtor fees
- We can handle all aspects of the process, including clearing out the house
- You can also call us directly on 469-858-0088
That’s all there is to it!
Our team at Shiny Keys Property is compassionate and highly motivated to offer you the best possible market-related price for your house, so you can sell your house quickly and easily. Not only does this cash go straight into your bank account as soon as the sale goes through, but you also pay no real estate agent fees or commission. It’s the best way to sell your house as is, and it makes our cash for property agency in Dallas a great buyer for your property.