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        <title>Denver Real Estate Blog</title>
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        <description>Denver real estate topics including local metro Denver community news and events.</description>
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            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Best Open House Practices for FSBO's</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
One of the tools to promote and sell your home is to schedule an Open House. Open houses will let prospective buyers and other agents see your home and ask questions about it. Because many incidents related to safety, have made the news in the past, there are a few safety measures to follow when you schedule an open house.

Since you will have a larger crowd attending, you should have some help from friends or family. In addition, you can opt for doing a showing at a time. Have a polite sign that lets visitors know this, or someone at the door to talk to them while you are showing the first visitors the home. Locking valuables is a must. Follow safety rules to protect yourself, such as having a cell phone with you, and letting people walk in front of you, as well as you always being closer to an exit. Clean the pathway so people can walk safe throughout your home and on the outside. Just as &quot;location, location, location&quot; applies to real estate, &quot;safety, safety, safety,&quot; applies to open houses.

Learn proper techniques and ideas by educating yourself online, or by asking an agent to give you some tips. Most likely, she/he will; they know that if your home does not sell by FSBO, you might remember them.

Mind your advertising media. However, you decide to advertise the property, make sure that you use language that is safe, but also appropriate and in harmony with HUD and state laws. In addition, do not offer or advertise too much personal information. If possible, use a separate email account ...

Give yourself time to prepare your home. That day your home should sparkle at its best. Maintain the appeal for as long as it takes to sell your home. Put the same effort on the outside. Let your curve appeal be cheerful and inviting.

You can have informational brochures made to give out, and some refreshments. Offer other valuable information, such as lead information brochures, lending information, lawyer, and information pertinent to the home.

Leave space for parking for visitors, and be mindful of your neighbors as well. You want your neighbors to be helpful when needed, so act respectfully with their parking spaces, as well as driveways, and visitor's traffic on the outside near their properties. Always check that there is no garbage left by them in your neighbor's property.

There is much information online as how to set up an open house, if you are in doubt. Use as many resources as you can; these are only a few tips that help.
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            <pubDate>Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:08:06 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.denversrealestate.com/blog/measures-to-ensure-a-safe-home-for-you-and-your-family.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.denversrealestate.com/blog/measures-to-ensure-a-safe-home-for-you-and-your-family.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Measures to Ensure a Safe Home for You and Your Family</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
It may be a matter of conjecture whether the world is gradually becoming more dangerous or not but what cannot be doubted is the fact that the safety of ones family should be the prime concern for everyone. You may have been a victim of burglary and so may be wary and skeptical or you may be very worried for your kids who are alone at home for the most part of the day. Whatever be the case, you can do many things to bolster the security of your house. Though nothing can be termed as one hundred percent safe or completely fool proof, bringing about few changes can act as major deterrences to potential miscreants and offer you the much needed sense of relief.

Hedges and shrubs should be trimmed in order to keep the walkways, doors and windows clear and do not allow hiding spaces that attract intruders. This also keeps the paths visible at all times thereby enabling you to notice immediately if anything is amiss. Installing lights with motion detection capabilities will automatically illuminate an area if any motion is detected.

Fit your front door with a peephole that covers a wider angle so that you and your family members can be sure of the visitor before opening the door and letting him/her in. Your main door must be of superior quality. Using a door made of solid wood and investing in a high quality frame and a good lock are the best ways to ensure your familys safety. Make sure that you use good door braces and window braces for all possible points of entry in your home.

You may want to get yourself and your family a good dog. Although dogs will not be able to stop all intruders, they can alert your neighbors or even be able to scare away some of the intruders. Everyone knows about signboards that tell people to exercise caution as there is a dog at home. Such signs may act as deterrents even if you may not actually own a dog.&nbsp; You may also consider installing an alarm system that can be monitored regularly to ward off potentials threats. Posting warning signs to declare that your house is equipped with such an alarm even if you dont have one installed may help keep intruders at bay.

Try to change your daily schedule frequently. Such constant changes would act as a deterrent to thieves who might be observing your home. You may also consider employing timers to switch lights off and on to give an impression to potential thieves that the house is not empty. Such timers would come to your aid when you leave home for vacations. Using timers to control radio and television would also help you give an impression that some one is present.

In case you happen to take a vacation, ensure to cancel the delivery of the daily newspaper and request a trustworthy friend to take care of any letters that may arrive. If you plan to go on a vacation during the winter season, ensure that the snow gets cleared regularly in your absence. In case you are far from home during the summer season, ask someone to mow the lawn. Never tell unknown people about your travel plans; however inform your neighbors so that they keep a watch on your house while you are away. Cultivating warm relationships with your neighbors goes a long way towards ensuring security of your place when you are away. When you know your neighbors well enough, it helps you track any suspicious activity in the vicinity of your home or in your area. You may also keep an extra key in you neighbors place instead of keeping it in your property.

Whenever you purchase any home appliances or electronic items, make sure that you dont leave the cartons and packages in full view for all to see. Such inadvertent exhibitions of newly acquired possessions are a sure way of enticing thieves. You should destroy all the evidence that give out inviting signals to potential thieves and burglars and recycle the packaging cases.

Ensure that you store your valuable items where no one can see instead of keeping them out in the open. Keeping your mountain bikes and tools in the yard may attract the attention of thieves who may be encouraged to probe further to see what other valuables you possess.

Make sure that you have a secure place inside your home where you can safely hide your valuables without them getting detected easily. Using boxes that are fire proof may save your items from fire; however you ought to keep in mind that quite a number of locks can be broken with ease. A good way to build safes is to build them inside a wall, thus ensuring that they are out of sight and securely locked. It is a very good practice to make a list of all the possessions and take photographs of all the items listed in order to maintain a record for use by your insurance provider. If you become a victim of burglary or theft, the list and the photographs would simplify the process of your claim.

Oh, Remember&hellip;&nbsp; When you encounter friends or relatives who are considering buying or selling a home and would appreciate the services I offer, I would love to help them.&nbsp; As these people come to mind, just call me with their name and business number.&nbsp; I will follow up and ensure they receive excellent service.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:02:10 -0600</pubDate>
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