Have you been looking for a Dream Home with acreage Under $100? Go no further, this home is in a rustic setting, mother in law quarters, colour coded kitchen and more.
To see a virtual tour of this inexpenseve home, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNSWccfdO3Y
Your Kitchen and Dining Room Can Be Worth $$$$ When Selling Your Home
Part 4 of Easy & Inexpensive Ways to Prepare Your Home for Sale
The prospective buyers are now walking to your kitchen and dining area. The curb appeal enticed them to park their car, the entranceway appealed to their sense of warmth and now they are thinking "This might be the one!" It will be if you keep in mind the following:
Again, it may seem like a lot of bother but you are trying to sell your home for top dollar and in a short period of time. Is it not worth it? You bet it is.
Next, I will cover the living room
Ty
Buyers Have Just Walked into Your Home, Now What? 
Part 3 of Easy & Inexpensive Ways to Prepare Your Home For Sale
So now we the prospective buyer has parked their car because you had curb appeal and they have entered your house. Before I get into each room, let's discuss
Ideas for Every Room in the House
Give the house a real "once over" cleaning. Clean it from top to bottom. Clean houses have a competitive edge over dirty houses.
Let some air in. Get fresh breezes going to completely air out the house and get rid of any "stale" odors you may not even notice. (That could be you too!)
Start packing now. Pack up everything you don't use right now, put it in boxes and store the boxes out of the house if possible.
Think model home. Remove "extra" furniture and accessories. Make it appear spacious, not crowded. That favorite chair may have to go for now.
Clean and deodorize carpets, paying special attention to high traffic areas and stains that can be removed.
Check all the light fixtures and lamps, replacing burned out or low light bulbs with bright white bulbs. Make sure light switches are functional, consider updating them.
Check for squeaky doors.
If necessary, paint interior walls. Paint is relatively cheap, and a great return on investment.
Check the window coverings to make sure the blinds work, clean them and keep them open to let in as much light as possible.
Remove all valuables and make sure confidential documents are out of sight, and safe.
Only the most current magazines should be viewable.
Make sure your plants and flowers are living!, Clean the leaves and make sure they're watered and looking great.
Let the buyers see their lives in your house...not yours. Store excess family photos, the "wall of shame" and anything that is too much a reflection of YOUR life. We want them to not get caught up in the museum of your life, and focus on what their life would be like in their new home.
Pack up most of the books on your shelf, leaving only the larger books and lots of room on the shelves. Overcrowded bookshelves shrink the appearance of a room.
So there you go, your home in general is presentable, has not cost you much money and you have a great chance that your buyers will stay longer.
Next, I will cover specific rooms in your home.
Ty
You Passed Curb Appeal, Now what? 
A Series of Inexpensive Ways to Maximize Your Selling Price While your Home is for Sale
I have talked about curb appeal, so now that the potential buyers have liked your house from the outside, they now have parked their car and are walking up to your entranceway. You don't want them to turn around and head back to their car, so here are a few tips for the front entry.
Does the front entrance and front door make a good first impression? (Remember the 10 second rule?). A fresh coat of paint can make the front door look great.
Does the front light work? You'd be surprised of the homes I go to where the porch light bulb is missing, or there are cobwebs, or are crooked or cracked. Make sure it's on if people are going to be coming after dark. 
Make sure the doorbell works.
Replace any torn or worn screens on storm doors, and make sure the door is in perfect working order. No ‘KEEP OUT SIGNS' or ‘Danger' nailed to the door! No squeaking, jamming, or sticking locks. Make it easy to get in the house.
Once they get inside, make sure the hallway or foyer is free of clutter, shoes, coats, umbrellas, Uzi's and anything that takes up space.
Get rid of all the "stuff" from the entry table, or shelves in the front entry. Pick up extra key rings, mail, and other junk that gets piled up at the front door.
Clean out the front closet all of the clutter that gets thrown in the closet. Extra coats, shoes etc.and old Uncle Harry should be removed to make the closet look spacious not cluttered.
Need I say anything about cooking odours, body odours, and (BO) animal smells? And if it is you that reeks, leave while prospective buyers are touring your house. (Please note that we Canadians add a ‘u' to our words, so instead of odor, we spell it odour. Instead of color, we spell it colour. Why? No idea, we just like to confuse the heck out of spellchecker.) 
So that's it, next I will talk about the other rooms in the house. I apologize up front for my lack of a sense of humour! (There is that ‘u' again!)
Ty
Creating Curb Appeal Is Easy & Inexpensive .Someone said that you have 10 seconds to make a good first impression of your house, and if that is the case, the outside of your house may cause some buyers to keep on driving! 
Here are a few ideas to make them want to come inside:
Clean up the outside by removing leaves, branches, dying shrubs or other "yard clutter" to make it neat and tidy.
Sweep off the driveway, walkway, patio and deck and if you get snow, shovel it off the driveway and walkway.
Put away any garden equipment such as rakes and tools.
Keep the grass cut and shrubs pruned.
Clean the windows and repair any caulking or paint that needs attention
Make the garage and front door look as inviting as you can. If it needs it, a fresh coat of paint and kick plate can inexpensively transform a front door. Make sure the garage is not dented or dirty. Little things count a lot.
What about eaves troughs, gutters, shutters and house numbers. Are they clean, can they be painted or washed down? If rusty, a coat of paint is worth 100 times the cost of the paint!
Make sure the mailbox is not rusty or dented and if so, what about replacing it if it needs it?
Wash down or brush off any spider webs, nests or dust, grime or chipped paint and if required, touch up the paint. 
Get rid of the pink flamingos, or one of the 7 cement dwarfs you bought at a yard sale, or the plastic geranium bush, or the tomato plants or whatever shouldn't be there.
All in all, a couple days of elbow grease could be worth thousands!
An Independent real estate brokerage boutique serving London and S/W Ontario. Not All REALTORS* Are The Same!
LET US HELP YOU FIND A NEW WAY HOME
A home is much more than bricks and mortar. I believe a home is a sanctuary: a welcoming, special place where you can relax and rejuvenate, feel calm and connected, raise a family, look after your parents if the need arises and unwind and enjoy. It can be all of those! And, much,much more.
I also believe that every real estate transaction must be personally tailored to each and every one of our clients, because we are all different and have various concerns, culture and standards. In order to do that, Envelope Real Estate has designed and implemented programs to help you get what you want and need ( we can also help figure out what you need) when either selling or purchasing real estate. The folks at Envelope Real estate know the London and St.Thomas real estate market real well. Be it Byron Homes or Byron Condos , Warbler Woods Homes, Sunningdale Condos, Sunningdale Homes , Oakridge Homes , Oakridge Condos, Hazelden Homes, Kilworth Homes, Old North. Old South, Uplands, Summerside or Ilderton , give us a call.
With hard work,knowledge, skills, contacts and ability to fully research all aspects of the real estate market, the team at Envelope Real Estate can ensure you a smooth, stress-free Buying A Home or Own Your Own Place or Selling Your Home process.
Short of money? go to Fixer Uppers, Under $100,000 or Condos Under $100,000
Learn how to find out about governmemt incentives for first time buyers! Using some of your RRSP as a downpayment! Eco-Energy grants! Home renovation tax incentives! Just go to Government Incentives
If you want to just search for MLS listings go to Search MLS Listings
Not all REALTORS* are the same, I hear that all the time from past buyer and seller clients. Hundred's of times! Why not find out for yourself? It'll be worth it!
Just to show you we are not all talk, go to Testimonials
COMMON SENSE RULES TO LIVE BY:
Laugh a lot. Tell the truth. Buy Low, Sell high. Don't drink and drive.Floss.Read and walk more. Clean up your own mess. Be nice. Buy and Sell with Envelope Real Estate Brokerage Inc.
Ty Lacroix Broker of Record and Owner 
Envelope Buyer Program First Look
Welcome to First Look, an exclusive buyer satisfaction program available only through Envelope Real Estate Brokerage Inc!
Studies show that so far in 2009, 65% of the real estate buyers were definitely satisfied with their sales representative. Think about that - that means fully 35% were not! The same study indicated buyers expect their sales representative to perform very few functions. For repeat buyers: 1. 62% wanted their sales representative to find the right house, 2. 19% wanted their sales representative to negotiate the price after checking against comparable prices, and 3. 14% wanted their sales representative to complete the paperwork properly. This is not a long or complicated list!
How one third of all buyers could be dissatisfied with the performance of their sales representative? Let me let you in on a little secret. Most sales representatives don't plan to take care of their clients! No, I don't mean they don't intend to satisfy their clients. They do. They generally have the best of intentions. They just don't have a plan to accomplish what they intend. Ever hear of the old phrase "A failure to plan is a plan to fail?" Well, welcome to the world of the average real estate practitioner. And it doesn't matter how many letters or designations you can find after their name. It's always the same.
They have no systematic way of helping a client through the home buying process. That's exactly why the First Look buyer program was made available. It's a unique system specially designed to consistently deliver customer satisfaction by addressing the three primary goals of buyers mentioned above. More specifically, it's a step-by-step blueprint to ensure client satisfaction - not a haphazard approach depending on the crisis of the day. Now some of you might be saying "I don't want a rigorous program. The right house for me isn't going to be the same as for someone else". And you'd be quite right - the right house for you is going to be different. However, let me ask you this: Regardless of your destination, would you want the pilot flying your airplane to use a checklist or would you prefer they wing it because your destination is different?
I think most you can see that only by employing a well-designed system do you have the best chance of consistently obtaining the results you want. So what are the components of First Look and how does it work? The exact details of First Lookprovide a competitive advantage and are therefore proprietary but we can look at how it generally addresses the principle item buyers want from their sales representative - finding the right home. Generally the first thing most buyers do when they start thinking of a new home is to start looking in the newspaper, the real estate magazines at the supermarket, and more and more, the internet.
If you use this approach for anything other than to get a general feel for the market, I can almost guarantee you're going to be frustrated! Why? Well, for the moment lets skip the fact we have not invested the time to analyze your requirements, wants, financial qualifications, etc., and just look at this approach to searching. And let's further suppose we've already found nothing on the market that's suitable. When a property comes onto the market where do the best "buys" go? Now I know everybody thinks the real estate sales representative gets the best buys, but let me assure you, they don't have the money. So, where do they go? They go to the buyer who has the first opportunity to say yes! 
And guess who that is? It's the buyer who's' sales representative is constantly checking for new listings that meet their clients criteria, the buyer who is already pre-approved for a loan, and who is ready move emotionally when that right property for them comes onto the market. Can you figure out which properties show up in the newspaper, the magazines, etc.?
It's either already sold or It's a property my client has rejected! Now would you prefer to choose from the gems or choose from the leftovers? Does it take a lot of effort to constantly check for new properties for each client? Absolutely! Does it pay off? Absolutely! Is it available to everyone? Absolutely not! This is just one example of the advantages you'll enjoy with the First Look system. There are lots more.
If you think you'd like to take the next step to explore the advantages and what's involved here's what to do now:
1. Call me at 519-435-1600 and let me know you'd like to take the next step and arrange an initial First Lookmeeting in my office. Ask any questions you might have and I'll do the same. If we agree to move forward, we'll set a time for the first meeting and I'll contact one of my preferred lenders (only if you have not been pre-approved by your own lender)and ask them to initiate the pre-approval process. You'll need to talk with the lender and begin the process prior to our meeting.
2. Prior to our meeting, please fill out the enclosed First Look Buyer Needs and Wants Sheet in its entirety. This is important because when the time comes, you will ultimately make your new home choice emotionally. This will give us a basis in fact.
3. When we meet, we'll go over your wants and needs, special requirements, time table, etc. I'll also be prepared to show you several homes based upon the Needs and wants sheet you've provided. I'll be providing you with a First Lookbuyer's kit. In that kit I'll be providing some additional material includinga brief on negotiating strategy factoring in the current market trends, comparable prices, and personality styles. There'll also be more detailed material on the anatomy of a sale so you'll know exactly what to expect and when. I'll include copies of a sample offer so you'll have the opportunity to review it and ask questions before we find your new home. We'll decide on the best means and frequency of communication. Phone, email, Fax, or a combination thereof. During our first meeting I'll ask for several commitments. One of the things I will ask of you is a commitment to work exclusively through me as your sales representative. Now occasionally a buyer will balk at this request assuming they will have better odds if they are working with more than one sales representative. And I have no problem if someone wants to work with several sales representatives.
I'm just not going to be one of them.
Suppose you are a sales representative and you've just come across a terrific new buy. Who are you going to call? The buyer who is working with half a dozen sales representatives and could purchase through any of them, or the buyer you know if your loyal client? So what's the downside from a buyer's point of view - locked in forever? Not at all. Because I'm so confident with the First Look system, you'll get my written guarantee:
If you're not happy at any time, just let me know and fire me. I'll take all the risk. I just need your commitment. My goal is to make you so pleased with my First Look program you'll become an outspoken advocate for my business. And that brings us to the second commitment I'll ask for - if you are happy with my services that you'll definitely recommend me to your friends and relatives. At the beginning I related how fully one third of the buyers couldn't definitely say they had a positive buying experience. As you approach this exciting task of finding your new dream home ask yourself: "Within which group are you going to find yourself"? The choices you make about which sales representative you use will determine your fate. Ty Lacroix
Top 10 Houses in London By Price Range
"Thinking About Selling Your Home? I'll Show You How To Get The Highest Dollar, Plus I'll Give You Breakthrough Tips For Selling It Now!" Absolutely FREE, No Strings Attached, And No Obligation Whatsoever............ 
How would you like to learn how to sell your home for the absolute highest price the market will pay in London, Ontario? And sell it quickly! I know it sounds "too good to be true," but consider this.... National Statistics Show: Homes That Sell The Fastest, Also Sell For The Most Money! The very same elements that make homes sell quickly also make homes sell for the most money. But few London home owners know about these essential elements. And as a consequence, unknowingly open themselves up to leaving money on the table at closing.... or wasting time selling their home. And we all know time is money when you need to move!
My name is Ty Lacroix and I am the Broker of Record and Owner of Envelope Real Estate Brokerage Inc. and I sell a lot of London houses and condos. My experience in selling London area homes has enabled me to learn a few "secrets" on how to Sell Your Home Fast For The Highest Dollar. 
That's why I created a special program for people like you. I call it my "London Highest Dollar, Fast Sale Home Audit" My audit is NOT like simple Market Statistics or CMA'S (Comparable Market Analysis) other REALTORS* will give you. It's a complete audit of your home from top to bottom, side to side, end to end, (you get the picture, it's thorough), revealing the elements that affect a full price, fast sale. Plus, my audit is FREE and there's absolutely NO OBLIGATION to work with me or any other sales representative.
My audit will show you.... ·
How to get the absolute highest price the market will pay for your home ·
The difference between Functional and Cosmetic issues with your home, and how easy-to-fix and inexpensive problems may be costing you thousands ·
How to "dress" your home to make it look like it's worth thousands more (the way you "live" in a home, and the way you "sell" a home are two very different things!) ·
I'll inspect your home from top to bottom to reveal true problems affecting its successful sale: from specific condition issues, thorough lot sighting, home sighting, construction quality, schools, and location I'll show you how to minimize the impact of negative home elements, and promote the positive features, so you can get the very most money for your home....And sell it FAST. How can I do this?
Because Selling Homes In London Is What I Do Best! And unlike other sales representatives, who will tell you anything just to get your listing, I'll show you EXACTLTY what your home is worth with a reliable, real world analysis. (As a messenger, I have not been shot yet!) No fancy figures. No hard sales pitches. "Just the facts, maam'." Just the facts presented in a straight forward, easy-to-understand format for you. PLUS THERE'S ONE MORE THING! In the process, I'll also deliver a BONUS Special Report I created specifically for residents of London called "How To Sell Your Home Now For The Most Money The Market Will Pay." 
I know there's a tendency to put this message aside, and "think about it later". But every minute you spend "thinking" is COSTING YOU MONEY! For a limited time, you can take advantage of my FREE, no obligation Audit by simply calling me at 519-435-1600. You have thousands of dollars and valuable time to gain..... and absolutely NOTHING TO LOSE by calling now. I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely yours. Ty Lacroix Broker of Record Envelope Real Estate Brokerage Inc 
PS: Right now, you can learn the little-known "secrets" that will make your London home sell for the highest amount in the fastest time possible. It's FREE and there's absolutely NO OBLIGATION whatsoever. But you must call NOW, because your opportunity to use my exclusive London Highest Amount, Fast Sale Home Audit will expire soon. And if you call 519-435-1600 right now, I'll also share with you a BONUS special report "How To Sell Your Home Now For The Most Money The Market Will Pay."
Don't give your hard-earned money away by listening to your neighbours, Uncle Harry, a friend of a friend who used to sell real estate, your long lost relative, the person who sold you Nortel, the earth is flat mentality, it will never fly, or good intentioned folks. I know real estate, which is all I do, I live it, I breathe it and most importantly "I love selling houses!
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