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If you decide to opt down the property route as a source of income you will need to be organized, attentive, willing to take calls and provide assistance to your tenants if you truly want to be a good landlord. Below are some examples of what you can do to facilitate the idea that you are an efficient landlord.


Provide a Warm Welcome

If your tenants are new to the area it will help them settle in if you put together a folder of information which demonstrates where all the local amenities are so that they are aware of the nearest shops, gas station, and transportation links. You could also provide some toiletries, cleaning products and basic groceries for moving in day in case they do not have these basic items when they first move in. This will also create a good impression on your behalf that you are attentive and would like the property to remain clean.


Keep The Property In Good Condition

Ensuring that all the kitchen and bathroom facilities are all up to date and working well as well as repainting the walls will keep the property in good condition. This will help to attract more prospective tenants who will be willing to move in and pay rent, which will certainly encourage business.



Be Organized With Paperwork

It is good practise to make a copy of the contracts that you and your tenant have signed, both digitally and on paper should you need to refer back to this at any point, after they have moved into the property. You are also likely to have more than one property to manage so you will want to ensure that you keep your paperwork all organized

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Be Attentive

You will need to be attentive and be able to answer calls or queries should your tenants need emergency assistance such as a burst pipe or the boiler breaking down. This will help to maintain a good working relationship with your tenants if you are able to resolve any structural issues with the property and they will be more likely to pay their share of the rent and look after your home well.

Create a Business Relationship With Your Tenants

Though it is important to be a welcoming and helpful landlord, you also want to maintain a professional working relationship with your tenants and not become too friendly with them. This might lead to problems with them paying their rent on time if they do not regard the contract they signed as a business transaction. You can also use the services of a property management company when you need assistance to ensure your tenants do pay accordingly each month due to your busy schedule.


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More and more people continue to work from home these days, and having a functional comfortable home office space is important to living and working from home. The concept board above is from a client’s home office incorporating ample desk space, storage, and a sofa within the room too. If you’re looking for help designing a work from home space, I offer a flat rate design for just $375! Details here.
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Warm modern kitchen materials board by Jill Seidner Interior Design
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    Improving your kitchen has so many advantages. You can enhance the appearance of your home and even add value. By revamping your kitchen you’ll improve your enjoyment of cooking, and perhaps create a space for socializing. There are lots of easy ways that you can beautify your kitchen, let’s consider a few.

    1 . Clean first

    Before you start revamping your kitchen you should give everything a good clean. Kitchen’s should be deep cleaned more often than the other rooms in the house. Areas like the oven need a little bit of extra attention. To save some money on products you can try home remedies for cleaning. Some of the best home remedies include baking soda, lemons, white vinegar, and olive oil.

    2 . Kitchen Accessories

    Accessories are one of the best ways to revamp a kitchen. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to give your kitchen a brand new look. Choose beautiful tablecloths, cushions, ornaments, decorative jars, and rugs. When you’re choosing accessories, think about the style you want to create in your kitchen. Are you looking to create a minimal style? Something elegant and contemporary? Perhaps you want your kitchen to look shabby chic, or quirky? It’s helpful to decide on your style before you start shopping. If you’re looking for a beautiful range of napkins, check out Richard Haworth's napkins.

    3. Beautiful Plants

    To give your kitchen a zest of life, add some plants and flowers. Plants are an eco-friendly and easy way to brighten up a room. For a few plants that are easy to care for, check out these:

    Asparagus Fern: These fluffy-looking plants are a beautiful option for a kitchen space. They can thrive in a dark corner, or in a bright place. All you need to do is ensure the soil is moist. If you forget to water an Asparagus Fern, it doesn’t mind too much!


  • Kalanchoe: These plants produce lovely pink flowers, they retain water well so they don’t need too much extra care. A Kalanchoe plant can withstand very high temperatures.

  • 4. Take Out The Clutter

    Clutter makes any room look a real mess. Sort through all the items in your kitchen and remove anything that you no longer need or use. You can recycle these items or donate them. Alternatively, you might like to sell them using second-hand apps. Once you’ve removed the clutter you’ll have a more attractive kitchen, and more space. To avoid collecting clutter, try to practice mindful spending habits. For every time you buy something, think carefully about whether you need it.

    5. Paint In Bright Colors

    This year, it’s all about bright and bold color schemes. Give your kitchen walls a refresh, and go for bright pastel colors. Whether it’s pastel green, yellow, or orange, choose a shade that you love. Bright colors help to create an inviting atmosphere and make a statement with your decor. If you’re not sure which colors to choose, check out the ‘Paint Tester’ app. The tool uses virtual reality features, to help you test out colors on your walls.

    6. Add Art

    Artwork is the best way to improve any room. There are so many different options, depending on your preferred style. You might like illustrations, photography or paintings. You might prefer a digital print of a quote? Remember, artwork is about expressing yourself. Think about how you can use your decor to express your personality. When you are choosing art, it can be useful to answer the following questions:

    Which kind of style would suit my kitchen?
  • Do I have enough space for a large canvas?
  • What’s my budget?
  • Which kind of style do I prefer (pop art, minimal, traditional, surreal)?

  • 7. Improve storage

    To improve the look of your kitchen it’s worth taking a look at your storage. Think about how you could adjust the storage to improve the look of the kitchen. Here are a few questions that might help.

    Do I need more storage options?
  • Do I have room to add more storage?
  • Could I adjust my storage to create more space?


When you’re improving your kitchen space, you might want to sketch out a few ideas first. Write down which colors you’d like for your accessories and the type of artwork you’re looking for. Create an approximate budget to help you limit your spending. You don’t need to spend a huge amount to create a lovely room. When it comes to improving your home, it’s all about getting creative!



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Isn’t it great when you have worked really hard on your home, it looks fantastic, and you feel like you? But sometimes, you aren’t quite there yet. It can be easy to find yourself in a place that isn’t you at all and it needs so much work – it can be overwhelming. You might feel as if you have so much to do and no idea where to start. But there will always be a few set things that you can do around the home that make a huge difference (and can get the ball rolling).

But what are they and why do they matter? Of course, how your home looks will always influence how you feel in it. Having a nice and tidy home makes a difference. So, to help you to keep things organized and well-decorated, these are the things you need to be able to focus on.

Redecorating The Rooms

First of all, it could be as simple as redecorating. Sometimes, this can be quite a big job. But if you know that the space is just old and outdated, a bit of a face lift could be perfect. Think about what you need to do to bring each room to life, from fixtures and fittings to just a lick of paint.

Extending Your Home

Maybe you even want to make some big changes? When that’s the case, it could be one of your goals to extend your home. Think about getting some extra space in and hiring the contractors to transform how your home looks. It could completely transform your home and make it look amazing.

Upgrading The Basics

But then also, you might want to think about upgrading some of the essentials in your home. If you need to replace the electrics or rewire, get a HVAC company in to put in a new system, or even get new windows – do it. These can seem and sound boring but they make such a difference to how the house runs and looks and feels too.

An Outdoor Renovation

Finally, you might want to take a little look outside too. You may find that it’s a good idea for you to sort the garden and make sure that it’s landscaped and looking great. If it’s a bit messy or you feel like you don’t have a good outside space, you might want to change that. It’ll be fun for you to have an outdoor space you can use and it also frames your home too. When the outdoors looks great, it makes your house feel finished.

No matter where you are with your home or what stage of renovations you’re at, you might want to make sure that you’re picking out one (or more) of these options and focusing on it this year. And when that’s done, you’ll find that your home will look so much better. You could then even move onto another option until it feels finished and pretty much perfect.
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The concept board above is for a young boy’s bedroom. He likes the color red and loves Mario Brothers (wall decals were sourced). The room also includes a cube organization for toy storage, a play table, and area rug for play space. If you’re looking for help with designing a kid’s bedroom - check out the flat rate room design services I offer here!
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Despite the old adage that "you should never judge a book by its cover," first impressions are important. It doesn't matter how well-organized or profitable your business is if the outside is neglected and decrepit; it will reflect poorly on your company and cause you to lose customers.

If people arrive and see a filth parking lot and a run-down environment, they will get absolutely the wrong impression of what it's like to conduct business with you. Because 95% of buyers make their choice on whether or not to enter a store on how it looks from the outside, freshening up the exterior will almost certainly improve the footfall to your retail store.

If you want to give customers the best possible image of your business, you need to have good curb appeal as well as a great interior and we will look at some of the things you can do here.
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Give it a good clean

Customers will not be attracted to your business if the outside of your building is unkempt and chaotic. It also gives the impression that your company is sloppy and inattentive, which is not a good impression to leave with a potential client. Spend some time cleaning up the outside of the building: pick up litter, wipe down windows and walls, remove graffiti and animal mess and use a pressure washing service to give it a good blast.

Freshen up with a new coat of paint

Consider the last time the outside of your business was painted. A good paint job should survive for many years, so it's probably time for a touch-up. Painting the exterior of your building is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve its appearance.

A chipped, flaking paint job exposes the material beneath and exposes it to the elements of sun, wind, and rain, which can harm the structure of your building as well as look exceedingly unattractive. You could even take advantage of the opportunity to fully change the colour palette. To make it stand out even more, paint it in your company's colours.

Keep on top of the landscaping

The environment surrounding the building, as well as the building itself, need some delicate loving care. Overgrown bushes, fallen leaves, and out-of-control weeds give it a dishevelled and unwanted appearance. Trim bushes and shrubs, pick up fallen leaves, and, most essential, mow the lawns on a regular basis to keep it tidy. The difference between an untidy landscape and one that has been maintained is astounding, but keep in mind that it is something that must be done on a regular basis; it is not a one-time activity.

Give it some greenery

A touch of green on the outside of a building will always improve its appearance and make it more appealing. It does not have to be elaborate; strategically placed pots outside the door, as well as a few hanging baskets or bushes at the entryway, can make a big difference.

By improving the curb appeal of your business, you will see a much higher footfall. It makes you look like you care about the finer details, which is what every business wants to be seen to do.


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Interior Design Services via online design for any of your interior design needs or design dilemmas.

Can be used for:

General design advice or feedback
Remodeling questions
Furniture arrangement or a furniture space layout drawing
Concept ideas for a room direction and ideas / input
Paint color selections
Art, accessory, furnishing selections and more

Please email with any questions: JSInteriorDes@aol.com 


(Payable via Venmo, $100/hr)

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The flipping of homes is something which has become glamorised over recent years, but really isn’t something that’s completely easy. It takes a lot of research and preparation to do it properly. It’s essentially the method of buying a house or property of some kind, making it better and more valuable, and then selling it on for a profit. Everyone approaches this in a different way. This is where people go wrong. If you just copy someone without taking your personal situation into account you aren’t going to make a success out of it because you aren’t playing to your strengths. Here are some tips to consider.

Know The Local Area

Before you start flipping you need to know what the local area market is like. If you don’t then you’re setting yourself up for a fall. Most first starters decide to buy in the area they grew up or in the wider city. If you’re ever worried about anything you can always reach out to a real estate agent but just remember you’d be better doing any research yourself. Knowing the area simply means knowing where the expensive homes are versus the cheaper ones. As well as knowing which neighbourhoods are good and bad and having a flavour for what developments are going to occur.
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Decide How You’ll Flip

Are you going to build extensions on the property to add value, or are you going to rip out and install new kitchens and bathrooms? There are so many options for you to consider. It might be that you want to do all of these and really try to push the profit. Some might even demolish the whole home and start from scratch building a new one or decide to change it into apartments. It’s something you need to decide from the outset though as it allows you to properly plan how you’re going to approach each situation. It also allows you to build up an expertise in a certain area. If you’re doing this with a partner or friend it’ll be easier because you’ll both bring something to the table and will go far in keeping overheads down.

Get Your finances In Order

You need money to start flipping successfully. Buying the home costs money, and then making all the changes needed to improve the property costs even more. If you start a property without all of the money you need it could end up falling through when you run out. It’s hard to estimate when it comes to building works. Sometimes things will just naturally fall through or cost more than you think but it’s why you have some cash in the barrel for this eventuality. If you don’t, you’ll lose a lot more long term. Just go slow, save up more than you need after working out a costings plan and only then start your business. Even if you see a great prospect, don’t go after it unless you think you can do it justice. Once you’ve done it a few times you’ll start to build up some working capital.
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The real estate market has been flourishing ever since its introduction. A clean and profitable way of making money is through real estate investment. Purchasing property can be an expensive venture. Improper management of your property might lead to its deterioration.
The good news is, various strategies can help you manage your property. If this is your first investment, these top tips will help you successfully run and manage your property
Understand your Home

​Bedore
renting out your home, you need to understand the systems and the lifespan of each service contained within. As you purchase your home, you may be oblivious to the underlying conditions that would not present themselves during the purchase.
Take time to go through each system and its working condition. If possible, hire a professional service to replace items whose shelf life is about to expire.
Reinvest in your Home

​You
need to maintain your house in tip-top shape to attract more clientele. Reinvesting in your home is an ideal venture that will make your home appealing. With every tenant, there could be an issue that arises with their stay, whether it’s a leaking pipe or a clogged drain.
You need to attend to such issues before they evolve into more complicated problems that would cost more money.
Learn on Landlord-Tenant Law

​Managing
a rental property is similar to running a business. There are various laws and regulations that both you and your tenant need to abide with. Understanding these laws will ensure that you comply to avoid any hassles mid through.
For instance, if you’re evicting a tenant who’s a bit troublesome, you can use the law by hiring an eviction lawyer to smoothen the process. Landlord-tenant rules will outline what obligations you have as a tenant and your tenants’ rights.
Tenant Screening Process

​This
is the most fundamental part of property management. You need to ensure that your potential tenants are fit and responsible enough to live within your property. One way you can achieve this is through an effective tenant screening process.
It would be best if you came up with a policy on tenant screening to apply to every applicant. The screening should involve a thorough check into their background, credit history, and reference.
To be on the safe side of the law, ensure that your lawyer goes through your screening policy before you use it.
Outsourcing

​Being
a jack of all trades can significantly save you money on your property. However, at some point, you will require external help in managing your property. If you have a busy schedule, you can enlist your property for management by experienced real estate agents. You will still get profits from your property but at a reduced rate.
Hiring a professional rental property management company will take care of the day-to-day requirements of managing your home. This will, in turn, free you to invest in other properties as you grow your business.
​

It would be best always to remember that proper rental management is vital in obtaining maximum profitability from your investment. The tips above will set you on a course of success. However, if it becomes burdensome, a rental property management company will provide you with peace of mind.
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Complete Flat Rate Room Design via Online Design - $100 off!
*Limited time only, expires 6/8/2021

Need ideas on how to merge existing furniture with new? Want help with accessory & furniture selections? Paint color choices? Get a complete room design for just $500 ($400) with e-decorating. Email your room dimensions along with pictures of the room & any existing furniture you want to incorporate and receive a complete room design which will consist of:

  • a furniture floor plan layout (two options)
  • furnishing selections (artwork, accessories, area rugs, furniture, & lighting)
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  • & a list of resources - all within your budget, which you can implement and purchase as your time & budget allow

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About

Jill Seidner is a Los Angeles based Interior Designer specializing in commercial & residential interior design, design consultations, & online design services. She is active in the design community & also the Los Angeles blogger for the Material Girls Blog. For media kit and blog sponsorship info, click here.

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