8 Reasons To Buy Your Home in the Summer

Buying a home doesn’t have to be a nerve-wracking experience. Here are eight reasons why the lazy days of summer are the best time to contact your realtor Marina del Rey and kickstart the home-buying process.

1. Summer’s the best time to sell your old home.

If you’re moving from a rental property, all you have to do is navigate your lease agreement. If you own your soon-to-be-former home, however, you may need to coordinate its sale with the purchase of your new home. Summer’s the best time to do that.

2. You’ll have more properties to choose from.

Since summer is an ideal time to sell, you’ll have more options as a buyer. Year in and year out, the number of homes on the market rises along with the temperatures. This means you can be flexible and avoid having to settle for a property that offers less than what you were looking for or that isn’t right for your budget.

3. The weather is better for moving.

This is particularly important if you’re moving to or from a part of the country that experiences brutal winters. Lugging furniture and boxes through the snow is no fun. Neither is paying professional movers to endure the elements in your place.

4. Mortgage rates are usually lower.

While markets certainly fluctuate, generally speaking, mortgage rates are lower in the summer. Locking in a lower interest rate and cheaper home loan has the potential to deliver considerable savings in the long run, no matter if you’re interested in single-family homes, condos, or townhomes for sale.

5. Your kids are out of school.

Moving is a big adjustment for kids, no matter their age. You can ease the transition, especially if they’ll be changing schools, by making your move during the summer.

6. It’s a good time for DIY projects.

If you’ve got your eye on a fixer upper, summer can be the best time to buy. The weather is more cooperative for DIY projects, and it’s often easier to take time off of work as well. If your children are out of school or home from college, you can stick a rake or a screwdriver in their hands, too.

7. You can get a better feel for the neighborhood.

What do you do when the weather turns cold? You stay inside with a good book or a Netflix binge as frequently as possible. Your potential neighbors likely do too. That’s why summer presents the best time to get a real idea of what the neighborhood is like. In the warm weather, your future neighbors will be out and about, allowing you to get a feel for things such as how many kids are on your block and who needs to break out the lawnmower more often.

8. You could snag a spring price drop.

Spring is also a popular time for sellers to list their homes. Come summertime, however, if a house hasn’t sold, some sellers are motivated to lower their prices in order to get things moving and avoid spending another season with their homes on the market.

Buying a home during the summer can alleviate many of the stresses that moving brings. If you’ve been thinking about a change of address, contact your Los Angeles real estate agent today to start the search for your dream home.

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Planning the Perfect Family Road Trip without the Stress

Planning a family road trip can be very stressful to say the least. After all, you need to cater to the interests of everyone, while trying to keep everything under budget. This can be difficult, but not impossible.

Include Everyone

When planning your road trip, try and get some input from the kids too. They’ll be excited because they feel as though they’re helping, and they may even be able to give you some insight into the places they want to visit. If you want to make this process easier then suggest destinations that already have the approval of the adults, so that you don’t get their hopes up over somewhere not everyone wants to go.

Start Saving

Trips tend to be somewhat expensive. You’ll need to pay for accommodation and fuel too. If you want to make the whole trip much more affordable then it’s a good idea for you to start a savings account way in advance. That way you can put away a small amount each month without having to worry.

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Plan

Planning a trip can be great fun. When you have settled on your destination, take your kids to the local library and take out some books that relate to the place you’re visiting. That way you can help to educate them, and you can also find out where the best stops are. Some attractions may require you to book a reservation in advance, so it’s worth looking into this before you embark on your adventure. If you want to make the most out of your trip, then it’s a good idea for you to plan out some free attractions along the way too. This could involve visiting a history museum or even attending a family fun day.

Paper Maps

Paper maps are fun to use and they can also make the trip feel super exciting. Get the kids involved when finding out which turnoff to take. When you do, you can help to teach them about geography and you can also make the trip much more memorable. It also means that you have a backup just in case your GPS goes out of signal along the way too.

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Packing

If you take too much stuff with you when you go on your adventure, then the car will end up being cluttered and you may even find that the whole trip becomes uncomfortable. If you don’t take enough with you on the other hand, you may find that the kids get bored and restless along the way, and this is the last thing that you need. If you want to get around that, try and pack some magnetic travel games, or even a notebook. Snacks are also a must-have because they will help to keep everyone entertained on the journey, including the adults! When packing snacks, try and take sweets that come in individual wrappers so they don’t stick to the seats. Remember that road trips can be long and you might not always be able to clean up the mess right away.

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Moving Tips To Stay Sane

Moving house is exciting, but stressful. You’ve been saving hard to afford your dream place, and now the hard work begins.

Your first step, of course, is finding the one. An apartment hunt can be fun if you approach it with a positive mindset. Set your budget, and look around for an area you can afford. You can get ideas by using studies like this example to understand market trends for apartments. Once you’ve found the place, passed the credit check and got the keys in your hands, it’s moving day. One of the most chaotic experiences you can have.

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Trying to empty the freezer before moving day could mean eating some pretty odd combinations for dinner. Instead of finding yourself into fish fingers and curry, plan out some quick and easy meals that you can make to use up whatever needs to go before you move. For after the move, stock up on some fast meals, either by prepping and freezing some, or stocking up on microwave meals. Nobody wants to cook while you’re surrounded by boxes.

Use packing as an excuse to declutter. It’s amazing what junk can accumulate and a good clear out can be refreshing. Go through everything as you pack and get rid of things you no longer want or need. Donate it, or have a yard sale to make back some of the cost of moving. Anything you throw out doesn’t need to be packed. Double win.

Buy a tape gun to make making up and sealing up boxes much easier. Label each box clearly with what’s inside it and which room it goes into. This will save the movers from having to ask where you want everything and will help you find everything at the other end.

Moving will go much smoother if you can find the things you need quickly and not have to search every box for the cutlery come dinner time.

What will you need right away in the new house? Pack these into a box that doesn’t go into the moving van. Keep this with you, and you’ll have immediate access to the essentials. This box could include things like phone chargers, a box cutter or scissors to get in other boxes, toilet paper, something to make a drink and any essential medication. Pack similar boxes for pets or children with anything they’ll need immediately too.

Unpack in a sensible order. What will you want first? If you drink tea or coffee, getting the coffee machine or the kettle set up and plugged in quickly will make the rest far less painful. Assemble and make any beds early too. Even if you get no further the first day, you’ll have somewhere to sleep comfortably.

Start early with updating your contact details everywhere. It’s a slow, boring process, so get some of it out of the way as soon as you can. Some companies can be informed in advance of a move. Find out which and get it done.

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Hearing Health & Listening To Music: Everything You Need To Know

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Listening to music is one of the simplest pleasures in life but can, unfortunately, be harmful to hearing health. However, it is possible to enjoy the music you love without causing damage to your hearing. Here’s what you need to know.

How does music harm hearing health?

The music itself is not the issue when it comes to hearing health; it’s the volume. Sounds over 85 decibels are considered to be harmful to hearing if exposure is prolonged; for reference, an average hair dryer will reach between 70 and 85 decibels when used at full power.

What problems can loud music cause?

Listening to music at loud volumes can cause two conditions: hearing loss (where the ability to hear is permanently reduced) and tinnitus (where a person “hears” sounds, such as ringing or beeping, that are not actually present). The damage is usually cumulative, and is usually identified in later life when people seek testing for tinnitus or attend a hearing test after noticing they may be experiencing the symptoms of hearing loss.

Is it possible to listen to music without damaging hearing?

Absolutely. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

  • Whenever you are listening to music, always keep the volume as low as you possibly can.
  • On occasions when you do want to increase the volume, do not exceed more than 60% of the total volume capacity available. Helpfully, many modern devices, such as smartphones, will warn you if you turn the volume up beyond a safe level.
  • How you listen to music is also an important consideration. If possible, avoid listening to music directly; instead, play your chosen songs via a computer or other electronic device that plays music to the entire room. In situations where this is not possible, use headphones rather than earbuds to help protect your ears.
  • Avoid listening to music for sustained periods of time, even when you have kept the volume within the safe limits. Turn the music off every hour or so in order to give your ears the chance to recover a little.
  • If you can, try to avoid listening to music a few days per week. While volume is the most significant factor, how frequently you listen to music can also influence the health of your hearing, so a few “days off” can give your ears the chance to recover.

What about attending live music events?

Live events can cause significant damage to hearing; rock concerts, for example, can easily exceed 100 decibels. To avoid hearing damage caused by live events, it’s usually best to invest in ear protection – earplugs and earmuffs can both work well in this regard, or combine both if you want an extra level of protection.

In conclusion

By following the advice above, you should be able to protect the health of your hearing and still indulge your love of music. However, it is still worth visiting a hearing health professional for hearing or tinnitus testing, just to ensure that the measures we have suggested above are protecting your hearing as you would expect.

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Why Students Should Join A Social Networking Site

When you first go off to college, it can be very overwhelming, especially if you don’t know anyone there. Making friends is tricky but once you get into the swing of things, you can become comfortable in your new life.

One of the best ways to meet new people at college and get on track with your schoolwork is to join a social networking site that connects you. In this article, we are going to tell you some of the reasons why we think that students should join a social networking site.

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Meet Other Students

These days, social networking sites come with groups and pages that you can join to find people with similar interests to you. This is something that the network Emenator is so useful for. Members of Emenator can create, share and moderate their own groups so that only the people they want to be in there are. You could join groups for each subject you’re studying, which will connect you with others who are doing the same course as you. It’s been developed for people aged 18+ only, making it the perfect social space for students.

If you struggle to go out and talk to others on campus, then you might enjoy connecting with students online. Soon, you’ll have some friends that you can meet up with.

Communicate With Classmates

One of the great things about social networking sites is that they come with enhanced messaging services in an exclusive setup which allows you to communicate with your classmates and friends. As a student, you are likely to have a lot of questions about your tests and your assignments. When you can easily talk to a classmate online using a messaging service, you can stay on track and improve your academic performance. You could even have an online study group through one of these sites.

Build An Online Profile

Once you have completed your studies, you need to start applying for jobs or internships to get started on your career. This is why we think that you should join a social networking site that will allow you to build up an online profile and gain some important contacts. Some employers look at your online presence and if you use a respected platform wisely, you could boost your chances of getting employed. Think about your career prospects and boost your online profile on social media.

Have Fun

The final reason that we think that students should join a social networking site is that you can have fun. Many of these sites come with games, music and much more that will allow to plug in and have some fun online. On top of this, you can find out about special events online and get some tickets. Soon, you’ll be having fun and meeting plenty of other students just like you.

Final Verdict

A social networking site can boost your online profile and help you to make some friends when you first get to college. Make sure to find the right social networking site for you and you’ll soon be having the best possible experience as a college student in 2019.

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The Pressure Zone: Keeping Calm In Demanding Situations

Throughout history, the ability to remain calm and collected, even in the face of a great threat, has always been a valued trait for someone to have. Making it far easier to work in a host of roles, it’s always worth pushing yourself to ensure that you are being as brave as you can be. Of course, though, this isn’t always the easiest approach to take. To help you out with it, this post will be exploring some of the work which can go into keeping calm when you find yourself in a demanding situation. As time goes on, this will only get easier and easier.

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Learning

This sort of process will always have to start with a little bit of learning. Even if you’ve had to deal with tricky situations before, it makes sense to start from a position of a complete novice. This way, you will avoid missing out on anything important, while also making yourself feel more confident when you find that you’ve already been going down the right track. The sort of learning you do depends on your current position. Ideally, being able to learn from someone else is the best way to go through something like this.

It doesn’t have to stop with the people around you, though, and you can always looks for further tuition in this area. Emergency management diplomas are great for those who want to be able to run a business or act as a manager. Not only do they teach you how to handle emergency situations, but they will also strengthen your ability to think on your feet and get things done quickly. As time goes on, having these skills will only become more and more critical, especially as businesses of all sizes are having to deal with increasingly complex challenges.

As the last bit of learning it can be worth doing, getting a better grip on the field which you’re part of can be an excellent way to make yourself feel more confident. Taking a short online course is the best way to achieve something like this. Of course, though, this will only be worth it if you haven’t studied much in the past, as you will be learning the same things over and over, otherwise. It’s surprising how much you can learn when you go to school rather than teaching yourself.

Exposure

When it comes to something like stress and pressure, learning how to deal with things which make a situation hard is best done through experience. When you make mistakes, you will remember what you’ve done for the future, and this will open the doors to handling the same thing better. Of course, you can work to create a safe environment for this in your current role, all by building simple hypothetical situations and having others rate how you would deal with them. This is only the start, though, and you can often take this much further.

With businesses all over the world recognising the importance of being able to remain calm when the heat is on, more and more specialised training centers are opening which are designed to help people to understand stress. Playing a game of football in extreme weather conditions is a great example of this, as it will teach you how to make decisions when you have a lot of other things distracting you. Stress is often a simple collection of small issues which are weighing down on you, making it can easy emotion to control with the right time and effort.

Safety

There are few situations in life which will leave you completely vulnerable. As long as you do the work beforehand, protecting yourself against chaos can often be as simple as signing up for the right service. In the case of an injured customer, for example, having the right insurance in place would ensure that you company could help the person, without having to risk losing money in court. When you find yourself in a position which forces you to choose between keeping yourself safe or doing the right thing, it will be hard to deal with the pressure you feel.

Taking this further is a simple matter of looking for some people to help you, and this will become essential if you’re running a growing business. Legal support comes in loads of shapes and sizes, nowadays, with some companies offering far more affordable support than you used to be able to get through traditional means. Having someone on hand to offer advice when you find yourself in a scary position can be utterly invaluable. Of course, though, it will be worth reading some reviews before you choose who you’d like to work with.

Staying Calm

A lot of the time, we find that pressure builds and we become increasingly stressed in situations we perceive as stressful because we don’t stay calm. Now, there are multiple ways you can tackle this. You can practice breathing exercises. You can reassure yourself. You can try out calming products, such as CBD oils – you can find CBD oil reviews from High Times if this is something you’re interested in trying out yourself! But what’s most important is simply taking a step back and analysing the situation. Is there really anything to fear? What’s really the worst that can happen? Generally speaking, things going wrong wouldn’t be all too bad. So, do your best to avoid worrying about it!

Self-Confidence

Finally, as the last area to consider, it’s time to think about the way that you look at yourself in all of this. When you’ve had to face challenges in the past and failed, it can be easy to assume that you’re doomed to keep going down the same route. If you fall into this trap, though, you will never be able to overcome the issues you face, and this makes it crucial that you feel self-confident. This will come very naturally for some people, though you may find that you have to work a little harder.

One of the best ways to achieve this is through a little bit of acting. By forcing yourself to pretend that you are confident, especially in social situations, you will slowly build then necessary habits and mannerisms to convince yourself that you’re nice and brave. While this may sound like a simple approach, it has worked for people for hundreds of years, and is one of the only ways to move yourself from feeling shy to being able to talk to anyone.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of keeping calm when the pressure is on. A lot of people struggle with this sort of work, finding it hard to know how to make themselves into a more confident person. As time goes on, though, this sort of skill could prove very important in your personal and professional lives, making it worth putting some time into it.

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Moving House For First Timers

Your family just have another addition and you suddenly realized it is time to leave the starter home your family have enjoyed for some time now. Aside from having kids grow up, you also added new pets to complete the whole picture. There is just no more room for everyone in the house. It is time to move to a bigger place. And your dream of owning a place near that fabulous winery like the one here might just come to a reality. You and your wife have saved enough so that the kids and fur babies can enjoy a bigger place to play and grow up to. So you scouted for a bigger house in a nice neighbourhood and community. You found the one that checks all the boxes you have set, including the special inspection you have asked a plumber friend to see if the pipes are all intact (and you can learn more today about pipes, HVAC, home maintenance, etc). You closed a deal with the realtor and all systems go. Then you realized one thing, how do you start the moving process? This is your first time to move so it is a good idea to have these simple pointers in mind to help you get by with your initial move.

Check out recommended movers in your current area

Scout for reliable and professional movers in your area. You can ask your friends, family, neighbours for any recommendations and start from there. Contact a few, request for their quote and inclusions for the rate and compare with other movers. Select the one that fits your preference and meets your requirements. This website is a good example of a professional mover you have to consider and may want to book for your moving requirement.

Contact the mover and sign a contract.

Start packing

One thing to consider packing is pack per room and label boxes as per room. While sorting through your possessions, remove unwanted items you can donate or sell or give to your family and friends. Aim to bring only the necessary and essentials to your new home. Start fresh.

Leave a carry-all bag for your basic needs until you move

Keep at least one carry-all bag for you and your family containing basic items such as toothbrushes, undergarments, few shirts, gadget chargers, etc. This is for your everyday use until you settle to your new home and opened some of the essential boxes for your family.

Unpack per boxes per room

To keep things organized and not have your things all over the place, unbox your boxes per room so it is easier to set them up and keep them on their proper places once you have unboxed all the remaining movers’ boxes.

And, when you’re all done arranging your stuff, relax and appreciate all the work you put into making your move as efficient as you can. Now, you can visualize yourself being here and sipping the best wine with your partner creating memories.

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