New Tenant / Home Checklist

home, buying

When searching for a new place to either rent or own, it can be stressful and overwhelming. We compiled a list of what to look for in helping make the right decision on your next place you will soon call home.

Here’s a checklist of factors to consider when searching for your next dream home:

  1. Decide how much you can spend – create a budget.  If you are looking to buy, find out how much you can barrow. A realestate agent and or a lender can help.
  2. Find a real estate agent. Real estate agents are great for both buying and renting options.  Start here – yallalist.com
  3. Research potential neighborhoods. It’s time to put on your investigating hate – traffic, schools, local services, entertainment in the area and service charges.
  4. Decide on commute – how far do you want to drive to work, church and entertainment. Is the home in a high traffic area?
  5. Create a list of features you want in your next home. Divide the list into must-haves and like-to-haves.
  6. Check out the amenities the community or building has to offer. Is it worth the premium.

Enjoy the home renting/buying process. Take your time on deciding on a place to live, and remember it’s not going to be perfect but you will find a place that is close to it.

Are you looking for property to rent/own? Browse our property section here.

DIY Project: Painting Furniture

I am going to tell you how you can transform a piece of furniture.  You can take anything from a dresser, chair, end table and or dining table and paint it.  Nothing says style like a nicely painted piece of furniture, it adds that pop of color that all rooms need.  Take a look on yallalist.com for gently used furniture that can be transformed into the perfect piece of furniture.

DIY Painting Furniture, Yallalist

Simply follow these steps:

  1. Sand – use 150 grit sandpaper or 80-grit if you are sanding a piece with an existing varnish. This will help roughen up the piece of furniture so the primer will adhere easily.
  2. Wipe – take a lint-free cloth to remove any type of residue.
  3. Prime  – use a mini foam roller and a foam brush to get into any hard-to-reach areas. Once your primer is fully dry, sand away any drips with a 220-grit sanding block, and wipe your piece with a lint-free cloth.
  4. Paint – use a mini foam roller to apply three thin coats of semi-gloss latex paint. Give it 6 to 8 hours in between coats. If you have any drips, start with step 1 and 2 again.
  5. Protect –  last step, use a new foam roller to apply a thin coat of polycrylic water-based protectant in gloss. Give it about 72 hours to dry before use.

I can’t wait to see what you transform!

Earn Extra Cash By Tidying Up Your Home

Out with the old and in with the new. We are no longer bound to be inside all cooped up, we can open the windows and smell the flowers blooming.  When we are cooped up in the house all winter, clutter and dust begins to pile up, and thats where cleaning comes into the picture.  You might not be a big cleaner or might not like to even clean at all but what if you can turn your cleaning into cash?

Cleaning, yallalist

Start by looking around your home, what has pilled up that you really have no use for anymore? Don’t get all sentimental on me now…. if you haven’t used it in a few months or even remembered that it was there, then it is time to sell it.  Thats right sell it.  Yallalist.com is the perfect place to sell anything that you no longer want.  It’s free and supper easy, just set up an account, take a few pictures and upload.  Turn your unwanted items into cash.  This is how cleaning should be done.

Declutter your Home

declutter your home

Sleek and modern…. who doesn’t love this home? But in reality who lives here.  You may be thinking to yourself my home can never look like this.  Well don’t be to discouraged, your home can look just like this, you just have to declutter.

Take a look at this home, there really is not a lot of furniture, or really anything that can get cluttered.  Now look around your home, and ask yourself what can I get ride of? You can sell your furniture on yallalist.com for free and make a little extra cash.

Yallalist also has a great selection of homes and condos for sale that resemble this sleek modern design, that might just give you the push to sell your current place.  Keep an open mind to what the future holds.

DIY Project – How to Reupholster a Chair

reupholster a chair, DIY

DIY projects are a great way to take an old piece of furniture and give it life.  Take a look around your home, is there anything that looks like it needs a little tender love and care.  It’s also a lot of fun to purchase a used chair and reupholster the cushion. You can start by browsing through the classified section on yallalist, right from your computer.  When you are looking for a chair, just make sure the wood frame is in good condition.  The fabric is going to be replaced, so it really does not matter what or how the fabric looks.

Supplies Needed to Reupholster a Chair:

  • Needle-nose pliers
  • Marking pen
  • Scissors
  • Staple gun and staples, 3/8- or 5⁄16-inch
  • ½-inch batting
  • Upholstery fabric (about 5 yards depending on the chair)
  • Straight pins
  • Fabric glue, optional
  • Black breathable fabric (for underside of chair)

Let’s Begin:

  • Step 1: Start removing the fabric and old batting that is on the chair.  The needle-nose pliers will help remove and nails or staples that are holding the fabric down.  TIP: Take notes or pictures of where and how the current fabric is applied to the chair. You can also use this fabric as a template to the size and shape your new fabric.
  • Step 2: Cut and add the new batting to the chair by using the staple gun.
  • Step 3: Layout the new fabric.  Use the old fabric as your template.  Add an additional 2″ of fabric around the outer edge, this will be trimmed at the end. Use the pins to keep the fabric in place when cutting. TIP: If you are using a patterned fabric keep in mind where you want the design to start and stop.
  • Step 4: Place the fabric on the chair and start stapling.  Keep fabric taut and smooth when stapling. Trim excess fabric.
  • Step 5: Flip the chair over and cover the backside of the chair with the black breathable fabric, that will hide the staples.
  • Step 6:  YAY! You are finished.  Enjoy your new DIY reupholstered chair.

 

Finding the Perfect Home

Finding the perfect home

Finding the perfect home is never easy, unless you are custom building the home of your dreams….. but that is most likely not the case.  There is never going to be a home that is perfect and checks all the boxes, don’t get discouraged.  Create a list of your top must have’s for your new home.  Don’t make it too long as you need to stay realistic for your budget sake.  I would say a list of your top five requirements is a good start.  You can splurge to your top ten, but I would say that is your max.

Start, by asking your self what you like about your current home and what you don’t like.  Think about what you can live with and what you can’t live without.  Once you have set a budget that you are comfortable with, it helps to search places that are in your price range to help give you an idea of what you can afford.  A great place to start is yallalist.com.  It’s your one stop shop to all your property needs.  Another important factor is location, which plays a large role in price and might be an important factor on your top list.  A good tip to remember is sometimes you can get more bang for your buck living a few miles out from a top location.

Keep in mind this is going to be your new home!  Love it and have fun with finding the right place you can call home.