Real Wealth Real Estate

Adding Value to Your Home with Green Updates – By Tim Smith

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Maria Rekrut

Adding Value to Your Home with Green Updates

By Tim Smith

Today’s home buyers are more environmentally conscious than ever before; as such, many prospective home buyers look for houses with energy-efficient upgrades. Not only do these upgrades tend to save homeowners money on energy costs, but they can also help to reduce a household’s carbon footprint — which is a must for anybody who’s trying to live a “green” lifestyle.

If you’re looking to sell your home, then, there are a few “green” updates you might want to consider making to increase your resale value while adding sales appeal in the process.

Install Energy Efficient Windows

One of the best upgrades you can make in terms of your return on investment is to install new, energy-efficient windows, such as double-pane windows filled with argon gas or innovative low-E windows. Yes, you’ll spend a little bit more on these windows, but they’ll be a huge selling point for your home and save you money on your heating and cooling bills in the meantime.

According to Care2.com, homeowners can see as much as a 65%-75% increase in home resale value with such an addition.

Upgrade Your Heating and Cooling System

Another excellent upgrade for homeowners to consider is that of upgrading their home’s existing HVAC system. This is especially recommended for homes with HVAC systems that are more than about 15 years old. A new system may include a new furnace, central AC unit, and even insulated duct work. To top it all off, a programmable or smart thermostat can help make the most of the home’s new equipment.

According to GreenBlizzard.com, homeowners could add as much as 30% to their home’s resale value by upgrading to an energy-efficient heating and cooling system. Of course, homeowners should also be aware that this is a substantial investment, as new energy-efficient HVAC systems can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 (or even more, in some cases).

Invest in Energy Efficient Appliances

Finally, today’s homeowners expect a home to have upgraded appliances. So if you’re going to be replacing your appliances before selling anyway, why not look into replacing the existing ones with energy-efficient ones? Specifically, replacing ovens, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and dishwashers with Energy Star rated appliances can help you add up to 18% to your home’s resale value, according to GreenBlizzard.com. In the meantime, you’ll also get to save yourself some money with these appliances in your home.

As you can see, there are plenty of “green” updates worth considering that can substantially increase the resale value of your home. At the same time, you can enjoy the peace of mind in knowing that the next people to live in your home will enjoy a reduced carbon footprint on your behalf. For more energy efficiency as well as other home ideas visit Modernize. http://modernize.com

Real Estate Tip 3: A picture is worth a thousand words. Attractive, high-quality pictures really do sell houses! Share on X

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Posted in Blogging, Green products, Marketing, Social Media | Tagged Adding Value to Your Home with Green Updates, Care2.com, energy-efficient upgrades, GreenBlizzard.com, homeowners can see as much as a 65%-75% increase, homeowners money on energy costs, http://modernize.com, Install Energy Efficient Windows, Invest in Energy Efficient Appliances, live a "green" lifestyle, Tim Smith, Today's home buyers are more environmentally conscious, Upgrade Your Heating and Cooling System | Comments Off

How to Generate More Valentine’s Day Bookings This Year

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Maria Rekrut

Paveya > Blog > How to Generate More Valentine’s Day Bookings This Year

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Abby Stewart

https://www.paveya.com/generate-valentines-day-bookings-year/

This year, Valentine’s Day is on a Friday and President’s Day is on the following Monday. This is a PERFECT circumstance for planning a Valentine’s Day getaway, as this will be a long weekend for many people who get President’s Day as a paid holiday off of work. Want to grab a few extra Valentine’s Day bookings for your vacation rental company this year? Then be sure to point out this message wherever you can – your social media accounts and email blasts are a great place to start. Check out more tips for generating Valentine’s Day bookings below. After all, $18.6 billion dollars was spent on Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations in 2013. Grab more of that revenue this year for yourself!

Step 1: Create a Special Blog Post

Construct a blog post that will attract, inform, and persuade potential renters to choose your vacation rental company for their Valentine’s Day destination. For example “Why (insert your destination here) is the Perfect Valentine’s Day Getaway,” and “5 Places For a Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner in (your city)” would grab the attention of those who are in the decision-making stage of the buying process; people who know they want to head somewhere for Valentine’s Day, but are just unsure of exactly where. Your blog post could be the catalyst they need to book their holiday in your city, and with your company, so be enticing, engaging, and creative with your descriptions to create allure for your destination on Valentine’s Day.

Be sure to include a Call to Action (CTA) at the bottom of your post with a graphic that draws readers’ attention, tells of your Valentine’s Day renting specials, and that links to your website where those specials can be found.

Step 2: Distribute it Through Email Blast

One way to get your blog post out in a timely manner, as Valentine’s Day rapidly approaches, is to send it out in an e-blast to your list of contacts and leads. Be sure to include information on your Valentine’s Day Specials within the email, but make the main focus be the advantageous blog post, not the deals, to avoid sounding too much like a sales message and less like the helpful source of information you want to be for your potential guests. Follow these tips for a successful Valentine’s Day blog post e-blast:

Include an excerpt or summary of your blog post, plus a link to the post on your site. Don’t include the whole blog post because then the recipient will have no reason to click and visit your website.
Include an image if possible.
Ensure your email template is mobile friendly. If you use a service like MailChimp or ConstantContact, your email template is likely already mobile friendly.
Include a link to your Valentine’s Day specials.
Include a message that this year Valentine’s Day is the Friday before the President’s Day long weekend

Step 3: Post/Advertise in Social Media

Be sure to post your blog post in your social media networks, like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and others, for maximum exposure immediately.

You can also create Facebook Ads out of the posts once you post them to Facebook and target them to the people who are most likely to visit your area on Valentine’s Day using Facebook’s ad management system. Facebook ads are great if you have a limited budget. Just determine how much

So go ahead and get started by following these steps to generate more bookings for your vacation rental company this Valentine’s Day. For more information or for other helpful marketing tips for your company, visit Paveya’s Vacation Rental Marketing blog.

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Posted in Blogging, Marketing, Social Media | Tagged Abby Stewart, bookings, create special blog post, distribute it through email blast, facebook ads, How to Generate More Valentine’s Day Bookings This Year, Paveya's vacation rental marketing blog, Post/advertise on social media, real wealth real estate, real wealth vacation rentals, social media, social media networks, Valentine's Day getaway | Comments Off

6 Steps to Painless Social Media Self-Promotion

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Maria Rekrut

Maria Rekrut here from Niagara on the Lake Cottage Rental. I came across a great Blog on Self Promotion on Social Media that I wanted to share, with all of my Baby Boomer/Zoomer followers on my Social Media networks. As a Baby Boomer/Zoomer, this concept of self promotion goes against the very grain of how we were taught to view and do business marketing.
Business Marketing was in the 3rd person person plural “We” not in the first person singular ”I” and the actual owner of the business was promoted by other forms of advertising and people. Now all of the business strategies that I learned are changing over into using Social Media as a vehicle to Brand and Market your business product, whether you’re the brand or your product is the “brand”

I came across this great Blog by Marsha Collier that has a different perspective to self promotion that I found of great interest and wanted to share with you.

6 Steps to Painless Social Media Self-Promotion

A common topic for discussion is promotion for small businesses and personal brands. When it comes to social media, the responsibility for promotion falls on the shoulders of the own(chief cook and bottle washer). Even though my books are published by one of the top 10 publishers in the world, I still need to take responsibility for my own brand.

I’ve personally been promoting my work and books in the real world and online for over 15 years and it’s the most difficult task on my plate. Even on the “About” pages of my websites, I am loathe to blow my own horn. I might consider myself an introvert, or I might just feel the mere act is bragging.

To be fair to those who do it well, it takes nerve to think there are thousands of people waiting around to hang on to your latest words or hot new project. We may have products, businesses or books to promote, but not everyone has a similar promotional style.

1. Social media is a bit like Dish Network’s Auto Hop. A feature which enables viewers to jump past commercials and get back to the show.

Especially when your promotional messages become too overwhelming — folks will just tune you out and unfollow. Your job is not to leave people feeling spammed. not what you plan to do. You are your brand. Your message is your topic.

2. Promote others: Even if it chokes you a bit to give a hat-tip to the competition, social promotion is symbiotic. Helping others with pure intentions builds your social credibility.

3. Stay on topic! If you have a business audience, keep the kitten and puppy pictures to a minimum and save the emoticons for your personal friends.

4. Curate the best content that ties in with your online community; whether photo or product.

5. Tell stories! Storytelling about successes is a favorite read. Do you personally have any? Perhaps stories of those who have benefitted from your work?

6. Build trust by not sharing topics out of your wheelhouse just because they are trending. But do sprinkle personal posts, they bring humanity to your brand.

Lose any feeling of entitlement — no one is required to follow (or listen to) you. You need to romance your customers by engaging in conversations and commenting.

This has worked for me. If you’re into technology, e-commerce or customer service, you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook, or my website. I may not always be posting about the same topics, but I try to engage in the topics in which I think my customers are interested.

I’d love to hear from you about how you’ve grown your business. How you are using social media to grow your business. What social media strategies have worked for you the most? Make sure that we touch base on my social media channels.

Happy Investing
Maria Rekrut

The ideal social media sharing mix includes testimonials, links to other people’s content, and self-promotion! Share on X

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Posted in Blogging, Marketing, Social Media | Tagged 6 Steps to Painless Social Media Self-Promotion, All you ever wanted to know about owning a vacation rental, apartment investing, As a Baby Boomer/Zoomer, bed and breakfast, Build trust, commercial property owner, creative real estate, Curate the best content, due diligence, Maria Rekrut here from Niagara on the Lake Cottage Rental., marketing strategy, Marsha Collier, Promote others, Social Media as a vehicle to Brand and Market your business product, Stay on topic!, Tell stories!, vacation rental properties. | Comments Off

Wanted Student Interns – A Win Win for All Businesses

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Maria Rekrut

I have my first international student intern’s placement with Niagara on the Lake Cottage Rental coming to the end of her “virtual internship” Brianna is from an American University and she’s done exactly what I always wanted my interns to do.

What I always mentored to my student interns is that they get accustomed to work “virtually”. Brianna, is doing her 2nd internship placement, she didn’t need to do this she wanted the “international” experience. Brianna understands that she needs all that extra training in order to become competitive and she looked at us to give her the competitive edge.

I had a student at Niagara College, his name is Fernando Delgado who also did an extra placement with me to get more work experience. I know that both Fernando and Brianna will be successful because they did what they needed to do to get the competitive edge!!

That’s what the world will be demanding and expecting in the future from their “employees” or “contractors”.

I always wanted to give my student interns a head start into what the working world will look like in 2020.

By 2020 1 out of 2 people will be working as “contractors” from their homes, coffee shops, or where ever you have internet. The students who understood what I was trying to teach took it to heart, the others will be left behind looking for a “job”

It warms my heart that some of my student interns understood and embraced what I was trying to teach them.

I starting with my first business in New York City in 1982 and at that time my business and the contractors who worked for me were all virtual, here we are in 2014 and still the local colleges and universities are sending students out to look for a “job” when there are less and less jobs, while there are more and more “contract” work.

Even the placements are on a job site is a waste of time and energy it would be so much simpler to have the students “work virtually” like Brianna is doing.

Working virtually you wouldn’t need workmen’s compensation, plus all that wasted and precious travel time to get to and from the job sites.

By working “virtually” the students will really be getting the training they need to find “jobs” in the real world and get the “leg up” on their competitors.

These trainees will finally deliver to the people they will be working with or for, some quality of work and will be already trained to start producing excellent work. After all they got trained by a business owner who knows what is needed in the “real world”. To Schedule a free consultation go to: http://ht.ly/F7eRi

Business Tip 4: Follow your passions. If you work hard, you can make a successful business out of anything. Share on X

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Posted in Blogging, Marketing, Real Estate Investing, Virtual Student Internship Placement | Tagged “virtual internship”, All you ever wanted to know about owning a vacation rental, American University, apartment investing, bed and breakfast, commercial property owner, commercial real estate investing, competitive edge, due diligence, employees” or “contractors, flipping houses, flipping properties, international student intern’s placement, marketing strategy, New York City in 1982, Niagara College, Niagara on the Lake Cottage Rental, Student Interns - A Win Win for All Businesses, to find “jobs” in the real world and get the “leg up”, To Schedule a free consultation go to: http://ht.ly/F7eRi, vacation rental properties., Wanted Interns - A Win Win for All Businesses, Wanted Student Interns - A Win Win for All Businesses, working world will look like in 2020 | Comments Off

Blogging Your Way to Success!

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Maria Rekrut

What is Blogging?

First off, blogging falls under the category of content marketing. Content marketing is a strategy geared towards using content (such as articles, blogs, social media, videos, etc…) to drive traffic to your website or business that will eventually convert into sales (or bookings for vacation rental managers and owners). Content marketing really isn’t the easiest thing to do, and it takes a lot of time and effort. You won’t see results immediately and it can take years before blogging converts into bookings.

The act of blogging is simply writing a series of short to medium length articles (300-1000 words) on your website. There are many blog platforms out there that you can either add to your website, or build your website around (WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr).

Why Should You Blog

1. Blogging is good, because if you have a great strategy, and actually publish good and interesting content, you might actually get a couple of articles to rank on search engines and generate traffic to your site.

2. Google likes it if you’re constantly updating the content on your site. Therefore, blogging is good for your website’s overall SEO.

3. If done properly, your articles should help to establish authority about your region. Which will in return help to establish credibility and earn trust with your readers.

Why it Might be a Waste of Your Time

1. For blogging to actually work, you need to write very helpful content, and write a lot of it. Realistically, one post per month probably won’t do anything for you. Writing a lot takes time. And if you’re not a good writer, or you don’t particularly like to write, creating good content will be even more difficult and more time consuming.

2. If your articles don’t generate any real traffic, what’s the point? Great question! If your articles don’t generate organic traffic, no one sees them, and you’re doing all of it for nothing.

On the other hand, you are helping your site a little in terms of SEO. But the chances that the effects are significant enough to improve your search engine rankings is debatable at best.

3. Writing just for the sake of writing is borderline useless, and most probably a big waste of your time. You need to real strategy behind your writing. Even if your articles do in fact generate some traffic, is the traffic just there for the article? Or is the article helping to convert readers into bookings?

4. You will only start seeing the traffic way down the line. We’re talking three to six months at best (excluding exceptions to the rule). And that’s if you’ve been doing everything the right way!

Conclusion about Blogging

More exposure is always good. There’s no arguing that. But when it takes three to six months before you start to see any significant traffic, that’s a hard pill to swallow.

Three to six months of blogging every week, about local news, attractions, restaurants and stories. Then maybe, just maybe you’ll start to see some traffic to your blog.

And how much of this traffic will actually turn into bookings? More realistically, how many of these readers will even sign up to your newsletter to receive future discounts?

Blogging really isn’t as “easy” as most are making it out to be. It has literally become it’s own industry, with it’s own conversion science behind it and high paid professionals that are hired just to do that one job.

At the end of the day, it’s a pretty big risk to take if you’re going at it alone. It’s a lot of time and energy that’s being focused on something that just isn’t a sure bet.

What I’ve found from blogging, and what really counts in getting more followers to your blog is the frequency of producing more blogs and posting them on all your social media network. This is the way to reach your target market.

My audience finds my blogs on all my social media sites. I’ve gotten more followers because of both my blog content and frequency. I’m blogging every day a few times a day and since I started to blog this frequent….guess what? I have many more followers reading my blogs.

Whether you blog or not is entirely a personal choice and only you can decide if Blogging is worth your time and effort.

Happy Blogging,

Maria Rekrut

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Posted in Blogging, Marketing | Tagged blogging, Blogging Your Way to Success!, Conclusion about Blogging, content marketing, reaching your target market, social media marketing, What is Blogging?, Why it Might be a Waste of Your Time, Why Should You Blog | Comments Off

Answer 10 Questions – Voila! You Have A Rental Marketing Plan

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Maria Rekrut

What a daunting thought of getting a Vacation Rental Marketing Plan started and how utterly boring and a waste of time. Why do I think it’s a waste of time? It’s a waste of time because you probably don’t know anything about marketing, or have a fuzzy idea about it, (as I did years ago ), you also probably don’t know where to start, and what will the end results be? You’ll keep asking yourself……Is this the best use of my time?

Writing a Vacation Rental Marketing plan will be one of the boring parts of you business!! None of us like to do it and if you’ve had any corporate experience in the process, it’s no wonder. But planning is an absolute necessity if you want to be successful in your vacation rental business. So how do we reconcile our need to succeed with our propensity for procrastination?

Just re-frame how you look at planning. We hate planning because we remember the endless meetings, hours of research that doesn’t seem to get you closer to an answer and documents the size of An Historical War Novel. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Developing a Marketing Plan is nothing more than setting goals and making a to-do list that will get you there. It’s really not much different than planning a party.

You’re basically creating a plan for inviting more people who want to spend their money staying at your vacation rental and ( your guests will) tell other people why they should give you their money too. Sounds like a great idea to me. How about you? Are you ready to join the party?

I’ve included a set of 10 questions that will help your process of creating an easy marketing plan. Use this guide when you have 2-4 hours available so that you can concentrate and answer these 10 questions:

Answer these 10 Questions and Voila! You’ve Created a Vacation Rental Marketing Plan

1.   Marketing Strategy: How will your marketing plan support your business goals?
2.   Mission Statement: What are you trying to accomplish, and why?
3.   Target Market: Who are you trying to reach with your marketing activities?
4.   Competitive Analysis: Who are you up against, and where do you rank?
5.   Unique Selling Proposition: What makes your business unique?
6.   Pricing Strategy: What will you charge, and why?
7.   Promotional Plan: How will you reach your target market?
8.   Marketing Budget: How much money will you spend, and on what?
9.   Action List: What tasks do you need to complete to reach your marketing goals?
10. Metrics: How are you implementing, and where can you improve?

Once you have completed each step, you will have a marketing plan that you are ready to use as a blueprint for your marketing activities regarding your vacation rental business. What are your thoughts on the list? Do you have any additional tips on how you developed a marketing plan? I have a simple marketing form I’d love to share with you, just comment below your interest in the form and I’ll email it out to you. Please share your thoughts and advice below.

Happy Investing,

Maria Rekrut

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Posted in Marketing | Tagged apartment investing, commercial property, commercial real estate, creative real estate, due diligence, flipping houses, invest in real estate, investors, Maria Rekrut, marketing plan for Bed and Breakfast, marketing plan for vacation rentals, marketing strategy, new investors, Real Estate Investing, reiclub, rental properties, Rental Property, tips, training. | 45 Comments

You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Maria Rekrut

You never get a second chance to make a first impression when it comes to your vacation rental’s curb appeal, make sure your guests find your vacation rental inviting to their eyes and senses.

First impressions count when it comes to having guests choose your property over another vacation rental property. A majority of guests will not even get out of their car if they do not find the exterior appealing. The best way to improve your exterior should include washing windows, pressure washing roofs, vinyl siding. sidewalks, and driveway. Repairing and replacing shutters, gutters, and window screens are a must just a painting your siding and shutters.

If you are going to spend any money on renovations, the one area where you will see the greatest return is in the kitchen. Replacing light fixtures, installing under cabinet lighting, replacing cabinet doors and hardware. Replacing outdated shelving with pantry and cabinet organizers to maximize space. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on kitchen renovations, seek help from a professional who can guide you on your renovations and keep a budget in mind.

The front door to your home should invite guests to enter. Placing a new welcome mat and a group of seasonal potted plants and flowers are the first thing your guests will see. Cleaning or replacing the door knocker, locks, and handles, also painting the front door in a glossy, cheerful color that compliments the exterior color will make the first impression that much more appealing. Repair screen doors, porch light and house numbers are a few ways to improve your front entrance.

People associate the condition of your lawn and landscape with the condition of your home’s interior. Sweeping and weeding the street curb along your property, removing trash especially along fences and underneath hedges. Adding and planting colorful seasonal flowers in existing plant beds along with weeding and mulching plant beds. Mowing, seeding, and weeding the lawn should be done on a regular basis in order to keep up the appearance of your yard.

The cleanliness of your home is vital when owing a vacation rental. Eliminating house odors, especially if you have pet, can be particularly offensive to your guests. Cleaning carpets, area rugs, and draperies. Removing stains from carpets, floors, counters, sinks, and baths is also vital. The appearance of the kitchen and bathrooms will play a considerable role in your customers feeling comfortable in your vacation rental.

Your main goal when your guests first see your vacation rental is to be impressed by your curb appeal. Once they enter your home that impression should continue up to and including their bedrooms. You will never get a second chance to make a first impression. If they don’t like what they see outside, they’ll never walk inside. The view from the street can net you more traffic than you might think, make sure you make it work to your advantage.

Real Estate Tip 4: Declutter, downsize, and deep-clean! Your buyers see what's there, not the “potential.” Share on X

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Posted in Real Estate Investing | Tagged bathrooms, curb appeal, kitchen, Property Management, renovation budget, renovation tips, renovations, Rental Property, vacation rental, vacation rental property. | Leave a comment

So You Want To Be A Bed And Breakfast Owner?

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Maria Rekrut

What is a Bed & Breakfast?

A bed and breakfast (often referred to as a B&B) is a type of boarding house typically operated out of a large single family residence. Guests can be accommodated at night in private bedrooms (which may or may not have private baths) and where breakfast is served in the morning.

The business may be operated either as a primary occupation or as a secondary source of income. The staff often consists of the house’s owners and members of their family who live there.

Typical Owner of a Bed & Breakfast

The Bed and Breakfast business is run by many Baby Boomers, who are professionals wanting to live in a beautiful home while running their own hospitality business.

Guests can stay for more than one night, but in some cases they will be expected to be away from the house during the main part of the day. This arrangement however is generally found to be convenient, for many of the more popular B&B’s that are located in beach, mountain and historic areas, where daytime recreation and tourism activities are popular.

Advantages of Staying at a Bed & Breakfast

One advantage of staying at a B&B is readier access to popular locations “off the beaten path” which may not be convenient to the city center. Because most B&B’s are small, rarely with room for more than about 10-15 guests, it is advisable for anyone wanting to stay at a bed and breakfast to make reservations well in advance of their travel date.

Consultation with a qualified travel agent knowledgeable in this type of accommodation is recommended; many B&B’s belong to associations, have a web presence, and are described in various books and travel guides.

The B&B arrangement is actually a very old one; before the 20th century, it was quite normal for country travellers to spend the night at a private house rather than an inn, and the custom persists in many parts of the world.

Snap Shot Of a Bed & Breakfast Business

Modern B&B’s often consciously seek to recall earlier days; they are frequently established in attractive older houses that have been renovated and filled with antique furniture. Most B&B’s serve a traditional breakfast as a point of pride. The owners often publish their breakfast menus on their website.

The term “bed and breakfast” is also used to refer to breakfast being the only meal provided, commonly in package holidays, in a major hotel that may provide other meals to only some customers.

As they are often run by amateurs, with little lodge management experience, strict laws govern the operation of bed and breakfasts, which vary in each jurisdiction. The Bed and Breakfast is inspected every year by a By-Law officer, health inspector, and fire department. These yearly inspections can vary from province to province, state to state and country to country.

The most common regulations B&B’s must follow pertain to safety. They are required to have fire resistance, a sufficient fire escape plan in place, and smoke detectors in each guest room. If the Bed and Breakfast has a kitchen, then the health inspector will inspect the kitchen. The By-Law Officer will inspect for parking and the general over all state of the Bed and Breakfast dwelling.

Kitchens and equipment used to serve meals must also be monitored for sanitation. Most B&B’s are generally compliant with their jurisdiction’s laws.

Email me or leave a comment below if you have any additional questions about being a Bed & Breakfast Owner.

Maria Rekrut

Business Tip 5: Work out your elevator pitch. If you can’t say it in 30 seconds or less, simplify until you can! Share on X

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Posted in vacation rental | Tagged baby boomers, bed and breakfast, code, cottage rentals, inspection, investing, law, Management, properties, purchase, real, real estate, Rental Property, rentals, safety, single family, strategy. | 1 Comment

Home Stays – How To Make Money While You Live In Your Dream Home

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Maria Rekrut

Home Stays comes from the idea to give a visitor or student the typical local experience, complete with living with a host family, tasting local cuisine and visiting areas of interest. To put it simply, a home stay combines the comforts of a home setting, with bedrooms in a host family home, with the personal hospitality and sharing of knowledge of the local culture by the host family.

Home stays have also emerged as a popular option which offers younger guests experience of eating home-cooked food, living in the host family home, observing and participating in their life styles and shopping with a local family.

This form of tourism has become more popular in recent years as younger travelers want to experience the cultural varieties and differences from their homeland. Young travelers are looking for a unique experience, just watch the TV shows such as Xtreme Trecker.

Gone are the days of going only to Europe, this was the experiences of the majority of Baby Boomers, when they were looking for an adventure. Student exchange programs promote tolerance, maturity and independence. They also encourage an international perspective. In a very competitive world these are highly sought after qualities.

Student exchange programs are an investment for life. The experience can be beneficial in many different and valuable ways such as:

• Learning another language and opening career doors that students may not know existed
• Get to know how others live and come to see the world from another perspective
• Test themselves to acquire independence and maturity
• Make new friends and appreciate old ones
• Gain experience
• Learn about the world first hand

Long after the student returns home the exchange experience will influence and influence the students’ life. The Home Stay experience will provide the students with a substantial backdrop from which to make future study and career that much more important.

This exchange experience will set them apart from the crowd and mark them as someone who has proven themselves in challenging circumstances. Experience is everything, employers are increasingly alert to the knowledge gained from the Home Stay. This experience will set them apart from the crowd and mark them as very mature.

Students are eligible to participate on an exchange program if they meet the following requirements:

• still at school when applying
• in good physical and mental health
• have maintained the equivalent or better than a C grade average since Year 9
• are mature and open-minded
• are flexible, adaptable, responsible and ready to learn
• are between 15 and 18 years old (exceptions can be made for 14 and 19 year olds)

Now you have learned another way to make money from your personal home that will allow you to purchase a home of your choice and make money while living in your “dream home”.

Business Tip 6: You’re never too old, successful, or important to learn. Avoid stagnation - take an art class! Share on X

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Posted in home stay, Real Estate Investing, vacation rental | Tagged dream home, home stay, host family home, make money, making money, Real Estate Investing | Leave a comment

Making Money While On Vacation

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Maria Rekrut

Today’s Travellers are looking for ways to save money. Monthly or weekly rentals are common and are often equal in price to a three or four night stay at a comparable hotel or resort.

Vacation rentals offer much greater value than typical hotel rooms. Ranging in size from one bedroom to four or five bedroom vacation homes, with two full bathrooms, these vacation rentals are priced well below typical hotel rates.

Vacation Rentals offer more amenities and many of the vacation rental properties include other conveniences that the owners themselves use. Owners take good care of their properties since they stay there too.

Often times they clean the house or are vigilant when they get cleaning staff, therefore you know that the house has been well taken care of. There have been many times that I have gone to a Hotel to be disappointed by the cleanliness of the bathroom.

Vacation properties often times include free wireless internet, large TV’s, CD and DVD players, music systems, game tables, BBQ’s and more are often found in the houses you will rent.

As a guest you have access to things like a private pool, hot tubs, saunas. Vacation rentals are often found nearby lakes, golf courses, tennis courts, walking and cycling trails. Motels and hotels often times can’t compete with the amenities you will find in many vacation rentals.

You get more space, much more space than a hotel or motel could ever offer. A variety of sizes, styles and holiday homes types exist within vacation rentals. Units can range from studios to four or five bedrooms, sleeping up to 10 or more guests comfortably.

Vacation Rentals feature some of the most diverse and exciting amenities available. Guests can choose from budget conscious resorts to some of the most luxurious all-inclusive villas available.

Indoor pools are increasingly common, while outdoor pools can be found at nearly all vacation rental resorts.

Normally when you stay at a vacation rental it is all inclusive and at times that includes a self serve breakfast that you can enjoy in your pyjamas and you can eat at any time. Breakfast an be an all day event!!

So for you who are going on Vacation why not try out a Vacation Rental for a change. Send in your comments and experiences to me. Happy Holidays to all.