All posts by Real Men

Home Staging

Austin Home Staging – Everything You Need To Know

All the world’s a stage:

You’ve probably heard the term” home staging” but do you know what it means? It’s got nothing to do with Elon Musk and rocket stages sending payloads to Mars or wherever. It also has little to do with theatre, but in a way, there is some creative acting involved. Let us try to explain that one to you.

What Is Home Staging?

Home staging is a process where a new home or one that has just entered the real estate market gets all dressed up for visitors. The interior and exterior of the home are made up to look as attractive as they possibly could to interest a buyer. Think of it as a gal getting all dolled up for a night on the town hoping to meet someone new who will want to spend the rest of their lives together. Home staging gets home ready for a very important date – to be introduced to a potential new owner.

 

Home Staging

What Are the Benefits of Home Staging?

We are glad you asked this one. There are many advantages to having your home look like it was dressed up for the Prom by a professional in the home staging industry. Here are some good reasons to give your home an extreme makeover by a home staging profession.

1 – It’ll Sell Faster

95{c90871bae1ccbef2c97f03962533da1d1cdb56d95578a7d78109bc048c24bb44} of ASP Staged Homes sell in 29 days or less as opposed to Non-Staged Homes, coming in at 90 days on market. Read that again. Home staging will sell your home faster. If that doesn’t get your attention, what will? Think of all the time and hassle that could be saved if your home sells shortly after it gets listed. Who wouldn’t want to have that problem to deal with?

2 – It’ll Make You More Money

Yup. It’s a fact. According to US Housing and Urban Development, houses that have been staged sell on average at 17-percent higher than those homes that are not treated with the special hands and pixie dust of a professional home stager. Shortly put, you have to spend money to make money. It’s a cliché for reason.

3 – It’ll Help You See Your Home Objectively

Sure, you may think the pink throw rugs are the best fit on the mahogany floor, but a home stager will make your home look far better than that. That’s why they are the experts and we aren’t. Yes, you may love that gigantic leather sectional and that’s great! Now is it the best choice for that space? There is a good chance it isn’t. You want your furnishings to exaggerate the space and the good news is most Staging professionals have their own inventory of furniture and knickknacks at their disposal. This allows them the ability to furnish and decorate a listing with a style that best suits the layout of the home. Stagers bring out the best look to all parts of your home and save you precious time.

4 – It’ll Help Buyers Better Visualize the Potential

This is one of the most important benefits of home staging. Not every buyer will be able to conjure up the kinds of visuals that your home stager can. A guest bedroom may just be a guest bedroom, but a home stager can make it look like something a buyer needs. Photos are important these days as more and more people are using sites like www.zillow.com to buy homes. When buyers are scrolling through endless amounts of listings you want your pictures to show what a house can look like and give them a sense of how happy they will be living at that house.

5 – It’ll Give Your Competitors A Good Run

You could sell your house in “as is” condition, but if your neighborhood has other homes for sale and they have had home staging done to them, your home may end up on the market long after those other ones have sold. Home staging prevents that. Even if you don’t want to fully stage your home, partial staging is always an option most staging companies offer. Partial staging can be less expensive than staging your whole house and can give you the edge on the house up the street.

 

Home Staging Banefits

Austin’s Best Staging Company

Now that you have decided to seek professionals help to stage your property listing, here is my top pick for Home Stagers in the Austin area.

 

Cathy Helmholz, Owner of Just In Time Design

Cathy Helmholz, Owner of Just In Time Design.

A native of Belgium, Cathy has been in America for over 34 years. She is an Accredited Home Staging Professional with a background in the fashion industry and real estate. I have worked beside Cathy as a mover on multiple projects and what she is able to do with a blank canvas and furniture on her pallet is nothing short of magic! www.jitdesignhomestaging.com

What to Do After Home Staging Sells Your Home

 Well, if you happen to be in the Austin area, you are going to need Austin Movers. Maybe you should call us the moment you host your first open house after the home stager has dolled up your home because you’ll need us fairly quickly after that. We are Real Men Moving and we provide moving service seven-days-a-week. Need a hand moving or just packing? We also assist staging companies to deliver their furniture and effects. Call us today and request a free quote. Want to know what our service is like? Go to the about section of our site www.austinmovingservice.com/ under review and see what our customers are saying. 

packing your car

Three Tips for Packing Your Car on Moving Day

When it comes to utilizing your car on moving day, it’s always important to know what to pack in it. This is because cars always have a less amount of space than moving vans, as we know, and knowing what should be placed in the car can help us determine how we can best make use of the space that’s available in it.

Here are three useful tips for packing your car on moving day.

Make Space for Essentials

First and foremost, take the time to pack all essential items first. These items should be placed in one central location, which can be the front passenger seat. This should always be done prior to placing anything else in the car to be transported to your new home, as you won’t be able to overestimate the amount of space you have available beforehand.

Keep Windows Clear of Clutter

Always ensure that no matter what, your windows remain clear. This will ensure that even though you’re transporting items from your old home to your new home in a full car, you’ll still be able to see where you’re going when you’re driving. Not to mention that in many states, it’s illegal to have your view obstructed while driving due to it being a safety hazard.

Make Use of All the Space

Another useful tip is to always make use of all available space in your car. While it appears that space may be rather limited, chances are there’s more space than you might realize. For instance, you may be able to fold down your backseats, open additional space in your trunk, and more so that you can store extra items. Despite this, don’t overcrowd your car so that things aren’t uncomfortable for you or anyone else.

Thank you for visiting the Real Men Moving blog, an Austin 24 hour moving company. Contact us for a free quote on your moving costs. We hope you found our tips for packing your car helpful!

electronics

How to Pack and Move Electronics

We all know the delicate process behind packing items such as family photos and delicate antiques. However, when it comes to electronics, most people tend to pack these more carelessly, and unfortunately, one drop can result in all sorts of damage being done that could potentially be irreversible.

Here are the proper steps in which you should pack and move your electronics when moving to a new home.

Back It Up

First and foremost, take the time to backup all of your data and files prior to putting any computer equipment into storage. One drop can end up causing all kinds of damage to your computer, as well as your data and files if they aren’t saved.

Watch Out for Corrosion

Prior to moving any electronics, be sure to remove all batteries. This is because corrosion from the batteries themselves can also cause damage to electronics.

Check the Slots

Remove all DVDs, video games, etc. from any electronics prior to packing them. If they are left in a machine, the media can end up getting deformed over time.

Unplug it All

Be sure to unplug all cables, wires, and accessories from your electronics. This is a great way to prevent any potential metal-to-metal damage during transport.

Keep the Original Packaging

If possible, place all electronics in their original packaging during the move, as these will contain the pre-shaped foam pieces that they can easily fit into.

Use Bubble Wrap

Any television sets and computer monitors with fans should be wrapped in bubble wrap and tape to help prevent dust.

Utilize Extra Blankets

Use padded moving blankets to help protect flat-screen televisions from getting broken during a move. Additionally, store them against a wall for extra support.

Thank you for visiting the Real Men Moving blog, an Austin 24 hour moving company. Contact us for a free quote on your moving costs.

 

Austin student moving services

Transferring Utilities When Moving

If you will be moving from your old home to a new one, it’s important to remember that you will need to transfer your utilities. The task itself isn’t fun, but it’s absolutely essential in order to ensure that you have water, electricity, and internet service in your new home when you move in.

Here are three tips to make note of when it comes to transferring utilities to your new home.

Update Address

First and foremost, be sure to update your home address. You will want to provide your utility service providers with your new home address when you contact them to transfer your services in order to ensure that you receive all future bills. You will also want to contact the United States Postal Service to inform them that you will need to have your mail forwarded as well.

Contact Service Providers

Prior to making the move to your new home, contact your utility service providers and have them come to your current home to conduct a final reading of the water, gas, and electric meters. Be sure that you keep copies of the meter reading reports for your records in the event that you were to receive any unexpected bills after your move.

Schedule Ahead

If you are moving to a new town or city, you will want to take the time to contact their public utilities offices a few weeks before your move in order to arrange for the services to begin at your new home. This is because water and sewer services are more than likely to be handled through the new city or town that you will be moving to.

Thank you for visiting the Real Men Moving blog, an Austin student moving services company. If you need to schedule a move contact us for a free estimate today!

Austin student moving company

Moving tips for college students

Moving away to go to college is always an exciting time in an individual’s life. The moving process itself, on the other hand, is a process that can cause all sorts of stress. Thankfully, there are ways in which the process can be made much less stressful.

Here are three useful tips to help make the move to college easier.

Hire professionals

First and foremost, consider making the decision to hire a professional moving company to assist you with your move. More specifically, you will want to look for a moving company that specializes in assisting college students with moving in and out of dorms. From there, allow them to do all of the work while you simply sit back and relax.

Move early

Contact your college’s student housing department and inquire whether or not there is a way to move into your dorm earlier than the official move-in day. If they confirm that there is, take advantage of it. This will be much easier for you to do rather than waiting until the actual move-in day when literally hundreds of other students will be doing the exact same thing. Additionally, you’ll also have more time to explore the campus, as well as pick up any textbooks that you’ll need for classes and decorate your dorm room.

Need to find a mover outside of our service areas? Click here

Move together

If you will be having a roommate for your dorm room, take the time to ensure that the both of you will be on campus at the same time. This will enable the two of you to discuss how you will want the room itself to look so that you will both be in agreement.

Thank you for visiting the Real Men Moving blog, an Austin student moving company. If you need help moving in or out of a dorm or West Campus contact us today to schedule your move.

How to Move (to Austin): A Pool Table

When it comes to a task such as moving a pool table, this is something that requires more effort than one may think. Moving something like this around your own home will typically be accomplished rather easily by several people who take the time to work together; however, moving it from one home to another or even to a storage area will not only require several people, but also the right tools as well.

Here are the steps involved with moving a pool table from one area of your home to another.

  1. First and foremost, you will want to invest in a total of four wooden dollies, ensuring that each one has wheels on it. This will help to ensure that moving the pool table will be able to be done in an easy fashion. Once you acquire the dollies, take the time to wrap the edges of each one in either fabric or carpet, whichever you prefer. Doing this will keep the legs of the pool table from getting scratched.
  2. Move each dolly to a corner of the pool table so that each corner can be prepared to be placed on each dolly. Ensure that the entire area around the pool table itself is completely clear so nothing will get caught in the dolly wheels.
  3. Lift one of the ends of the pool table off the ground. Typically, you should be able to do this on your own; however, since pool tables are heavy in weight, having someone assist you would be a good idea. The best way to lift is to tilt the pool table off of the ground from one of the longer sides. Always make sure that you lift with your legs in order to prevent any type of injury to your back.
  4. Once one of the ends has been lifted, move the dolly into place using your foot, placing it beneath the pool table. This process will then need to be repeated with all other ends of the pool table. Once this is done, brace each dolly by locking the wheels into place.
  5. Once the wheels of the dollies have been locked into place, you can then free them and make preparations to roll the pool table. Make sure that all throw rugs have been moved out of the way and that the doorways are of the proper measurements for you to fit the pool table through them.
  6. Begin rolling the pool table, ensuring that you apply steady and firm pressure. This will allow you to control the speed at which the pool table will be rolling. Too much speed will result in you not being able to stop the rolling. Be sure that you take up a more central position, preferably at the end of the longways side of the table between the two corner pockets.
  7. Once you have moved your pool table to its new desired location, you will then need to prepare to remove the dollies. Brace one set first, then remove the ones opposite the braced set. Simply lift the table and kick the unbraced dollies free, then slowly lower the table down to the floor. Then, remove the other set in the same fashion.

If you’re looking for moving services in the central Texas/Austin area, get a quote from us here or contact us today at Real Men Moving.