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10 Cool Places to Get Wet

August 29, 2014 By CENTURY 21

What makes a water lover’s paradise? Beaches, rivers, lakes and water parks. These towns offer plenty of fun water activities.

1. New Braunfels, TX (population 51,804)

Hold on to your bathing suit! The Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, on the banks of the Comal River, is home to Master Blaster, a 1,000- foot water coaster. It also holds the title for the best U.S. water park, according to The Travel Channel.

2. Lake Havasu City, AZ (population 56,603)

Boaters on Lake Havasu can cruise under London Bridge, which was moved here from England’s River Thames in 1971. Each year this lake’s blue waters attract 2.5 million visitors, including the stars and film crew of the Bravo TV series “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”

3. Malibu, CA (population 13,041)

World-class beaches and unparalleled ocean vistas are two of the reasons celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Robert Redford call this town home. Even if you don’t have the bank account for a multimillion-dollar mansion, you can still dip your toes into the water at Zuma or Surfrider, two of Malibu’s 24 public beaches.

4. Mackinac Island, MI (population 500)

More than a million vacationers a year head to this island to soak in its Victorian charm. But you’ll have to cross Lake Huron in a ferryboat. Here horses rule the roads.

5. Lake Ozark City, MO (population 1,931)

The jewel of this resort community is the Lake of the Ozarks, which boasts a 1,100-mile-long coastline—longer than California’s. During July Fourth celebrations, take your boat onto the lake to watch four different fireworks displays burst over the water.

6. Nantucket, MA (population 10,000)

Swimming options are plentiful on this island, with its signature 17th-century architecture. Craving some surf? Head to the south shore to splash in the Atlantic. For calmer waters, aim your bike north toward Nantucket Sound.

7. Annapolis, MD (population 36,603)

Guide your sailboat toward this historic port city that’s home to the U.S. Naval Academy. And don’t miss the Wednesday Night Races from April through September, when 150 boats zip across Chesapeake Bay.

8. Duck, NC (population 500)

The population of this town—part of the spectacular Outer Banks, a chain of barrier islands along the Carolina coast—swells dramatically with summer beach-goers. Climb the historic 1875 Currituck Beach Lighthouse to grab a bird’s-eye view of the Atlantic.

9. Jackson, WY (population 9.631)

White-water rafting is a popular adventure on the Snake River, which winds through Grand Teton National Park. The most exciting rapids: Lunch Counter, Big Kahuna and Rope.

10. Key West , FL (population 25,478)

Snorkelers and scuba divers will barely have time to dry off between excursions to the area’s underwater caves and coral reefs, including Sand Key and Kedge Ledge.

Advice from an agent affiliated with the CENTURY 21^®brand

Backyard pools don’t always make a big splash with potential buyers. But some might simply be nervous about maintenance. Sallie Bradford with CENTURY 21 H.T. Brown Real Estate in Annapolis, Maryland, encourages sellers to purchase a one-year home warranty for the lining, pump and more. “You give peace of mind to the buyer,” Bradford says.

Evidence That Buying a Home Can Be Just Like Dating

August 28, 2014 By CENTURY 21

Overwhelmed with the idea of buying a home? It can be a lot to handle, so try thinking of home-buying like dating. It’s a process that’s sometimes frustrating, but ultimately you’ll be glad you held out for “the one.” Here are some things to remember.

Make sure you’re worth the investment.

“Are you homeowner material” is kind of like, “Are you boyfriend or girlfriend material?” Banks, like dates, aren’t going to take a chance on someone they don’t see a future with. That means a credit score above 600 will increase your chances of getting approved for a homeowners loan.

It’ll cost you money.

Think of it as a “wine and dine” process – you’re going to have to woo a loan program with a down payment 3.5 to 20 percent of the price. After that, it’s common practice to spend about 30% of your gross income on your mortgage.

Compromise.

Your relationship with the seller will be one of compromise – price and closing details are something you’ll probably have to go back and forth on. If you’re unsure of how much you should be offering, read our guide on how to determine an appropriate amount.

Accept that nothing’s perfect.

The home for you probably won’t be perfect. But overall, will the home make you happy the way a true love can? Remember, if you can change your mate’s habits, you certainly can tear down a wall or redo a floor to get exactly what you want.

Trust your friends.

Think of your CENTURY 21 ^®Real Estate Agent as the friend who will help guide you through the process. They’ll introduce you to prospects, give you advice, and just generally be your support until you sign and close.

The road to home-buying isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. Just remember that with the help of these steps, you’ll be living your happily ever after in the home that suits you.

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Modern Homes for Your Modern Family

August 26, 2014 By CENTURY 21

If you love sleek lines, glass walls, steel, and open floor plans, a modern style home may be right for your modern family. According to House Plans, “Modern style designs offer clean lines, simple proportions, open plans and abundant natural light, and are descendants of the International style of architecture, which developed in the 1920s. Flat or shallow-pitched roofs, large expanses of glass strong connections to outdoor space, and spare, unornamented walls are distinguishing characteristics of modern home style plans.” According to iMatchDesigners, modern style interiors are characterized by clean lines, minimal decor, materials like metal and glass, and lack of clutter.

These stunning CENTURY 21^® homes are perfect for your modern family.

1. This Miami apartment has sleek lines, minimalist decor, floor length windows, and a great deal of natural light.

2. This Miami home has an interesting and unique architecture. The inside of the home has straight lines and minimalist decor.

3. This modern home has a uniquely shaped pool, bright lights, and lots of windows!

4. This Austin, TX home is an excellent example of modern style architecture. The interior has clean lines, unique shapes, and minimalist decor.

No matter what kind of modern home style you prefer, there’s a place for every modern family to call home.

Recommended Reading:

-Kitchen Design Inspiration from CENTURY® 21 Homes

-Worldwide Wanderlust: CENTURY 21® Homes from Around the Globe

-The 5 Best “Man Caves” For Watching Football

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Instagram Tips for Real Estate Agents

August 22, 2014 By CENTURY 21

Instagram is a social media platform that allows people to share and edit photos. More than 100 million people use Instagram every month, making it a valuable space to engage with potential, current, and past clients. Use Instagram to showcase listings, promote your personal brand, and generate leads.

Here are a few best practices for Instagram.

1. Optimize Images: Instagram is a visual platform so the most important best practice is that the images are visually appealing. Whenever possible, take photos when there is natural light and take photos that are clear and focused. One of the unique features of Instagram is the ability to edit photos. Users can apply filters and make advanced edits to components like brightness, saturation, contrast, and warmth. There is also wide variety of third party editing tools such as Snapseed and Afterlight. These apps provide even more editing tools and features.

2. Utilize Hashtags: If you caption your photo with a hashtag such as #RealEstate #Listing or #HouseForSale, your followers will able to click it and track all photos captioned with that hashtag. Using hashtags is an essential and necessary part of boosting engagement and creating a following on Instagram. It allows people to find and follow you in a simpler way. People can also search for hashtags and photos will come up in search. This is a great way to get noticed as a user!

3. Engage with Followers: Follow and engage with other users. You can find people to follow by searching hashtags that interest you. Once you’ve followed people engage with them by liking posts and leaving meaningful comments.

4. Analyze Timing: Timing matters on Instagram. There are times of the day when your community is more active. It is important to know when your followers are online so you can interact with them and, hopefully, get more engagement on your photos. Most communities are more engaged at night so consider posting pictures in the evening. You can track your most engaged time of the day by using Iconosquare, a website that analyzes your Instagram statistics.

5. Create Videos: Videos are a newer feature to come to Instagram. You can take a short video tour of your listing to give buyers a look before even entering the home. If they like what they see, they can contact you immediately to set up a time to meet. Potential clients may also be so impressed with your innovative new media skills that they will call you when they are ready to buy or sell a home.

6. Promote Posts: Share your photos on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and your blog to create maximum engagement and exposure.

7. Use Instagram Photo Maps: When posting a photo to Instagram, you have the option to add location, essentially adding it to your photo maps. The photo will show up on an actual map, allowing your followers to see where you have taken the most photos. This will allow you to show your knowledge of certain areas and neighborhoods and the exact location of any listings.

Now that you know these best practices you can apply them and grow your Instagram following. Interested in learning more about how social media can help your career? Read our best practices for Twitter, Pinterest, and SEO.

Recommended Reading:

-Home Office Essentials

-Productivity Tips for Working from Home

-Picture Perfect: How to Take Great Photos of Your Home

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Tech Talk: 5 Apps for Real Estate Agents

August 19, 2014 By CENTURY 21

Real estate agents are often on the go visiting listings, showings, and clients. Luckily, technology makes it easier to get work done from anywhere and maximize productivity while doing so.

There are hundreds of apps on the market that could be helpful for agents but here are five currently on our radar.

Evernote: Evernote is a high tech note taking app. Take notes by hand, type them on your mobile device or tablet, or take photos of business cards and loose papers. This technology allows you to use search to quickly and easily find specific notes or concepts – even if you wrote a handwritten note! Sign up for Evernote Business to collaborate with colleagues in real time.

Sitegeist: Sitegeist quickly provides data about a location. Learn demographics, nearby restaurants and entertainment, public transportation, the average rent price and more. Share these insights with clients as they choose and explore different neighborhoods.

Google Maps: Use Google Maps for transportation directions to and from listings. The app can also help you find restaurants and shops in the neighborhood.

Dropbox: Have access to important documents and files at the touch of a button. Wish you had brought a contract or lease with you? If you saved it to Dropbox, you can pull it up on your device no matter where you are. Quickly share individual files with colleagues and clients. Sign up for Dropbox for Business to share access to presentations and files.

CENTURY21®: Use the Century21® app to view nearby homes for sale or rent, nearby open houses, search for homes, save properties, and find price reductions. Show the app to your clients and use it to find new properties that might interest them. If you are in a neighborhood for a showing, go and visit more homes in the area!

We hope that these apps will help you stay organized in and out of the office. We care about helping you advance in your career. You can find more resources at Century21 SM University.

Recommended Reading:

-Tech Talk: Home Office Essentials

-Productivity Tips for Working from Home

-Let’s Get App-y: 3 Apps for Interior Design

*Some of these apps may require payment for certain features.

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Buying a Home: Tips for LGBT Couples

July 8, 2014 By CENTURY 21

LGBT couples face unique questions when shopping for a house. It is important to be happy with the community you’re in and the legal protections you’re granted.

Here are a few things to consider as you’re going through the process of finding a home:

Research legal protections: Lambda Legal is a helpful resource for learning legal protections that, in particular, affect LGBT people. Look at issues like: marriage status, adoption rights, workplace protections, hospital visitation rights, and school anti-bullying laws to get a holistic image of your rights

Read reviews: Do an internet search for LGBT community centers and businesses. Overall, search for the indicated LGBT population in order to get a sense of how accepting the community might be.

Interview school administrators: Meet with an administrator at prospective schools to assess the LGBT acceptance and safety climate of a local school. Be sure to ask questions like,

● How often do you have anti-LGBT related incidents?

● What are you doing to promote acceptance of nontraditional families?

● If a student bullied my child because of his/her family background, how would you handle it?

Legally define ownership: If something happens to you, who would be next to inherit this new property? Meet with a local attorney and make sure your partner is legally protected to stay in the home you’re purchasing, even if he or she isn’t the buyer.

We hope that these tips help you to find a state and neighborhood that work well for you and your family. Once you’ve found a neighborhood that works for you, call a CENTURY 21® Agent who can help you find your home!

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6 Simple SEO Tips for Real Estate Agents

March 31, 2014 By CENTURY 21

Use blogging and basic SEO tips to grow your real estate business.

SEO seems overwhelming but there are simple steps you can consider taking to increase site views and, potentially, leads.

Here are six key tips:

1. Keywords: Keywords are the terms that people will search to get to your blog. Use popular real estate terms such as: home, selling, buying, real estate, homeowner, home buyer, and real estate agent.

2. Titles: Your blog posts should have titles that make people want to click and read your post! Write catchy and intriguing blog post title and use keywords so that people know what the post will be about. A good title might be: 10 Expensive Mistakes First-Time Homeowners Make. Make it clear what the person will find when they click the link – you will be rewarded for having people stay on your site instead of leaving right away.

3. Links: You should use both internal and external links. Internal links direct readers to other blog posts or sections of your website. You will be rewarded for having a site that is seen to be relevant and useful – one way to do this is to link to external sources because doing so provides more information and context for the reader. Be sure the reader knows they are going to an external source that you did not author. You are also rewarded when other sites list your blog as a source and link to your posts. A permalink is a link to an individual blog post. You should have a keyword early in the title. The permalink is optimized for SEO not readers so it can be something simple like real-estate-mistakes. Put hyphens in between words.

4. Images: When people do a Google Search for images your images may come up in results. Increase your chances at coming up in search results by having detailed image titles and alt text. Your image title should be a good description of the image. For example, instead of naming the image File 1 or something generic, name it with the same name as your blog post or something descriptive about the subject matter of the image. If people Pin directly from your site the title of the image will be the caption on Pinterest. Alt text provides Google with more information about the image. Your Alt text should be a short description of the image, for example, blue house for sale.

5. Be social: Set up social media profiles for your blog or company and publicize your posts on your social media channels so that people can find it and start reading!

6. Content: The most important SEO tips don’t involve titles, tags, or links. The best way to increase your SEO is to consistently write original content that provides value to your readers. You will have more information that will come up in search results and you will create a loyal following of people who come back over and over to read your posts and learn from you!

What are your favorite SEO tips?

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Worldwide Wanderlust: CENTURY 21® Homes from Around the Globe

March 5, 2014 By CENTURY 21

One word, ten letters: wanderlust. This seemingly never ending winter has left us with a major case of wanderlust. Do you feel the same?

Get your daily dose of wanderlust by looking at these homes around the world. Looking to make a commitment? The houses are all on sale at CENTURY 21® Global.

Australia:

This incredible home is an architectural triumph of unrivalled quality wrapped in spectacular harbor panoramas. The postcard style views create a sense of seamless extension of this substantial home’s multi-level layout. The exceptionally private home has an open vista to the world’s most beautiful harbor, cutting edge security, and a no-expense-spared approach to luxury and personal comfort. The streamlined residence captures the essence of flowing indoor/outdoor open plan living, with the main living and dining areas flowing onto the fabulous sundrenched terrace-garden. All principal rooms have balconies or terraces and views of Australia’s most prestigious peninsula. Framed by clipped hedges and low maintenance garden areas, the generously proportioned home includes secure garage with space for twelve cars and a private elevator to all levels of accommodation. This exquisite home is dressed to impress!

This incredible seven bedroom, six bathroom home is a surfer’s paradise. The modern home includes: a helipad, a guest house, five garages and four car parks, a tennis court, Miele kitchen appliances, a home movie theater and more.

London

This bright 2,888 sq ft penthouse apartment features spectacular views over communal gardens, London’s skyline, and Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The stunning home has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, three receptions, a kitchen, an entrance hall, a utility room and a guest cloakroom. The apartment boasts opulent grandeur throughout, which is of particular prominence in the principal receptions and in the dining room. Kingston House North is a desirable purpose built apartment block on Hyde Park with 24 hour porters, a lift, visitors parking, and beautiful communal gardens. With the park a stone’s throw away, the amenities of Knightsbridge and South Kensington on your doorstep, including fashionably restaurants and cafes, world class shopping such as Harrods and excellent transport links, this most desirable location is second to none.

Canada

This custom built luxury home sits on 1.3 ac backing onto Blue Springs Golf Club near Acton. The 13,000 sq ft home has: five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a balcony, a separate guest suite, custom walnut millwork, two laundry rooms, a main level master suite with large walk-in closets, a fitness room, an office nook, a heated flooring system, above grade windows, a walkout, custom wine cellar, walk-in fridge and freezer, den and outstanding games and entertainment room with billiard and ping pong rooms as well as a custom bar ideal for entertaining. The grounds have been impeccably landscaped with concrete and stone walls, a large gunite pool with waterfall feature and wading area, a huge concrete deck and a patio with stone privacy walls, outdoor kitchen with built-in grills, wood burning pizza oven, sink and more.

We hope that you enjoyed this dose of wunderlust. If it has inspired you to go away, bon voyage!

Which home is your favorite? If you could move anywhere in the world where would you move?

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The 5 Best “Man Caves” For Watching Football

February 2, 2014 By CENTURY 21 Leave a Comment

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a man cave to watch the game in. (Adapted from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. She never said this but we think she would concur.)

What is a man cave, you ask? Merriam-Webster defines a man cave as, “a room or space (as in a basement) designed according to the taste of the man of the house to be used as his personal area for hobbies and leisure activities.” It is your mantuary – a place to watch sports, play pool, bartend, and conduct other mantivities.

Here are the five best CENTURY 21 listed man caves to watch football in. These man caves, and the less important rooms that accompany them, are on the market and could be yours to cherish for sports seasons to come.

1. This Snohomish, Washington man cave has soundproof doors (don’t worry about loud cheering and screaming at the TV), a fireplace, a pool table, and plenty of seating for watching your favorite sports teams.

2. This mantastic Hiawassee, GA man cave has a television area to watch football, a table for snack storage, and a bar. Talk about a macho man cave!

3. Play pool, drink beverages, and football on a big screen in this Paradise Valley, AZ man cave. This basement was turned into a man cave so, perhaps it would be better defined as its own manpartment.

4. This Young Harris, GA man cave has a kitchen with plenty of space for wings, chips and dip, bacon, and pizza. When you are done grabbing food, bring your snacks into the movie room.

5. Access to an outdoor grilling area means your room is pretty much burger-scented heaven. This Marathon, FL man cave has a large space with room for many mantivities and easy access to the grill.

Choose one now – which cave would you want to call your own?

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