Archive for September, 2011
Tips For An Easier Move
Moving can be an unsettling ordeal. It entails enormous decision making planning packing unpacking and countless other details. Here are some tips on how to make your move a little more palatable:
- Familiarize yourself with your new neighborhood by visiting city amp; state websites. Inquire ahead of time about local food markets dry cleaners entertainment shopping restaurants and in general try to get a feel of the place you will soon call home.
- File a change of address form with US Postal Service.
- Call your bank/credit card company and ask about changing/closing/moving your accounts.
- Close any accounts you will not be transferring saving checking empty out safe deposit boxes etc
- Contact your family physician for medical records and possible referrals. Also call your Health Insurance Provider.
- Contact current childrens schools and arrange for transfer of student records
- Make sure all library books have been returned and all dry cleaning/repaired or altered items have been picked up
- Contact your utility providers and have your utilities such as phone water power cable/ satellite etc. canceled leave a gap of a day or two between moveout day and disconnection of service to allow for unforeseen delays in moving out.
- Cancel / transfer magazine and newspaper subscriptions.
- Create a “move file” to keep track of moving company estimates receipts and other important information.
- Begin packing of less frequently used items as much as 6 weeks prior to moving day
- Work your way through each room taking inventory and deciding on what to keep and what to throw away.
- Properly dispose of all flammable and/or hazardous chemicals as those will not be moved by your common household mover http://www.newjerseymovers.com/local.php.
- Make a list of allimportant items/documents which you would like to personally carry with you on moving day. Such items may include:
- Legal documents such as birth certificates passports wills etc.
- Jewelry money or collections coin collection etc.
- Stock certificates deeds insurance policies and other financial records
Packing tips:
Start packing at least 4 weeks prior to moving day. Arrange all packed boxes in one designated room. Mark each box with its contents. Follow this link for a great packing tool: www.nackit.com
- Place heavyweight items towards the bottom of the container and lightweight items on the top.
- Use plenty of crumpled or shredded paper to protect your belongings in the boxes.
- Label boxes indicating what they contain. For example if they contain fragile items label Fragile This side Up.
- After cleaning out the refrigerator or freezer you may place pieces of charcoal in them to prevent mildew.
- As air causes silver to tarnish all silver pieces should be wrapped in clean tissue paper or plastic wrap.
- After removing the light bulbs or lamp harps wrap the lamp base harp and bulb separately in newsprint/unprinted paper
- Do not pack lamp shades in newspaper as the ink may rub off and stain them use unprinted paper which may be provided at cost by your moving and storage company http://www.newjerseymovers.com/storage.php
- It is advisable to let the moving company pack furniture and artwork as it will be done in professional fashion.
Essentials Checklist:
- Pack one box/suitcase to be transported with you. In it should be items you may require at your new home until you begin your unpacking process or in the event your delivery is delayed for any reason
- Scissors masking tape utility knife can opener
- Coffee cups paper plates paper towels
- Instant coffee/tea bottled water
- Toys and snacks for kids
- Plastic forks spoons knives
- Flashlight light bulbs hammer
- Dish soap trash bags towels
- Toilet paper toiletries
- Prescription drugs aspirin or other pain relievers and first aid kit
- Phone books pencils and paper your “move file”
- Telephone batteries cell phone charger
On moving day:
- Check to ensure that closets cupboards attics and basements are empty it’s easy to forget stuff in these places.
- Take note of utility meter readings.
- Leave a note with your new address in the house so that future residents can forward any straggler mail pieces to you.
- Provide your contact number to your moving company rep. truck driver and family/friends so they can contact you in case of an emergency
Relax. If youve done your homework properly itll all work itself out.
About the writer: Steve A. Hadar is the owner and CEO of Alpha Relocation Services an award winning relocation company based in Jersey City NJ providing Local Long Distance Commercial Residential and International Moving and StorageServices. Call Alpha today at 1.877.ALPHA.31 2574231 for a free inhome/office visual survey of your moving needs or visit our website at: www.alphamoving.com
Things Which Matter When Buying Retractable Awnings Online
Shopping online is predictably safe now. Any reputable shopping site takes care to use secure connections meaning all of the information that you send to the site is scrambled. The tech side of security is obvious:
SSL Secure Socket Layerencrypted websites frequently indicated by a small locked keypad and a yellow background to the address bar
Secure payment options such as PayPal or Google Checkout
The technology of safe online shopping can be verified easily through security sites like Verisign or GeoTrust. The other side of buying anything online though depends on the credibility of the company youre dealing with.
A retractable awning company that focuses on online sales will have some kind of web presence. A general web search will return some basic public information about the company in newspaper stories or press releases. Not everything comes back in a web search so be able to take advantage of other public resources like membership lists:
Look for membership in professional organizations. The biggest for retractable awnings is the Industrial Fabric Association International and they publish a members directory at http://www.ifai.com.
Check for mentions or participation on related websites. Posts on message boards blogs and forums usually arent returned on a web search but they indicate the reputation and focus of the company. For awnings try gardening and construction message boards; theres even an awningspecific message board at Awnings4U.com.
See if they have a Better Business Bureau profile. The BBB has a simple search site http://search.bbb.org/ which will allow you to search for any member company by name industry and contact information and return their company profile including years in business and BBB rating.
Find out if they participate on rating sites like iKarma.com shopping sites like Kaboodle.com and directory sites like http://www.aecinfo.com or http://www.shuttershades.com/. It takes effort to create profiles on multiple sites and exerting that effort indicates business commitment and also provides an unregulated avenue to getting customer feedback. One great site is http://www.merchantcircle.com/corporate/ which has an easy interface where you can search for a business by phone number.
Also give an eye to their website. Most honest companies comply with organizations like TrustE the Better Business Bureau and other Internet and business standards organizations and provide certain clear policies on the website:
Warranties. Good companies back up their work. For awnings the minimum warranty for budget frames is six years; for highquality frames it is 25 years. Additionally highquality retractable awning companies warranty their fabric for five years and warranty the sewing thread for a lifetime against seam separation. Anything less is less than desirable.
Return policies. Return policies should be explicitly stated and strictly followed by the company. While a good company should have good shipping policies and check to what they are being able to return a damaged or defective product or even one that wasnt quite what you wanted is the sign of a serious online company.
Contact information. A lot of companies manipulate the anonymity of the Internet.
Privacy statements. This is more than fine print. The privacy statements show how the company will handle your personal information including credit card numbers email phone numbers and shopping patterns. Honest online stores will guard your information; check an organization like TrustE for websites which are licensed and compliant with data privacy policies.
When you metaphorically hand over hundreds of dollars for a beautiful functional retractable awning you are gambling your trust that the store receiving that money will respond. A few minutes searching will show whether that trust is warranted.
A few extra minutes on their product descriptions will also show whether the retractable awning youre buying is worth it. Glossy pictures and clever catalog notes can make a retractable awning seem charming but thats not the same as product quality. What they leave out of a description is as important was whats there so make certain that you can find and guarantee product quality:
Where is the awning made?
The quality of a retractable awning can be almost perfectly determined by where it was manufactured. Flimsy poorquality awnings tend to be made in China and many retractable awning companies use cheap Chinese awnings for residential lines because of the lower price. Middle of the road awnings are usually made in North America. Premier awnings both in stylish design and industrial/commercial durability are made in Europe.
Are the materials certified?
Internationally recognized standards organizations such as EuroLab and TV test and approve retractable awning lines for longterm wear and quality. A retractable awning which is Eurolab or TV certified is of the highest quality.
What kind of materials do they use?
The best fabric is solutiondyed acrylic which usually wont fade for 12 to 15 years and resists mildew rotting and UV damage. The best frame material is aluminum finished in an electrostatic powdercoat. Other fabrics canvas or vinyl frames PVC or wood and finishes enamel or paint are low quality and less durable.
Do they offer accessories?
Retractable awnings with motors are used four times more often than manual retractable awnings. Motors remote controls and sensors wind sun rain motion all make retractable awnings easier to use and protect the awning. Better quality companies offer better and more accessories.
At its heart shopping online is about having an easy experience low pressure the ability to browse easy comparisons of different styles companies and prices plus great selections and savings of 35. Do a quick Internet search on the retractable awning company youre looking at. Check out their policies and their public footprint. Make sure your money is safely spent.
About the writer: Retractable Awnings offers quality awnings and patio covers which are both reliable and easy to use .http://www.retractableawnings.com
The Ups And Downs Of Moving To The Spanish Costas
This article is the first in a series about the dream reality and many obsticles facing the expat living in Spain’s Costa Blanca Costa Calida or Murcia.
This first part deals with whom why and how people end up falling for the dream of living in the sun and how it can be the best decision ever made by some people.
There is a time in most people’s life when they sit back and think that there must be something better in life. Some people have an affair some people opt for plastic surgery or a fancy sports car and some people pack it all in in search of a better life abroad.
Statistics from the office of national statistics show that of the 300000 citizens that leave the UK each year half head for Australia and New Zealand 42000 head for France and the USA/Canada and a massive 58000 still head for the sunny shores of Spain all in search of a life changing opportunity for the better. The prospect of a new home new culture new job new language and new house prove all too irresistible for thousand of people couples and families each and every year.
With the proliferation of tv programmes catering for every whim of the expat lifestyle and dedicated channels on satellite television of course the prospect of buying a dream villa set in fragrant almond groves with mountain view to the back a pristine white washed village on one side and friendly locals to the other whiling to spend long lazy days drinking sangria and the azure Mediterranean glistening in the distance. A cooling swimming pool designed to your own specification of course sits by your side as you fondly remember the drudgery of life back in the fast lane.
For some people this dream has turned into reality. One of my clients made the move some 4 years ago and have not had a single regret. Ignoring for the moment the change in the interest rates which have seriously affected the ability of many abroad to continue living la Vida loca.
They one sunny afternoon in 2004 whilst in London visiting friends decided to go along to the ideal home exhibition or the day. Whilst perusing the many stands they came across trade stand with a mock villa with a very reasonable price tag…. the seed had been planted. Over the next few months they proceeded to send off for brochures purchased magazines viewed websites and did the research anyone considering making a move abroad would do. One evening whilst watching TV an advert caught their attention.
“Thinking of moving to Spain????? Our experts are flying into the UK this weekend for a special exhibition at Jubilee suites at Chester racecourse!” With nothing to lose they jumped in the car and trundled off down the road for some no obligation perusing.
Several hours later they had booked themselves on a “Free Inspection Tour” or should I say the Spanish property experts had. They would be enjoying a 5 day 4 night luxury break in Spain’s Costa Blanca staying in a 4 star hotel all meals and accommodation would be paid for their flight were subsidised so cost no more than 50 each all they would have to pay for was drinks.
They would be given an extensive area tour on their first day to find the areas that they liked as it was more important to get the location right than the property. The subsequent days would be spent looking for the property in the areas that they previously deemed suitable what happened after that was anyone’s guess.
So back in late 2004 off they left a cold wet and windy Britain and jetted into a balmy Alicante. With the temperature still in the mid 20′s the scene had already been set.
They were met at the airport by their uniformed guide called Peter who with a friendly greeting took them out to their liveried car and drove them on the coast road down to their hotel. There was no mention of purchasing property and Pete chatted to them about how he came to be living out in Spain. They were later to learn that everything Pete said was virtually predetermined by the powers that be and the soft sell that they were experiencing was all part of a cleverly executed series of steps know as the seven steps.
- Introduction tell client about yourself sell yourself.
- Company Build confidence in the company sell the company.
- Area Complete a 300 km area tour sell the area amp; lifestyle.
- Product find the property in their budget within area sell the house.
- Finance arrange finance sell the mortgage/loan.
- Contract complete sales contract.
- Consolidation be nice to them don’t give them any reason to cancel.
Now there is nothing wrong with sales after all everything is sold to some degree or other but this was a non stop 5 day 4 night sales pitch that was clever due to its subtlety. I will cover the ins and outs good and bad of the sales process in a future very interesting and revealing article.
Peter the rep was very articulate and knowledgeable and had lived in Spain for a few years. It was obvious that he was trying to steer them into certain areas and styles of houses but they stuck to their guns and in the end found a beautiful site on the outskirts of a picturesque village nestled in the mountains some 30 km from the coast. It was an off plan development and they had a choice of house styles plots and house orientations within the plot.
The formalities of applying for NIE numbers appointing legal representation signing contracts and paying the obligatory 3000 property reservation fee were all completed with little or no fuss whilst still out in Spain.
Some five days after embarking on their information obtaining non obligation FREE inspection visit they have committed to spending some 350000 on a property selling their property in the UK not even for sale yet selling their car retiring ………………….
You would be amazed at the amount of people who actually purchase on these trips. During the peak in the early to mid 2000′s the inspection trip companies expected their reps to sell to at least 4050 of their clients. Many of these clients like my parents were on information gathering exercises with absolutely no intention of purchasing and some had never even been abroad before.
In my clients case it proved to be the best move that they could have possibly made with very few snags along the line . They sold their property in the UK at the correct time. They purchased from a reputable builder on a good site in a great area and importantly they are surrounded by great neighbours. They have integrated into the local community and are learning the language.
The above is an example of moving to Spain or anywhere else abroad for the right reason. Many do not. In my line of work snagging properties for clients I come across a wide variety of people and their reasons for making the move. The key I feel to making the move a long happy and successful one is to come because you want to and not because you have to.
In my next article I will uncover some of the practices of the free inspection tour companies and show you what to look out for and where you can save yourself a few pennies.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Steven Bromley has been involved with the promotion of overseas property since setting up First European Direct in 1996. Snag Espana was set up as a result of client feedback.