Why giant dinosaurs are a delight – unless they’re next door

Huge sculptures in gardens around the world are causing neighbours to fret and in some cases sue, but such installations are a grand expression of ambition

Florence Fang is a hero. In 2017, the former publisher of the San Francisco Examiner purchased a William Nicholson-designed house in Hillsborough, California for $2.8m (£2.1m). She has spent the interim period filling the front garden with dinosaurs, much to the chagrin of her neighbours. They claim that the giant metal dinosaurs – and the Flintstones figurines, and the sign that reads “Yabba Dabba Doo” – were erected without the proper permits and that her home is a public nuisance. Now they’re suing her. This, I believe, is a tremendous mistake.

Were it not for Fang, visitors would drive through Hillsborough without a second thought; her Flintstone House makes it a landmark. It might be a nightmare to look at, but it’s a delight to see.

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Why giant dinosaurs are a delight – unless they’re next door

Huge sculptures in gardens around the world are causing neighbours to fret and in some cases sue, but such installations are a grand expression of ambition

Florence Fang is a hero. In 2017, the former publisher of the San Francisco Examiner purchased a William Nicholson-designed house in Hillsborough, California for $2.8m (£2.1m). She has spent the interim period filling the front garden with dinosaurs, much to the chagrin of her neighbours. They claim that the giant metal dinosaurs – and the Flintstones figurines, and the sign that reads “Yabba Dabba Doo” – were erected without the proper permits and that her home is a public nuisance. Now they’re suing her. This, I believe, is a tremendous mistake.

Were it not for Fang, visitors would drive through Hillsborough without a second thought; her Flintstone House makes it a landmark. It might be a nightmare to look at, but it’s a delight to see.

Continue reading...

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Six spring gardens to inspire your next move

67% of Rightmove users start home-hunting at this time of year.

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Forty-year mortgages: life sentence or life raft?

It can dramatically cut monthly repayments – but there’s one rather big catch

New figures suggest that the traditional 25-year mortgage is becoming a thing of the past. More than half (51%) of those on sale have a standard maximum term of up to 40 years, according to the financial data website Moneyfacts – up from 36% in 2014. But is the 40-year mortgage a nifty way for desperate buyers to get on to the housing ladder – or a financial life sentence?

High house prices, escalating student debt and a rise in both the age at which couples have children and life expectancies are contributing to many people buying a home later and opting for a longer repayment term – even if it means they will be paying it off long after they have started collecting their pension.

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How Home Staging Can Add Thousands To Your House Price

Housebuyers are a fickle lot – often deciding the biggest purchase of their lives within moments of getting through the front door.

And more often than not it is the trivial that sends them scurrying away – instead of concentrating on numbers of bedrooms or structural stability they are put off by pictures, plants and pouffes.

Despite the fact personal effects tend to leave the home with the seller, our own sense of taste can easily make or break a sale.

But if we love our home we often cannot see how offputting our children’s artwork or cat’s scratching post can be to a potential buyer.

 

This is where home staging comes in. First made famous in the UK at the turn of the century by Channel 5’s House Doctor, Anne Maurice, the concept has caught on and not only can sell your home quickly but can even add thousands of pounds to the price.

Today the Home Stager Network can put sellers in touch with a professional quickly and easily – and it boasts more than 250,000 unique visitors a year.

The trick is not to undertake major alterations but to make the best of what you have – albeit maybe with a few accessories or tweaks to make your home seem more appealing for the majority.

What would you do to prepare each room so it looks its very best for the photographer?  Perhaps you would move furniture around to accentuate a feature, or have a grubby wall repainted –  it is really about looking at your house with a critical and objective eye.

For those of us too close to our homes – or just short of time or a creative eye – spending some money on a home stager can see the investment returned multiple times.

A typical home stager may cost £300 for a first visit and recommendations with time charged by the hour after that. This could include shopping for you or just making a shopping list that you take to Ikea. It is rare someone should have to spend more than £1,000 on a successful homestaging and often much less.

And if you choose the shopping well – those beautiful new cushions, rugs, lamps ad pictures that look so good in your old house, well, they get to go with you to your new one.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch

What to Read Next – Selling Your House – Your 20 Minute Weekly Workout!

What to do next:  Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post How Home Staging Can Add Thousands To Your House Price appeared first on Home Truths.

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How Home Staging Can Add Thousands To Your House Price

Housebuyers are a fickle lot – often deciding the biggest purchase of their lives within moments of getting through the front door.

And more often than not it is the trivial that sends them scurrying away – instead of concentrating on numbers of bedrooms or structural stability they are put off by pictures, plants and pouffes.

Despite the fact personal effects tend to leave the home with the seller, our own sense of taste can easily make or break a sale.

But if we love our home we often cannot see how offputting our children’s artwork or cat’s scratching post can be to a potential buyer.

 

This is where home staging comes in. First made famous in the UK at the turn of the century by Channel 5’s House Doctor, Anne Maurice, the concept has caught on and not only can sell your home quickly but can even add thousands of pounds to the price.

Today the Home Stager Network can put sellers in touch with a professional quickly and easily – and it boasts more than 250,000 unique visitors a year.

The trick is not to undertake major alterations but to make the best of what you have – albeit maybe with a few accessories or tweaks to make your home seem more appealing for the majority.

What would you do to prepare each room so it looks its very best for the photographer?  Perhaps you would move furniture around to accentuate a feature, or have a grubby wall repainted –  it is really about looking at your house with a critical and objective eye.

For those of us too close to our homes – or just short of time or a creative eye – spending some money on a home stager can see the investment returned multiple times.

A typical home stager may cost £300 for a first visit and recommendations with time charged by the hour after that. This could include shopping for you or just making a shopping list that you take to Ikea. It is rare someone should have to spend more than £1,000 on a successful homestaging and often much less.

And if you choose the shopping well – those beautiful new cushions, rugs, lamps ad pictures that look so good in your old house, well, they get to go with you to your new one.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch

What to Read Next – Selling Your House – Your 20 Minute Weekly Workout!

What to do next:  Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post How Home Staging Can Add Thousands To Your House Price appeared first on Home Truths.

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via IFTTT

How Home Staging Can Add Thousands To Your House Price

Housebuyers are a fickle lot – often deciding the biggest purchase of their lives within moments of getting through the front door.

And more often than not it is the trivial that sends them scurrying away – instead of concentrating on numbers of bedrooms or structural stability they are put off by pictures, plants and pouffes.

Despite the fact personal effects tend to leave the home with the seller, our own sense of taste can easily make or break a sale.

But if we love our home we often cannot see how offputting our children’s artwork or cat’s scratching post can be to a potential buyer.

 

This is where home staging comes in. First made famous in the UK at the turn of the century by Channel 5’s House Doctor, Anne Maurice, the concept has caught on and not only can sell your home quickly but can even add thousands of pounds to the price.

Today the Home Stager Network can put sellers in touch with a professional quickly and easily – and it boasts more than 250,000 unique visitors a year.

The trick is not to undertake major alterations but to make the best of what you have – albeit maybe with a few accessories or tweaks to make your home seem more appealing for the majority.

What would you do to prepare each room so it looks its very best for the photographer?  Perhaps you would move furniture around to accentuate a feature, or have a grubby wall repainted –  it is really about looking at your house with a critical and objective eye.

For those of us too close to our homes – or just short of time or a creative eye – spending some money on a home stager can see the investment returned multiple times.

A typical home stager may cost £300 for a first visit and recommendations with time charged by the hour after that. This could include shopping for you or just making a shopping list that you take to Ikea. It is rare someone should have to spend more than £1,000 on a successful homestaging and often much less.

And if you choose the shopping well – those beautiful new cushions, rugs, lamps ad pictures that look so good in your old house, well, they get to go with you to your new one.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch

What to Read Next – Selling Your House – Your 20 Minute Weekly Workout!

What to do next:  Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post How Home Staging Can Add Thousands To Your House Price appeared first on Home Truths.

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