Often people forget to include the estate and lettings agents’ fees in their financial plans when buying a home, and end up with a bigger bill than they thought.

Here is a quick guide to making sure you get the best value out of your estate and lettings agents’ fees. There are also many online sites that can provide help, these sites include www.findaproperty.com.

All agents charge for their services, but how much they charge depends upon whether you use a sole agent (one estate and letting agent) or use a multiple agency.

Most sellers go with the sole agency as it is the cheaper option, charging in between 1% and 2% of the sale value.

Multiple agency sales tend to cost between 2% and 3.5% – which is paid to the successful agent, but this is the best option should you need a quick sale.

Estate and letting agents will work on a percentage or fixed fee basis. For large houses, they often choose to work on a percentage-based fee as it can be larger than that of small houses.

Properties at the cheaper end of the market tend to be sold on a fixed fee basis – but do your math beforehand as this can often work out to be more expensive than the percentage-based fee.

It’s important to remember that valuing houses is an art not a science, there is no formula for estate and letting agents to use. Because of this, it is important to check with different agents for valuations and to discuss their charges. Be aware that the norm is to have a 10% to 15% difference between agents recommended selling prices; be suspicious of anyone giving you a higher price.

This is because usually the interior concrete is more sensitive when it comes to staining.

Things you will need

If you are handling interior concrete, then you should make sure to have at hand a broom, a dust mop, a wet mop, some warm water, a bucket and some kind of mild cleaner.

What to do?

To achieve top results you should start with sweeping the floor to make sure that there is no debris left. Then mop the floor with the dust mop to remove the dust particles that might have been left behind.

Fill the bucket with warm water and add some mild cleanser or dishwasher.

It is important to remember not to use any products that are based on vinegar or ammonia because they could damage the surface of the floor.

Dip the wet mop into the solution and mop up the surface. You should be working in small sections and it is important to rinse the mop often.

In the end fill the bucket with clean water and mop up the surface again. Just as in the previous case you should be working in small sections and rinse the mop often not to leave behind any residue.

Standard concrete

In this case you will need a push broom, a hose with a spray attachment, shop vac, granular cleaner, power washer and some space to put all these things.

Instructions

Clean the surface and get rid of the debris with the help of the broom or vacuum it. Then wash the surface using the hose and the spray attachment.

In case you are working in the garage, pay attention to the corners. While the floor is still wet, you should apply the cleaner.

Scrub the entire floor with the broom. In the end you should wash the surface with water again. If there are some stains left, you should apply some more cleaner and rub it a bit more using the push broom until you see that the stain is disappearing.

When cleaning concrete it is important to keep in mind not to rub too much because it could damage the surface and in the end there would be a visible spot. Remember that you only have to get rid of the stain.

Bookcase and kitchen

Now this is a truly unexpected twist. On the lower shelves you could be storing cookbooks that add some color, and on the upper shelves expose some colorful serving pieces. In case there are some drawers as well use them to store utensils.

Storage and glass

When it comes to the items that you would like people to see, but still you would like to protect them, opt for the glass front cabinets. To achieve an interesting look you should mix vases, books and bowls.

Add some creativity

A worktable could become a functional workplace. All you have to do is to add some large baskets that you can use to store books, supplies and magazines.

The smaller baskets can be used for the storage of paper and writing tools. Get a magnetic strip along the edge of the cabinet that would hold staplers and scissors.

Double duty

You could make the most of storage, in case you use the units both for storage and as a dividing element of space. As an example, a larger storage unit could be used as a divider between the kitchen and the dining room. You could store in it games, blankets or even a TV. The open shelves can be used to display the items that you would like other people to see.

Wooden crate

The crates can also be turned into storage units, in the kitchen, for example. Add to them drawer pulls and you could use them like regular drawers.

In case you have a metal countertop you can achieve the ultimate vintage feeling in the kitchen.

Headboard

In case you have a large bookcase, you could use it as a headboard. You could display books and pictures on the shelves. They are big enough to store larger items, such as blankets or magazines. You could also add a sconce to have some light in the bed so that you will be able to read before going to sleep.

There are numerous ideas that you could use in order to store different items and also to display them for others to see.

Start with creating your home office. You could create a mail station that offers every family member a bin, box or slot. Also add a calendar to the wall that is easily seen by everybody and encourage the members of the family to take notes of the important events right on the calendar.

The desk drawers could also be reorganized, and it is a great idea to use dividers to achieve smaller bins. You shouldn’t have many items in the bins, and these could be labeled with post-its. Make sure that there is nothing in the drawer that you can’t use. Throw away all those utensils that can’t be used anymore.

Something similar should be done in the kitchen as well. Take a look at all of the pantry items and evaluate them. Throw away the expired items and give away those items that you haven’t used for a long time. Then put the items back on the shelves and label them.

You could double the capacity of the shelves through using freestanding wire shelves.

Before actually heading to the store, measure the cabinets or opt for expandable shelves. Riser-style inserts are also useful for the smaller items or for glassware.

The cabinet doors could also offer you some storage space. See whether there is any room left after you close the door, and in case there is, you could use it to store spices and other smaller objects. Use shallow shelves, pouches, racks, or magnetic and cork boards.

If you have some space around the stove, add a utensil bar or metal grid that could store five to eight frequently used utensils. Also think about adding a small wire basket to store salt, cooking spray, pepper and oil.

The living room could also be changed. It is a good idea to give every family member a bin or basket to hold the personal items. Label them with each person’s name, and it is also a useful idea to set as a rule to put books, magazines, toys and projects away every night.

For more storage space you could replace the old coffee tables with small chests.

These improvements mean more than simply building a dog house. Nonetheless you shouldn’t be thinking that you will have to spend a lot of money to make them.

There are a lot of ideas of this kind, including building a dog gate.

This is one of the handiest items to use when a dog is around.

Through this method you can make sure that he won’t be under foot during a party and he won’t get to the dining table.

Naturally you don’t have to think about something resembling a chain-link fence, but consider a gate made of wood, that is also a nice decorative element for your home.

You might have a grown up dog, but you can be sure that every dog enjoys the privacy of a crate.

Of course the majority of the rooms aren’t suitable to store in them an ugly metal crate, so think about a decorative piece of furniture that has several uses.

For example you could come up with the idea of a side table with decorative cabinetry grille for both you and your furry friend to feel comfortable around it.

Every kitchen has its own style, and so it is possible that all the bowls and other items that the dog needs compromise the look that you like so much. This is why it could be a good idea to think about adding to the kitchen a new piece of furniture especially made for your friend.

A dog feeding station can be everything you need. You could store in it the items that the dog needs and it is also advantageous for the dog because he will be relieved from the neck and back pain, since his bowl will be more elevated.

It is possible that it has become a routine for you to look for his leash every morning and also for some plastic bags. Avoid wasting time and mount on the wall a pet organizer that would take care of all these problems.

The best thing is that the organizer doesn’t have to be expensive; you could use beadboard, stock lumber, crown mold or leftover tin ceiling tiles.

Choose a special brush to clean animal’s fur and feet. Try to not hang out your laundry on outdoor clothes line. Mats are always an important part of our home decor, especially if we want to live in a safe home.

Add mats on both sides of the door. It is well known that up to 80 percent of the dirt gets inside along with allergens, lawn chemicals and bacteria. Mats made with absorbed materials are perfect catcher of the dirt and prevent it from going inside of your home.

Establishing a no-shoes-indoor policy is also an option that will keep the basket of slippers at the door for family or guests.

In the kitchen there are also changes that might improve your home safeties. Purchase special water filters and try to filter your drinking water.

Carbon filters are good idea, especially because they can cut the levels of chlorine, lead and other bacteria. Green textures and eco-friendly linens are always good idea, when it comes to arranging smart and safe home.

This is great because frankly most rooms look their best when they are simple and minimized however this does not mean you need to sacrifice color!

We have some color combinations for you to consider freshening the look of your bedroom and making you feel like you have redecorated!

A very popular color combination right now is greens and browns. Designers are reporting that this color combination is actually nurturing to our souls.

If you choose to go the route of greens and browns consider choosing a more fresh green instead of deep green because of the color impact on your psychological state.

Another popular color combination right now and, rightly so, is the botanical and nautical color combination of blues and greens. When looking for the shades of blues and greens if you choose to go this route, look for colors that look to blend with the water and sky.

Blue is a soothing color and green is known to nurture the soul so if this is your color palette you have made a very healthy psychological choice.

Other favorite color combinations are different shades of pinks and white as well as different shades of grays and pinks. If you choose white with any other color you can also choose third and fourth colors as your accent colors.

For example, if you choose white and navy blue for your main colors you can then have olive green and mustard as your accent colors. Or, maybe you choose burnt red and beige for your focal colors you can then throw in hints of brown and hunter green.

But there is one problem – they were decorative in the 1960s and still smell like the 1960s.

Do not throw these decorative pillows away! Think about how much you would spend at Pier 1 for decorative pillows that are almost exactly what you want but not quite.

Here is your chance to completely re-design your Aunt Sally’s decorative pillows and make them suitable for this century.

Let’s say you want decorative pillows for your living room love seat and the bed in the guest room. Go to a fabric store with colors in mind. For example if your living room is browns and beiges you could look for a mint or light green pattern.

If your guest room is colorful and where all the hand-me-downs ended up you could really have a lot of fun picking out fabric for the decorative pillows in your guest bedroom.

If you need to give the pillows a good washing before you start recovering them you have a few options. You can take them to a dry cleaner or the cheap way would be to throw them in the bathtub, rinse them off and throw them in the dryer.

People are stenciling in dining rooms, living rooms, hallways, bathrooms, bedrooms and home offices.

Stenciling is usually done in the form of words such as “dream” “live” “love” and “laugh” although oftentimes people are stenciling complete phrases like the serenity prayer, The Irish Blessing, among many others.

People are also opting to stencil designs in their homes. The benefit to stenciling a design is it can literally change the look of the entire room without paint, wallpaper or new furniture. Stenciling is very inexpensive as well.

You can stencil yourself or you can have someone stencil for you. To save money you may want to take it upon yourself however personally I do not want to be responsible for stenciling a word across the wall in my dining room.

Things to keep in mind when you are deciding where you want to put a stencil are, is this somewhere you think you will want this stencil for some time? For example, if you put stencils next to a structure in your home that is immobile you will most likely be happy with its placement.

Stenciling above or next to a toilet or sink is always a good idea as chances are you will be happy with that spot for a very long time. If you are happy with where your bed, dresser, or home office desk are placed you could also stencil next to or above those items.

Stencils are the perfect way to freshen up an area in your home that you would rather keep looking simple and not clutter up with items such as candles or shelves. Stencils are the perfect touch to show off your personality as well.

By having a good smelling home you want a cozy and inviting home that smells like vanilla, lavender, freshly baked pies, maybe fresh linens.

You do not want a home that smells like bacon or pets. So how do you make your house smell good for your own peace of mind and the comfort of your guests?

I have pets and that is my main concern having a house that smells like animals. I have been obsessed with a clean home for years and have been told by numerous guests, friends and family members that they cannot get over how good my house smells especially since I do have pets.

The first secret is vacuuming every day. Make sure you have a good quality vacuum and make sure you are attentive to keeping the filter or vacuum bag clean of debris. Vacuuming a 900-square foot house takes 15 mins so you should be able to fit in 15-30 minutes depending on the size of your home.

Stay attentive to your trash cans. If you are preparing dinner and use meat products such as chicken packaging take this outdoors to your trash can outside, do not keep this in your home. Also clean your trash cans with Lysol once a week.

Candles and Febreze work well however here is a trick for your candles; don’t use the lids if you buy candles in containers. Actually just throw the lids away when you buy the candles. Even when candles aren’t lit they can still give off an aroma.

Shower curtains benefit from Febreze as they can get moldy. If you do have pets spray Febreze on the carpet or furniture they spend their most time.