Why should I calibrate my plasma or LCD TV?

Why should I calibrate my plasma or LCD TV

Plasma and LCD TVs are supposed to work straight out of the box, using default settings. However, these settings are optimized so that a TV can be viewed to maximum effect on the floor of a bright showroom, now than in your living room. High brightness and image enhancement are almost always inappropriate for the home and allot of calibration is usually required to get the best picture. Calibration can seriously improve picture quality, and can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%.

There are three options for calibrating a flat screen television. You can calibrate manually by accessing the configuration menu and adjusting the brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc. to your tastes.

Alternatively, you could invest in a calibration DVD, which includes tools and test patterns that lead you through the selection of appropriate levels for all the common settings. The advantages of this approach is the cost,around £20, ease of use and repeatability. Your TV should be calibrated every 6-9 months as you TV output changes as the phosphors (esp plasma) change. If you go for option 3 you have to pay again each time.

The last option is to have your flat screen television calibrated professionally. An inexpensive calibration DVD can provide good results, but a trained professional calibrator is likely to have thousands of pounds worth of hardware and software at his, disposal and can custom tune your television to near perfection. A good quality calibration service might cost around £200 a visit.

Find out more about the PixelProtector calibration DVD.

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How to Sell Your House: Tips for the First Time Home Seller

You obviously succeeded at being a first time home buyer, and now you are about to be a first time home seller! Below are 11 tips to selling your house faster and for more money:

1. Make your house easy to show. Accompanied showings or 24 hours notice are will discourage most of your potential buyers who will view other houses they can see easily when it is convenient for them.

2. Price it right. This may sound counterintuitive, but a house priced fairly will sell for more money than an overpriced home. You may think, "We'll aim high and negotiate down if we need to," but this does not happen. In reality buyers don't even bid on an overpriced house. After changing the price a time or two to what it should have been, your house is "stale" and your largest pool of buyers have already looked at it and ruled it out. More times than not, when you finally do sell, it will be for below what your original "fair price" would have been.


3. Keep your house neat and clean at all times. Vacuum, dust and pick stuff up. Pack away very personal items around the house like family photos. People want to see themselves in this space, not feel your presence all around them. Think of it as how you would like to see a nice hotel room when you enter it - neat, clean and free of signs of previous users.

4. Keep the kitchen as uncluttered as possible. Put away countertop appliances, keep counters clean and as empty as possible. Remove refrigerator magnets. A vase of flowers on an island or counter always looks cheery and brings attention to counter space.

5. Remove obvious religious icons. Remember, people from all religions and backgrounds will look at your home to buy it. You want it to be as neutral as possible. This may be a good time to pre-pack these items for your move.

6. Keep signs of your children's presence to a minimum. Of course you love your children, but it is a good idea to contain their toys and remove photos of them and items with their names emblazoned on them. Many househunters get distracted by messy toy areas and you also want to be security conscious.

7. Pack up your collections and knick knacks. You may love your collection of 30 chicken/rooster items you have all over your kitchen, but sellers will see them and not the size, layout and pluses of your kitchen. All they'll remember is that there were tons of chicken items. This goes for books too - some are nice, but if they're overflowing bookshelves and taking over rooms, pack them up. Boxes can be put neatly in a corner of the basement or in storage until you move. The less cluttered a room is, the larger it appears.

8. Have your house smell nice. Perhaps simple and obvious, but worth stating. Get rid of animal smells (ask a friend or your agent - you may be too used to it), don't cook strong smelling foods (fish, garlic, etc.) and don't smoke in the house.

9. Don't hide all your dirty/extra stuff in closets. People do open closet doors to see how much storage there is.

10. Provide good lighting. A well lit room looks bigger and has a positive emotional impact. Turn lights on before showings, and buy some floor lamps if you need to for rooms that may be poorly lit.

11. Curb appeal. I know this phrase is used to death, but it's true - the first impression of your house as buyers pull up to it is critical. Mow the lawn and trim the bushes. Plant a few flowers along the walk or put potted flowers on the steps.

Your Realtor will have made a lot of effort in researching comparable homes, helping you set a price and getting their marketing strategy implemented so your home gets the immediate attention of other Realtors and their buyers. If your house sells quickly it means you and your Realtor did everything right - congratulations! Now you can concentrate on the next step in your life!

If you have any questions or if there's anything I can help you with I'd be glad to talk with you. Call me at 978-580-1069 or email me at mike.hunter@nemoves.com

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How do Short Sales and Bank Owned Properties Differ?

Bank Owned Properties (REO)

• The property is owned by a local bank or a national mortgage servicer( from hereon I'll use the term Bank). All negotiations are made between a Buyer and an employee of the bank (as opposed to a homeowner). REO properties are almost always vacant and utilities may be turned off.
  
• Standard offers to purchase are used in addition to the required Bank's addendums and disclosures. Consideration ($) will need to be in the form of a cashier’s check (no personal checks). Proof of funds for the down payment and a current loan pre-approval for the balance will also need to accompany an offer. Offers must be complete, correct and filled out according to the bank's requirements. Do not submit offers that are not in compliance, they will be rejected by the bank or delayed until corrected regardless of the price being offered.
  
• Your opinion of value and the Bank's may differ, but before a Bank forecloses they have at least one local broker provide an opinion of value. Once they decide to sell the property, they have their listing broker determine if the opinion of value is still correct. The Bank is almost always pricing near market and is expecting to sell the property close to the asking price. Your Buyer's Agent will give you a CMA (comparable market analysis) for the property prior to your making an offer. If you both feel that the asking price is well over market you should provide that CMA to the listing broker along with the offer. The lender has no obligation to see your CMA and frankly, they don't care anyway. But if your CMA includes recent sales or similar properties that might not have been included in the original opinion of value, a strong listing broker just might be able to make your case to the Bank.
• You may receive an answer within hours or it may take up to a week, but the response time should be fairly quick. Don't get impatient with the listing broker, they do not have any control over the response time no matter what time frame you put in the offer for acceptance. The best approach is to ask the listing broker for an approximate length of time needed for response and use that in your offer. If the offer is for less then the asking price do not be surprised if the response is an outright rejection or a "best and final" counter offer. Banks are not in the business of owning properties, they are in the business of lending money, but any decision they make will be strictly business. If the offer is a solid offer (close to asking price with minimal contingencies and quick closing date) it may get accepted without a counter.
• If your offer is accepted it is unlikely that the Bank will make repairs so an “as-is” sale should be assumed, and you should look the property over very thoroughly before you make an offer. If a few repairs need to be made to facilitate FHA or Conventional financing the Bank might be willing to make them so don't be afraid to ask, but support any request with a hard quote from a licensed tradesman. If the house is a fixer-upper or a tear-down or in poor condition, (in today's market ) traditional lenders probably will not lend on the property, so don't waste your time submitting an offer using an FHA (95-97%) loan. Also, many banks are beginning to have penalties for closings that run beyond the set date so make sure your lender can perform in that time frame and that you do nothing to hold them up.
• In summary, REO property sales are very much like conventional sales, just remember you are negotiating with a disinterested 3rd party, not a traditional homeowner, and that any deal you make will be "just business".

Short-Sales

• With short sales the property is owned by a homeowner and the house may be occupied by an owner/tenant or it may be vacant. The owner is "under-water", the sales price less closing costs is less than the debt(s) on the property and any offer needs lender(s) approval even though the lender(s) might not even know that the property is for sale.
  A standard offer to purchase is used, which should include an addendum acknowledging and accepting the fact that this is a short-sale transaction and requires 3rd party approval. Consideration ($) can be a personal check and a current loan pre-approval for the balance will also need to accompany an offer.
• Unlike a Bank owned REO, the listing price for the property may be based on something other than facts. The seller might be pricing it low to encourage multiple offers. They might be pricing it high to try to recoup as much money as possible. In rare cases it might be priced correctly. Unless the listing broker tells you they have an "approved" short sale (and even if they do it might be "stale" and will need to be updated at the time of your offer), the lender has not approved a sale at the list price so a Buyer doesn’t know if his offer even at list price will be accepted. Again, your Buyer's Agent will produce a CMA market analysis to determine the value of the home before you make an offer. It is always good to submit this with your offer because even though the listing price may be based on something other than facts your offer should be based completelyon facts. Closings can occur within 30 days but the 30 day clock will not start until the lender gives their approval.
• In the beginning, your offer is handled like it would in a non-short-sale situation. The listing broker will present it to the seller and they approve it. It will then be forwarded on to the lender for their approval at which point the listing broker and the Buyer have no control over the process and is in a "wait and see" mode. This approval process may take one week or it may take up to three months. One very important thing to keep in mind is that while you are waiting for an approval of your offer another department of the Bank is working on the foreclosure and may actually foreclose on the property even though there are offers in for approval. If that happens, your deal is dead and the listing contract is terminated as the former seller is no longer the owner of the property and does not have authority to sell. If that happens and you are (still) interested in purchasing the property, you should work with your Buyer's Agent to follow-up on the property when it comes back on the market as a REO.
• Again, an "as is" sales should be assumed, but there may be a little more wiggle room than with a REO. Also, while it might be nice to have repairs made, the seller most likely won't have the resources to make them and their lender is very unlikely to do so since they don’t own the property, so when you look at the property you should look it over very thoroughly before you make your offer and take into account any obviously needed repairs.
• In summary, short sales are not at all like conventional sales, you are dealing with a broke seller, an uncaring bank, and probably a neglected property so you should wade into this swamp slowly and carefully and assume the worst - it probably will happen.

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Plasma & LCD screen cleaning discovery

Hi,

If you have read any of my blog before you will realise I am a bit of a nut when it comes to keeping my plasma TV screen clean. My view is that if you pay lots of money to watch HD TV or play the latest games on a PS3 or Xbox then what is the point of doing it on a dusty and smeared screen?

Anyway, here is the point of this post. I have been cleaning all the screens in my home with my faithful WOW microfiber screen cloths ever since I discovered them a few years ago. Anyone who knows me also is aware that they became the core product of my business and that I know make my crust from helping people enjoy their TV and laptop screens the best.

Did I say I was coming to the point? I did didn't I. Sorry. Anyway for the last few years I have been cleaning dozens of different screens with different combinations of spray cleaner and microfiber and realised I have never used the AM 75ml Aluminum Bottle Spray. Well today I took a bottle from stock and tried it out for the first time. What a screen cleaning discovery! Hence the title of this post. It was so good. I squirted it on as you do. Then wiped as you do. All the little smears and fingerprints came off first wipe. Normally when they have been crusted on for a few days it takes a few goes to get the little blighter's.

Any the 75ml AM spray kit is my new favorite. Now follows a shameless commercial plug to the product on my web site.

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Which plasma or LCD TV should I buy?

The question of choosing the right Plasma or LCD TV is one that is asked every day in living rooms and stores around the world. There is the choice of make, model, screen size and price not to mention the numerous technical features, leaving us to sort through a mass of marketing and ambiguous picture enhancement technologies in an attempt to make an informed decision.

The best thing to remember when deciding which Plasma or LCD TV to buy is that you should really make your decision based on which Plasma or LCD TV is the most appropriate for your needs. There are a variety of technologies that fall within the umbrella term `HDTV` so let`s take a quick tour of the most important information you`ll need to arm yourself with in order to streamline the process of choosing

LCD or Plasma?

The two main types of display technology on offer in the HDTV market are LCD and Plasma, and though both are used in flat-screen TVs there are a few vital differences that define the two.

• LCD - Stands for Liquid Crystal Display, and are in general lighter, smaller and thinner than Plasma screens, ranging in size from around 46" right down to 15" or less. They also have higher resolutions in the smaller sizes, meaning the picture on an LCD screen will be sharp no matter what size you choose. The angle from which you can view LCD screens isn`t always as good as Plasma offerings, but they are usually better performers if the room you`re using them in is brightly lit as the screens aren`t reflective.
• 
  
  
• Plasma - Plasma screen range in size from 40" right up to over 100" if you have the money. Their screens use two sheets of glass containing various plasma gasses which produce a picture when stimulated by electricity. The biggest advantage over LCD screens is the improved contrast meaning deep blacks and bright whites. They are considerably heavier and thicker than LCD screens.

Economy or top of the range?

Another problem facing HDTV buyers is the price difference within a given screen size. You can pay anywhere between £500 to over £5000 for a screen that is 50" across the diagonal, and on the surface you might think you were getting a better deal by going for the cheapest option. However, as with most things, you will get a much better HDTV if you are willing to spend a little bit more and go for a top brand within your chosen screen size. BUT!! Be warned there are exceptions.And I reccomend you always have the TV picture demonstrated. Don't let the shop assistant rush you and try several different input types. DVD/TV/Games console etc.

Generally speaking, cheaper brands offer lower quality plastics, much poorer contrast levels and colour depth and will often be limited in terms of the number and type of connections. They might also will look a lot less appealing than their more expensive rivals. A good example is the Pioneer LX6090. As part of their new LED range of ultra-thin screens it represents the latest in HDTV technology. It is considerably more expensive than other Plasma screens of a comparable size. However, for the improvements in picture quality, interface, input diversity and energy saving it trumps cheaper options in every way.Having said that if you have a cheaper model demonstrated you might think it is good enough.

This logic should be applied whether you`re spending £300 or £3000 on an HDTV. If you`re going to be using it every day and want to experience the true leap forward in technology that HDTVs should be then you shouldn`t be skimping if you can afford not to. Whether you go for a Plasma, LCD or new LED HDTV, be sure to shop around and choose carefully in order to get the best deal on the best TV.

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Free satellite TV channels over the Internet

Ever thought you are paying too much for Sky TV? Want a legal way to get quality TV channels for a reasonable price? Well now you can. No subscription just one very small initial payment.

visit the sales page of Satellite To PC TV or read on for more information.

How to Find Free TV Channels Across the Web

With more and more people having access to high speed broadband connections, video sharing and streaming sites like Youtube have grown beyond initial recognition. This has drawn more and more people away from watching traditional TV broadcasts and created an online audience of millions who watch videos on their computers.

However, if you want to watch anything other than videos of Gordon Browns silly smile then YouTube has its limitations! There are a wealth of options out there for watching terrestrial and foreign TV channels of all ilks online but they are all, without exception, re-runs or non-premium content.

In order to find the kind of programming you`re after you may well have to search around a bit, and if you want to watch live streaming channels it`s useful to consult an online TV guide for up to date listings information.

So the problem with most of the web sites offering free TV is that they are all just re-runs or broadcasts of non-premium channels.

However there is a software solution based on the latest IP broadcasting technology and the sheer volume of content on the web is expected to grow to produce a million channel choice but all this is in the future.

With a global economic recession, massive cutbacks in new technology investment you might be forgiven for asking, "But what can I get NOW!" If you want to find out how to get truly premium channels for nothing but a small one off fee then have a look at the web site below.

Let me know what you think.

Visit SatelliteToPC.com

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Short Sales for Buyers

HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN PURCHASING A HOME THAT IS A SHORT SALE

Mr. Seller goes to his mortgage company(s) and says, “I want to sell, but I don’t have any equity and the house is worth less than the amount I owe you. I need to sell anyway because based on my current circumstances, continuing to keep the home is a serious hardship and I can't hold on, so what do I need to do to get out?”

What the Seller has just done is to ask his lienholders to take a loss when his property is sold, this is called a SHORT SALE. Mortgage companies/lienholders don’t like to take losses (an understatement) and they are going to be resistant to this request from Mr. Seller. However, the current "perfect storm" of poor market conditions has forced them into a position where they may agree to Mr. Seller's short sale as long as it is going to be more favorable to them than going to foreclosure - in time, trouble or money lost.

But, (and there is a big, whopping BUT ...) the mortgage companies reserve the right to approve EVERY term, condition and cost of the sale. So not only are we in a Buyer's Market with lots of inventory to choose from, we have a seller who is virtually powerless in the transaction.

ARE THESE NOT THE PERFECT CONDITIONS FOR BEING A BUYER?!!!

There is another short-seller we should discuss, the reluctant seller. While Mr. Seller above is so very motivated, let’s take the case of the family that is forced to sell thanks to their loan being one of those adjustable rate or combination loans that has adjusted and is now beyond the point of their ability to pay. They have to sell, they are going through the short sale process, but they really aren’t motivated. Why? Because they have to move. And where are they going to move? Depending on their situation their credit may be less than stellar because of late payments and the short sale itself may show as a delinquency on their credit report. Who will rent to them?

Let’s say you get into a home to view it and you love it and want to put in an offer. You can do very well by buying a short sale house, but there are some things you need to know about this process. This is the point at which you need to put aside everything you have learned about the sequence of how a home is sold. Here's how you should go about it:

1. GET TO KNOW ALL YOU CAN ABOUT THE HOME.

You are advised by your buyer's agent that this home, typical of most short sales, is being sold "As Is" (see my blog post, "What does 'As Is' Mean?", for more detailed information on this legal term). The seller might provide you with a seller's disclosure of property condition if you're lucky, but that's about all you'll get. They may or may not have pulled permits for upgrades or work done on the house - you'll need to investigate. They definitely will not negotiate issues you uncover during a home/pest/lead paint/radon/mold/septic inspection. Do you spend money to have inspections done or wait for the bank's response? My advice, wait, but be prepared to move forward very quickly once you hear back from the bank.

Also if the property is a condominium or governed by a home owner’s association, your bank/mortgage company will most likely require a full set of condominium documents, meeting minutes, recorded deeds, occupancy rates, tenancy ratios, and more (what's called a Full Review). The condominium association can and will charge you money for this. Your mortgage is contingent upon receipt of this, but it's going to cost you around $400 for copying charges. What do you do? My advice is to ask your mortgage broker, but don't do anything to jeopardize your pre-approval/commitment.

You have decided to submit your offer and now the wait is on…

2. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE, GET READY TO HURRY UP AND WAIT.
A short sale is the sale of a parcel of real estate that is short of the equity needed to sell it and pay off all liens। It is not short “time-wise”. You should plan on at least 120 days from your offer, but the amount of time can vary widely depending on the lenders, and if anyone says you will hear back in "x" number of days, you can't believe them.

What happens during the wait? Well, besides Mr. Seller getting anxious waiting for his departure, the short sale file/package/request gets in line in the lender’s short sale department (also called the Loss Mitigation Department). This line is long, sometimes very long.

So, what happens during the wait is just that….the wait. Oh, the agent for the seller will be in contact as needed to re-fax lost documents, explain their research, answer questions about the local market, re-fax lost documents, etc. But you, the buyer…you just wait. It’s like the military … hurry up and wait. Or better yet it's like the hospital ... wake up and take this sleeping pill.

Many sellers’ agents do not give your buyer agent status updates on what’s happening while you wait…you just wait. When I represent the seller, I email the buyer agent every week to say what I know, even if it's nothing, just to make sure that you, the buyer, are still there and somewhat paying attention. But as your buyer agent, there's nothing I can do ... if there were, rest assured, I'd be doing it.

Oh, as the buyer’s agent I know what’s going on….the paperwork is collected, the file is assigned to a “negotiator” who “negotiates” the short sale with the seller’s agent/attorney, and once the negotiator has the file’s required documents (exactly what that is varies by the lender) complete, it has to be signed off by their “team leader” or upper management, or a committee of managers. I check with the seller's agent regularly to ask what is happening but again, often there is nothing happening, just waiting….
3. KNOW YOU MAY GET "BUMPED".
Here is the big elephant in the room: you have no guaranteed place “in line.” If this short sale’s turn in the line comes up on the 80th day after submission, and someone else submits an offer slightly better than yours on day 79, you will be bumped! It is not impossible that a seller’s agent will work with offers one at a time until an acceptance is granted and you won’t get bumped, but this is a rare occasion, hasn't ever happened to me yet. It's not fair, it's not right, but it is reality. This is because the lienholders are losing money and need the most they can get, and it is the seller’s agent’s fiduciary responsibility to get the highest and best price for their sellers.

4. AFTER A LONG WAIT YOU MAY BE DISAPPOINTED.

If you are willing to be patient, knowing that you could get bumped, and you're convinced you want to purchase a home that is a short sale, I might advise you to submit multiple offers on multiple short sales. You may get the one you kind of like, and not the one you love, which might be a disappointment. You might not get any one at all, which can be very disappointing. The question then is, how well do you handle disappointment? Can you accept the lost short sale?

5. YOU JUST MIGHT GET A GREAT HOME AT AN EXCELLENT PRICE THAT MAY MAKE YOU SOME GOOD MONEY SOME DAY WHEN YOU SELL.

So why would anyone consider buying a home that is subject to a short sale?

Quite simply - price! If a seller is not going to make any money on the sale of their home anyway, you can imagine they are much more flexible on terms and price of the sale of their home. If you are the only person making an offer on the home, the bank will need to take the offer seriously, even if you offer significantly less than the asking price for the house. In many Massachusetts neighborhoods, short sales represent some of the best deals around.

There is no reason to be afraid of a home that will be subject to a short sale. In fact they may be some of the best values out there. Just be prepared for a longer timeline, a little more hassle and be sure to use an attorney, mortgage company and if I may be so bold, real estate agent with some experience in short sales. You may just find that incredible hidden gem at a bargain basement price.

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