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Press

7 Tips and Tricks For Selling Your Home Online

The decision to sell your home is one of the most critical financial decisions you will ever make. It can provide you with the capital you need to dedicate new ventures such as investing in a new property or amplifying your savings. Many home sellers in Florida are thrilled with the profits they earn from selling in today’s market, but frustrated that 6% of the payoff from the resources they have devoted to improving their homes is squandered on costly commission fees.

 

Selling your home by owner online is a great way to maximize your profits, but the process can become costly if not prudently executed. When marketing your home online, the MLS and social media are some of the best platforms for attracting potential buyers. Innovative companies like beycome can help you list on top real estate sites, acquire legal forms and documents, and obtain a comparative market analysis for a low flat fee. You will want to highlight inviting photos, neighborhood novelties, and proximity to local attractions when advertising. What are some fantastic ways to help your home stand out? Here are some ideas:

1. Take Stunning Photos

 

If you are planning to snap your own pictures, your cell phone will not do the trick. It pays to invest in or borrow a wide-angle camera, as it will help potential buyers get a realistic feel for the size of rooms and spaces. Investing in extra flashes, a tripod, and light stands will also provide you with the ability to take professional images that showcase your home’s natural charm. You will want to choose a day when rooms are lavishly permeated with natural light, and avoid artificial illumination that will detract from it. Glare can also wash out a room, so you will need to choose a time of day where there is abundant sunlight that is not overwhelming. You will need to declutter each room and remove accessories such as magnets from the refrigerator, holiday decorations, or family photos. Buyers want to imagine themselves living in your house. Take care to arrange your room to appear comforting, open, and stylish. If you don’t trust your own eye for design, a professional photographer can provide staging know-how and qualified equipment for the price of one scheduled shoot.

 

  1. Take Classy Videos

 

If you want a professional-looking video that canvasses a room like an admiring guest, it is a good idea to invest in equipment such as a DSLR camera with a wide-angle lens and a tripod with a slider. This will allow you to survey the room with smooth, even motion and spacious angles. As with your photos, be sure the rooms you are filming are free from clutter and staged in a welcoming manner. YouTube videos do very well online, and posting them on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram will increase the likelihood that home-seekers will call you for a showing.

  1. Post on Social Media

 

Much of social media is visual, so if you are investing time and money into creating a great video you will attract clicking fingers in no time. Joining local community groups is a smart idea, as chances are that folks residing in the village have friends who would be interested in viewing an attractive, well-priced home in the neighborhood. Facebook ads can reach many potential buyers for as little as $5 a day. On sites like Instagram and Pinterest, professional images are more likely to be shared if they are linked to home-beautification categories, such as boards on Pinterest or hashtags on Instagram dedicated to bathroom design or patio furniture.

 

  1. Work Your MLS

 

Serious buyers will definitely be checking homes in their price range on MLS regularly, so this makes it a great place to start when looking to sell your home without an agent. Find homes in your community with similar bedrooms, bathrooms, and apparent needs for repair. Look at the proximity to major highways, office parks, shopping and entertainment in your town. Are there homes with similar offerings to yours, and what is their asking price? Which homes in the area have sold in the past three months, and what was their price point?

 

When listing your home on the MLS, you will want to talk about distinguishing attributes in your description. What about your home makes it unique to the area? Is it the extra family room, closet space, or access to a local swimming pool? Be sure to pinpoint exactly what sets your home apart. Families and singles will be drawn to the way of life you are selling, as well as the physical structure of your home. Strengths such as the school district, neighborhood watch, or community clubs should not be overlooked.

 

  1. Ask For Advice

 

Who doesn’t like to give their opinion? When posting your photos and videos online, ask family and friends to say what they liked or would improve about the ad. Folks will view it before they respond to you, which could lead to them sharing it with potential buyers. Post with comments such as “Hey guys, just sharing before I list this. Let me know what you think.” You may get some offers from buyers looking for properties in hot neighborhoods before they go on the market.

  1. Use Your Community

 

Are you a member of a church, Lions Club, or government group? If you reach out to these communities through email or social media with photos and videos of your listing, you are casting a wider net than your immediate circle while remaining a credible resource. Those heartily involved in a community will be more likely to know folks who are looking to move in, and can pass your listing along with a word-of-mouth recommendation.

 

  1. Have a Little Confidence

 

If you have priced your house well, taken fetching photos, and posted crackerjack videos, your home will sell to the right buyer in a short amount of time. And you can hold your head high knowing that you are keeping 6% more of your profits by selling your home independently online.

 

Categories
Digressions

This Father’s Day, give dad the three things he really wants

This piece originally appeared for the Father’s Day special of Manila Bulletin’s Mom’s and Babies section.

In the grand scheme of things, it usually seems like Father’s Day is relegated as a second-class holiday compared to Mother’s Day. Maybe it’s because fathers are more subtle, more silent than expressive and default to the “if you’re happy then I’m happy” state of being.

It is Father’s Day. And as the shops pull out their specials for new shoes, watches, and wallets for dads not much has been said for what a father really wants on his commercially-imposed holiday. “I don’t need anything” is a typical response from most dads. But they’re usually referring to material things.

Here are three things that dads want that money can not buy on their special day.

They want a day where they do not need to make choices
Luxury is relative, and in an age where we have too many choices, the best gift one can give is not having to make decisions. Decisions are made seven days a week, 365 days a year. At work. At home. “What do you think?” can always be a loaded question. When dads are forced to make decisions every hour of the day, the best Father’s Day gift you can give him is to not have him make decisions. At least for the next 24 hours.

They (secretly) want kind words of acknowledgment
Fathers are men of few words. Case in point: I’ve learned how to modulate my grunting to express different things. There is a subtlety in a grunt of acknowledgment versus reproach. But despite being men of few words, it does not mean we can not appreciate words of kindness. I remember, during our pre-Cana seminar, the priest was talking about how knowing your partner’s language of love is important. One of these languages – “the words of affirmation” is really the easiest to give, yet often not given, because people underestimate their power. There is a stigma for assuming men are too hardened for words, but deep inside the simplicity of a few kind words from your spouse and children can make your day—and acknowledge it with a grunt.

They want a moment to reflect on their legacy
I revel in being an idealist, despite how the modern world has turned out. But as they say, shoot for the stars so you get the moon. This is how I picture the ideal Father’s Day meal: together with family, having the best seat in the house so I can see everyone—wife, kids, relatives and other loved ones. It puts into perspective why we toil. Why we work late hours. Why we try to squeeze in the 20 minutes of quality time with the kids before they sleep. It is a safety stop that pulls us away. Then we can see, perhaps once a year, our lives as fathers in a single snapshot and ask ourselves why we do the things we do. It puts into perspective the daily agonies and ecstasies that life throws at us, and ultimately having your brood in front of you, all seated, eating, loud and happy makes for the perfect day.

Categories
Digressions

Whiskey Can Be Paired with Anything, Even Lechon

There’s nothing like pairing good single malt with Pepita’s Truffle Rice Lechon.

So yeah, we were in for a treat at Mimi & Bros last night with the Glenfiddich 12, 15, and 18 year olds, all supposed to be paired with different parts of the pig. From last recall, the 12 was supposed to be paired with the skin, the 15 with the fat, and the 18 with the meat, with the tastes and texture of the lechon complementing the tasting notes of each whiskey.

I, being a dude, forgot to listen to Glenfiddich’s brand ambassador and just ate everything in three bites. Not sure if that was elegant, but I know it all ends the same way in your stomach.

Side note: I love whiskey pairing events. It’s only in these types of events where the host—usually the brand ambassador—will ask everyone to shout out their favorite brand. The evening always ends with an agreement that “all whiskeys are fantastic, but tonight let’s drink this one.”

Naturally, the 12 was my favorite, and as we journeyed to the older whiskeys hints of caramel and star anise were more prominent. But really, I’m fine with the Glenfiddich 12. It’s actually the whiskey I grab off the shelf from Changi Airport the most when friends ask me to grab a bottle for them. It’s also the most affordable of the lot. But yeah, cheap doesn’t mean “cheap.” Glenfiddich after all is the world’s most awarded single malt whiskey from the Speyside in Scotland.

This post originally appeared in MBites, by The Manila Bulletin.

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Best of Digressions

Parents, let’s not feel too guilty about screen time, OK?

Guys, I’m not a developmental psychologist. I’m a tired parent.

Let’s address the elephant in the room — the whole screen time issue with our children is a drag. The struggle is real: balancing the conflicted amount of guilt whenever we pull out the phones at a restaurant so that the kids can sit still and eat versus just having them sit and play with the food. Or that family photo that we need to curate well so that the kids aren’t looking at the phones when the picture is taken. Choose: sit and watch videos while waiting for your turn at the pediatrician or run around the hospital trying to catch them (on all fours my god)?

I’m not sure if this is how our parents felt — we grew up with television and the Family Computer. So maybe that was screen time for us? But what our parents did have was the luxury of not being judged on social media by whoop dee doo — other parents. And strangers who do not know what it is like to have a 5 year old.

Fellow parents, I say this: let’s not feel to guilty about the phone. I’ve managed to convince myself that these are the cards that are dealt to this generation, the so-called “digital natives.” And what many people forget is that they tend to isolate screen time as a problem in itself when in fact kids, by nature do get tired of the screen and would rather play outside (and get dirty). Yes my kids use the phone a lot. But i have to keep reminding myself that I have to give them two evening baths because they run around the house after dinner with their LEGO’s and dinosaurs and scooters. Or how weekends with their cousins are pure bliss — running around the park and getting scabs on the concrete pavement. So yeah, they aren’t missing out.

I do have three learnings I would like to share though.

Don’t use regular YouTube
If you do let your kids watch YouTube on the phone, use the Youtube Kids app. It’s a much safer way for them to discover content. There are a lot of disgusting people out there who release sexual content (using kiddie toys like Barbie or GI Joe) masking them as ‘Let’s Play’ or ‘unboxing’ videos which get placed in the Related Videos section and the algorithm can’t tell the difference. At the very least, the YouTube Kids app is a lot more well-curated by humans — and parents.

Switch them from passive to an active screen
When you can, “upgrade” them to video games. My eldest son (he’s 5) has discovered the wonderful world of rage quitting on the Nintendo Switch because he keeps falling off platforms in Skylanders Imaginators. There is a learning opportunity here — as I oft recall moments when I would throw the controller from sheer frustration with Mega Man for the Nintendo in the 80’s. So these father and son moments with video games are important in teaching life skills like how to deal with failure and frustration.

Sometimes we just need to ask
Last — sometimes we forget to ask our kids what they really want to do. There were times when I would mechanically hand over the phone to my eldest because I know, historically, that he wants to watch Dino Trux on Netflix. But then he tells me that he wants his crayons so he can draw The Avengers instead. I forgot to ask. Well, what do you know, right?

To end, I also have to keep reminding myself that back in the day our parents told us that MTV was bad. So were the Simpsons. And that their parents said that The Beatles were the devil reincarnated. We are part of a cycle of parenting.

This piece originally appeared in my Dad Buds column for The Manila Bulletin on May 20 2018.

Categories
Geek

Throwback Review: Siemens SX1

Note: This post originally appeared in PDA Buyer’s Guide in 2004. PDA Buyer’s Guide was a tech review site that had a technical slant to reviews, which were mostly above 1,000 words. This was a challenge I was willing to take since I was one of the first to handle this phone in South East Asia. Photos by Dario Tibay

Siemens SX1

Symbian Series 60 Platform Handheld

In a largely Nokia dominated market, the SX1 is unique for it is the first non-Nokia phone manufacturer to release a Symbian Series 60 phone in the Asian scene. It is also unique for being the first phone engineered to have an eccentric side keypad layout with the function buttons located at the phone’s dominant face. The Siemens SX1 inherits the candybar design and works on a GSM triband network (900/1800/1900) and should work in any country that supports GSM.

As a fully functioning PDA, the handset is equipped with basic PIM functions such as a contacts, to-do list, calendar, notes application, and built in voice recorder. Internet browsing through GPRS supports WAP 2.0/xHTML. Email clients supported are POP3, IMAP and SMTP.

As a multimedia device, the SX1 delivers much with a 640 x 480 integrated VGA camera. Video recording at 15 fps is also supported at 176 x 144 pixels (QCIF). The handset is also capable of sending multimedia messages (MMS) in pictures and video or through the image editor which comes bundled with the handset.

The SX1’s direct competitors are other Symbian S60 phones such as the Nokia 7650, 6600 and the 3650, the latter also sporting an eccentric circular keypad layout which is also found in Panasonic fashion phones. The SX1 is roughly the size and weight of the 6600 sharing a similar wide form factor for the hand to hold. The power of the S60 platform is further enhanced by the SX1, bundling several proprietary multimedia and PIM apps which usually have to be bought through third party developers.

What does it look like?
The SX1 is sure to give consumers a second look because of the way the function keys and numerical keypads are arranged. The seven function keys (menu, two soft keys, two dedicated call buttons, shift and cancel) are located on the front face of the phone together with the 5-way keypad. The twelve numerical keys are spread out evenly on the left and right sides of the phone. The prominent natural loudspeaker grill is located above the 176 x 220 pixel screen.

Flipping the phone to its right side, I will find two dedicated buttons for taking snapshots with the 0.3 mega pixel digital camera and for activating the voice recorder. The voice recorder button also doubles as the hands free activation when in a call. On its left side is the hot swap MMC bay that slides out conveniently. SD cards are not supported.

Flipped on its backside, I will find the 0.3 megapixel camera on the upper left side of the phone. The IR port is located opposite the camera on the top side of the phone.

Inside the Box
Upon opening the box, I was greeted with the SX1 handset, a Li-Polymer battery, the standard wall charger, user guide, marketing photos, and the CD with product demo, interactive help guide and additional applications.

Bundled Applications
It is important to note that all Symbian Series 60 phones have the standard set of applications bundled with the OS. The calendar, to-do list, contacts, video recorder, and BT, IrDA and connectivity functions are all found in the Nokia 3650/7650 and 6600. The same applications are found in the Siemens SX1 since they were able to acquire the S60 platform from Nokia, with slight modifications and additions:

PIM Apps
Today – A summary of the list of tasks, messages and appointments is given on screen. It is very similar to the Today screen of Windows Mobile devices. Some users would want to customize the main function buttons to display the Today screen. From there you can view the day’s summary of appointments and tasks as well as compose messages.

World Clock – Very similar to the ‘world time’ of the popular World Mate application for Palm, Pocket PC, and Symbian which displays four different time zones apart from the home time.

File Manager – A file directory browser which usually has to be bought separately for the Symbian OS. This proprietary version allows users to move files, create directories and transfer specific items via Bluetooth, IrDA or through E-mail via GPRS.

Multimedia Apps
MP3 Jukebox – The MP3 jukebox searches for MP3 files stored in internal memory and in the removable MMC card. Playing MP3 files using the phone’s natural loudspeaker delivers a powerful audio experience. Bitrates of 64kbps play satisfactory especially with the headset. Siemens has their own proprietary connector for the headset which is sold separately. This means you can’t use universal headsets sold elsewhere.

Radio – The FM radio can be configured manually or for frequency auto search. The frequency range is from 87.5 – 108 MHz with six customizable station keys. The radio will only work with the handsfree provided by Siemens which also doubles as an antenna. This accessory is sold separately.

Snap Shot – This is the camera application which allows for standard shots, small portrait shots and landscape view. Images taken can be saved into the memory card or in the phone’s internal memory and can be edited using the Image Fun application. The quality of images is a lot better than the early Nokia counterparts since the presence of the bluish haze has been remedied. Images taken aren’t very crisp but are colorful. The built in camera can take shots with resolutions from 160×120 to 640×480 in standard mode. The camera has a light sensitivity of > 30 lux and focuses from 30 cm to infinity. It has a 24 bit color depth.

Image Fun – After taking photos from the built in camera, the Image Fun application allows image editing to add distortions, haze as well as borders and text which can be sent wirelessly through Bluetooth, MMS and IrDA. Edited images are saved as a separate file so users can always go back to the original pictures taken if they wish to edit them again.

Other Applications – The SX1 comes with several games and the ability to run J2ME applications.. The most innovative game I have seen bundled with the SX1 makes use of the camera function as the gaming screen where animated mosquitoes are rendered flying around the view screen. The objective is to move the camera about and shoot the insects when you position them on the target reticule.

Wireless Voice, Data and Connectivity
The SX1 is a world phone, capable of handling a GSM tri-band network compatible with US, Europe and the rest of Asia except Japan. The natural loudspeaker delivers a powerful and clear audio which can be adjusted to fit the desired hearing volume.

For data connectivity, the SX1 has an internal modem capable of speeds up to 53.6 kbps. It sports GPRS class 10 and class 2 fax services.

Connectivity options are open through Bluetooth and IrDA where file sending can be a breeze thanks to the simplicity of the Symbian 60 platform.

Power and Expansion
The SX1 is powered by an OMAP processor at 130MHz. This is the fastest S60 smart phone with a 0.3MP VGA camera. The increase in processing power is mainly attributed to the loud and crisp MP3 playback feature, which matches the Tanager E200 which runs on MS Smartphone 2003. It is good to note that the Nokia smartphones on the other side of the fence are powered by ARM processors, albeit with 109MHz of processing power. The volatile 4MB of internal memory can be increased through MMC expansion and be used to save images, video, contacts, multimedia messages and short messages.

With a Li-Polymer 1000mAh user replaceable battery, charging time from empty to full takes less than three hours. Talk time with the standard battery is less than 240 minutes and standby time less than 200 hours. Actual practice shows that with moderate usage, battery life lasts a day and a half. Heavy usage however drains the battery in eight to twelve hours.

The SX1 is the first Symbian phone to apply the hot swap memory card bay found in most Palm OS and Pocket PC devices. The slot is only compatible with MMC cards, although at first glance the slot houses enough space to fit in an SD card so don’t make this mistake. The OS actually places a warning message when you swap cards saying that to prevent data loss, you must first disable running applications that are reading the card. The phone does this for you when you choose this option from the settings menu.

Synchronization
After connecting the SX1 to my desktop computer and installing the PC Suite, I noticed that synchronization of contacts and appointments was rather slow despite the USB connection. An alternative is to try to synchronize using Bluetooth which I did via the Billionton BT USB Adapter. What’s great about the sync software is that it allows you to easily organize multimedia files, which was a pain to do in the older versions of the desktop software.

What I like about the SX1
Bundled software is always a plus for me. For the record, all Nokia Series 60 phone models do not come with a file explorer, mp3 jukebox, radio application and an enhanced organizer with Today screen. The front speaker is also very audible and the camera set at 640×480 still delivers colorful images, unlike the 3650 which has a bluish haze in the images. The hot-swap MMC bay also adds a tinge of convenience since you don’t need to open the unit, remove the battery and replace the expansion card from there, as with the Nokias.

What needs to be improved with the SX1
Obviously the overall design turns me off. Having the keypads on both sides of the phone doesn’t allow you to make use of it with one hand. Battery life need some work. Even though it runs at 1000mAh, it still slacks by a bit compared to the Nokias. The camera has no night mode. It is also a bit overpriced at almost $600, a hundred bucks more expensive than the 6600. It is only available in one color, “Ice Blue.”

Bottom line
If you are looking for a phone that runs on the Series 60 platform that is already packed with features and don’t care much about the design, then this is the phone for you. Though battery life is on the losing side, a rich multimedia experience is the way Siemens compensates through booming audio and a good camera that rivals other smartphones in the market.

Specs Summary

Display: Hi Res 16 Bit 64k Colors at 176 x 220 pixels

Battery: Lithium Ion rechargeable and user replaceable at 1000 mAh.

Performance: TI OMAP 310 at 130MHz with 4MB of volatile memory

Connectivity: Bluetooth 1.1, IrDA, Actual processor speed undisclosed by manufacturer.

Dimensions: 109 x 56 x 19 mm, 116 grams.

Mobile Phone: GSM triband world phone (900/1800/1900MHz). GPRS class 10.

Audio: Built in speaker with digital voice recorder. Music player supports MP3 format. FM Radio built in with frequency range from 20Hz – 20 kHz. Power output at 2 x 7.5 mW.

Camera: Camera resolution at VGA 0.3 megapixels at 640 x 480 and 160 x 120 resolution with 24bit color depth.

Video: Real Player bundled with phone. Formats supported are MPEG4, H.263, Real Audio, Real Video and AMR. Video capture resolution at 176 x 144 at 15 fps.

Software and Compatibility: Symbian Series 60 OS. Java support. WAP browsers, Messaging application for email, Organizer functions with Today screen, Synchronization with MS Outlook 97, 98, 2000. Synchronization with PC via Bluetooth, IrDA and SyncML 1.0.1

Expansion: hot swap MMC bay (Multimedia card slot).