Learning the Hard Way

Online Course Synopsis Last week I had the opportunity to take my real estate exams in Falls Church, Virginia.  If you would have told me two months ago that I was going to do so last week instead of months down the road, I would have thought you a fool.

Not too long ago,  I made the decision to change career paths and venture into the world of real estate.  Reaching this decision, I was sure that it would take me every bit of six months for my online training and studying to be complete.  The online course that I took allowed six months to complete training.  When this training is complete, two exams are given.  Both of these must be passed in order to be successfully allowed to enroll in the proctored real estate licensing examinations. A little more than a week after making the decision to change career paths, I began the online course.  This course is basically page after page of 'slides' as they call them, of information explaining definitions and other terms to prepare one for the up coming exams.  Including practice tests, at the end of chapters, there are 41 sections in this course. Three weeks later, I  reached the end of the training part and was ready for the exams at the end of the course, or so I thought.  What I learned quickly was that the course does not prepare one for the exams, it has flaws in its method of preparation.  Otherwise, I would have been confident taking the exams at the end of the course. I decided to do my own homework and began taking practice tests from all over the internet, wherever I could dig up them.  When I completed one, I found and took another.  Each time I took a different practice test, I saw new questions.  In the course I took, I never saw new questions.  After a week of practice tests, I successfully passed the end of course exams and was ready for the real estate licensing exams.  I signed up, went to the examination sight and passed. What I learned from the combination of online course and many practice tests is that passing the licensing exams is possible on the first try. I am not sure how difficult the classroom course would have been, but the freedom of studying at any time of day helped me.  Now, finding someone their dream home is just around my corner.

Real Estate Photography Tips For Sellers in {Location_Name}

Exterior of House

• Move cars away from front and / or rear of house and close garage doors.
• Move trash cans and recycling bins inside or away from house.
• Remove newspapers from driveway and sweep leaves.
• Open deck furniture umbrellas, remove grill covers and put any deck cushions on furniture.
• Hide toys and sporting equipment in garage or storage containers.

Interior of House

• Turn on all interior lights and open all blinds. Make sure any burned out light bulbs have been replaced.
• Clean vertical surfaces that reflect light such as mirrors, refrigerators, windows, television screens, etc.
• Hide all pet beds, toys, bowls, etc. in a closet or storage container.
• Remove items other than non-religious framed art or decor hanging from walls.
• Keep in mind that items being moved from room to room will show in photos of other rooms, so please hide items in closets and / or storage areas that will not be photographed

Kitchen

• Clear off countertops
• Remove hanging dish towels and small area rugs.
• Hide garbage can along with pet food bowls, mats and other items.

Bedroom

• Make beds and be sure the mattress or any objects under the bed are not showing
• Hide all personal items such as books, phones, remotes, etc. (Tip: You can hide them under the pillows!)
• We suggest that personalized decor be removed from children's rooms so their names and pictures don't show in the photos which will go on the internet.

Foyer

• Make it look as large as p0ssible by removing shoes, coats, throw rugs, etc.

  

Dining Areas

• If dining area is small, remove extra leaves from tables to make the room look larger.
• Show off the woodwork on the table by removing protector, tablecloths or placemats.
• Remove extra dining chairs from the room so it doesn't look overcrowded and smaller than it really is.

Living Areas

• Keep the floors as clear as possible to emphasize the beauty of any wood floors
• Make sure all televisions and computer monitors are turned off, and if portable hide from view
• Clear surfaces such as end tables and coffee tables of items that are not decorative, and hide all magazines, books, remotes,  tissue boxes, etc.

Bathrooms / Powder Rooms

• Wash all mirrors. Even the smallest splatter mark is magnified in photos.
• Hide the trash can, toilet brush, bathmats and plunger.
• Remove family bath and hand towels. (Tip: Don't forget to remove the robe hanging on the back of the door.) You can keep a clean decorative / nice towels hung neatly.
• Remove All toiletries from the counter and the shower/tub area, such as shampoo bottles, razors, toothbrushes, etc.
• Make sure the toilet paper roll isn't empty or hanging down off the roll.