Articles
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30/08/2010Property for Sale - Creating Good First Impressions
Once you've decided to sell your house, it's exciting but at the same time daunting, especially if this is the first time you've done it. The thought of starting the next phase of your life in new surroundings is one to hold on to in the coming weeks - it's a fresh project to make into a home, one more suited to your family's changing needs, perhaps. But one thing's for sure - it's quite rare that, once you've made up your mind to put you property up for sale, that you're going to change your mind. Especially if you've already seen the house of your dreams, that you want to make an offer on. The first thing you need to do is make a checklist. It's mostly common sense, but this piece of paper is a great starting point to get you organised for your move. There will be a lot...
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30/08/2010(Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) - Vertropolis
2008 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE - American Institute of Architects Like a bouquet of colorful flowers blossoming among the desert dunes, the three towers of the Vertropolis complex reach toward the Riyadh sky. By day, they glitter beneath the sun; in the evening hours, they glow softly against the darkening sky in hues that shift and ripple through the color spectrum. With the tallest of the towers twisting gracefully over 400 meters into the heavens atop a trio of sand dune-inspired podiums, the complex embodies the modernist notion of "sculptural objects in the landscape"--a gleaming oasis rising out of the wilderness. Vertropolis is a mixed-use "super block" centered on a true "city in the sky" - a visionary vertical master planned developmen...
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27/08/2010Las Vegas CityCenter Brings Dubai to the U.S.
(LAS VEGAS, NV) -- In the UAE we think of Singapore and Hong Kong as the cities that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are trying to imitate. However, a week ago when I arrived in Las Vegas for the first time, I recognized that while the economic power of Singapore or Hong Kong is indeed worth emulating by the UAE, the model for the look of Dubai and Abu Dhabi is Las Vegas. Only here among major US and world cities that I know are the visual extravagance and the daringness of construction typical of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A good example is CityCenter, the huge state of the art development right in the middle of The Strip. Las Vegas Boulevard where the big hotels and shopping malls are located. CityCenter is new and big; it opened last December, 67 acres of hotels, residences, retail, and entertainment ...
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18/08/20104 tips to win more listings
Flickr image courtesy of notsogoodphotography. When you meet with a seller, what do you do to distinguish the services you offer from those of your competition? One of the biggest complaints that I hear repeatedly from owners of real estate companies across the country is, "We provide our agents with these amazing tools and they never discuss them with their clients." If you want to get more listings at the right price and the right commission, here are some simple steps to take that can make a substantial difference in your conversion rate. 1. What will you do to help the seller obtain the highest possible price? Virtually every seller has the same goal: to achieve the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of hassle. Th...
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18/08/2010Are \"Green\" Homes Worth the Price?
Do you have a green home? I don't mean a green-painted home, although if you've used zero VOC (volatile organic compound) paint, you've made a great start. Of course, I'm referring to 'green' as in the 'environmentally-friendly' choice. Are green homes worth the price? Recent developments would lead us to wonder if enough people are committed to going green. Within the past year, graduate students of the University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design & Planning could find no buyers for two green homes. Even more remarkable is that the homes were selling for half their worth. Every year, Dan Rockhill, a well-respected professor at the university, organizes the non-profit Studio 804 - a design/build program for architects-to-be. The homes sell cheaper tha...
