September, 2018 - StringsSG Blogs

September 27, 2018September 13, 2022

Handyman Services- to make our lives a little easier

Handyman - a technician with multiple skills and a wide range of knowledge for repair and maintenance services

Who is a handyman?

Every household has some home repairs or replacement works. We all know proper maintenance keeps things running and the same goes for our home. At our house we do need some or the other maintenance work that requires some specialized men. These men are broadly called as handyman. They are also known as a handyperson or handy worker. Thus Handymen work for homeowners and businesses, either as independent contractors or as members of maintenance crews. Handyman is a technician with multiple skills and a wide range of knowledge. He is a skilled person who can do a wide range of repairs or maintenance work from minor to major, from unskilled to highly skilled. He has competence in a variety of small skills too and does odd jobs both interior and exterior of our house. He does all “fix-up tasks” of our home i.e. all kinds of domestic repairs and renovations.

Some of the Varieties or Range of Handyman services include –

Carpenter – We always have so many minor to major carpentry work at home like repair wood & glass works, hanging racks, building a new sofa, fitting entryways, mounting television or wall paintings, assembling furniture etc. All these are not quite easy to do all by ourselves and even if we try mostly we are unable to pull it throughout. Hence, for all such carpentry work the best is to call a handyman. While he does his job at ease, we can focus on some of our other works or just sit back and relax.

Get a Handyman to get your Carpentry work done. — Handyman busy with a carpentry project.

Electrician – Today our life is surrounded by so many electrical appliances and gadgets. Often, they create some problems or simply stop working like our Air-cons, geyser, fans, television etc. In order to repair or fix all these issues we need a professional and trained handyman.

Paint touch-ups – Painting a house is quite a tedious job, time-consuming, requires an ability to mix the colors in correct proportion to get the perfect tone, clean up all the mess etc. Handyman services are thus an absolute requirement when we need to paint the home or even for some minor touch-ups. He knows his job, has best techniques and hence we can get the job done to our satisfaction.

Plumber- Whether there is a blocked drain in the bathroom or need to install or replace taps or water leakage in the kitchen we need a plumber to fix it urgently. Sometimes it gets a bit difficult to find a good plumber at the need of the hour. Rather we can opt for a handymen service without any struggle and easily get a qualified plumbing proficient from the handyman service.

Get a Handyman to fix all your plumbing issues at house or office — Handyman fixing a sink in the kitchen.

Renovation – When renovation needs to be done, be it an office space or a house we can’t think about anything else but a handyman service where-from we can easily hire a professional handyman. Renovation requires specific skills and calculated approach so that our home’s structural integrity does not get damaged.

Changing a light fixture – Often we like to give new look to our house with some beautiful lampshades or chandelier. However, doing it all by ourselves might be a bit risky. It is again actually a handyman’s job and we can stay away from the risk of being badly electrocuted.

Install Hardwood Flooring/Tile Installation and Flooring – When it comes to laying a tile floor or installing hardwood, carpet or laminate flooring, it requires special tools and professional skills. This work is very critical and even a slight mistake can ruin the entire look of the floor. A professional handyman being experts in their profession can only use the required tools effectively. It is best to call a handyman service, let the experts do their task while we are relaxed.

Hanging – At home or at office, hanging some large objects like a big LCD, gigantic art works or decorative mirrors can be quite troublesome. To our eyes, its levels and measurements might not be perfect but not for a handyman. He will make sure it’s all levels are perfect and get our job done.

Cleaning the gutters – We all know how important and mandatory it is to keep our gutters clean as they are related to further protection of our landscaping and even for the protection of the roof. This task can be easily done by a handyman.

Installing Windows – Installation of windows is obviously a job of an expert. Windows needs to be well-sealed and they need to be perfectly aligned too. All these can be done by a professional handyman for whom this is just a piece of cake!

Handyman services are easily available for windows-installation works. — Handyman getting the windows sealed and checking for their perfect alignment

Gardening – For some gardening work, we do not require an expert plant specialist but a handyman can do the job. This saves money as well.

Some of the Benefits are –

Saves Time – A handyman is a person who knows exactly how to get the job done. A handyman takes care of all the needs for the project like shopping, repairing and finishing the task. He comes prepared with the right tools and materials needed. Hence since he does everything for us proficiently, all we have to do is to just let him know what our requirement is and sit back and relax while he would finish the job for us. Naturally all this saves our time and energy which we can invest into some other work.
Saves Money – Hiring a handyman service is very cost-effective. If we try to finish it on our own it’s mostly a process of trial and error but handyman is a pro and they know how to move about with the project and hence we just need to pay him once to have the job done right. Moreover, handymen often gets discounted rates from suppliers and wholesalers and this works at our benefit as we can further ask for discounts from the handyman. Again, a handyman usually sets time-frame that in turn saves us the utility costs during the project and since they are in many cases charged per hour of work, it becomes a cheaper contract too!
Handymen makes us aware of the other upcoming issues ahead of time that needs repair or fixing too – When handyman makes us aware of upcoming problems which may be in a pipe or roof or windows, then knowing these problems ahead of time can help us to save money and time from future repairs and replacement.
Eliminates Stress – Since handymen are a professional individuals, we can be rest assured that his knowledge of the project will work best for the household or business. Our hassles are minimized when we opt for their professional service and thus our stress quotient is also much less.
Simplicity – Handyman is capable of all types of repair, maintenance or remodeling work. Hence, instead of hiring multiple contractors for each repair work, we just need to hire a handyman to get them all done. This saves money and completion of multiple tasks at one go thereby making the whole process much simpler for us!

Hence from what has been said above, it is indeed a service that every house needs. A handyman offers fast and reliable service with their own expertise and required tools. Hence these Handymen can actually save us the frustration and potential injury that might occur if we try to handle their job on our own. These professional handymen are skilled enough to multitask. Hence, for any of our future household or office fixes or maintenance or remodeling, we should not delay rather contact our nearest Handyman services.

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September 24, 2018September 13, 2022

Importance of various types of Insurance

What does the term Insurance mean?

Insurance is like a financial guard or protection against any possible event or a range of events. It is an arrangement or coverage by which the insurance company or insurer provides a guarantee of compensation for some specified loss, death of breadwinner, some kind of permanent disability, property damage, critical illness, or in return for payment of a specified premium. In any of such above mentioned occurrences, the insurance company or insurer from whom we bought our policy will have to pay us an agreed amount to cover some of our losses. It is the work of an Insurance Agent or Financial Adviser to look after our policy from the beginning and guide and help us throughout the period when we hold the policy to him.

Why do we need Insurance

We all work for a good life and to fulfill our dreams and live for our loved ones. Naturally, because insurance is all about providing financial safety to ourselves and our family, protecting business from financial loss or liabilities etc it is such an important component of our financial planning. That is why we need to insure our life and our assets. This helps us to enjoy financial security, reduce stress during hard times and also secures the financial future for our family members after the death of the breadwinner.

Insurance- an important component of our financial planning. — An Insurance – to insure our life and our assets!

Types of Insurance –

Life Insurance – Life insurance also known as life cover or life assurance is a policy or a contract between the policy holder and an insurer or where the former chooses the amount of coverage, time period and pays his premiums either monthly or annually. In return, his family has the reassurance from the insurer to pay the designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person when a valid claim is made. With this money the grieving family will get some financial help like they can pay the household bills, take care of the child-care costs or pay any debt if there were any etc.
Health Insurance – An unexpected event like critical illness, disability, trauma or accident, may leave us with some financial loss. Health insurance covers the risk of a person incurring medical expenses in whole or in part. It covers the cost of the insured’s medical and surgical expenses. However, depending on the type of health insurance coverage the person have he will either have to pay the costs out of his pocket and later he will be reimbursed or the insurer makes payments directly to the respective authority i.e hospital etc.

Health insurance covers the risk of a person incurring medical expenses in whole or in part. — “Health is wealth” – secure it today with a Health Insurance.

General Insurance – General insurance is the insurance that covers tangible assets that are susceptible to damages like fire, marine, damages to car, accident, damage to house. Hence it is called as non-life insurance policies too. General insurance products are bought as they provide protection against unforeseeable contingencies. In this type of insurance too, products come at a price in the form of premium. If any of the above mentioned events happens, then the insurance company have to pay the client an agreed amount to cover some or all of the losses. In such cases, it is the duty of the Insurance Agent or Financial Adviser to help and guide us throughout the process.
Vehicle Insurance – A vehicle is often expensive and we all want to protect it. Vehicle insurance is insurance for different types of road vehicles like – our cars, bikes, trucks, motorcycles. This gives financial protection against physical damage after an accident or damages due to traffic collisions etc. Hence depending on what coverage we select, vehicle insurance will be paying to repair for our vehicle.
Critical illness insurance – This is an insurance to cover expenses of any critical illness. As per the contract the Insurance Company has to make a lump sum cash payment if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the specific illnesses as mentioned in the predetermined list of policy papers. Such illness includes paralysis, stroke, severe burns, heart attack, any surgical procedure, cancer, coma etc.
Home Insurance – This insurance is also called homeowner’s insurance. It gives coverage to the losses and damages of the policy holder’s house and the assets in his home. It is a type of property insurance that covers a private residence. Such damages include which are caused by fires, theft, explosion, lightning strikes, household apparatus etc. However, all natural disasters are not covered by home insurance like damage caused by earthquakes and floods mostly does not fall under the coverage.

Protect your home today with a Home Insurance. — Home is where the heart lies- get it secured by a Home Insurance today!

Travel Insurance – Today many people feels it safer to be covered while travelling. We can opt for the travel insurance at the time of the booking of a trip to cover us during the duration of that trip. Travel Insurance usually covers trip cancellation cost, cost of lost, stolen or damaged baggage, medical expenses, delayed baggage, flight accidents etc.
Pet Insurance – Insurance for our pets is a form of property insurance. Under this category, veterinary treatment, accidents, illnesses, injuries, rehabilitation, surgery or if the pet is lost or stolen are mostly covered.

Saying all these, let’s understand why we need an Insurance Agent or Financial Adviser. They are the best person to rely on as they have proper knowledge of the market. They are like our personal advisers who understand our individual needs and accordingly make sure that we are adequately covered. Since they are licensed insurance professionals their advice can give us the maximum protection which we might miss out if we search on our own.

Most importantly they are right around the corner and ready to help be it with home related insurance matters or auto policy or anything related to business coverage. So let’s make our future secured, by investing on Insurance while let the Insurance Agent or the financial advisers do their part to provide us the ultimate benefits from our investment.

Click here to get your free consultation on Insurance

September 18, 2018September 13, 2022

Why do we need a Property Agent to buy or rent or sale a house

Property agents validates documentations on the client's behalf.

The entire process of house hunting, renting or selling can be quite tedious and confusing. Dealing with decisions related to real estate is never easy. When making a decision on a real estate sale, purchase or rent advice from an expert is very useful. Here comes the role of an experienced and trustworthy property agent. He is the best person to look up to in such situations.

There are broadly the following types of Property Agents –

Landlord’s Property Agent or the Seller’s Agent

This agent is appointed by the landlord. The interest of the landlord is their interest too. This agent advises the landlord on how to promote their property. If the owner wants to rent it out, then the agent works out the best rental price for them. On the other hand, if the landlord is looking at selling a property, then the property agent arranges for possible buyers, arranges for viewing and works out a deal in favor of the landlord.

Tenant’s Agent or the Buyer’s Agent

The Tenant’s property agent is appointed by the tenant or the buyer. He works on behalf of the tenant and helps him to search his home. He arranges for viewings, helps his client to negotiate and closes a deal for the Tenant. In short, the Agent protects the interests of the tenant

Property agents are the best person to rely on while we plan to buy rent or sale a house. — A property agent works on behalf of the client and helps the later to close a deal at their benefit as much a as possible.

Some of the many reasons of why we need a property agent are as follows –

Our Agent works on our behalf – Understand our criteria, research and identify the available properties accordingly, schedule viewings, advises the tenants or the buyer on rental rates or purchase price respectively, negotiates with the landlord and/or landlord’s agent and thus finally helps his client to close a deal at their benefit as much a as possible.
Validates documentations – The paper works and documentations when it comes to property dealings are very important and needs to be thoroughly validated. Our property agent is the life savor in this regard. He assists us with all the necessary paper works, deals with different types of payments at different levels of the process like Stamp Duty etc.

In case we want an above-market rate then, an exclusive agreement does help – If the seller or the owner of the property wants to get a price that is more than the current market rate, then, it needs an exclusive type of pitching and selling. This requires much higher level of selling skills. He needs to do higher level of research, take more pictures of the house and post more frequent listings. It is to be noted that, mostly the non-exclusive agents do not spend the same time and required amount of effort for this. Hence going for an exclusive agreement in such cases is by far the better option in the long run.
A property agent’s negotiation skills works at our benefit – Whether he is an agent of the buyer or the seller, in each case his negotiation power adds to the party’s advantage. Often there is a drop in property price which means it is possible to negotiate for a fair price for the property. However we being unaware of the current market trends might end up paying more. The role of a property agent here is that, with his specialized skills and knowledge, he can help us to get the best possible value of the house.
Our property agent helps us a lot during home inspection – The house might have defects but invisible to the untrained eyes i.e. our lame eyes might fail to catch it when we go for viewing of the house. The property agent here can play an important role. He has the experienced eye to inspect and calculate the cost of rectification. Later, if the buyer wants to go ahead with the house, then, the agent can help the former to negotiate for a price of the house that would reflect the cost of the rectification.

Property agents helps us to negotiate for a price that reflects the cost of the rectification of the property if there are any. — Property agent during property viewing with his clients or home inspection.

Hence from the above discussion, it is quite evident that a reputable and professional property agent can help to save our time and money. Thus it is always safer to hire a property agent or real estate agent who knows the market well, has good list of properties to offer and understands our requirements and all criteria well. He is the best person to rely on for the purpose.

September 16, 2018September 13, 2022

Tips to maximise your profit while buying a Real Estate or Housing

It is very common and natural to worry or feel anxious when we decide to buy a house or property. The fear related to this is never-ending – whether to go for a loan, will we have enough cash for the down payment, are the papers of the property all legal, what if there is sudden decline in the property value after our purchase. Since a lot of cash goes at stake, of course we want to make sure that we get the best deal. Hence it is always safer to hire a property agent or real estate agent who knows the market well, has good list of properties to offer and understands our requirements and all criteria well.

However following are some of the very basic tips that we should consider when we plan to buy a property –

We need to thoroughly understand how much exactly we can borrow – It is very important to know how much we can actually afford on home. A pre-approval letter from the banker is always a pre-requisite for house hunting. In fact, most of the property agents or real estate agents need a pre-approval letter before showing the property to their clients. Moreover, knowing our budget also helps to save time on house hunting.

First know the amount you can borrow to buy your house — Important to know how much we can actually afford on a house.

Either be the first or the last – It’s a trick! If we are serious and understand that it is a great deal, then one trick is to quickly make an offer to the owner or to the agent who would pass it to the seller of the property. This way we can win a good deal.

On the other hand, another situation where the owner is tired of holding on to a particular property or he wants to sell it off for personal reasons on great discounts, then the trick is to make an offer for it. In most of such cases, the seller will entertain almost any offer made.

We should buy property when it is a buyer’s market and avoid during seller’s market – A buyer’s market is one in which, there is a decline in the home prices due to reduction in demand. On the contrary, in seller’s market, the property price is very high due to increasing demand for homes. So here the tip is to invest when the price is low i.e. during buyer’s market to benefit ourselves.
We should always remember the amount we need for the down payment when we purchase a house – Usually, the national average for down payments is 11%. So we must check the hands on availability of this amount the moment we to plan to buy the property.
It is worthy to note that a pre-approval for a mortgage indicates that we are a serious buyer – Both our real estate agent and the seller of the house or property feels more focused seeing that we are serious about the deal.

Mortgage pre-approval form — A pre- approval for a mortgage makes the seller understand that the buyer is a serious one.

For the buyers of their second home, it remains a question whether or not to sell their current home before buying a new one – To answer this, it totally varies from case to case. If the current home’s built-up equity will be applied on to the down payment on the new home, for sure, the previous house has to be sold prior to the new purchase. In other cases, if the client decides to rent out their current home as an investment, then the house does not need to be sold. However whatever the situation is, it is the loan advisor who does the preliminary examination and evaluates the risk of our profile. He checks the credit history too in order to determine whether taking a loan for the new home is feasible while retaining the title to the old home at the same time and accordingly will guide the buyer.
It is advisable that to view at least some number of houses physically even in today’s’ online convenience before buying our new property – Today online we can search, see pictures and even see a 360degree view of the house/rooms. However, when we are going for a lifetime investment, visiting at least a few houses to actually see how it looks and feels is worthwhile.
If the buyer’s offer is not accepted by the seller but another counteroffer is proposed by the seller, then it is better to look at it if we are really keen for that particular property – The current owner of the house might flat-out accept or reject an initial offer or he might also initiate a counteroffer. If this be the case, then all we need to do is with our property agent, we need to review it and determine whether the counteroffer is acceptable or not. Let’s say, it looks all good then without any delay we should go ahead to close the deal.

Saying all these, it still remains quite a hectic procedure and many stay in dilemma in this respect. Hence the best way to go ahead with such dealings is to have our own property agent or real estate agent to help and guide us in the process. He is the person who will understand the whole picture, send email alerts to notifying us of any new property listings and close our deal in a lesser complicated way.

Get a property agent – https://www.stringssg.com/property-agent-singapore

September 13, 2018September 13, 2022

How to decide on what to Invest

One major question that always lingers in our mind is how we safely invest our hard earned money. Be it any type of investment – Stocks, Real estate, Bonds, Gold, Cash equivalent, Mutual funds the question remains the same.

To answer this, we must take into account the following pointers before we step into making any kind of investment-

We must Identify and review our needs and goals – At first place, we should understand what exactly we are looking at from our investments and how much risk we can take.
We must make an investment plan – We must make a plan starting with low risk investments and then move to medium-risk investments. Higher risk investments are better to avoid in the initial phase.
Decide on how long we can invest – Different investments have different goals, time frames and also varied type of risks. So before we even consider investing our hard-earned money into something, we should go for a reality check.
Do not run after any hot tips – Many people around us, are always suggesting or coming up with different tips regarding where and what to invest on which mostly sounds very lucrative. However we should never fall a prey to such hot tips as we never know the risks involved or it might turn out to be totally fraud.
Our focus should be to diversify – The idea is to spread our money across different investments. It does not have to have same direction of movement of prices. This is known as diversifying.

Gold is a type of investment — Gold – considered as a form of investment for years!

We should always maintain an emergency fund – It is always smarter to have cash on hand to cover out-of-pocket expenses. We should have enough money in a savings product in case of any emergency.
We must avoid high- risk products at first place – Only consider higher risk products once you’ve built up money in low and medium-risk investments. Investments which are much more risky than we were told it would be or investments that are sold without a good explanation of the risks associated with it or the ones which does not provide any compensation.
Many investment plans have hidden charges – We should thoroughly read between the lines and also do our own research properly before we jump into any big decisions on any type of investments.

Real estate and housing — Real estate- an investment for many.

Saying all these we should look forward to a safe investment product that benefits our life to a great extend. We should therefore hire an investment consultant or financial advisor or savings planner to help us choose the right plan. Savings and investment consultant will do the needed research, understand and follow changes in the investment market, update on economic news and accordingly guide us with the best choices.

So let’s not delay and put our steps forward to a better and secured future with our personal investment consultant or financial advisor .