Is your career causing your property value to drop?

We’ve all heard of the term “curbside appeal” and we know that is what draws potential buyers in to look through a house which is for sale.  Did you know that a home with no curbside appeal is actually valued at a lower price?

One of the biggest turnoff’s for potential buyers is an overgrown garden.

An article called “7 Ways to Devalue Your Property” says “Letting your property fall into disrepair, such as having guttering falling off, unmowed grass, overgrown gardens, peeling paint and cupboard doors hanging off in kitchen will all detract from your home’s overall value.”

Now I know that you might not be planning to sell your home at the moment, but it is important that it is maintained regularly.  Small jobs become big, expensive jobs if they are not tended to quickly.

When you open your front door, what do you see?  If you see weeds and unweeded garden beds, then it’s time you did some work out there.

I know that you don’t have the time to work in the garden and, even if you did, that’s probably not the way you would choose to spend your day off.

A gardening and maintenance service can be worth its weight in gold.  How good would it feel to arrive home after a long day at work and see a neatly mown garden waiting for you?  In the warm weather you might even be able to test out that BBQ that was waiting patiently for you behind the overgrown plants.

Call me to organise the maintenance of your property.  I find local, reliable tradesmen who will care for your property and make it look fabulous and I will supervise them as they do it.

Home maintenance is not just a lifestyle choice.  It’s a sensible investment in the long term value of your property investment.

Nooo! It can’t be your turn.  Surely you hosted the last party  But no, it was months ago.

Now the problem is how to set up and host a fabulous party while you and your partner are both buried in work and short on time.

Themes, catering, planning, organising…  Thank heavens your Personal Concierge can take care of it for you.  You can get all your work done, meeting your deadlines, and then swan home to the party without a care in the world.  You will look like you are superwoman.

Managing events at home take just the same amount of skill as managing events at work.  You need to know what to delegate when, and to whom.  You already have those skills so why is it that you are reluctant to use them at home?  You don’t have to BE a superwoman.  You just have to LOOK as though you are.

There will be much of the preparation that you can’t manage so the wisest things to delegate are:

• Finding a caterer
• Sourcing decorations for your theme
• Arranging the delivery of the cake
• The purchasing of gifts if required
• Set up of the event
• Sourcing and delivery of hired crockery and cutlery if required
• Set up of the event space

Delegating these tasks will take the burden away and your stress levels will be back to normal.  You will be able to focus on your work, which is handy seeing it pays the bills!

Even better, though, is that by the time the party arrives you will still have enough energy left to enjoy it.

Give yourself a break.  No one needs to know what your secret it.  All they need to do is to enjoy the party, and so do you.

It’s great to be organised at the office, having your calendar in front of you, your to do list meticulously planned to fit in with your daily goings on and your diary neatly filled out.

What do you do, though, when you walk away from your desk or you are out of the office for longer than your coffee break?  When you can finally squeeze in a night away with your partner, how do you keep an eye on things?

We often blame technology for the breakdown of our relationships but if it is used properly, technology is a wonderful thing. It gives you the best of both worlds – time with your partner as well as the ability to check in with your work.

You can do amazing things with your Smartphone to ensure you stay on track, turn up to every appointment on time and don’t double book yourself.

Starting with the basics, there is your Google calendar which can be synced to various accounts (your co-workers or your partner, for example) and can easily be set up on your phone. Reminders can be readily set, and you have the capacity to display not only your own calendar, but other’s calendars as well, as necessary.

There are some great desktop tools that also have associated iPhone and Smartphone apps, such as:

• Remember the Milk: a comprehensive list management system that also talks to Google calendar. The app for your iPhone is free, but you’ll have to upgrade to Pro (around $25) for android interfaces.
• Producteev: provides online task management, and enables you to add items to your list via email, IM and Google and iPhone apps.

Then you have those that are suited to the phone itself:

• Astrid, one of the most powerful list organisers and task tracking systems for android phones, which can be backed up to an SD card. It can also be synced to Producteev and Remember the Milk.
• Got 2 Do is another specific smartphone app that has the capacity to not only set tasks and reminders, but also sort and organise into folders, tagging and more.

There you have it, your day organised and secured neatly in your pocket, ready for use whenever you need it.  You can book your night away and relax, knowing that everything is under control.

What is your favourite tool?

I know a science professor who has commented that in the past, if her young son was invited to a birthday party, the present had to be bought from Safeway or 7eleven or it just didn’t happen.

You can’t get away with that for very long and you certainly won’t get away with it at Christmas time.

For all the fun that Christmas can be it brings with it a lot of stress.  It is hard to find time to shop for food, and even harder to spare time for things which aren’t necessities.  The problem is that Christmas gifts are necessities but they are troublesome about it.

I know that when I choose a gift I like to put a lot of thought into it so that I select something that is meaningful and that the recipient will love.  When you have a long list of people to buy for it can take up a lot of time.

You probably have some idea of what you would like to buy your friends and family.  Just give me your list.  I will find prices, shop for the gifts, buy them, wrap them and even arrange their delivery.

You don’t have to battle with queues or fight over the last product on the display.  You won’t have the sore feet and blisters that you usually end up with, nor will you have the huge headache when you get home.

Instead you can go home and mix yourself a Christmas cocktail and relax knowing that everything is being taken care of.

Just to make it even better, here is a little cocktail you might like to try.  It is called the Chocolate Raspberry Martini and you are going to love it.

Chocolate Raspberry Martini

• 1 1/2 ounce raspberry vodka
• 1 ounce white creme de cacao

Chill your ingredients beforehand. Rub the rim of your chilled martini glass with cocoa then pour in the liquids and enjoy.  Drop a fresh raspberry into the bottom of the glass, too, if you like.  It will look as good as it tastes.

So what will it be?  Queues, headaches and stress or home with your shoes off and chilled cocktail in hand?  I know what I would choose.

Merry shopping–free Christmas to you!

You know that your car has needed a service for some time now, but when do you find the time to do it?  It’s a whole day you’re carless and trying to fit a carless day into a busy lifestyle is not exactly easy.

Until, of course, it gets to that point where warning lights are flashing and something either starts clunking and thumping or it stops working altogether. Then you’re left with no choice.  Things have become urgent and if you don’t do something about it, you’ll be carless for longer than a day.

You sneak a look at your partner but you know he or she is struggling to meet deadlines at work, too.  There won’t be any help there.  In fact, their car probably needs a service.

Ah well, you will work something out.  You’ll book the car in for a service when you get to work…..

The day passes in a blur of work and meetings, then suddenly it’s over and it’s too late to ring because the mechanic will be closed.

How fabulous would it be to handball this job to someone else?  You have a personal assistant at work.  Now you need a personal assistant at home.

A personal concierge can do it all for you, from making the booking, delivering the car to the mechanic and returning it back home for you.  I will even make sure you stay on the road during the process, so it’s far less painless than it has ever been in the past.

Your time is too valuable to spend it twiddling your thumbs while you wait for the car to be serviced.  Don’t waste your time.  Use my time instead. Call me!