Sell your home with ambient aromatherapy

LODI, Calif. – June 20, 2011 – Retail stores use ambient scents to generate a psychological response that leads to more sales, and real estate agents can use the same strategy when selling homes.

Scent marketing is the reason realty professionals bake cookies in homes during showings; but given the steep number of homes currently on the market, experts say it might be more practical to use essential oils to create a pleasant scent in the home. Agents and sellers can concoct fragrances using jojoba, grapeseed, vanilla, lavender and sweet orange essential oils, blending them in a bowl with sea salt.

They also can create a vacuum powder with baking soda and bergamot and ylang-ylang essential oils or a simmer containing apple slices, cinnamon, vanilla bean and whole cloves. These natural scents are better appreciated than synthetic fragrances.

“Using even tiny amounts of familiar, tempting aromas like the oils of cinnamon, clove, vanilla and orange can fill a whole house with pleasant ambient fragrance and make it an attractive purchase for potential buyers,” according to Tom Havran, branded products developer with Aura Cacia.

Source: Lodi News-Sentinel (06/12/11)

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Spring is HERE in DESTIN, FL!! Make your Travel Plans NOW!!

	Today	Tonight	Tomorrow
75°F	75°	59°	74°
Feels Like: 75°	High	Low	High

Average rate on 15-year mortgage dips below 4 percent

NEW YORK (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates tumbled this week and the 15-year loan dipped below 4 percent for the first time in three months. Rates followed the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds, which fell on worries that the crisis in Japan could slow economic growth.

Freddie Mac said Tuesday the average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinance option, dropped to 3.97 percent from 4.15 percent. The last time the rate was below 4 percent was in mid-December. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records dating back to 1991.

Sunday Brunch tomorrow

Sunday Brunch tomorrow in Hibiscus’ Backyard of Love with Mike Whitty, to benefit Alaqua Animal Refuge!

Gov. Scott, Florida Cabinet proclaim March 21-27 as ‘Welcome Home Week’

ORLANDO, Fla., March 14, 2011 – Florida Gov. Rick Scott and members of Florida’s Cabinet signed a resolution recognizing March 21-27, 2011, as “Welcome Home Week” in Florida.

“Realtors throughout Florida are dedicated to helping improve the quality of life for all Floridians as they promote the benefits of homeownership,” the resolution says, noting that one job is created for every two home sales; and each individual home sale pumps $60,000 into the state economy.

Today’s Destin FL Weather

	Today	Tonight	Tomorrow
61°F	67°	61°	67°
Feels Like: 61°	High	Low	High

Investors snap up cheap homes, new buyers miss out

WASHINGTON – March 3, 2011 – Home sales are starting to tick up after the worst year in more than a decade. But the momentum is coming from cash-rich investors who are scooping up foreclosed properties at bargain prices, not first-time homebuyers who are critical for a housing recovery.

The number of first-time buyers fell last month to the lowest percentage in nearly two years, while all-cash deals have doubled and now account for one-third of sales.