Image courtesy of DIY Network

While some of our past TV Reviews have focused on the shows from the DIY Network and HGTV that tend to appeal to the everyday, common man looking for some entertainment and some home improvement tips, this week’s review focuses on a show that is aimed more towards the 1%.

Million Dollar Contractor airs on DIY Network and is based around New York City’s “Contractor to the Stars,” Stephen Fanuka. In each episode, Fanuka is faced with new challenges as he aims to turn his clients’ homes and apartments into the pinnacle of high-end luxury living. Although the way though, Fanuka and his team are usually battling against a gauntlet of problems.

The true entertainment value of the show comes from how Fanuka deals with the adversity that comes from the problems that arise in the midst of these insanely expensive contracting jobs. And trust me, they are EXPENSIVE. But the host and his dedicated group of contractors always manage to get the job done in the nick of time and the clients always seem to be beyond pleased with the transformation.

The obsession with getting an inside peek at lavish, luxurious homes and apartments started back in the days of MTV Cribs, and shows like Million Dollar Contractor continue this trend, only in a much different fashion. Instead of only seeing the end result and the finished product, we get an inside look at how it’s all done and all of the work that goes into it. The show is entertaining for more than just the shock value that comes with your initial “How much did that cost?” reaction, as it illustrates the entire process and every detail that goes into these expensive contracting jobs.

Plus, getting some helpful pointers along the way certainly doesn’t hurt either — the audience can learn a lot from Stephen Fanuka’s vast experience and unlimited knowledge of home improvement and home renovation that can prove to be very useful down the road if you’re looking to do your own big-budget DIY work.

In recent months, a few noteworthy real estate brokerages have begun to pull their listings off of these popular sites claiming that they are rife with inaccuracies and mislead the consumer. They also are claiming that the density of all of the listings that are often present on these syndication sites is also causing some confusion among users as to which listings belong to which real estate companies.

Real estate brokers would instead prefer that you visit their individual websites to browse real estate listings in your area, rather than consult these popular syndication websites — of course they do. Is their claim of “data inaccuracies” correct? I’m sure it is, to some degree, but that doesn’t change the fact that these websites make the process of looking for real estate a whole lot less painful. Because of this, they should continue to gain popularity among users for the foreseeable future, unless more and more real estate companies begin following suit and pulling their listings from the sites.

Some of the first real estate brokers to announce that they would be pulling their listings from the sites were Edina Realty from Minneapolis and Prudential KC from Kansas City, although a few others are expected to also pull their listings in the next week or so. We will have to wait and see how this move will affect these real estate syndication websites in the long run, but for the time being, they will continue to be the go-to sites for real estate searching.

Hiring an AMSA ProMover to assist you with your move will make all the difference, especially if you are moving for the first time and you are still unsure of the whole process. Moving can be difficult and exhausting, but having a ProMover on your side is guaranteed to make things a whole lot easier. So how do you go about finding a ProMover?

It’s easy.

All you have to do is use AMSA’s Mover Referral Service, which will allow you to contact up to six ProMovers who are certified by AMSA. But what if you’ve gone a different route and have already begun your search for a moving company? How do you find out if the company you’ve contacted is a member of AMSA and is a reliable ProMover?

That’s just as easy. Let’s say you visited Movers.com and used our excellent and easy-to-use tool to obtain a free moving quote from a local moving company. Well, all you have to do is find out what their motor carrier number is (this information can be easily obtained from the company’s website or by calling them) and then search for it in AMSA’s ProMover database.

By following these simple steps, you can guarantee that your move is handled by trustworthy moving professionals and you can make your life a whole lot easier in the process.

Since Memorial Day weekend has become pretty much synonymous with the start of summer, we should use it as a reminder that everyone’s favorite season is right around the corner and that we should begin preparing for anything that needs to be done around the house to help us get the most out of Memorial Day and the rest of the summer.

Check your air conditioning. If you haven’t used your air conditioning yet by the time Memorial Day rolls around, it’s a perfect time to give it a little test run and make sure it’s still running alright. Otherwise, you might go to flip it on during that first hot, sticky day of the summer only to find out that it’s not working. Then, you’re stuck sweating inside your house until the repairman comes to fix it.

Clean off your patio furniture. Memorial Day weekend is a perfect time for inviting your family and friends over and having a good time outside while you grill and soak up the sun. But you don’t want to be sitting around in dusty, mildewy patio furniture that’s been sitting around all winter, do you? Whether you keep the furniture outside, covered up with a tarp during the winter months, or inside a shed shielded from the elements, it’s still a good idea to give a good thorough cleaning to all your tables and chairs and prepare them for the summer.

Stock up on citronella candles. Nothing can ruin a nice outdoor barbecue and evening get-together in the backyard quite like bug bites. Pests like horseflies and mosquitoes can turn you into an itchy, bumpy mess in a hurry, so make sure your outdoor area is lined with a few citronella candles or torches to keep the uninvited guests at bay.

Image courtesy of curbed.com

Rob Dyrdek, of MTV’s Rob & Big and Ridiculousness fame, has put his Hollywood Hills home up for sale. The home isn’t exactly your typical Hollywood mansion, and in fact it looks pretty much what you would expect Rob Dyrdek’s house to look like. That isn’t to say it doesn’t have its fair share of amenities though.

Although on the outside the house looks more like a state prison than the home of an MTV personality, with a flat, plain concrete exterior, the inside is a little less foreboding. The house clocks in at around 4,700 square feet and features several large flat-screen TVs, metallic chandeliers, and a media room and is outfitted with four bedrooms, in addition to a pretty large master bathroom.

The house also features a pool area in the back that has a little bit of a jungle theme going on with various paintings that line the area, however the rest of the house doesn’t really reflect that theme so it seems to be a little out of left field. But you can do a lot worse if you’re looking for Hollywood Hills property that was formerly owned by an ex-pro skateboarder-turned-reality-TV-host.

The house has been listed for $2.6 million so it’s definitely in a modest price range for the area and for anyone looking to create their own “fantasy factory,” minus the famous skateboarding bulldog of course.

Image courtesy of HGTV.com

A few months back we took a look at the HGTV television show Holmes on Homes, where host and general contractor Mike Holmes rescued poor victims of fraudlent contractors who did shoddy jobs on their home renovations and during the building process and left the family’s home, and very often their lives, in shambles.

Well, the success of that show over the last few years has spawned a couple of different spin-offs, one of which is Holmes Inspection. In this particular spin-off, Mike Holmes visits families that have severe problems with their houses, but instead of the problems stemming from poor contractors, the problems are caused by incomplete home inspections which have glossed over pre-existing structrual problems with the house and left the family vulnerable and taken-advantage of.

Holmes Inspection gets right down to the issue at hand during every episode, as Holmes walks through the subject’s home and goes from room-to-room assessing the place from a home inspector’s perspective. He walks both the family and the TV audience through the key problem areas that were missed during the original home inspection and explains them to us. Often critical of the home inspectors who originally inspected the home at issue, Holmes uses the examples presented throughout each episode to reiterate the importance of having a thorough home inspection and making sure that all the bases are covered before committing to buy the home.

The home inspection is one of the most frequently overlooked, but consistently important aspects of the homebuying process, and an incomplete or hastily done inspection can leave the homebuyers in a position of vulnerability and hardship for years to come. Holmes stresses the importance of the home inspection through this show, and shows all of us watching at home just what kind of things can go wrong if you don’t have a home thoroughly and carefully inspected before you commit to buying it.

Entering the “real world” as a college graduate is never the most ideal situation when you’ve just finished four years of the good life, and the freedom and autonomy that comes with being a college student. But sometimes the harshest truths are the ones we must face. When the curtain comes down on your college career, you’re usually faced with a few options: move out for good, which usually means keeping the off-campus apartment or house you’re currently living in (if possible) or saving money and moving back home with good ol’ mom and dad.

As little as 10 years ago, moving back home again after college was virtually unheard of and sometimes even looked down upon. People rarely admitted to moving back home with their parents for fear of coming across as broke or unambitious, but now, in 2012, such a thing is almost commonplace. College graduates are moving back home to live with their parents at an increasing pace, and they are staying there for much longer too — sometimes well into their late 20s and early 30s. And oddly enough, this is viewed as “normal” now.

With rent prices skyrocketing in many urban areas and mortgages tougher and tougher to come by for young first-time buyers, there’s no longer any shame in shacking up with mom and dad. Add to that the recent job recession and you have the perfect storm for young college graduates in the early part of this decade.

With finals week already beginning or wrapping up for some, that’s hopefully one stress put to bed.  And from here, it’s all about bright, sunny days of summer and moving back home for an extended vacation or, for most other students, scouting around town for an apartment.  If you’re in the latter group, there are a number of factors that determine how well the search and moving process goes.

From making sure you’ve done your due diligence on finding a moving company to signing the dotted line on a lease, here are a couple helpful reminders on how to come out smelling like a rose with your new pad.

1.  Decide If You Want Roommates:  Seems simple enough, right?  Well, yes and no.  It’s easy to decide on roommates if you’re eyeing a pretty pricey apartment or home nearby campus or some other hot spot and want to ensure that your monthly finances aren’t committed strictly to rent.  On the flipside, you want to make sure you’re comfortable with your roommates and trust they’ll hold up their end of the deal with rent and utilities and just general care of the place.

2.  Find A Reasonable Place:  Landing the right apartment or home for the summer and beyond is crucial from both a comfort and financial standpoint.  On one end, you don’t want a place with thin walls or windows that are too drafty.  Oversights like these can slowly chip away at your utilities and downgrade your “play” money.

The trick is to be on the hunt early and often so that you’ve compared/contrasted numerous places to the point you’ve zoned in on a building that’s favorable towards your monthly budget.

3.  Finding A Moving Company:  Getting into the dorm room was more than likely a headache in and of itself.  Getting out of there and into an apartment can be just as time consuming if you don’t prepare accordingly.  Which is why most look to moving services for help.  Here are just a few tips on finding a mover nearby and what to do before and after.

1. Don’t Put Off The Search - Waiting until the very last days of your move to find a company can leave you at risk to where the company booked up for that day or you’re stuck with an unknown moving company to do your bidding.
2. Look Over Customer Reviews - Go online to moving reviews with sites like Angie’s List or other known properties, ask around town to friends and family on what company they’ve used in the past and weigh each searches.  

4.  Pack Your Supplies Accordingly:  If you’re not counting on the movers to pre-package your possessions, you’ll want to make sure your items are properly boxed up and ready for moving day.  Look for sturdy boxes around campus by talking with the cafeteria to see if there are any empty food crate boxes they could spare or visit a grocery store and request the same thing.  Like with the moving company tips, here are a few reminders on efficient packing.

1. Use Proper Cushioning Materials - If you’ve got a fairly large box for electronics such as laptops, cameras, radios and other delicate items, make sure they have a little extra TLC by wrapping individual items with old newspaper, line the inside of the box with bubble wrap or use any extra T-shirts.  The key is to protect your belongings for the long haul as best as possible.
2. Don’t Overstuff Boxes - As much care should be paid to how you wrap and pack, the same goes for knowing when to say “uncle” on a box.  Trying to cram one last item into an already full box can put too much pressure on other items inside.  It’s best to organize certain boxes and have enough reserve boxes to ensure every item is transported comfortably.

5. Do A Walkthrough:  While most students do this with their first apartment, there’s a select few who might just approve without seeing the place firsthand.  It’s important to go through the place, pick out your rooms and survey the living room and dining rooms to see how where furnishings will be situated and determine what else you might need.  

6.  Look Towards Classified Ads:  If you’re in need of an extra couch, chair or some other fixture for the new place, be on the lookout with  “for sale” items on the campus directory or bulletin boards before leaving or look to Craig’s List, as well.  Most of the time, you should be able to find good deals with students looking to get rid of something on the cheap.  This will help offset the costs of moving and make it so you’re not having to buy brand-new possessions at the same time.

7.  Budget For The Here and Now:  Getting your first apartment is a milestone for every student and should be approached with your present and future finances in mind.  Whether it’s leaving a little extra money for the move to having the necessary funds for rent, utilities and groceries, being prepared and having a savings fund to cover any unexpected costs is a must.

Getting settled into a new place should be a rewarding and engaging time in the lives of every student. Experiencing the freedom and responsibility that goes with living on your own is made all the more enjoyable by being ready from the get-go.  

Author Bio: Kyle is a freelance writer on moving tips and advice for college students and everyone else looking to embark on their first apartment experience and beyond and is a consultant for a local moving company in his hometown, Great Day Moving.

Moving is often cited as one of the top most stressful life events, alongside death, divorce, illness and other dramatic changes. Although it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to eliminate this stress entirely, you can help reduce your burden by approaching the situation with a foolproof plan in place. One of the best ways you can prevent overwhelming yourself is by taking the process step by step. Before you call the movers and have your address officially changed, start packing the right way with the following top four tips.

1. Lighten Your Load

Does your home look like it belongs on an episode of Hoarders? It might be a good time to use this opportunity to apply an “out with the old, in with the new” strategy to make your packing job a whole lot easier. Although it may all seem like junk to you, others may find your things valuable. Since one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, you can make a bit of extra dough to spend on your new home by having a final garage sale of your old things. The things you don’t sell can be donated to a charity organization like the Salvation Army.

2. Don’t Forget Your Best Packing Companions

A packer is nothing without his or her packing accessories. In addition to the boatloads of boxes you’ll need for basically everything you own, it helps to keep the following items within reach as well: marking pens, bubble wrap, newspaper/tissue, scissors, tape, and tape measure. These items help you stay organized throughout the packing process, while also preserving the safety and quality of your more precious belongings.

3. Rock the Roll

One of the most effective tips for compactly packing clothing is utilizing the “roll” technique. This process basically involves folding the item of clothing just once long ways and then rolling it from one end to the other. Sure, you’ll have a lot of ironing to do once you get there, but the roll makes sure your clothing gets there in the most space-efficient manner possible. You can even apply this technique to virtually any cloth-like material, including curtains, towels, linens, table cloths and more.

4. Leave the Paper Trail Behind

You might not expect a two-dimensional item to make a huge difference in the size and weight of your luggage, but documents, files, mail, receipts, and other paper items can quickly add up and weigh you down. To eliminate some of this baggage, go through all of the papers you’ve saved throughout the years and shred (don’t forget to recycle!) all those documents and files you no longer need. You’ll be surprised at how much junk mail gets stowed away in your filing cabinet without regular inventory.

Moving may be an inherently stressful event, but it can be made fun when you use it as an opportunity to move on to a fresh start in life. Including the above four tips into your packing strategy can help literally reduce the weight of this burden, while allowing you to shed some of the old stuff and make room for new belongings.

About the Author: Marie loves to run, practice yoga and walk her Scottish Terrier, Pete.

Photo courtesy of curbed.com

He’s movin’ out.  Yes, I’m talking about Billy Joel, the piano man, who penned such great hits as…”Movin’ Out”…and, well “Piano Man.” Billy has listed his Miami Beach mansion, seemingly satisfied with all of the property he owns in New York. Joel, a native New Yorker, currently owns an apartment in Manhattan and a piece of waterfront property out on Long Island, so he’s parting with his Florida estate.

The 8,880-square-foot mansion is located on a .67 acre slice of land on the island of La Gorce and is a waterfront, Mediterranean-style home that features seven bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms. The home is set among towering palm trees and contains a pool and spa, an outdoor kitchen, a cabana, and a dock right on Biscayne Bay — so basically, it’s the quintessential Miami home.

Billy has listed the home for $14.75 million after purchasing it in 2006 for $13.5 million. So he stands to make at least $1 million in profit from the sale, which is a pretty solid takeaway for a singer who infamously drove his car into a home on Long Island several years ago. It seems like these days Billy Joel is more inclined to sell a home than wreck it with an automobile, which is always the better option of the two anyway as far as we’re concerned — and trust me, we are very concerned.