Many people who are unaccustomed to living in an apartment feel like their apartments are nothing more than glorified hotel rooms. But your apartment doesn’t have to leave you with that impression. There are some easy and simple things that you can do to make your apartment feel more like a home, and many of them involve your senses.

Sights of Home
The sights that greet you when you enter your apartment can really set the mood for the entire apartment. Make sure that your doorway is welcoming and inviting by placing a wreath on the exterior of the door, and a welcome mat. Your entrance should have a place to take off your coat, such as an unobtrusive hall tree. If you enter into the living room area, make sure that you have a comfy couch and that the area is well lit. A few books and magazines on a coffee table can give your living area a lived in look. Lay a throw across the back of the sofa. Add some plants near the window to bring the look of nature indoors. All of these things will make coming into your apartment seem more “homey”.

Smells of Home
Apartments are usually small and cramped, so they can become musty smelling in no time, no matter how staunch your housekeeping practices. Counter this by opening your windows and letting in fresh air as often as weather permits. You can also purchase spray odor neutralizer or room deodorizer. Choose scented oil that you like and invest in an inexpensive scented oil burner. Scents of baked goods and other sweet goodies can give you a down home feeling. You can achieve this effect with scented candles, but always use caution when burning candles; never leave a candle unattended.

Touches of Home
Throughout your decorating scheme, adding elements that are soft to the touch can be very comforting and make you feel like you are living in a “real” home. Go for fuzzy rugs, plush bath towels, down comforters, and lots of toss pillows.

Sounds of Home
Many apartment buildings are noisy. You have street noise, noise from people coming and going, and if you’re unlucky – noise from noisy neighbors. While you cannot completely block the noises from outside, you can do some very inexpensive soundproofing to your apartment to make your space more tranquil. There are kits on the market that will allow you to place rubber matting covered by thin 1/8th inch wall board to keep the noise to a minimum. If you don’t want to go to that extreme, playing your favorite music in the background can help to block out some of the noise. At night, operate a box fan in your bedroom to block noise, or use a sound machine that will soothe you to sleep to the sound of the ocean rolling in and out.

How much do you charge? Isn’t this usually the firsts question perspective home buyers ask a home inspector? Actually,asking the inspector about their qualifications and experience should be the first questions.

In home inspection, it’s safe to say that one size does not fit all. All homes are different and all home inspectors are different. If your home is an older home, the inspection may take several hours. Many web sites state that a home inspection can run from $175 to $300, but this fee is based on an inspector performing 2 to 3 inspection per day, and while in some instances this is doable and acceptable, you shouldn’t use it as a standard since a thorough inspection and report can take up to 5 to 6 hours. A home inspection price is quoted using several different criteria and methods; quotes can be a flat fee, they can be based on square footage of the living area or square feet under the roof.

Still others will base their fee on the price of your home or how much time they spend inspecting the home. Does your home have an detached garage? An inspector may or may not charge for its inspection, but will include the square footage of it in his overall price. A detached garage can also be considered as an outbuilding and the inspector will charge for its inspection. Every home has its own unique optional items; some inspectors will charge for some of them others won’t charge for options like pools or septic systems. As you can see, there is as much variation in a home inspection as there is in homes themselves.

Let’s talk money and put home inspection fees into perspective. If you’re buying a home in the range of $400,000 and the inspection fee is $700.00, that’s less than 2% of the cost of the house. When you realize that most realtors charge 3% to 6% to sell a home, you’re talking $12,000 to $24,000 for your $400,000 home. Put that way, a home inspection is a real bargain.

If the home inspection doesn’t turn up any problems, then you’ve bought peace of mind; if it does bring to light some serious concerns, you’ve saved yourself many thousands of dollars down the road. There’s really no way you can lose if you have your home inspected by a competent home inspector. You’ll learn the condition of the property and what kind of repairs you might be in for. Your inspector can also educate you on recommended ways to keep the house in good shape and keep all of the major systems running smoothly.

A professional home inspector will identify problems, offer solutions, and give you cost estimates for any major repairs/replacements. This kind of knowledge is invaluable to a homeowner and well worth the money.