According to feng shui master Joseph Chau, residents at Community Innovation’s The Columns Legaspi Village will be blessed with good luck and prosperity. This residential condominium doesn’t only consider competitive price range, sound architecture, and carefully-crafted interiors. They added another criterion to their residential developer’s checklist: feng shui.

Feng shui is a lot more than just moving furniture around or painting the walls with a strange color. It’s a science that makes sure your living space is constructed so that positive energy or ch’i flows freely. A home with a lot of ch’i brings happiness and prosperity to all who live there. Although the architecture of The Columns is designed for good feng shui, Joseph Chau smoothened the flow of ch’i by suggesting that the developers build water features and include jade tortoises and antique Chinese coins to counter-balance any negative forces.

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Making a few minor changes to your house’s look and color scheme will make it easier for you to attract buyers. Before you embark on doing any changes however, find out the maximum amount your house is worth. Make sure you don’t spend too much on making renovations if it won’t add much to your house’s sale price.

If you want to repaint your walls, choose plain, pale shades as these will maximize the light and give the room a more airy feel. Research shows that buyers usually prefer earth tones to loud colors. To keep the room from looking bland, add a strong color to accent the room or use bold accessories like curtains or pillow cases.

Remove personal items like family photos as these could distract potential buyers. The buyer is interested in looking at the property, not your personal belongings, so be sure to keep them away when you’ve got someone inspecting your place. De-cluttering your house will also help the buyer imagine his or her own furniture and belongings in each room.

If you have a garden, add some color to it by placing potted plants or flowers. If you don’t have time to grow any, you can always buy grown ones.

Do not cook food with strong odors like fish. The smell of fresh coffee though is warm and inviting and will make the buyer feel at home. Try to make the potential buyer feel comfortable by offering him or her a drink and asking them if there’s anything they’d like to know about the property or amenities.

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Is there somebody involved in your mortgage who asked you to do something that seems suspicious? It could be just nothing, or it could be loan fraud. Loan fraud or mortgage fraud is defined as a misrepresentation or omission relied by a lender to obtain a loan. To avoid becoming a victim of fraud, watch out for these instances of mortgage fraud.

Altering employment income. It’s difficult to determine the income of self-employed individuals, but there are some employed borrowers who inflate their income.

Undisclosed kickbacks. This occurs when you make a deal with a home seller to give you a certain amount of money without the lender knowing because you failed to include it in the purchase contract.

Inflated purchase price. It’s mortgage fraud if you have two purchase contracts and give one to with the higher price to the lender, in the hopes of getting a higher appraisal.

Claiming occupancy. Lenders usually offer less favorable terms to buyers who do not intend to live in the property because the lender has a lot more to lose.

Remember – if it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a scam. Remember that mortgage fraud is a crime and you can get prosecuted for it. When in doubt, consult a real estate lawyer before moving on with your plans.

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