Q. I live in the States and I have no problem doing my own work with major home renovation projects like flooring, electrical, plumbing, etc. But Iâm used to having resources like Home Depot at my disposal with a wide selection of materials, tool rentals, and design help. My question is if my wife and I purchased a home in Italy (say one with a good foundations, exterior walls and roof how difficult is it to renovate the rest of the home yourself? Are their resources in Italy like I enjoy in the States?
A. It will definitely be more of a challange there...the language, smaller less stocked home repair retailers, difference in local requirements and restrictions, etc. Rent the video, "Under the Tuscan Sun". I do, however love your idea.
Grants for "going green" with home renovation?
Q. My parents have been married, and lived in the same home for over 37 years. Their home needs so many updates, and very few can they afford. The house itself is good structurally, but it needs plumbing, electrical, and insulation done/ and or redone. Are there any state or government grants for "going green" with a home renovation? We live in Ohio.
A. There were Federal Tax credits but I pretty sure they expired in 2006. check out the IRS web site. Other than that you are on your own
How should I advertise my renovation company?
Q. Exterior home renovation and remodeling.
Mostly wondering which medium you think would be best to target my customer base.
I think a mail out would be best, but the cost involved is dear, and I'm busy enough as is. I just want to get my name out there, make myself known on a wider basis in my city.
The yellow pages are out in fall at which time I will run my ad.
Do newspaper ads look cheap?
Any thoughts are appreciated, thank you.
A. If you are an established business who is "busy enough as is", the best way for you is to keep doing great job. Happy customers will be eager to recommend you to others.
While YP and newspaper adds are tried and true methods to branch outside your local area, the XXI century requirement for a successful business is a website. A facebook and twitter accounts are also helpful.
When I was looking for a GC a couple of weeks ago, the first thing I did was to search the internet for "general contractor in <name of the town> " I called a few places at the top of the search results and the first guy to pick up the phone got the job.
Of course, if you have a website, people need to be able to find it. For that, you have to blog about it. You can create your own blog on sites like blogger or livejournal or others or you can use a blog service dedicated to marketing like v6transition.com.
The important thing is to maintain your internet presence current which means frequent updates to your site and daily or at least weekly postings to your blog or blogs.
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