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Welcome, that ly online HOMESTYLE magazine To the third edition of our month ers, essential information to home buy will supplement LIFESTYLE with iday in Tunisia. those looking to rent or even hol by all that could benefit by being seen If you have a business or service website then please contact us at our readers and world wide on our more tion, or check out our website for info@livetunisia.net without obliga information. magaas for future editorials within the If you have any suggestions or ide editor at mag@livetunisia.net zine please contact our features
The Editor
Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy and legality, the Publisher accepts no liability or responsibility for the material published herein, the views of our contributors are not necessarily the views of the Editor. The Publisher further accepts no liability or responsibility for errors in content or quality that occur beyond all reasonable control of the Editor. The contents of this publication are the property of the publisher and nothing may be reproduced, stored in a retrival system or transmitted in any form without express permission in writing from the editor.
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Homestyle Tunisia
contents FEATURES 06
8 Ideas For a Quicker and Easier Sale When Selling Your House
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5 Useful Tips in Buying A House
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10 Ways to Cut your Electricity Bill
december 2009 07
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BUSINESS 20
Directory
INFORMATION 24
Map
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Useful information
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livetunisia.com
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feature 8 Ideas For a Quicker and Easier Sale When Selling Your House You see your home everyday, with all it’s minor faults and imperfections. When selling your house, you need to take a step back and view it through the eyes of someone entering for the first time. 1. No clutter! Throw out old newspapers and magazines. Pack away most of your small items like figurines and other trinkets. Store clothing that won’t be used in the near future to make closets seem roomier. Buyers like to visualize their possessions in the house and that is hard to do when the home is full of clutter.
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“view your home as if for the first time”
2. Wash your windows and shutters.
5. Make all minor repairs that you can find.
This lets more light into the interior and dirty windows are a turn off.
Everything you don’t repair now will be revealed in later inspections and can create a bad impression. Small problems such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, cracked receptacle covers or a dripping tap may seem trivial, but they'll give buyers the impression that the house isn't well maintained.
3. Keep everything extra clean. Wash fingerprints and dirt from light switch plates. Clean the floors, oven, refrigerator, washer and dryer. A clean house makes a better first impression and tells buyers that the home has been well cared for.
6. Shoot for good kerb appeal. 4. Put brighter bulbs in light sockets. This is to make rooms appear brighter, especially dark rooms. Replace any burnt-out bulbs. Turn all lights on before buyers come to view the home.
Cut the grass, rake any leaves, trim the bushes, and tidy the walkways. Put a couple of bright potted flowers near the entry to cheer things up and get the buyers attention.
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feature 7. Polish or replace your front door furniture.
“repair dripping taps�
Clean or repaint doorknob and door numbers, etc., for that first impression.
8. Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and curtains to eliminate cooking odours, smoke, and any pet smells. If carpets are old and need replacing, it is worth while to replace them. The additional price you receive for your house will most likely outweigh the expense. Open the windows. The number one turn off to a potential buyer is an unpleasant odour.
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5 Useful Tips in Buying Buying a house is a very serious matter that comes in to people’s lives. It is very risky to invest your money in buying just any house you find. You must have some guidelines that can help you decide which house is the best for you. Here are some: 1.Determine your rights. When you are ready to buy your own house, be sure you understand your rights as a homebuyer, especially if you are buying a second home abroad. Knowing the process of buying a house prevents you from getting scammed. You can personally do your home work or seek for a knowledgeable person like a real estate agent or a broker. Make sure that the agent you hire is licensed and have a wide knowledge regarding the area.
2.Make sure you can afford it. Your budget is really a big deal in buying your own house. What you want is different from what you need, so be practical. You don’t really need a big house if you’re just one person that travels a lot, right? Make sure that you make the best for your money. Seek help or ask for suggestions especially from those who have knowledge in real estate prices. 10
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A House
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If you can’t stay for at least a few years, buying a house is inappropriate for you. You may lose more of your money if you sell it urgently.
3.Make sure it fits your lifestyle. Make your house a home. Be sure it really fits your way of life and you are comfortable with it. A good example of this is if you’re working in a certain area, a good place to find is near or in the vicinity of your work to reduce travelling times, etc. If you love nature, a good place to find is outside the city with clean air, near parks or near the beach.
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Brand new free social site for Friends of Tunisia and all things Tunisian. Have you visited Tunisia recently? Are you thinking of visiting? Do you live in or come from Tunisia, or even visit regularly and can write or offer your knowledge or information? Be among the first to join and set up your own groups with other members Create and customise your own profile Keep updated with your group or event's activity Message, broadcast and IM with other members Share your photos with other members Get talking in the forums about what matters to you
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feature Your personality really matters in finding a good house. Make sure to look at all aspects and try to gather some information about the area and its surroundings. Try also to consider the kind of neighbours you will have.
4.Consider your future plan. If you’re newly married, you might consider how many kids you want to have. You can assume the number of rooms or the home space you need. If you can afford a house that is near to a good school, it is better.
5.Be organized. It is very important to make all your legal documents and files in relation to the purchase, organised and safe. This will not only prove that you own the house, but will help you, especially when it comes in making your house payments, declarations for any taxes and rates, etc. Homestyle Tunisia
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feature 10 ways to cut your electricity bill One of the major concerns in the world today is depletion of energy. As concerned citizens, all of us must make a concerted effort to be conscious of the need to save electricity. Electricity has become integral to life but imagine having to live without power. Conservation of electricity benefits you personally as you will pay lower bills, so why not consider the following:
1. Doing an energy audit. This will tell you how and when you use energy and where the wastage lies. You will be able to make an “energy savings plan� by pinpointing exactly how you can cut back on energy consumption. Some ideas may be as simple as don’t leave the coffee machine on at all times.
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2. Think about resetting the thermostat ten degrees lower during the night. If you can do this for say approximately eight hours a day you will save 10% on electricity without sacrificing comfort. Insulate the home in winter by drawing shut the curtains.
3. Plant more trees around the house if you can. These will cool the house in summer and insulate the house in winter.
4. Have all electricity wires and outlets checked for leakage. Check all fuses and appliances too.
5. Fluorescent light bulbs are energy efficient. They use 75% less energy than ordinary light bulbs. These have a longer life and contribute to great savings. Switch to energy saving bulbs wherever possible. Homestyle Tunisia
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feature 6. Use energy efficient appliances. These use less energy and believe it or not a high efficiency refrigerator can use less electricity than a light bulb.
7. When you are away even for a few hours or days you should turn off and unplug all electrical appliances. You should also turn settings on the thermostat, water heater, and refrigerator to the lowest possible settings.
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feature 8. Ensure that you use a water-saving shower head. Water heating costs for a family can be lowered by at least 10% a year.
9. Make an effort to switch off lights and fans when leaving a room.
10. Ensure that the filters in air conditioners and heaters are always cleaned and free of clog and dust.
If you live an energy efficient lifestyle you will see the numbers on the energy bill actually reducing.
Small contributions can all add up to significant amounts of power saved. And, power saved means money in the bank.
The power to cut energy costs is well within your control. It is as simple as only washing full loads and using a colder wash where possible. Use the hot wash option only for very dirty clothes. Cook food only just before you are ready to eat that way you can save reheating costs as well as refrigerating costs of storing the food. Turn the thermostat of the refrigerator to minimum in cold or cool weather. Switch off freezers if they are not in use. Homestyle Tunisia
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GET TO KNOW TUNISIA
Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, bordered by Algeria in the west and Libya in the south-east. An abrupt southern turn of its shoreline gives Tunisia two faces on the Mediterranean with a coastline 1,148 kilometres in length. Despite its relatively small size, Tunisia has great geographical and climatic diversity. An extension of the Atlas Mountains, traverses Tunisia in the north to the Cape Bon peninsula. The Sahil is along Tunisia's eastern Mediterranean coast famous for its olive groves and beaches. Inland from the Sahil are the Steppes. Much of the southern region is semi-arid and desert leading into the Sahara.
information Tunisia is made up of 24 Governates (administrative regions) These are : - (1) Ariana (Aryana), (2) Beja (Baja), (3) Ben Arous (Bin 'Arus), (4) Bizerte (Banzart), (5) Gabes (Gabis), (6) Gafsa (Gafsah), (7) Jendouba (Jandouba), (8) Kairouan (Al Qayrawan), (9) Kasserine (Gasryn), (10) Kebili (Guebilli), (11) El Kef (El Kaf), (12) Mahdia (Al Mahdiya), (13) Mannouba (Mannouba), (14) Medenine (Midnin), (15) Monastir (Munastir), (16) Nabeul (Nabul), (17) Sfax (Safaqis), (18) Sidi BouZid (Sidi BouZid), (19) Siliana (Siliana), (20) Sousse (Soussa), (21) Tataouine (Tatawin), (22) Tozeur (Touzer), (23) Tunis, (24) Zaghouan (Zaghwen) Official languages Arabic, French Government Republic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Independence from France 1956) Area - Total 163,610 km2 Population - 2008 estimate 10,327,800 Currency Tunisian dinar (TND) Exchange Rates (1st Aug 2009) 1.00 EUR = 1.87258 TND 1.00 GBP = 2.21396 TND Time zone CET (UTC+1) Driving on the right Electricity European-style two pin plugs on 230 volts, 50Hz Internet TLD .tn
Important Telephone Numbers International Dialling code + 216 Dial 00 + 216 + City/Area Code + Local Number To make a call from Tunisia you will need dial 00 + Country Code British Embassy Rue du Lac Windermere Les Berges du Lac, Tunis 1053 Telephone: (216) 71 108 749 Emergency Telephone Numbers 197 - Police 190 - Ambulance 198 - Fire Brigade Homestyle Tunisia
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