Sneak Peek Into Lavish Living At Anthem Country Club

Anthem Country Club community was built by Del Webb on 4,755 acres with more than 10,000 homes. The community sits at the base of the Black Mountains with several neighborhoods including multi-generational homes and active adult living. Some of the locations include Anthem Country Club which is a gated luxury golf community with guards and Sun City.

Image credit: findmylasvegashome.com

The guard-gated communities here have open green spaces and local parks nearby. Besides, some local parks including Vivaldi Park and Sonata Park overlap neighborhood boundaries shared by Anthem and Seven Hills. So, residents share them. Anthem residents access grocery stores and restaurants after a few minutes’ drive. Residents get amazing views of the Black Mountains and The Strip since the community is elevated.

Anthem Country Club Lake

Membership to Anthem Country Club, a guard-gated private community comes with various privileges. Subscribing to a social membership offers access to various recreational activities. There’s a fitness center covering 13,700 square feet to cover all your exercise needs including group cardio classes and weight training.  Other features include a 25-meter swimming pool with lap lanes, a play area for kids, and a wading pool with a café where you get served food and drinks by the water. Six well-lit tennis courts are available with a sand-filled volleyball court and basketball court.

Golf fans should visit Anthem Country Club in Henderson NV  and enjoy membership such as access to the 18-hole golf course. This par-72 caliber golf course has more than 7,300 yards of lakes, waterfalls, green grass, and desert landscapes. Each hole has five sets of tees for golfers at every level. The PGA-trained staff and full practice facility ensure you have a memorable experience and have your swing in top shape.

Anthem Country Club Real Estate

Planning to buy a home at Anthem Country Club? You need to have a big budget. The luxury homes in the community range from $500,000 to $10,000 with secure private roads and a second gate to reinforce security. Anthem Country Club is on the southern edge of Henderson with the scenic mountains of Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area in the background. It is a few minutes’ drive from Downtown, The Strip, and other busy locations in Las Vegas. The location is incomparable when it comes to lavish living. Buying a home here offers an instant upgrade to your lifestyle.

Areas surrounding Anthem Country Club

The community is in Anthem, Arizona bordering the Phoenix metro area in the north off the interstate. Residents easily access basic needs and endless fun activities with Safeway and Wal-Mart close by. There’s endless shopping at the Anthem Outlet Shops and various healthcare services such as Alliance Medical Clinic and Honor Health Medical Group. Dining out is available at restaurants including Two Brothers Kitchen, The Tennessee Kitchen, and Dara Thai Café nearby

There are various entertainment options such as museums like Pioneer Living History Museum, theaters, and galleries just a short drive in downtown Phoenix. Golfers can venture out to play at Bellair Golf Club and Wildfire Golf Club. Nature lovers are spoilt for choice with a range of green spaces and parks including Liberty Bell Park, Anthem Community Park, and Daisy Mountain Railroad. You can as well visit metropolitan locations such as Downtown Phoenix an hour’s drive away and to Sedona and Flagstaff in the cities.

Daily Living At Anthem Country Club

Living here offers all the perks of a master-planned community in a big city with the feel and charm of a tiny town. Sunny and moderate weather prevails most parts of the year apart from some weeks in late summer where thunderstorms and heavy rains determine people’s activities. The 10 miles of biking and hiking trails in Anthem  give you something to do every day. For sports fans, there is Anthem Soccer Club and Anthem Dolphins Swim Team.

North Valley Regional Library serves Anthem and surrounding locations. The joint-use facility is on the Boulder Creek High School premises with a collection of about 80,000 items including movies on DVD, best sellers, audiobooks, magazines, and newspapers. Additionally, this state-of-the-art library has 50 computers with internet.

Anthem Country Club Schools

The community has one of Deer Valley Unified School District public schools or any of the seven charter schools scattered around the city. Deer Valley has five K-8 schools and Boulder Creek High School, a grade 9-12 facility. Anthem has Deer Valley schools with excellent performance ratings from the Department Of Education in Arizona. The community is close to various colleges such as:

  • Arizona State University-West
  • Glendale Community College
  • Paradise Valley College

Anthem Country Club is an ideal location for lavish living in Henderson, NV for retirees, families, and singles. Apart from the beautiful weather, this guarded-gate community has various homes to match everyone’s budget with world-class amenities such as golf courses, a swimming pool, and tennis courts.

Author: Eernesto T Felder

What’s the deal with bunkers for sale?

For some reasons there have been a huge interest in abandoned bunkers for sale. Always there is an ad of a bunker for sale it gets at least ten times more hits than homes for sale. Surely, many just click on it out of curiosity but many are seriously interested. What is it that makes bunkers so attractive for buyers?

Although it is considered as the ultimate hiding place, the average underground bunker usually has no windows, just air vents and most of the times no electricity, toilet or running water.

Most subterranean shelters would be accessible through a straight up concrete shaft with a steel ladder, accessed by some sort of concrete or steel hatch on the ground.

The perfect historical restoration project

For all buyers who are interested in a historical restoration venture they are just perfect. It is a truly unique project that is sure to seduce. Unfortunately, there are not as many out there as interested buyers. That’s why, despite the bad state they usually are in they are not cheap.

Some people have been very creative and building their own amazing backyard bunkers. In this case don’t forget to get the proper permits before.

We could also see a recent movement of newly built bunkers – many especially for the upper class – that offer all modern comfort you can think of and look like out of a sci fi movie.

The “bunker for sale scam”

Sadly, whatever triggers a lot of interest in many people also inspires others to come up with a scam. In the bunker story it is no different.

The scam we have seen so far is this:

There is an ad with nice and very cheap bunkers for sale. Once you contact the advertiser, he will explain that he is very sick that is why he priced his bunker for a quick sale. Due to his condition, he is also not able to show the property but someone else can be paid to show it. Therefore, he will ask you for some money to see the bunker before you buy it. Needless to say, that after paying the money you will not hear from him ever again or have any way to get through to him.

Here are some red flags to look out for:

  • Price is cheaper than normal
  • The seller asks money to show you the property

Another good way is to use the Google Reverse Image Search with the images the advertiser has in the ad. You may find that he copied them from another website.

Bio

Our Property under 20k team are the founders of www.propertyunder20k.com and www.listproperty4free.com with the goal to search the cheapest real estate in the world and make it easy for others to find. The team is made up of landlords, real estate investors, architects and builders from several different countries.  We just love to have a good strong cup of coffee while we write our experiences in this blog.

Bild von Martin Bock auf Pixabay 

Adobe Construction – cheap and naturally energy efficient

Adobe – or earth construction as some may call it – is one of the oldest building methods in the world. Since ever, humankind has used earth in various forms to build their homes. It has a huge number of benefits most of us modern people forgot about.

I only came to love this type of construction when working on a renovation project of an old town house in Portugal. Until then, when thinking of an earth house I had a very different picture in mind. It was something like a simple hut in an African village.

Adobe walls are naturally energy efficient and can be load bearing. Often, they are very thick, forming a natural insulation from the environmental heat or cold. Earth-based products are naturally sustainable because you are building with the materials that surround you.

Interestingly, approximately 30% of the world population lives in homes made of earth materials. That’s no wonder if you think of the many financial and environmental benefits. That’s why people like me, once we know about it, just love it. It is not only a far cheaper construction method but also has many other advantages compared with modern materials.

The composition of the adobe—or some may call it the recipe—vary according to country and local customs. Usually most of it is made of earth and or clay. Besides that, it can contain other materials like straw, maybe even small amounts of lime. Once I even read about that it can include horse hair. Not sure if this is true though.

There is even a thing they call Superadobe. It is also made from earth and organic materials heartened with lime, compressed into bags which are stacked on top of each other, each layer of bags separated by barbed wire. This method is perfect for seismically active areas.

What is adobe construction

Buildings made of Adobe are very similar to a rammed earth house. The only difference is that the earth was rammed into some sort of brick shape before it was used for the construction. Like this it is very easy to build walls with earth.

Special treatment for adobe construction

Please note that the right plaster is essential to be completely waterproof. You don’t want your wall to crumble apart after a few years. They are several products on the market that are perfect for adobe construction. We can use it for the first plaster on a new wall as well as fixing cracks in an old one. It is very important that the plaster lets the wall still breath.

Also, there can be a problem with raising damp in those buildings if they have no horizontal barrier to stop it. I saw a layer of bitumen sheet or a special plastic be put before the first layer of adobe bricks. Therefore, it is good to keep that in mind before you start building your house.

One historic local custom in my area was that the builders would leave an air gap under the house to avoid any raising damp. With some houses being well beyond 100 years now and showing no sign of any raising damp we can say that it is a truly successful method.

If you live in an earthquake zone it is also advisable to apply a net within the construction to give it better structural properties.

Adobe construction surprises

Probably the biggest surprise was when I found out that adobe was even used for the first modern architecture in Portugal. This is something I would always associate with concrete and steel.

It seems there is no limit to what you can build with it starting with simple garden walls, garages, sheds, houses and even apartment blocks.

Conclusion

Adobe Construction is naturally energy efficient and sustainable because you are building with the materials that surround you. With the right know-how it can give the same or even better comfort than a modern building method.

Bio

Our Property under 20k team are the founders of www.propertyunder20k.com and www.listproperty4free.com with the goal to search the cheapest real estate in the world and make it easy for others to find. The team is made up of landlords, real estate investors, architects and builders from several different countries.  We just love to have a good strong cup of coffee while we write our experiences in this blog.

Image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay

How to sell commercial real estate

Whether you are a broker or a property owner, to sell commercial real estate is not what it used to be as there can be many surprises. Investors view the commercial property as an investment machine aimed to generate income. If the numbers add up, there is a possibility for a bidding war. And if not, the sale may not be that easy.

Getting yourself prepared can make a great difference between being stuck or creating a favourable property sale.  However, the best way to get started is to make the property as pleasantly engaging as possible to give prospects a great first impression. An abandoned commercial property for sale can discourage buyers, thereby affecting the sale price.

How do you want to sell commercial property?

Sell commercial real estate without a broker

While it is unusual for owners to sell commercial real estate by themselves, we cannot rule out the fact that it is possible. Some may have rich experience in commercial properties and are sure to complete the deal without an agent. Others may simply want to maximize their proceeds by circumventing the broker commission.

Whichever way, note that a lot is at stake with commercial real estate sales. Also, the process is complex to finalize. If you have decided to sell by yourself, you will be the one in charge of the entire transaction process, from listing your property to finding potential buyers, communicating with them, finalizing the paper works, inspection, hiring a lawyer etc.

Commercial property for sale using a broker

The activities involved in selling your commercial property by yourself can be hectic and time-consuming. Thus, finding a reliable commercial real estate company who has your best interest at heart can save you a lot of hassle.

They will take over all the processes and help you sell your commercial property quicker. Beyond these, they will help to determine the proper worth of your property for the current market conditions. This is saving you tons of research time.

Rather than relying only on the conventional marketing approaches, professional brokers have an established network of investors and brokers who may be interested in buying your property. They will present your property directly to these prospects, which significantly increase your chances of getting a competent buyer promptly.

You get many benefits when you employ a broker to help with your property sale. But just like with other industry, it is important you do research before deciding on a brokerage agency. Like this you get the best deal for your property.

Bio

Our Property under 20k team are the founders of www.propertyunder20k.com and www.listproperty4free.com with the goal to search the cheapest real estate in the world and make it easy for others to find. The team is made up of landlords, real estate investors, architects and builders from several different countries.  We just love to have a good strong cup of coffee while we write our experiences in this blog.

Image by F. Muhammad from Pixabay

Why You Need to Invest in Real Estate Twilight Photography

Real estate photography has been around for a long time now. And with the online screening of properties getting popular by the day, it undoubtedly brings a certain advantage to real estate owners and agents. With attractive photographs, you can highlight the best features of your property and make a great first impression, which plays a very important role in getting a great deal.

One of the most trending real estate photography trends today is twilight real estate photography. It involves capturing the scene at the time of dusk against the background of natural light in order to take the aesthetics several notches higher. You can either hire a professional photographer to do the job or pay an expert to turn a day photo into a dusk photo if hiring a photographer seems like an expensive business.

Let’s understand why real estate twilight photos are all the rage these days and how dusk photos can help you sell your property faster and at better rates.

1. Twilight photography helps the property stand out.

Since twilight photography captures the site in different lighting, the photos naturally stand out. This is because buyers are usually not used to seeing dusk photos of the property in every listing. The beautiful colors of the sky and their appealing contrast with the property lighting and tones make a long-lasting impression on the potential buyer. So, even if they check out more listings to be sure, chances are they will come back because of the perfect evening setting that your property has to offer.

2. It helps display a magical exterior.

With the entire property awash in dusk colors, the nuances of the exterior look magical or surreal. Moreover, the colors of the dusk are usually associated with warmth, comfort, and the feeling of being at home. All of this increases the chances of people deciding to visit the location personally after seeing the beautiful dusk photos. And the more the visits, the higher the chances of making a better and quicker deal.

3. It attracts a premium pool of buyers.

A home isn’t just about four walls. The premium buyers often prefer additional features like a patio, a little garden, or probably a Jacuzzi. Therefore, twilight photography highly benefits the sellers if their offering includes a backyard or a decent outdoor space; it helps buyers realize the full potential of the property.

Dusk photos can capture the serene outdoor ambiance – perfect for a small evening party on the patio or a Jacuzzi break after a tiring day. And this is what premium buyers want in their home.

4. It gives the seller an eye-catching cover photo.

People on a serious house hunt go on real estate listing platforms every day. And, it’s natural for all the properties to start looking the same if you’re checking out hundreds of listings in a day. Since buyers scroll through the listings, only opening ones that immediately catch the eye, it is important to add an outstanding cover photo to yours. A dusk shot of the property as the cover photo would break the monotony and make your listing look more appealing.

5. It increases real estate agents’ portfolio value.

With real estate twilight photos, agents and realtors can make their portfolio richer and more attractive. Dusk photos add a certain allure to the portfolio and make the catalog look more professional. And this is a critical step in strengthening the profile.

Twilight photography is one of the best marketing tools for sellers who need to stay competitive because buyers have the option of checking out thousands of properties with just a couple of clicks on their phones. It is definitely worth investing in.

Author Bio

Rahul Agarwal is the Co-founder & Chief Business Officer at Styldod, where he has taught a computer to do interior design! Styldod provides the most hassle-free & inexpensive virtual staging solutions for real estate agents so they can sell their listings faster, and for higher prices. Rahul was also a co-founder of Mebelkart (which is acquired by Ask Me). He’s your everyday IIT Kanpur nerd who pushes the boundaries with his innovative entrepreneurial stints and is also a sound startup investor & advisor. Rahul attributes his success as a professional to the discipline he has learned from his district hockey days, being a swimmer and a gym enthusiast.

Three Ways to Earn Passive Income from Real Estate Investments

Making money without active commitment is one of the best ways to earn; however, there aren’t too many opportunities for such income revenue. The real estate market, be it residential or commercial represents the most common source of passive income among individuals. If you are thinking about investing in a piece of real estate, here are three ways in which you can monetize your property.

Real Estate Investment Trust – REIT

REITs are companies that own and operate real estate and related assets. The difference between a REIT and an average real estate company is that REITs own and operate those types of property that produce income, whilst regular companies make their profits from renting or selling a piece of real estate.

To make a REIT your source of passive income, you need some starting cash to invest in a company that you think would be the best choice. Most REITs specialize in a specific type of real estate, therefore, you can choose between commercial, industrial, residential, or even medicinal real estate REITs. It’s also important to say that this type of investment is the least lucrative and leaves you with no control regarding how your investment will be placed, but it’s also the most secure type of investment.

Real Estate Syndication

This type of real estate investment is somewhat similar to REIT, but some minor differences might make syndication more interesting to those who like to keep their possessions under control. In short, real estate syndication means that there are a general investor and a group of passive investors who pull their funds together to obtain a piece of property. The General investor, aka Syndicator, is the one who leads the operation, manages financial and legislative processes, while passive partners kick back and wait for their money to start pouring in.

The only downside of this type of business is that you need a bit more cash to start, especially if you plan to make a substantial passive income. On the other side, you know where your money goes, who you’re going into business with, and how your property is being managed.

Crowdfunding real estate

If there was ever the need for a seamless real estate investment process, crowdfunding made it possible. This method of investment allows online users to invest in a specific piece of property at a pace and in a measure that best fits their individual needs. In short, you invest your money directly into a property of your choice and have full control of your share.

What makes this type of real estate investment even more popular is the relatively low investment threshold, you can start with as little as $1000, and raise the bar if it makes sense to you. Also, these types of investments are conducted online, making the process easy just like ordering a dissertation help online. Numerous crowdfunding platforms and social media networks allow you to invest anywhere in the world as long as there are no local legislative barriers for something like that.

Conclusion

These were some of the best ways to earn passive income through real estate. Choose the method that works best for you and your current needs. However, never invest more than you are ready to lose to avoid financial difficulties.

Author Bio:

Charlie Svensson is a fast, engaging freelance writer skilled in content writing and blogging. The favorite topics of his posts are education, social media, marketing, SEO, motivation blogging, and self-growth. His traits include adaptability and the potential to reach diverse audiences.

Buying vs Renting – should you buy a house?

Buying or to renting a place to call home is one of the questions on many people’s minds at a certain point in life. If you are settled in a place with a good job and can foresee yourself staying there in the nearest future, would it be more advantageous to continue to rent or take out a mortgage?

The answer generally depends on individual’s choice, as you may have different values to the usually home buying route. Of course, there are benefits to renting a house, but the advantages of buying supersede that of renting. It gives you a sense of security and satisfaction in having a place to call your own – permanently. With that said, outlined below are a few key benefits you enjoy when you buy your own home as against renting.

1 – Equity building

One major benefit of buying a home is in building equity. As you make your mortgage payments, the amount of money you owe on a home reduces. And the more your home value increases, the more money you save. You can even consider mortgage as a forced savings plan. When you pay rent, you are technically making someone better off by paying their mortgage and building up their equity. Of course, renting can initially be cheaper than buying a home, but many see it as throwing money down the drain. If I may ask, why do you want to be building savings for someone else when you can contribute towards your own investment?

2 – Modify to taste

It is always fun to create a living style that is all your own. As a homeowner, you can always make changes to your home to suit your taste and preference. You can renovate, customize, and paint the walls any color you wish etc. In fact, there won’t be anyone to tell you what you can and cannot do. But if you rent a house, you are always at the mercy of whatever the homeowner will allow you to do.

3 – Unparalleled stability

The stability you experience when you have your own home is unparalleled. You understand that if you lock in an interest rate your payments remain constant. If you rent, you have no control over the increments in rental payments. The property owner may evict you or even sell the home from under you at will.

Final thought about buying vs renting

Renting a home can be a great place to start. But when you buy your own home you have a sense of permanence, and it also contributes positively to your financial future as you are constantly building equity. Additionally, buying a home provides security for your family knowing that they have a place to call their own.

5 tips – selling overseas real estate on an international market

Selling overseas real estate to an international pool of clients is a completely different game all together. You know better than anyone that this means to get your property in front of your ideal client in their home country.

Selling overseas real estate – How can you possibly do that?

It can be a mine-field when trying to create an effective strategy when you are marketing your property online. What website will the possible buyer look at? Is there a website where you can offer your real estate to the whole world? Of course, almost every website can be visited from all over the world but would it be popular enough in the country of your ideal client?

1 Get the right real estate portal that is specialized to promote to international clients

In fact, the services of many huge website portals only available to the country they are located in. Realtors with international listings usually are not allowed to list them. Even if one allows it, their focus is not on helping real estate agents to promote to an international audience.

Check out one of our property portals that not only performs extremely well but also will put your ad on a world map, making it easy for international buyers to find it.

Register with them and benefit from a range of services that will help you buy, find, sell or rent international real estate.

If you are looking for overseas property yourself but you are on a limited budget, check out this website https://www.propertyunder100k.com/ and find lots of bargains below 100k.

2 Use a sales platform that is internationally known

There exist platforms that facilitates the sale of real estate between third-party buyers and sellers. This is a very good way to get good leads. One example would be eBay. Maybe it is not available in your country or the real estate section is restricted but once you have an account in eBay you easily can use it on eBay sites of other countries.

Another good website were you can list your property is https://www.listproperty4free.com/

3 Use Social Media to promote your overseas real estate

Probably you heard this many times – no matter what you want to promote – use social media. Used in the right way you are no beating in the air but actually getting some real results. Actually, it might be even easier to find the right audience for your property. In Facebook for example, you can enter your real estate in the market place and promote it in related groups. And the best of all, it’s all free. Just takes a bit of your time.

4 Make the best impression

I can’t stress this enough. When selling overseas real estate, the first impression – which will probably be when someone looks at your ad – is the most important. By this someone might decide to make contact and come for a viewing. How can you do this?

Present your property in the best light, tidy up, declutter do what it takes to give a great feel to the place and very important – do professional photos.

That’s making a good impression from a visual point of view.  Also, put some work in an appealing text to describe your real estate. Mention the best features of it and it’s potential. Especially in an overseas real estate it makes sense to tell a bit about the lifestyle too.

5 Be flexible with payments if you can

Sometimes it is already hard enough to get a mortgage for a first home. If you like to get something abroad it gets even more difficult. Therefore, you will have more possible buyers if you can be flexible with your terms of payment.

Image: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Home Improvements You’ll Never Regret

When it comes to home improvements, there are some that surely will last a lifetime.

Home Improvements

Sitting in an apartment that was built when I was born, I wish the builders already had thought about some extras instead of going for the minimum standard.  But on the other hand, I probably would not appreciate some changes as much. Although it’s impossible to predict the future there are a few enhancements that surely will give more comfort, sustainability and even increase the value of your home. So, no matter if you’re ‘dwelling or selling’, here are some areas that are a safe bet.

Windows

By replacing old windows with high-quality double-glazing windows, you are adding energy efficiency along with security to your home. Needless to say, it makes your house so much more comfortable, they look good and sometimes they are also easier to clean – depending on how your old windows looked like. This is definitely something you will love.

Heating

Did you know that upgrading a home’s boiler and heating system has the highest return of investment when it comes to increasing a property’s value? At the same time, it is even more cost-effective than other renovations and refurbishments.

Best is to combine the fitting of new heating equipment with other improvements, such as replacing old windows, sealing the entrance door and insulating the roof. In doing this, you can see your energy savings begin to show.

Electrical

Extreme temperatures can put an extra burden on your home’s electrical system. If yours is already older it would probably be a good idea to have it inspected and at the same time the electrician can advise you on electrical improvements you can do.

Getting the right lighting in your real estate is not only saving electricity but it also puts your home in the right light. With the right light fixtures you can cater for the right mood and set an ambience everybody loves.

No-Cost Home Energy Upgrades

Some countries help homeowners to make energy saving upgrades. Whether you rent or own, you could be eligible to receive free energy-efficient home improvements or get some financial help. It surely is worth to look this up in your country before you start your home improvements as this can really make a big difference in your budget.

Are you still looking for your own DIY project? Have a look at homes for sale that need renovations on https://www.all-real-estate.com/derelict-properties-for-sale

Or you just finished your hoome improvemets? Let us know how did it go in the coment below. If you are thinking to sell it, you can list it with us for free.

Image: Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Why most Lenders Use Gross Income instead of Net Income

It might not seem logical that most lenders use your gross monthly income when deciding affordability instead of your net income, the money you actually take home. In the end, it’s the take-home pay you will use for your monthly expenses – this will include your mortgage.

Some Reasons why Lenders use the Gross Income

Foremost, it’s widespread. Most mortgage companies use the gross monthly income to analyse the debt-to-income ratio – and consequently affordability. Like this, everyone is using the same procedure and it is much easier to compare the loan that was offered. Of course, there are exceptions, a few loans do take monthly expenses into consideration.

Another reason is this, it’s a number that most clients know. Calculating the net income with taxes and other deductions is complex and can vary every month. Gross income is steady and easier to calculate monthly. It would be too work intensive for mortgage companies to adjust their loan programs for each person’s exact overheads.

Also, another factor that has to be considered is that when clients are asked to proof their income for their loan application, the last two years of your tax declaration is needed along with recent income statements. The gross amounts on those should align with the documents from your revenue office. As those documents will also show the gross income it is just a lot easier to use those numbers.

Thinking to buy real estate?


If you’re thinking about buying some real estate and want to know what you might qualify for, there are many websites out there where you can get a first idea. Just keep in mind to enter your gross monthly income. By visiting a few you will be able to find out what will be a good option for you.

If you are looking for a real estate bargain, check out our property listings at https://www.all-real-estate.com/property-list/for-sale

You may even be able to find a home that is so cheap that you not even need a mortgage. Does this sound intresting? Then visit our partner site https://www.propertyunder20k.com/ where you can find real estate for sale for less than 20,000 EUR.

Image: Image by Gundula Vogel from Pixabay