Practical Guide to Follow in Home Staging

Home staging is one of the keys to increasing the value of your property so you can sell it a higher cost. Staging experts can be employed for a level-headed fee to evaluate your home, highlight assets and play down imperfections. These options may include doing minor fixes, furniture arrangement, adding accessories, tidying up closets and buffing up decorations. Some home stagers may recommend room-by-room evaluation, offer pointers regarding paint colors, and modifying traffic patterns. Regular consultations last for a maximum of two hours and rates are relatively cheap.

Professional stagers also provide a lot of tips to savvy homeowners. The first is to make sure that all nooks inside the house are in excellent condition. Mend all tattered screens, broken plaster and busted light bulbs. Take away all personal adornments such as family portraits and art frames. Maintain the cleanliness of your kitchen and remove unnecessary items from the counter tops. Put the small appliances inside the closets. Update kitchen embellishments by investing in elegant-looking tiles or galas mosaic pieces.

It is possible to save by using granite tops which are really beautiful investments. The material is expensive but you can actually reduce expenses by purchasing leftovers from past projects Renovate worn-out cabinets with brand new designs. Use clean linen for chair foams and tea towels. Get professional cleaners to make sure that all alcoves of your kitchen are spic and span. The key is to look for budget-friendly decorative items so it will not be difficult for you.

Renovate your outdoor spaces. The beautiful outdoor deck is a main selling point for homeowners who plan to resell property. Give your backyard a novel look. Paint your porch with light shades to give the area a bucolic appearance. Furnish the gazebo for entertainment purposes especially during family get-together parties. Add life to the washed-out patio by painting the bricks with a buoyant coat of paint.

Highlight individual rooms to display the true potential of your house. This is important if you plant to resell your abode. Remove all the disorder that tends to sidetrack prospective buyers. Paint your dividers with a neutral tint and put in furnishings to accentuate functionality. Remember that dilapidated wooden partitions do not make up a solid selling point. Try to cover this imperfection and make use of wooden fillers to plug all crevices between the walls.

Opt for vinyl tiles because these are fairly inexpensive. However, take note of the proper and incorrect ways of doing this. Stay away from patterns that may seem to be picture perfect. Instead, intersperse tile placement and directions to blend the designs. The floor will end up with a natural look which makes it more attractive to likely buyers. Unfurl your window blinds to let in natural light. People will always go for well-ventilated living rooms and dining areas. Go for light paint shades instead of artificial illumination. Get rid of disagreeable pet smell because this will create a negative impression. Your carpets should smell fresh and be free from unpleasant stains.

To learn more about tips in Home Staging Brisbaneh, just click on the link. Or visit http://www.castlehire.com.au/ to to visit Castle Hire.

How To Sell Your Home During The Holidays – Home Staging Ideas

Winter brings its own set of problems to home sellers. Home buyers don’t feel as motivated to go home shopping in cold, wet weather. Plus, the early nightfall makes buyers want to wait until the weekend to view houses. When the weekend rolls around, home shoppers get sidetracked with holiday activities.

Besides the typical winter slow down in sales, today’s market also makes selling your home more difficult. Market concerns include:

1.Rising interest rates

2.More houses on the market

3.Longer time frame–days on the market

If you’re selling your home or investment property during this shifting real estate market, you can tempt buyers to get out of their warm cars and take a look at your home with home staging methods. Here are a few home staging strategies to help you sell your home during the holidays:

Home Staging the Exterior

Door wreaths welcome all to your home and set the stage for celebrating. Make a simple wreath to hang on your front door with holiday colors that blend in with and dress up your homes exterior colors. Use tree branches from your garden; attach a few gourds or pomegranates, nuts, and ribbons.

Group vines and mums or poinsettias for display impact near the front entrance. Adjust the vines to add height and movement. Add colored ribbons and fall leaves or evergreen branches.

Holiday Dcor and Your Target Buyers

Do your neighbors decorate their home exteriors with Christmas decorations? If your neighborhood supports Christmas themes, then your prospective buyers will appreciate your Christmas dcor.

However, if your neighborhood doesn’t decorate for Christmas, then your buyers may feel more comfortable without Christmas decorations. Play down Christmas if you live in an area that promotes “politically correct” holiday and seasons greetings instead of “Christmas Cheer.”

If you feel that you want to celebrate Christmas your way, go for it. Just understand that your home sale may take a little longer.

Home Staging with Christmas Decorations

Use less of your ornament collection this year. Don’t over-crowd your rooms. You want your buyers to see your homes features. Rooms filled to the brim with decorations stop the buyers eyes from visualizing their own furnishings in your home. Plus, crowded spaces feel smaller.

Examine your room colors and compare to your Christmas decorations. Do the reds clash? You may want to store ornaments with colors that don’t add to the setting.

Design Psychology Home Staging for the Senses During the Holidays

Appeal to your buyer’s senses to make them feel at home.

1. Sight: Use amber-colored lights that give a rich warm golden glow to your rooms. Switch out your regular white light bulbs in a few table lamps with amber bulbs to make your home feel toasty-warm and inviting.

2. Sound: Play gentle well-known music without words. This makes buyers feel like singing along and picks up their step. Music helps buyers feel joyful in your home.

3. Smell: Use natural essential oils in a diffuser. Many people suffer from allergic reactions to artificial sprays. Simmer cider with orange slices, cinnamon and cloves.

4. Touch: Add silky and velvet fabrics to table tops that tempt the buyer to feel the softness. The brain interprets the sense of touch just by seeing softness. Also, use thick, fluffy hand towels in the bathroom and kitchen to soften the cold, hard surfaces of room typically filled with tile, granite, and porcelain.

5. Taste: Yes! The sense of smell contributes to the sense of taste. Make sure you’re cooking something heavenly. Treat your prospective buyers like a guest. Invite them to share a warm drink and a sweet snack.

The more time your buyers spend in your home, the more they have invested in it. Houses do sell all year long. If you’re selling your home during the frantic holiday season, taking a few extra home staging steps can make a big difference in your sale.

Happy Holidays!

Copyright Jeanette Fisher

Small decorative touches that sell houses

Buying and selling houses is certainly an exciting enterprise. In some cases, extensive rehab work is needed in order to turn an ‘investment property’ into a house. But it actually takes more than new bath fixtures or ceiling fans to make a house sellable. For instance, you can have a house that’s all fixed up, that has brand new carpeting and paint, and it still is not ready for a showing. The missing element is staging.

Staging goes beyond decorating. It involves adding little touches here and there that help to make a house a home. While decorating may play a role, it also may involve adding furniture to ensure that the house has the proper look.

In the entry way, for instance, you might add a small round table with a nice table cloth on top. You can then add a little basket or vase with a flower arrangement in it.

But you shouldn’t stop there. You should also add a stack of your business cards so that you leave a reminder of whom potential buyers should call if they’re interested in the property.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen you can add a colorful dish towel to the faucet. You can also place a display stand on the kitchen counter that has information about the house, along with information about the land contract program and an application. The potential buyer can then fax in the application or drop it off back in the office.

In the bathroom, you should make sure that you have a shower curtain up and colored hand towels in the towel bar. If there is no towel bar, you can put a portable brass stand on the sink where you can place some hand towels. These little touches make the house appear warmer and more appealing, turning an empty shell into a home.

It’s also usually a good idea to install mini-blinds in the home which can help to block out unappealing sights from the neighborhood. The mini-blinds can certainly add to the appeal of the house, without adding a great deal of cost to your renovation project.

While it is true that someone could walk off with your hand towels or other decorative accents, the chances of that are unlikely. Also, even if something is stolen, it probably won’t affect your bottom line all that much. And, by taking just a little risk, you can greatly improve your chances of selling the house quickly.

Home Based Business Opportunity Idea

A Home Based Business Opportunity Idea

With our screwed up economy practically everyone is looking to earn extra money or replace the income of the job they just lost. Did you know that while many people fail at that goal that it is really not difficult.

The home based business opportunity that I recommend is affiliate marketing. If you have tried it or have been working on it for a long time without success I can relate to you. I tried for several years before I found out strategies that work.

It boils down to three things done right.

1. Keyword research. Most people starting up online pick keywords with too much competition. Perhaps you have done this yourself, after all you want to generate traffic and sales. Everyone tells you to get at least 1000 searches a month (according to the Google Keyword Tool , and that would be good except most of the time, until you get more advanced and understand things better, it doesn’t work. Instead look down at the longer phrases that generate 100 to 1000 searches. While you look, look at the competition graphs and pick one that has competition as low as possible.

2. Article Marketing, use the keywords and write some articles with the keyword in the title, first paragraph, and resource box. If you can fit it in other places, do so. Then submit the article to several article directories.

3. Video Marketing. If you don’t know how to make videos or don’t want to be on camera then head on over to a site like Animoto.com. You can login and add some pictures and make a video. Be sure to use the text slides and drop in some benefits of your product. As you are finishing up it asks you to write a blurb so you can submit it. Use the URL of the site you want to send traffic to as the first thing in this box. Then in the rest of the box write a description and include your keywords. Animoto will allow you to submit this video to Youtube. If you upgrade (it is inexpensive) you can download an mp4 of the video and submit it to other sites. You can also use Tubemogul and Trafficgeyser to submit the mp4. I’ll let you explore that yourself.

First Time Home Owner Help – Newer Homes vs Older Homes

Needless to say, buying a house is an incredibly personal decision. It matters that you are happy with your purchase, and when you’re looking around for homes to buy, making a decision seems a bit harder than you expect. Let’s say that you prefer to buy Seattle real estate for your first home. As you look at Seattle homes for sale, you’ll find that one of the first questions you need to ask yourself is how old should the house you want to buy be.

Different people will have different opinions about it, and the best way to make a decision is to look at the pros and cons. Buying an old house definitely has pros and cons. Old houses have architectural styles that are unique. Generally, they have more character in terms of appearance. The workmanship and the detail that goes into old world architecture is also quite impressive and is part of the reason why a lot of old homes are still quite expensive, especially if they are well maintained, or if its systems are modernized but the structure is kept the same. Like what people always say, they just don’t make houses like they used to anymore. There aren’t that many artisans that pour attention on a project anymore. However, because old houses also use old systems in the house, it’s quite hard to find somebody who still knows how to fix these old systems, much less find parts for them.

Older homes have large yards and (compared with newer homes) have relatively smaller closet spaces. Because lots are more expensive these days, people opt to just use the space for the house rather than use it to enjoy a bigger garden. Having a bigger front yard is favorable for people who want to do a lot of outdoor activities like entertaining family and friends for barbecue, or even keeping pets out on the yard, which you can’t always do inside the house. Newer homes also have more closet spaces and modern storage systems make it easier to attach, rearrange, and redesign closet spaces and cabinets, unlike in older houses.

Older homes are, of course, situated in old and established neighborhoods. This means that zoning changes are less likely to happen than with newer neighborhoods. This way, you can be sure that a residential neighborhood stays that way. In a newer neighborhood that’s still being developed, you’re really not sure how the community will turn out in a few years’ time.

Buying newer homes will make sure that you are going to be able to use modern conveniences that you expect to have access to in this day and age. Since the house is not too old, it’s also possible that it could be covered by a builder’s warranty. These warranties often last for as long as 10 years. Newer houses are also less likely to need major replacements on the systems as well as the roof. Of course, this doesn’t mean that buying a newer home is pain-free. It’s best to be prepared for any eventuality that could come from buying a home, even one that is brand new.

Finding Your Niche As A Home Staging Professional

Remember when you first started college? As a freshman, the classes you took were all general education courses like math and English.

By your second year if you were a Business major, you started taking general classes within your major like basic Accounting and Economics. Then by the time you were ready to graduate, you were taking advanced classes specific to a subject within your major like Marketing.

This is very similar to your growth as a Staging Design Professional. When you first get started, you’re working with everybody (the general public), or in some cases, “anybody” because your business depended on it. You didn’t have the luxury of being choosey because you just needed to get business NOW.

As your business evolves, you may naturally start creating a niche because you just organically attract certain clients or types of projects. If this doesn’t come naturally, you will eventually want to figure out what your distinct segment of the market is or more affectionately, “define your niche”.

This is not only the “who”, but also the “what” in the marketplace you serve. For instance, as Stagers, you can work with homeowners, Realtors, builders, developers or investors.

Choosing to work with one of these types of folks is part of your niche. The “what” or your specialty, such as model home merchandising or only staging owner occupied properties is also part of your niche.

I was recently at a Mastermind meeting where one of the Realtors mentioned that when she first started her business, she met a mentor who called himself the “Condo King” so she decided to call herself the “Condo Queen” and went on to be known as a condo specialist.

I know of a local Stager that specializes in Staging Lofts.

I found one of my niches was in Managing Remodel Projects for Resale. I was the “go to” person when those projects came up because I was known by the local Realtor community as the expert in that area. That also led to several condo conversion renovation projects that I was hired to consult on.

SO WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO FIND A NICHE?

You want to be seen as the Expert in that particular niche. As an expert you will find that:

– Experts are able to command higher fees.

Your clients want to know that they’re getting the best and they’re usually willing to pay more to have someone who is an Expert. After all, Cardiac surgeons are paid a lot more than a generalist M.D.

– Experts have more credibility.

More people want to work with Experts rather than Generalists. There is a higher demand for Specialists and as a result, they command more respect.

Just as an Enrolled Agent is paid a lot more for their technical expertise in the field of taxation, particularly IRS audits, than your local H&R Block tax preparer.

– Niching can help separate you from your competition so that you’ll be remembered.

Recognition is particularly with the “green” movement. Incorporating those principles into your Staging services will not only get consumer attention but you can potentially dominate that market since this is an emerging concept.

– Niching helps you clarify your marketing message.

Now that you know who your target market is and what your unique service offering is, you can now build your customer’s awareness of your services as well as your brand with more focused campaigns.

SO HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR NICHE?

You need to ask yourself a few questions.

– What do people already see you as an expert of?

– What are you known for or what do you want to be known for?

Take a look at your previous projects or your client profiles.

– Was there a group of folks that you worked with more often than another?

– Is there an area that you’re particularly better at than anyone else?

– Where can you be a “first” at in your marketplace?

It could be that you only do vignette staging which creates a look and feel without the need for a lot of inventory which reduces your overhead expenses.

Perhaps you’re known as a Color Specialist or the “Green” Stager. By positioning yourself as the Expert in this sexy, new niche, you will probably get a lot of media exposure since it is the “HOT” topic of the moment.

As you can see, niching helps you clarify who and what you want to work with. By communicating that specialty to your clients, you can help ensure that you’re not taking on projects that are outside of your expertise and eliminate those that bring you the least joy.

Over time I found my niche just by working on all kinds of projects and figuring out which ones I enjoyed and which I could easily say “no” to, regardless of the money.

Figure out what your niche is and you will find that the journey to your Staging success is a lot more fun!

Copyright (c) 2009 Alice Chan

Home Staging Ideas Are No Longer Options You Can Afford To Neglect

Good home staging ideas are important if you want to sell your home for the best price and in the shortest time period. In fact, home staging has become so commonplace in the real estate world that most people today expect it! If potential buyers go into an empty house or a messy one, they may turn around and leave. Or, at best, have negative thoughts about the place. And either of those is a bad thing.

These are difficult times. The housing market has recently gone through some very unusual situations. Banks and lenders have been slapped around some and in response, are being much more careful about who they give loans to. This alone puts the seller in a much less-than-perfect position. Add to that the economy and the job market and you’ve got to do everything you can to woo these “potentials” into becoming buyers!

There are several good reasons to learn home staging ideas you can do for free, besides the obvious money you’ll save by doing this yourself. Studies show that homes staged sell an average of 50% faster than those not staged! That’s half the time! And time is money, whether you’re a business person or a someone selling a home. Every week that goes by seems longer than the week before.

And these same studies reveal that buyers will pay up to 20% more for a well staged home! On a $250,000 home, that’s $50,000 (fifty thousand dollars) just because your home was neat, clean and well presented. Talk about return for your investment (in time)! Because of this, Realtors tend to show these staged homes more often than non-staged ones. That makes sense, as their commission is based on the selling price. It could mean a thousand or two dollars to them because of the work YOU did.

Even though nicely arranged furniture and clean rooms do not really affect the value of the home, a few good home staging ideas may lead to a higher appraisal. Appraisers are, after all, only human and will tend to see your staged home in a more favorable light. In other words, if you’ll simply learn home staging basic techniques, you might even help the paperwork along!

So, how much time should you invest? Well, that’s up to you and depends on the condition of the property, but a few weekends usually does the trick. There are three important things you’ll need to keep in mind as you’re going through your home implementing your home staging ideas. First, it has to have “curb appeal.” This means you will have to work on the front of the home and mow, trim, clean up, paint, fix and do everything you can to make your home as attractive as it can be. From the front curb.

You want the potential buyer to say “Oh, this is nice!” when they drive up. After you have them smiling, keep the warm-fuzzies there by making sure everything is clean, painted (not chipped) and arranged simply with open spaces. Remove all really personal items and make repairs to anything they might see or try and turn on. And make sure there is plenty of light. Floor lamps and table lamps can be bought from the big boxes for under $30!

Finally, walk down your street taking mental notes on how your home “hits” you and walk through the place with a critical eye out for anything a stranger might see as a negative. Put yourself in their shoes. And, for more on home staging ideas and free tips and advice on things you can do yourself for little or no money, go to RemodelQuickTips.com and click on HOME STAGING in the left hand navigator column.

Guide On Making an Offer During A Sellers Market

Making an attractive offer to the seller take a lot of amount of careful thoughts. You need to make sure that you do not just write an offer especially, if the area is experiencing a seller’s market. You can use the same methods that you use when there is a buyer’s market, however, you need to bear in mind that competition is really stiff, knowing that there are only few properties on the market. for example you are looking at Hinsdale real estate. You need to make sure and put a lot of thought on your offer that will catch the eye of the seller, even as early as browsing Hinsdale homes for sale. Here are a few tips in order to create a good offer:

1) Proof that you can push through wih the sale – Many people have accepted the fact that attaching a preapproved letter is something that is welcomed by the seller. It does sends the message that you are serious on buying the property and yur credit history has been checked. Letting the seller know that you have a good credit history means that you ae telling the seller that you really have what it takes to push through with the sale. However, if you want to up the notch a bit, what you can do is present a proof of funds. You just need to black out all the private and sensitive information. This will give you offer the edge it needs as it sends a stronger message to the seller that you have the funds ready to begin the purchasing process immediately.

2) Handsome earnest money – Carefuly check your finances and write a good amount as an earnest money. This will definitely catch the eye of th seller because you are putting a lot on the table which means that you will not waste the seller’s time and really want to buy the house.

3) Shorten length of time for inspection – A lot of seller have problems with buyers that are also serious in buying the property about the amount of time they ask for home inspection. This do not mean that you will skip and will not have a complete home inspection. This only means that you will arrange the schedule of each home inspector as close as possible in order for the whole home inspection to finish early. If you can find one company that can accomodate all types of home inspection then it would be better for you. This way, you only need to coordinate with one company in order to arrange an optimized inspection schedule and process.

4) Attaching a personal letter on your offer – If you have done your research about the seller, then you can make a good impression on the letter which you can attach on your offer. For example if you know that the seller cannot move out right away, then it would not hurt and be a bit personal and let the seller know that you can adjust your move in date.

5) Re-checking and reconsider your contingencies – Since it’s a sellr’s market, it would be hard to push a lot of the contingencies you have in mind. Just retain all the reasonable and vital contingencies and remove the other contingencies. Just make sure you do not compromise your investment and again all the important contingencies are in place.

Good Quality Motherboards – Basis For Great Computers

Importance of good motherboards in building computers
Motherboards are essential and integral to all computers. Motherboard is also called a logic board, main circuit board as it connects all PC components – right from CPU, expansion slots, USB ports, hard drives, keyboard, mouse – and keeps them working together in good coordination. The features and configurations of the motherboard make your PC capable of performing as a powerful gaming machine or just a routine office desktop. The first step in building a great computer is to buy motherboard in Egypt.
Essentials of a good motherboard
Motherboards are available with different configurations to suit different needs and your budget. It is essential to do your homework before you buy motherboard in Egypt. Make a list of features you want in your motherboard. CPU, chipset, video cards or any additional features need to be compatible with the motherboard. Selecting the right motherboard is crucial; the right choice gives more future-upgrade options as well better performance.
What makes a motherboard dependable?
High quality, right/exact specifications, and a good dependable brand name can be the important criteria to buy motherboard in Egypt for your system. Whether you go in for Intel series or AMD series, it is essential to match the CPU and other features with the motherboard. Some features you should pay attention to are:
Number of expansion slots/BUS
Chipset/interfaces for controllers, chips etc
Compatibility of processor and motherboard (processor sockets)
Properly implemented BIOS
SATA ports/drive connectors
Memory slots
USB ports
Conveniently located connectors
Dependable power supply
Do your homework and learn all about the different motherboards in Egypt before deciding
Once you have a clear idea of what type of system you are going to build, you better visit the websites of makers of motherboards. There are quite a few in the field like Intel, AMD, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI etc. Before you decide to buy motherboard in Egypt, read about their products and get to know what features you like in your system and so what features you want in your motherboard. A well-designed and most reliable motherboard is the foundation of a great system.
Buy Motherboard in Egypt – High Quality at Great Price
Great offers and price options are available in online shops like e3050 where you can buy motherboard in Egypt. Excellent designs are a pleasure to work as a basis for building your own system. Check out motherboards like ATX, Micro ATX, AMD and Intel motherboards and check out what you like most. ECS A880GM-M6 V, S, L Motherboard with many latest enhanced features may be a great option for heavy game users. Just give a call and check out!