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A great presentation: 6 easy tips for staging your own home

April 18, 2019 By

There’s no question that staging your décor is advantageous when you’re trying to sell your home.

The strategic editing and placement of your furnishings can be enormously important to boosting its appeal. In a recent NAR survey, in fact, 77 percent of buyers’ agents agreed staging is important to helping potential buyers envision a given home as their own. Fortunately, conducting your own staging need not be complex; you should be able to mimic professional techniques by following a few easy guidelines:

  • Prioritize by room. The NAR reports you’ll get the most visual impact by staging your living room, master bedrooms, kitchen and extra bedrooms(s), in that order.
  • De-clutter. Cleaning will be easier after you pack away at least 90 percent of your own décor and personal artifacts. Your goal is to create a minimally decorated space buyers can imagine moving in to.
  • Deep clean. Everything must be groomed, sparkling and odor-free inside and out.
  • Divide and conquer. Plan to remove about half your furniture to give the impression of optimal space. If it’s all unpresentable, use stylish rental pieces or fake “pop-up furniture” for showings. Tip: Wherever possible, move display furniture away from walls (a technique known as “floating”) to create groupings that are tied together visually with area rugs.
  • Accessorize inside and out. Create an atmosphere of airiness, friendliness and cheer by selectively adding new flowers, potted plants, attractive seating and welcome mats outside, perhaps fresh flowers and bowls of fruit inside.
  • Optimize light. Add brighter light bulbs, pull back curtains, clean windows and clean (or perhaps update) light fixtures to add to the overall impression of positivity.

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National Rent Report: Which U.S. City Has the Highest Rents?

April 9, 2019 By

Zumper, an online rental marketplace, recently released its National Rent Report for March, which ranks apartment rents for 100 U.S. cities. San Francisco again topped the list, with a median of $3,690 for a one-bedroom—much higher than the national median of $1,208. NYC, at $2,870, was second.

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Should you buy a second home? Predictions for the 2019 market

April 4, 2019 By

In view of the healthy economy, you may be thinking of buying a second home as a vacation getaway, as housing for family members or as an investment property.
That could reap great benefits, but you should only proceed with insight into this year’s secondary home market. A few predictions from real estate specialists:

  • In general you can expect a buyer’s market, according to Bloomberg.
  • Costs may be attractive in vacation areas, where prices grew only 14.8 percent in the past three years compared to 25.2 percent in non-vacation areas. Another report notes vacation markets have underperformed the overall market every year but one since 2010 (except in the Midwest, where they’re now slightly overperforming). Factors in the downward slope may include everything from climate change to demographics to Trump’s tax reforms.
  • Because interest rates may rise this year, buyers may wish to act soon, anticipating slightly higher loan rates for secondary homes.
  • Areas of optimal investment are expected to include the Florida cities of Orlando (No. 1), Panama City and West Palm Beach; Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii; Chicago; and the California cities of Napa, Palm Springs, Westlake Village and Laguna Beach.

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10 home features that have fallen out of favor

March 26, 2019 By

Trending: 10 home features that have fallen out of favor:
1. Bold color schemes
2. Industrial-style kitchens
3. Kitchen islands
4. Granite countertops
5. TVs in the kitchen
6. Over-the-stove microwaves
7. Raised-panel cabinets
8. Wall-to-wall carpet
9. Distressed wood walls
10. Mediterranean-inspired suburban McMansions

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Better Safe Than Sorry: Do You Need a Panic Room in Your Home?

March 22, 2019 By

When you hear the term “panic room,” what do you think of? Celebrities? Survivalists?

Well, think again. Panic rooms—also known as “safe rooms”—have gone mainstream. With demand up and pricing coming down, more luxury homeowners are opting to include a safe room when they design or renovate their homes.

A safe room is simply a fortified space in, outside or under a home. It can range from a reinforced closet to a converted bedroom or underground bunker. Many homeowners want to protect their families from a home invasion. In that case, an upstairs bedroom can be converted into a safe room. For someone seeking protection from a hurricane or tornado, a closet can be retrofitted to provide short-term safety.

It’s easiest if you design a safe room into your home during the planning stage. An architect will then ensure that the floors and walls can support the weight of the room. But safe rooms can also be added after a home is built.

Steve Humble, president of Creative Home Engineering in Gilbert, Arizona, specializes in hiding safe-room entrances behind elaborate “secret doors” that provide access. He has hidden doors in bookcases, fireplaces or under stairs. While he has a line of pre-manufactured doors that starts at $1,500, most of his custom projects range from $10,000 to over $190,000.

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Should You Use a Professional Stager When Selling Your Luxury Home?

March 13, 2019 By

If you’re planning to put your luxury home on the market, consider staging it first.

Staging is the process of “styling” a home to maximize its appeal to potential buyers. It can be as simple as eliminating clutter or reorganizing a bookcase, or staging can involve removing, replacing or re-arranging furniture, adding accessories or taking down heavy draperies that block the light.

According to StagedHomes.com, which provides training and awards the Accredited Staging Professional designation to real estate agents, designers and others interested in becoming stagers, staging a home helps it sell faster and at a higher price. In fact, in a recent survey, the site found that a staged home sells in an average of 10.3 days, compared to a non-staged home, which averages 84.6 days on the market.

Ask your real estate agent about staging options when listing your home. Some agents have a background in design and feel comfortable handling the staging themselves, especially if the home doesn’t need much to prepare it for sale, while others may recommend a staging professional.

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5 Ways to Curate Retail in Mixed-Use Property

February 20, 2019 By

Savvy owners of retail properties understand the importance of achieving the perfect tenant mix. After all, the success of their shopping center may depend on it. That’s because a good tenant mix creates synergies that benefit both tenants and landlord.

Now that concept is being extended to mixed-use projects, where developers are carefully curating the tenant mix to ensure that retailers complement one another and ultimately benefit the tenants as well as themselves.

Here are five tips for curating retail at your mixed-use property:

  • Understand your market and your project. Remember that retail is viewed by tenants as an amenity, so be sure to select retailers that meet the needs of your tenants as well as the neighborhood. Retailers should help create a sense of community at the property. One example: a coffee shop, where residents gather.
  • Seek out experiential retailers—fun, hip stores that attract visitors because they provide them with experiences or entertainment. One example: Sur La Table, which not only sells cooking supplies but offers cooking classes.
  • Start early. The days of building a project and then leasing it up are over. Evaluate tenants during development or construction, and sign them on early.
  • Mix it up. People who choose to live in a mixed-use project are seeking a live/work/play lifestyle. Make sure that retail tenants provide for all needs of residents wanting convenience.
  • Curate tenants in offices too. Some owners of large office buildings are already adding curated retail on the ground floor as the line between work and home dissolves for many hardworking employees. Businesses may consider it a benefit to offer employees easy access to a dry cleaner or hair salon, for example.

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How to prepare your home for a winter open house

February 20, 2019 By

The winter season can be a great time to sell your house, but while your competition is reduced, success during this time can still depend on a successful open house. To help make your open house as effective as possible, follow these tips.

  • Take down your decorations. The holidays are over, but if you’re the type that likes to leave the decorations up for a time, taking them down before your open house is a good idea. Prospective buyers may not celebrate the same holidays as you and you don’t want to alienate them.
  • Clear the clutter. If you haven’t put those holiday gifts away yet, now’s the time. Prospective buyers should be able to focus on your home instead of the collection of things crowding it. Give them nice open spaces to move about and they’ll be appreciative.
  • Turn up the heat. Warm and cozy is more than a catch phrase during the winter. Bring the temperature up in your home slightly during your open house to keep your guests comfortable. If they are too cold in your home, they aren’t apt to stay long.
  • Plan for winter apparel. Be it jackets or boots, take extra steps to prepare your entryway for the added material your buyers will bring with them. A designated spot to place these items can make guests feel welcome and keep your home cleaner during the showing and beyond.

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5 winter DIY home projects

February 20, 2019 By

If you’re the type that loves to take on a good DIY project, the winter season can leave your options … lacking. Don’t despair, there’s still plenty that needs to be done around your home even when it’s cold outside. Here’s a list of indoor DIY projects you can start tackling today.

  • Insulate your water heater. A source of heat during the winter, you can reduce your home’s energy usage by wrapping your water heater in insulation to keep your water hot, whether you’re using it or not.
  • Add a programmable thermostat. This one just makes sense when considering energy conservation. Programmable thermostats allow you to control the temperature of your home from anywhere and set preprogrammed temperature guidelines to lower your home’s temp when you’re away and raise it when you return.
  • A fresh coat of paint. Summer is the time for painting your home’s exterior, but the winter was made for inside painting projects. This is an easy way to add vibrancy to those dreary winter months. Just try to pick a day when it isn’t raining or snowing to make your ventilation easier.
  • Clear the clutter. Increase your living space by clearing junk. If you haven’t used it in a year, say goodbye.

 

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The Formula for Creating a Luxury Bath

February 20, 2019 By

Amy Vermillion may have over 20 years of design experience, but even she knows that designing a luxury bath can be a daunting experience.

Although luxury means different things to different people, the Charlotte, N.C.-based Vermillion says that there are certain elements that need to be included in a luxury bath no matter what the definition is. Here’s what Vermillion says her clients demand in their baths:

  • A great bathing experience. Residents want to be pampered, whether they’re taking a bath or shower. But everyone has different needs. Do you want a soft or brisk shower spray? Multiple showerheads, body sprays, music or lighting? Vermillion always includes a hand shower on a slide bar for times clients just want to rinse off without washing their hair.
  • Fine fixtures. Vermillion refers to faucets as “the jewelry of the bathroom.” She looks for clean lines, interesting geometry and beautiful finishes. Nickel is one of her favorites. Vermillion recommends ROHL faucets not just because they are stylish but because they are also relatively maintenance-free.
  • A tankless water heater. This may not instantly spring to mind when you think of luxury in the bathroom, but a tankless water heater gives you unlimited hot water without a wait. Cold showers become a thing of the past!

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