Home Staging TNT

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.

Despite the idea that every person has his or her own necessities in addition to tastes, the majority of us still possesses a very close comprehension of comfort and luxury. Because of this, staging a home for sale, it could be not so difficult to follow some general factors, employed to create an attractive atmosphere within the exterior and interior of a house, that could be appreciated by many.
So, firstly it happens to be crucial to make your house looking nice and trim. The presence of garbage or clutter will surely spoil the impression created by your house, once you will show it to your prospective buyers. Secondly, the rooms in your own home ought to be well-lit, to allow your potential buyers to check out the furnishing of the property. And thirdly, the furnishing of the home along with its style ought to provide the atmosphere of harmony and comfort, where your prospective buyers will be able to relax and enjoy their time, while residing at home.
You can try to make such an eye-catching atmosphere, using your personal idea of style and comfort along with some general principles we’ve stated previously above. Even so, if you need to obtain the best results, while making the house looking very costly as well as getting the highest price for its sale, then it might be essential to consider the advices of an specialist to be able to stage a house to sell.
At present the real estate home staging tips is apparently quite intricate issue that requires a distinctive approach and consideration of the volume of significant points, which may be missed by non-professionals. Simply to start staging a house we offer you to obtain decorating ideas proposed by Lise Desormeaux, that’s known as the successful Home Staging and Decorating Educator. Her home staging tips present a superb guide as for realtors as for homeowners, which are able to transform their houses into the million dollar homes, which often can be speedily sold. These hints could be also useful for those, which are intending to furnish their abodes into the clutter-free and beautiful homes by not using a decorator.
Observe the recommendations of Lisa Desormeaux, located on www.lisedesormeaux.com, and you’ll be capable to save a lot of money, discovering the powerful secrets of home staging.

Having doubts about buying a house is not a negative thing. It’s actually the responsible thing to do when thinking about making a major purchase. Some people who scrutinize their situations more closely realize that purchasing a house now would not be the best idea. Some people on the other hand get confirmation that buying a house now would make perfect financial sense. If you’re wondering where you stand here are a few things that you may want to look into:

Laying the numbers down.
How much debts do you owe monthly? It’s important to calculate your debt to income ratio before deciding to pursue buying a house. To do this, list down all debts that you pay off each month. Include your monthly minimum credit card payments, subscription fees, child support obligations, etcetera. The more honest you are about this, the clearer idea you’ll get about your financial standing. Next, calculate your monthly income, including those from secondary income sources such as a second job or consultancy fees. Take your total mothly debts and divide it by total monthly income and you’ll get your debt to income ratio. Aside from the fact that lenders will look at this as a very important number, you’ll also get a feel of your own financial standing.

It would also be useful to figure out how much your net worth is by adding up all your assets and then subtracting all your liabilities from it. It’s also part of what lenders will look at when reviewing your mortgage application.

Ask yourself some difficult questions.
Let’s say for example that you are looking into investing on Leland real estate. At the moment, you feel you earn enough to begin looking at Leland homes for sale. However, before you do that, it’s important that you ask yourself a few questions first, just to be sure.

First, ask whether your source/s of income is/are stable enough to carry you through tough times. Have you just been promoted recently? Are you dealing with a personal situation that makes your livelihood a bit unreliable? Try to think long term, while of course taking into consideration the fact that buying a home is already, by itself, a big risk to take.

Second, have you saved up enough to cover the out of pocket cost other than the downpayment? Does your savings also include a buffer fund that would take care of unforseen emergencies during and after buying a house? Do you have enough to cover the closing costs as well?

Third, do you understand what owning and maintaining a house entails? From paying insurance costs to paying for repairs and maintenance, it’s no doubt that buying a house is a huge responsibility. It’s vastly different from renting.

Honestly answering these questions would give you a clear picture of whether you are ready to buy a home or not. At times the question is a matter of financial preparedness, at other times, it’s also a matter of being emotionally prepared for the prospect of having such a big responsibility to go with the pleasure of being a home owner. If you feel the answer leads you to the fact that you’re ready to buy a house, congratulations! If the answers tell you otherwise, don’t lose heart. There’s always a good time for everything.

Riches in Niches

As more and more Home Stagers, Professional Organizers, Interior Designers and Real Estate Agents come to APSD for Home Staging Training and Certification, I realize the importance of teaching the concept of “Riches in Niches.”

Some of you already understand this idea and have specialized in one area or another, and others are still trying to be everything to everyone. I started with the idea that I could please everyone too. And I did, and then I was tired and broke. You have to face facts. As women (I know we have some GREAT guys too, but you don’t have the “pleaser” instinct of women!) we already have to please so many other people each day. We please our spouse, our children, our neighbors, our boss – basically anyone that walks in our path.

As I decided to make the real choice and lead the home staging industry, I realized that I could no longer be everything to everyone. I had to be extraordinary with my strengths and visions and help those that were willing and able to receive and exceed with my brand of training. I knew that I wanted to focus on the true business growth aspect of Home Staging Training and Certification. I didn’t want to teach people to put candles on a table. I wanted to teach systems, marketing and business development in an industry I loved. I wanted to teach creativity, lifestyle and money making techniques.

So, I niched myself and APSD as The Global Leader in Home Staging Training and Certification with a specific focus on exactly what I mentioned above.

And because I see the need of “niching” or creating a specialty, I teach 19 different streams of income to our highest level APSD member, Property Scene Designer. I want them to have the , education, resources and ability to niche. The same is true with my APSD Stager Pro’s. I teach 4 different streams of income in that course so they can become experts in certain areas and stand above any other Home Stagers in their market. Kim Holdbrook, one of my Certified APSD Stager Pro’s is awesome at Curb Appeal. She should make it an area of expertise. Mannie Tantawy perfects Origami displays and is already standing out as an expert in this area. Terri Garner is an expert with Home Staging for investment properties as is Cindy Captein. There are many more certified APSD Home Staging Professionals that have also seen the benefit of “niching” their home staging services, and have done so.

It does not mean that you can’t provide an entire menu of services but if you can become known for one specific thing, you will always be the “go to expert” which then opens the door for additional opportunity.

Here Is how you develop your niche:

1) Decide what aspect of Home Staging you Love the most. Do you love doing vacant homes? Maybe working with investors is your niche. What about high end properties? You might specialize in homes over $1 million. You could also focus just on certain type of Home Staging service, like Curb Appeal or Marketing.

2) Once you have decided what you love to do, become the expert. Take the training you need to get to the top of the pack. Practice, practice, practice. Next, you have to toot your own horn. Go out and start telling everyone who will listen, that you are the expert. Then own it internally and do an extraordinary job every single time.

3) Continue to Educate yourself. You can take a course, listen to CD’s, become a member of a great organization like APSD that offers continuing education, look at others work, attend Home Staging events, etc. The biggest mistake that most so-called experts make is they stop learning and growing. Then, others that are willing to receive education surpass them.

4) Market Yourself and your work endlessly. The more you talk about your specialty, the more others will as well. So, don’t be afraid to brag a little about your results and your extraordinary achievements. Before you know it, others will be doing it for you.

An easy way to begin to develop your “niche” status is to listen to the APSD Complimentary call I recently did on Curb Appeal. “Curb Appeal, Creating Impact and Profit in your Home Staging, Design and Real Estate Business.” You also still have time to take advantage of a very special offer I made at the end of the call! http://www/apsdmembers.com/curbappeal

To your joy and success,

Karen Schaefer
Founder, APSD
The Global Leader in Home Staging Training and Certification

Creating a stylish kitchen has turned into a costly American obsession, with the average remodel costing tens of thousands of dollars. For the majority of us dealing with a slowing economy, a credit crunch and rising gas prices, the idea of a pricey kitchen remodel might not be at our list these days. That doesnt mean you have to live with the kitchen you have until the limping economy bounces back. There are home staging ideas costing $200 or less that can still help transform your current kitchen that well present well on the market.

Step 1
Paint. If you have a small budget and want to make a big impact, wall color will do it. For the cost of a few gallons of paint, you can easily change the look and feel of your kitchen. Remember while selling your home it is crucial that you use bright and neutral colors. You are trying to sell your house and not your personality. Dutch Boy offers a new Refreshing paint with exclusive Arm & Hammer odor-eliminating technology that actually removes common household airborne odors, making it ideal for the kitchen.

Step 2
Hardware. Have your kitchen cabinets seen there last day? Cabinets can easily be brought back to life with a coat of primer and paint, and so can out dated cabinet hardware. If youre willing to a little work and purchase an inexpensive can of spray paint, you can transform any handle or knob into a new one. There are a variety of metallic spray paints available such as chrome, copper, brass and satin nickel that mimic the look of these expensive finishes. Buying brand new hardware can cost anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to a couple of thousand, (depending on the quality).

Step 3
Backsplash. The kitchen backsplash can easily serve as the focal point of a kitchen, if its done with care.

A contractors cost to install an average-sized kitchen backsplash can run upwards of $1000 for labor alone. Rather than using tile, consider installing pressed tin ceiling tiles. Apply adhesive found at your local home improvement store to the backs of the tiles and simply press them onto the wall behind the stove or sink. You can also create the illusion of an expensive backsplash by using self-adhesive linoleum floor tiles that look like stone or marble.

Step 4
Sink and Faucet. Replacing an old, scratched sink is easier and cheaper than you might think. While real porcelain might be out of your budget, many stainless steel and acrylic options can be purchased for less than $100 .While youre at it, dont forget about updating the faucet.

Step 5
Lighting. It might not be the first thing you think of when updating a kitchen, but updating existing lighting fixtures is a simple way to add style without spending a lot of money. Changing out old ceiling fans and light covers is an easy step in preparing a kitchen for sale. For about $50, you might also want to consider adding under-cabinet lighting fixtures that plug directly into existing electrical outlets and mount to the underside of your cabinets.

Let us take a look at 7 of the most popular kitchen
countertop materials being used today:

Granite – A natural stone, granite is a popular choice for its classic beauty and longevity. Granite is the densest of the natural stones. It can create a kitchen countertop that is extremely scratch resistant and can keep its shine longer than most materials.

Marble Another natural stone, marble is considered to be the height of elegance and will last longer than most kitchens. It is however very expensive and requires some maintenance: acidic foods such as limejuice will etch the finished surface of a marble kitchen countertop.

Slate Because of it richness and beauty slate is usually used in interior applications such as kitchen countertops, bathroom sinks or fireplace surrounds. It can be used in either modern or traditional kitchens as well as in combination with marble. Slate is durable, strong, and can withstand hard use. It is also less expensive than marble and granite.

Concrete This is one of the biggest trends in kitchen countertops today. It is a good look for clean, industrial and contemporary kitchen designs. Available in pre formed sections or poured and formed on-site. Concrete kitchen countertops are expensive, require a sealant and must be treated with care. The countertop can crack if the concrete should contract. Concrete can be stained any color. The most popular color is a natural gray tone. The top layer can be finished as desired.

Corian A solid surface material that first became popular in the nineties, it is highly recommended by kitchen countertop experts. It is a totally manmade product and is not porous. As a solid surface it can easily be repaired if scratched or burned.

Stainless Steel Advantages include very hygienic, easy to clean, having ability to stand up to extreme wear and heat. Stainless steel can provide a great look for an ultra modern kitchen. Some disadvantages with stainless is that it can be noisy and that scratches can develop.

Tile Tile surfaces can be tough, hardwearing, takes hot pans, heat and stain resistant as well as beautiful. There are many types of tiles including ceramic, porcelain, quarry, glass, natural stone and mosaic, which are available in many colors, sizes and textures. Tile can often be used for trim or backsplashes. The downside of tile is that the grouts can be easily stained. Also the tiles can become chipped or cracked.