Per Curbed SF: Your Kid = Future Landlord?

Monday, June 30, 2008, by Sarah Hromack

Caught this one over at Curbed NYC, via Lost City— Telltale Signs That Your Child Will Grow Up to Be a Landlord : · Complains about the unions that make Lincoln Logs and Legos as being hopelessly corrupt. · Charges 50 cents more for their lemonade than kids at other stands do, due to “rising cooling costs.” · Keeps asking you when you’re going to stop renting and buy a home. · Knows how to use the word “flip” in a sentence. And our favorite reader response: “Those are just telltale signs that you raising a republican.” [Lost City via Curbed]

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I was browsing the internet today and found The Home Staging Cheat Sheet by US News & World Report that was an interview with one of my staging teacher, Barb Schwarz.

Barb listed out 6 points for sellers that can help them in a sluggish market:

1. Get them inside (curb appeal)
2. Pretend you are camping (clutter)
3. Balance hard & soft surfaces
4. Work in Ones or Threes
5. Decide from the doorway
6. Make your place Q-tip Clean

I want to especially highlight #1, 2, and 6. You only have ONE chance to make a great impression for your buyers, and Curb Appeal is very important. You want to give people a great impression that you have been taking care of your house. So if you see paint peeling off your exterior walls or unruly trees, it’s time to do something about it.

Do: Show a nicely maintained exterior. It gives people a great impression that you have been taking care of it and it’s nice to live in. (photo credit notnek)

Don’t: Show a haunted house (it’s only cool 1 day out of 365 days a year). A house that is ill-maintained on the outside gives people a bad feeling and impression when they first see the house. (photo credit mar52laine)

With #2, we are in the business of SELLING REAL ESTATE and that is your square (Read more …)

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I am in deep denial that July is here already.

(photo by tygerlyl)

You may have noticed that I have not been blogging as much lately but mainly because my parents are in town (who are driving me bunkers by the way with attempts to set me up with dates) and transitioning into a commercial building that is 3600 square feet for our new warehouse!

Here are a couple updates of what’s going on at Staged4more land:

• Staging, of course! In additions to our regular clients, HGTV called again and am interested in doing another project together. That’s always exciting to hear that people love Staged4more’s work.
• Moving in: setting up water, electricity, alarm system etc. (I finally decided to go with Brinks, which was FABULOUS. Super responsive. Called for an appointment, came next day and got the alarm installed on the same day. That’s amazing response time if you asked me! Unlike the unpleasant struggles with ADT who don’t respond to phone calls nor messages, shocking for a company that quick response is the main part of their job! If you are looking into alarm system, let me know, I will pass on my rep info to you.)
• Re-finishing the new office: Repainting, ripped out dirty old green carpet (if I told my clients to rip out theirs, it’s only right I rip out mine ), replaced it with new floorings (blog coming soon!), adding molding onto the existing one, and planning the design for office furniture
• Planning racking for the warehouse: this is a huge battle in itself since steel prices have increased dramatically which resulted me nicking quite a few design ideas for our new office. After several trips to Hayward and other places, I finally bought some used ones, along with another forklift. Those are getting installed next week.
• Ordered inventory system & barcodes: that will be a big project for July & August
• Getting ready to speak at this year’s International Association of Home Staging Professional (IAHSP) Conference in Washington.
• Expanding services and adding on additional features of Staged4more site that will be launched soon.

Whew, that’s just a few things that I am working on right now. How about you? Would love to hear about your updates!

Cheers,

Cindy

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(photo by j@son.)
I read this quote from Bill Lublin’s post (Can Foreclosure Kill?) on Agent Genius and felt very inspired by it.

Isn’t that what we all essentially do for our clients in real estate? We owe it to our customers to give them the best information possible. We be there for them when they are going through hard time, decisions and uncertainties. We are there to answer all their questions and be creative with difficulties.

Real estate can be rough. It can be a dog-eat-dog world. But it’s our job to be there for our clients and do everything we can to make sure they all get their happy endings Right?

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Ah, I just came across this: Home Sizes Shrink with Growing Concerns over the Economy and Energy Costs. There is also a press release released by American Institute of Architects.

From the Press Release:

“The recent weakness in the housing market forces households to be more sensitive to housing affordability concerns. Coupled with rising home energy costs, this encourages many to rethink their overall space needs,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “While smaller homes may be a short-term response to economic conditions, there are signs that we may be at the beginning of a longer cycle where house sizes stabilize or even decline.”

Baker continued, “With weak billings, inquiries for new projects and project backlogs, evidence suggests that the conditions in the residential market are not poised to improve anytime soon.”

Inman news disagrees. “But the latest government data on housing characteristics does not support the survey findings, as the average square footage of homes remains (Read more …)

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(photo by ShutterSparks)

I recent took on a client who wants me to redesign her existing home right now but at the same time preparing it for sale 2-3 years down the line. When I suggested green finishes, she was very open to it.

This is why:

a) Green finishes are healthier to live in the home, especially if you have young children and pets. They roll around in those finishes every day on the floor, touching the wall, you want to make sure the finishes are quality green materials that is safe to live in. It’s also better for your installer, they don’t need to breathe in those terrible chemical smells. Moreover, you are not exposed to off-gasing from non-green materials or chemical glue. In typical carpet installation, the chemical glue emits toxic off-gasing for 8 years after it is installed. 8 years!!! Do you want your children or grandchildren to breathe that toxic in for 8 years?!

b) Quality green finishes and materials perform just as well as non-green finishes, if not better. Take the new green fabrics for example, they breath well therefore reduce the chance for skin allergy. They are not processed in chemicals so they are healthier to wear or to sleep in. You are not rubbing those chemicals off your skin that can cause irritations and rashes, you sleep better. You sleep better, you perform better during the day. Not a bad bargain at all.

c) Green finishes increase RESALE value. It’s true. By being more environmentally conscious and by installing green finishes and green appliances, you are reducing the costs to maintain your home, utilities and helping the planet out. With an rapid increase awareness of being green and eco-friendly, using green finishes and materials make the (Read more …)

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Welcome to the June 9, 2008 edition of carnival of real estate home staging.

(Read Athol’s post to find out what’s this picture about!)

I am stoked that Athol submitted for this carnival, I have been a fan of his from the bad MLS photos he posts! I also want to thank Reba for her continuing support of the carnival! She is a amazing writer and I would highly recommend you to subscribe to both of these 2 great agents’ blogs!

Athol Kay presents When Your Wife Stabs You With a Fork You Learn to Pay Attention. posted at RE Agent In CT, saying, “It’s real estate photography, but I’m sure the key points transfer. Besides, don’t you want to know about the fork incident? ”

Reba Haas presents update on Mercer Island condo prep posted at Team Reba Real Estate, saying, “Looking for ideas on how color can impact your home sale? This Before and After photo series just might be the thing to convince you that proper prep and staging of a home can make a huge difference in how you look online.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of real estate home staging using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of real estate home staging, blog carnival.

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