Finance Tips

Recently I have been speaking in the warmer areas of the country, twice this past month in Florida, February, I am in Hawaii, March, Houston, Atlanta and The Bahamas…you get the idea. What is so interesting is that it forces me to understand everyone’s definition of “cold.” It does not really seem to matter where you live, once we hit November and the temperature dips, it is still cold to the person that lives there. The advantage of the warmer climates in the colder times of the year is, of course, more options for curb appeal. Curb Appeal still seems to be the greatest mystery of all. I am amazed at how people continue to ignore the second most important component in staging and selling. But, if Curb Appeal is the second most important component in staging and selling, what is the first? Marketing. This month though, with that big “marketing” teaser out there, I want to talk about pure, solid, much needed, curb appeal.

Here are the TOP 15 most powerful steps in creating great curb appeal:

1. Cut the grass

2. Plant grass seed if needed and keep it watered

3. Trim along the sidewalk and driveway

4. Trim and form hedges and shrubs

5. Paint or replace your mailbox Continue reading ‘Top 15 Most Powerful Steps in Creating Great Curb Appeal’ »

Have you ever seen a MR. Clean commercial? Isn’t he clean? Don’t you wish he would just come over and take care of all of your properties for you? Some big shaven headed one earring wearing really clean guy all in white—you got to love it. There has to be a song in there somewhere.

My topic today though, is cleanliness—you know who it is next to!

Sellers, Agents and Investors will do one of two things.

1. Not realize their property is dirty because they have been living in it for so long that they just don’t see it.

OR

2. They will have it cleaned once in the very beginning, but not ever again. Continue reading ‘How to Properly Clean and Stage Your Home for Sale’ »

Furniture seems to be the bane of existence for many people trying to unload their houses. How much do I need? Do I need it at all? If so, where do I get it? Do I have to buy it? The questions go on and on. It never fails on each and every Wednesday morning tele-coaching call to my VIP students, someone asks me about furniture.

So today, I want to address the infatuation, or lack thereof with furniture in regards to staging.

I rarely use furniture in staging, not because I don’t like it, but I think more often than not, it is unnecessary. The reason that most staging companies use a lot of furniture is because they don’t understand who their customer is and the difference between selling vs. decorating. Yes, I realize that comment may make some of you angry, but my job is to help you sell your properties and continually learn more about the real estate industry on the whole, so there you go. I can tell you that most stagings we do as well as nearly all of our Property Designers yield fantastic results with very little furniture. Continue reading ‘Home Staging Tips Using Furniture to Stage Homes’ »

I am sitting at my computer right now in a hotel room staring out at one of the biggest shopping mall parking lots I have ever seen with “Macy’s” in lights. Sounds a bit like the Vegas version of Macy’s, I know. But, what Vegas doesn’t have, is the ocean and palm trees on the other side of the parking lot in plain view of my hotel room balcony. Because of this, I am willing to overlook the mall parking lot.

You guessed it; I am in Hawaii, having just spoken at the 1st annual Hawaii Real Estate Convention. Before I came here, I did some research on the market since I never like to show up unprepared and every single market has its own special needs and trends. I feel as though it is also my job, to show up informed and am surprised when others don’t.

When I looked at the market here, I found that the main island (most of the statistics are on Maui and Oahu) was down in sales from last month to this month by 30.6% and down 10.2% for the year. They still experienced mild appreciation of 1-2%, but that is mild compared to the 85% appreciation they have had over the last 5 years. Yep, you read that right, 85% appreciation!!! Continue reading ‘Home Staging The Schaefer Synopsis’ »

Last month I gave you multiple tips on getting your own properties spotless clean as well as those of your clients. We get used to living in our own filth or we just don’t look at it as a priority. Regardless of which it is for you or your clients, everyone will notice a dirty house as much as they notice a clean house, no matter their personal standards.

So, this month, as promised, I will finish up the “clean tips.” Obviously, I could go on and on in regards to cleaning tips, I am after all, my father’s daughter. The man that ran service stations his whole life that were cleaner than palaces where your baby could crawl on the floor of the garage! But, in the interest of being able to discuss other helpful tips next month, let’s wrap up the cleaning tips this month.

I want to discuss floors in this issue. So let’s start with the look, feel, condition and cleanliness of your carpet. Continue reading ‘Home Staging Tips Cleaning Your Floor’ »