TEN THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN LOOKING TO BUY A HOME:

10. Location, location, location.  Once you’ve decided on a general geographic location for your new home, you’ll probably look at things like the schools, distance to work, family and friends.  But take a deeper look at other location factors that are important to you.  For example, you might want to look at neighborhood conveniences; such as, parks, shopping, whether it’s a busy or quiet neighborhood, etc. Whatever’s important to you should be a consideration is selecting the location.

9. What’s the MINIMUM amount of square footage you want/need in your new home? I think it’s funny that we don’t say “I don’t care what the square footage is as long as it’s not over XXXX square feet.” I guess we think bigger is better, but not always.  Do you have a growing family, are you down sizing, or maybe you’re just starting out.  Sometimes it’s more about the floor plan than it is about square footage.  Although square footage can be important, the next item is more important.

8. What’s the MINIMUM number of bedrooms and bathrooms you need in your new home?  Most of the time, if you need 3 bedrooms, but you fall in love with a 4 bedroom, it’s not a problem.  We can always find a purpose for an additional room, but how many bedrooms and bathrooms must you have is the real question.  Know your minimum; you can always go up from there.

7. What features MUST you have in your new home?  For example: air conditioning, a pool, 4-car garage, gated community, etc?  Here are some of today’s most popular features.

6. What features would be a BONUS to have in your new home?  For example: a fireplace, wine cellar, bonus room, home office, gourmet kitchen, etc?

5. What features DON’T you want in your new home?  For example:  a pool, zero lot line, acreage, next to the freeway, an outdated kitchen, etc?

4. Are you looking for a “TURN KEY” home, a home that’s needs a little TLC, or for a FIXER UPPER?  Sometime the budget dictates which kind of house we select and other times it’s a choice.  Either you like being handy, being involved in making the choices, or you just want to move in and enjoy.

3. Are you INTERESTED in an established or new neighborhood?  Landscaping is a key issue.  Established neighborhoods have grown trees and typically, these homes have front and back yard landscaping.  Whether or not you want to leave it or change it is up to you.  With new construction, you’ll need to landscape at least the backyard (Front yard landscaping is sometimes included).  But depending on the size of the lot, plus your needs and desires, it can cost thousands to landscape a backyard.  So be sure to figure this into your calculations.

2. How much home can you AFFORD? Let’s say the home cost $700,000 and you have $200,000 down payment.  $700,000 – $200,000 = $500,000 to finance.  Take the loan amount of $500,000 and multiply it by .07 interest rate (a rounded up guesstimate)That equates to $35,000 in interest per year. Divide that by twelve, and you’ll get your monthly INTEREST-ONLY payment of roughly $2,900.00 Divide the principal amount ($500,000) by how many payments the loan has, which is 360 (360 months= 30 years) = roughly $1,400.  Now add the INTEREST ($2,900) to the PRINCIPLE ($1,400) to get your monthly mortgage payment of $4,300 per month, plus taxes.

1. Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make.  It’s an emotional purchase.  Buy a home that meets your needs and desires, and one that makes you feel good.

 

To Stage or Not to Stage…

The answer is YES!  Here are three reasons why Staging does work!

Typically … 

1) A Staged home sells faster than a non-staged home.

2) A Staged home sells for more money. 

3) Staging costs less than your first price reduction!  

Even USA Today knows that “Staging results in a faster sale”There are a few different leveles of staging:

- If you’re still living in the home and it’s filled with all of your items, we’ll do a Staging Consultation. We’ll visually inspect your home and provide you with a list of things to do to your home to make it look its best to the masses. That’s one of the keys; it needs to look good to the masses, so that anyone can imagine their things in your home.  You can then take the list and get it all done yourself, or we can help you through the process.

Living room/fireplace before and after. It’s amazing what a little paint and a slip cover will do. For the cost of paint and a few accessories this place looks great! We redesigned this home, and three days later they received an offer/sold the home for $80,000 OVER the asking price!

 - If you’re living in the home, but your furnishings are worn, you’ve already moved some items, or you need to bring in some items to complete the look – then we’ll start with a consultation and also look at bring in furniture or accessories to make your home look its best to the masses.

We staged with home on Friday. They had an open house on Saturday and Sunday. They received multiple offers and the house SOLD on Monday!

- If your home is vacant, we’ll visit your home to get a feel for the style, measure and supply furniture and accessories to make your home look its best to the masses.

This condo sat on the market for over a month without any interest. We fully staged the home and one week later the owner accepted a generous offer!

For more information about Staging check my website Changing Spaces or Visit Home Staging Online

Move-In Design Service

 

Moving is hard work, whether you do it yourself or have movers.Once all of your things are in your new home, then the real work begins. Arranging the furniture takes time to make sure it’s functional and looks good. But what if your furniture does work the way it did in your last home? Then you need to get creative and try several different arrangements, but your tired from the move and life still goes on (work, kids, etc) and then there’s the wall art and the accessories. Most people get into a rut and place the same wall art over the same piece of furniture, with the same decorative item and in the same room. Live it up, try different ways or have someone like me come into your home and set it up in one day with a Move-In Design Service so you can start enjoying, and relaxing, in your home immediately!

Before (Left) This is what you saw when you walked into the master bedroom. After (Right) First, we did a little shopping for the client and purchased some new linens, a nightstand, rug and lamp. Then in one day, we went into the home and redesigned and rearranged her exisitng furnishings and updated the room with our purchases. What a difference a day makes!

This client moved into her new home, and gave me a call to help her get settled. We purchased a few new accessories and using her existing furiture we redesigned her home in one day. Now she can sit back and enjoy her new home!

No More White Walls!

No more white walls!

Unless you’re into the ultra modern (white on white) nothing says rental more than white walls!  So, don’t be afraid, it’s only paint ~ let’s get some color on those walls! I know it’s difficult selecting paint colors. 

In one of my color kits there are more than 75 shades of white. No wonder it’s hard for most people to select the right color. 

Have you even gone to the paint store, selected a color swatch or two that you really liked, got it home and it looked awful?  It’s the lighting! The lighting in the store and the lighting in your home are different.  Have you ever gone to a friends home, loved a color on their walls, got the name of the color and painted it on your walls, only to find that it doesn’t look the same  or good in your home?  Again it’s the lighting.  

A color that looks great in one place may not look good in another – lighting a key element.   You’ll either luck-out and quickly find the right color, need to bring home nearly all the shades in the color you’re looking for, or work with someone like me who brings the entire store to you.  I always start with Kelly Moore or Benjamin Moore, but I also work with Ralph Lauren, Behr and Valspar. 

Before and After Photo (Color Consultation followed by a interior redesign) A little space planning and some color on the walls transformed this room! 

 

What color questions do you have?

The Art of Hanging Art

  1.    Eye level is the right level.      Note whether it’s a standing room or a sitting room.  Have someone hold the art against the wall, start with the center of the art at about 5 ½ feet from the floor, then adjust up or down.   

2.    Measure twice – hang once.        Make a small pencil mark on the wall at the top center of the frame. Then pull the wire toward the top of the frame and measure the distance from the top of the frame to the wire or hanger.    Go back to the wall and measure down from the pencil mark, make another mark and insert picture hanger into the wall.    Use the right hanger based on the walls composition & the weight of the art.  

3.    Placement:       Scale is important.   Larger pieces can stand alone.     Smaller pieces should be placed on a small wall or grouped.   If it’s a piece you need to see of close to appreciate, hang it where people can walk directly up to it to view the detail.  When hanging art over a mantel, furniture, sofa…. the general rule is to leave the length of one hand in between the bottom of the art and the item. 

4.    Create a grouping:      Mix prints, paintings, photos, or group by artist, theme, color or frame.       Choose pieces of varying shapes and sizes, horizontal and vertical.    If all the same use a laser level to line up the tops or bottoms of the art. Think of the grouping as one large piece of art – and center it in the space.     The width of the frame can indicate the spacing between pieces.   Mock it up on the floor before you hang it on the wall. This gives you the chance to re-arrange it without putting holes in your walls.   Take a second look to make sure the grouping is well balanced.  Heavier and lighter pieces, color spread – rearrange until you feel it’s balanced.   For Staircases, hang your art pieces in an upward angle.  Use larger pieces as focal points, and compliment with smaller pieces.  Hang at varying heights, but keep the spacing between them the same to create a balanced look.   

5.    Leaning Art/Easels:   You don’t have to hang every piece of art on the wall – lean one or a few pieces of art on a mantel or a shelf. Try an easel for an artistic look. 

6.  Buy/Hang art YOU love.  Art that reflect your interests, memories & personality. 

Triangle of Light

Lighting is a key element in any design, because it adds functionality and sparkle. Here’s an easy tip to create good lighting in a room.

I always like to have a triangle of light. What this means is have three lights/lamps (NOT can/pot/recessed lighting) in a room. When you connect the dots between them they make a triangle. It doesn’t have to be a perfect triangle, it can be elongated – but it must be a triangle. For example, in a living room you may have a sofa with two end tables on either side. Place a lamp on each end table and then place another lamp across from the sofa on another table or use a floor lamp. Now, turn on just two of the lights, step back and look at the room. Now turn on the third lamp and see the difference. Look at how the light aluminates and adds warmth to the room.