Home Staging Tips for the Holidays!
When you’re house is up for sale during the holiday months it could be stressful to try and decorate while keeping your home ready for all those showings! I highly encourage decorating in a subtle, tasteful and inviting manner that can help you feel the spirit of the holidays while not being ‘too much’ for your potential buyers. Here are some tips for staging an elegant and warm home for the holidays: Clean up and declutter your home. We all find it hard to admit what is clutter and what isn’t, but most of the time if we find ourselves questioning it- we can most likely just pack it away.Keep your decorations classic and minimalistic. We all love a good theme, but when trying to sell your home it is slightly more important to stick with a good classic Christmas look than have neon green Dr. Seus’s the Grinch decorations in every inch of your home…. need some suggestions? Check this out. Also… less is more.Focus on enhancing the features of your home. Do you have an amazing view or maybe a gorgeous stone fireplace that can be highlighted with some garland and lights? Or maybe gorgeous open kitchen that could use some decorative candles… ask your REALTOR® to help you maybe determine what could be some huge selling features of your home to highlight with your decorations.Take into account both day and night appeal for potential buyers. Think twinkly lights and cozy fireplace…. think morning sunlight through the back windows…. how will the rooms look at different times of day.The Tree. Yes, you can put up a tree, but try and have it blend into the style of your home. We all love a good tree with mix matched ornaments from childhood, both handmade and store bought. BUT when selling your home you will want to minimize the personalized ornaments and stick to a theme of colors or style for the tree. This year may be the year for a that teal and silver tree you’ve always wanted! Holiday treats! Don’t be afraid to indulge in setting out a few holiday goodies! Everyone loves a good Christmas cookie or candy dish with childhood favorites (you know, those ridiculously hard to find hard ribbon candies!). An added bonus if you bake the cookies just before the showing and not only does the house smell amazing but the cookies on the plate are still warm! Staging your home for the holidays doesn’t have to be stressful. Think like a homebuyer, what would make you feel like you want to buy your home? What were some of the things you fell in love with when you first walked through your home? Just don’t go overboard with the decorations, keep it classy and warm. If you think you’ve got too much, take a few down. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help from your agent!
Did You Know…
59% of homebuyers under the age of 29 don’t expect to be in their home for more than 10 years. 28% of them plan on being in their new home less than five years. SO What does this mean for you as a Seller? There will be more and more young homebuyers in the real estate market and it is imperative that your home be as appealing as possible to these buyers. Not sure how to capture the hearts of these potential buyers? Click Here to read my previous blog about this. OR, call/text/message me and we can chat. I am happy to help you list your home today!
ABC’s of Flipping Houses
All new things can be a little frightening or intimidating at first glance. The same is definitely true when it comes to flipping houses. Many people feel several times during their first flip that they have gotten in over their heads. The truth is that it will take more than a few flips to feel comfortable with the process. Most people make very little, if any real profit on their first flip and write it off as a learning experience only to enter into the next flip with newly learned lessons and a positive attitude. Learning the ABCs of flipping houses is a great place to begin and can help you avoid costly mistakes made by many first time flippers. 1) Appraise. You need to have a proper appraisal performed on the house you intend to flip and compare it to other houses in better condition and of similar size and style within the neighborhood. You do not want to buy the best house in the neighborhood, in fact it is best if you can find the neighborhood eyesore and turn it into a competitive house for the neighborhood in order to get the most for your money. More importantly you want the appraisal to reveal the actual value of the home now as compared to the price you are paying and talk to the appraiser about what the home would be worth the with improvements you are planning to make. 2) Bold Moves. Sometimes it takes bold moves to make the impression you want to make. The decision to flip houses is a bold move in and of itself and while you do not want to necessarily enter into risky waters you do not want to play it too safe either. Be cautious with your financing and guard your expenses and your budget well but make the changes that will catch the eye of the next owner for the property. 3) Can do Attitude. You absolutely must believe you can do this in order to get it done. A house flip is not an undertaking for the timid or those that lack self-confidences. You will need to stand up to your contractors, inspectors, and even some vendors in order to get the best price and the most bang for your buck. In other words you need to believe in yourself and what you are doing in order to get it done. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to the advice of those with more experience and expertise, especially when it comes to structural issues within the home and bringing the property to code but you also need to stand up for yourself to insure that you aren’t paying for things you aren’t getting. 4) Determination. You must also be determined to see your project through to completion. It takes a certain sort of pigheadedness to get through the first few flips. It should be stated here that flipping houses is certainly not an easy way to make a living. It does have the potential however, to be a highly profitable way to make a living and that is what most potential flippers are looking for. If you want those profits you are going to need to push yourself out of bed even on those mornings when you feel as though looking at the property in question is going to make you wail and moan and pull out your hair. 5) Excitement. This may be the most necessary of all ingredients. You will find that excitement is in short supply many days but it if you can recapture that initial excitement over your decision to flip houses then it will sustain you on those days when the plumber brings bad news or you just learned that a solid weak of rain is forecasted for the weak the roof was to go on. This is a small start on the ABCs of house flipping and real estate investing but I think you get the picture. Good luck!
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