Staging on a Budget

Was reading Realtor Magazine and found these Great Ideas on home staging I wanted to share.

REALTOR® Magazine asked readers of our Daily Real Estate News e-mail to send in their best tips for sprucing up listings on the cheap. Here are some of the quick, creative ideas that poured into our inbox.

Ideas for:

•Living Room
•Bedroom
•Bathroom
•Color and Lighting
•Kitchen
•De-cluttering
•Exteriors
•Special Touches

LIVING ROOMS

Create a Focal Point

"Pick out the most visible corner and put a large plant—I've found that silk trees work best. Set up a spotlight behind it so it lights up the leaves and throws an interesting shadow on another wall. It really makes a difference in a person's perception of the space, especially if it's a large room without too much natural lighting."

—Izabela Stone, Keller Williams Realty, Apollo Beach, Fla.


Set Up a Chat Room

"Be sure that the living room furniture is positioned for conversation as well as entertainment. Potential buyers should be able to easily envision sitting in a space where they can easily talk without having to move a chair or turn completely around."

—Rana Lindhorst and Troy Schmidt, Prudential One Realty Centre, Edwardsville, Ill.


Get Rid of Carpet Dents

"Furniture often leaves indentations in the carpet. When a piece of furniture is moved, I tell my clients to put medium-sized ice cubes in the imprints. As the ice melts, it causes the compacted carpet to expand and erase those imprints."

—Shawn Moss, Century 21 C.R. O'Neil & Co.


Accent Special Features

"Place an accent by a home's feature, such as an attractive plant near a fireplace to draw the eye to it or a tall palm or two in place that directs the buyer toward another part of the home or suggests a separation of areas. This also ensures that someone often enters the home to care for it."

—Susan Cramer, HomeSmart Real Estate, Temecula, Calif.


Invoke the Outdoors

"Use a little nature in each room. I create a flow throughout the home using cuttings, flowers, dried flowers, whatever will work. Simple things, such as twigs to spell out a word or a small cutting tied with raffia around a pillow on a bed, draw the eye into the room but don't overpower it. I have even used a branch cutting to make a 'tree' in an empty corner. I try to use one piece of nature in each room to create an ongoing theme throughout the home. It works with any type of decor, whether it's modern or traditional. One important note: Always check for insects!"

—Lauren Scurlock, North Star Real Estate Inc., Virginia Beach, Va.

and of course here is mine, Linda Wieczorek Arizona Elite Properties., Phoenix AZ

Outdoor Space Takes Centre Stage in Phoenix AZ

Playing up the outdoor space can increase the use able square footage as well as highlighting a lifestyle, when I am out showing property it's is the out door living that wows me and most of my clients.

1st When a client drives up to your home, you want them to feel invited, to feel excited to view the inside of your home,and that happens by having a clean front yard.. Add a few flower pots,a door mat, hose the front sidewalk, get rid of the weeds, hose the house off, it gives the front of the home a fresh look. Just a little elbow grease goes a long way.

Personalize your outdoor living space with items such as: Yard art (fountains. unique walking stones, stakes, sculptures, wind chimes, weather vanes, flags and colorful windsocks. Use trellis and garden arbors or Stepping-stones to break up and to connect other areas of the space. Welcome birds by utilizing birdhouses and decorative feeders. Don’t forget to use colorful plants in the ground, pots, railings, window boxes, and/or hanging baskets.

Evening lighting will always add interest and drama so use candles throughout your seating space and string lights to accent an arbor, railing, umbrella, or put them in your trees for light and sparkle. There are solar lights that can be used as a floodlight to highlight trees or garden statuary or fountain. Also use solar lighting to line a walking path, pathways, around gardens, railings and window boxes. These are inexpensive and free to operate. A little goes a long way.

Fireplaces help to warm the space in many ways and are available in many different styles, from built-ins to small mobile types. These help to extend your comfort into the evening hours and add a lot of ambiance.

Selling Smart

Having a tough time selling your home? Bummed in a buyer's market? Check out what you can do to help you get your home sold. You want the buyer to want to jump out of the car to look at your property!!!

1.Evaluate Your Situation
Do you really need to sell? If you love your neighborhood and just need more space, perhaps you can remodel and stay. Or if the market is slow and houses aren't selling, you may be better off waiting or renting your home out.

Whatever your reason, before you even put up the "For Sale" sign, crunch the numbers to see if it makes financial sense to sell your home. These steps will help you figure out whether you should sell or stay

2. Plan Your Selling Strategy
After you've crunched the numbers and decided now is the right time to sell, come up with a strategy to achieve the financial and personal goals. Pricing your home correctly is the most important step in this process and will affect your ability to sell quickly and smoothly, a real estate agent can help you get the correct comps for your neighborhood.

Do your research and be realistic. Know your competition (previously owned homes, new construction, foreclosures) and find ways to make your home stand out. Market your home strategically and effectively and consider offering incentives. Most cities are buyer's markets right now, so your strategy will mean the difference between stale and sold.

The approach you choose depends on your motivation, i.e., how fast you need to get rid of the home and how much money you want to get from the sale. Keep in mind that the longer your house is for sale, the more you'll have to spend.
Choosing the right agent can make or break your sale. First, familiarize yourself with the real estate industry's structure.

Most sellers work with real estate brokers -- real estate agents who are licensed to advertise property on the multiple listing service (MLS), a database that only real estate professionals can access. A seller's agent is called the listing agent.



3.Stage and Show the Home
You have a plan. Now it's time to execute. Prepare your home by cleaning and staging it so buyers can imagine themselves living there. In today's market, open houses and baking cookies are not enough to get buyers interested. Skip the gimmicks and tricks and focus on marketing your home effectively. Technology and the Internet have empowered buyers, so make them work for you too. A clean home will sell faster!!!

Whether a buyer finds out about your house through the MLS, newspaper classifieds, Web sites or word of mouth, your goal is to get them to see your home and make an offer.

*Give your home a fresh coat of paint.
*Replace old siding and roof shingles.
*Remove dated elements like awnings and old light fixtures.
*Sweep the entryway, porch and sidewalks daily. Add an attractive welcome mat.
*Mow and trim the lawn. Add colorful flowers. Invest in shrubbery and other plants that increase your home value.
*Clear the clutter and clean out the gutters and downspouts.
*Clean the windows from the inside and outside.

4.Close the DealYou've done all you can to prepare and show your home. Now you can sit back and watch the offers roll in, right? Not. Offers come in all forms -- from the dreaded lowball to the contingency crazy. The key is to not take the offers personally. They are not reflections of you or your home; they are business propositions.

Review every offer carefully, evaluate the buyer and negotiate terms so you can come to a deal. But a signed contract doesn't mean it's over. You have to pass the appraisal and inspections and negotiate more if needed. Once everyone is satisfied that their terms have been met, you can all sign the paperwork and celebrate.

If you are think of selling your home or know someone who would like to chat, just give me a jingle Linda 602-391-8246

Selling your Home - Feng Shui Staging Tips

Impress buyers by improving your home's energy




Feng Shui (meaning Wind and Water in Chinese) is the ancient art of placement to promote harmony, wealth, success and health. Feng Shui deals with the location and architecture of buildings, along with interior design and exterior landscaping. A working knowledge of Feng Shui may even help in home selling and home buying in today's multicultural world.
Feng shui has thrived in China for hundreds of years, but this design philosophy has only recently made a splash in real estate.The concept has gained popularity in the United States during the past 30 years, and now frustrated home sellers are using feng shui to make their homes more appealing to potential buyers.

1. Make your front door welcoming. Energy enters your home at the front door, so invite it in! Make your door stand out by painting it a color that contrasts with your home, adding a new welcome mat and flanking the door with plants. Choose plants with rounded leaves as sharp leaves can appear aggressive to buyers.

2.Engage the senses as much as possible. Feng shui practices include lots of horizontal space and properly lit rooms.

3.Create space Create a "room of first impression." Buyers generally decide whether they will buy a home in the first eight seconds they spend there, so you want them to see the best room first.

4. Create a clear path to this room with a runner rug or with eye-catching art and accessories.

5. Furniture should not be placed in the direct path of entrances/exits of a room.

6. Be sure a solid wall of support is supporting large furniture. Placing a couch or bed under a window is a bad idea in feng shui.

7. Stimulate your home's energy with sound by adding a wind chime to the front of your house.

8. Remove clutter and depersonalize.