10 Great Home Staging Tips

Today’s homes don’t sell themselves. To win the battle for buyer attention and bring in the best offers, you have to play an active role in marketing your home. If you’re serious about selling for top-dollar and in record time, follow these sure-fire tips for staging successfully.

1. Check out the competition.
The first step to selling success is to find out what you’re up against. Before and during the selling process, visit other property open houses to see how your home measures up.
When you’re out, here are a few things to note:
• Property Condition
• Highlighted features
• Move-in readiness
• Staging tactics that will work for you

2. Create a staging plan.
Great staging requires that you cover your bases like a pro every time. Whether you hire a professional stager or work with your agent to do-it-yourself, put together a staging plan complete with a checklist and photos of what your home looks like when it’s ready to show. Follow the plan before every showing to make sure you put your best foot forward.

3. Get (and follow) professional advice.
If you’re serious about selling you need to enlist objective professional help. Ask your agent about his or her staging experience or if he or she has a professional stager or designer to recommend.
Data has shown that homes prepared by professional stagers sell for more. Getting an unbiased review from someone who sees your property “as a product” can be invaluable.

4. Eliminate the Excess.
Before you head out to buy new accessories to “spruce up your home” focus first on the items you can remove that will enhance a buyer’s experience.

The best signs of things you should eliminate are things that you aren’t using and those you’re planning to get rid of before you move.

5. Pre-pack personal items.
Depersonalizing and de-cluttering are the most critical steps of staging, but they can be a challenge, To make it easier, start by pre-packing and storing away the items you won’t need until after the move and anything personal (like family photos) that might prevent buyers from the envisioning the home as their own.

6. Clear off the counter space.
When it comes to the tops of your tables and counters, less is more. Clear off your counter spaces except for the occasional decorative or functional pieces (clocks or vases of flowers).

Remember, your gal is to help buyer see themselves in a home and they can’t do that with your stuff in the way.

7. Clean inside and out.
Everyone thinks they know what “clean” means when it comes to their own home. Here’s where an agent or professional stager can be super helpful. Invite them in to get an outsiders opinion on how to make the nooks and crannies you’ve forgotten about, glisten.

Also remember, the best selling homes tend to have garages, basements, side yards, and other outdoor spaces that are just as immaculate as their kitchens, bathrooms and master bedrooms.

8. Dive into the trim and details early.
It’s tempting, when staging, to do the big jobs – painting walls, polishing floors, moving futniture – and to run out of steam and cash before the little details get handled. Some of the least expensive home staging projects can carry the most powerful buyer-impressing payload. Here are a few details to make your listing standout.

• Clean or paint baseboards and other trim
• Ensure locks, doors and drawers work properly
• Paint or replace outdoor access like house numbers or mailboxes.

9. Shoot sample photos.
The first contact most house hunters have with your property is from a computer or mobile phone. Making sure your property presents well there is a big step toward sold.

Before you show off your home to the public, take a look at it from their view. Use your camera or Smartphone to take sample photos and view them on your computer.

10. Be brutally honest with yourself.
When you think you are done preparing your home, think again. It’s not overkill to go out on a Sunday afternoon, walk through a few Open Houses, get back in the car and drive home to walk through it like a buyer would. Ask yourself: What can you edit or de-clutter/ What is distracting? What stops a buyer from seeing the possibilities for their own family here? 

If all else fails, take your agent with you. Arm him or her with a packet of post-it notes and give them free reign to stick one on anything that should be removed before showing your home. Then get that stuff out of there.

Moradifar Group Tip Grab: Small Space? No Problem.

Tips on Making the Most Out of Your Small Space

 

Do you have a small living room, bathroom or space you aren’t sure what to do with? Turn that small space into your favorite room in the house and get started with these clever tricks to make any room seem more spacious.

 

Go Monochromatic
Light shades of blue, green, cream, gray or yellow can open up a room instantly. Think pale hues are bland? You can shake up your color palette and detail your room with bright variations of the same hue to add interest and dimension. Color can heighten a room, too. When a ceiling is painted a brighter shade, your eyes are drawn upward, making the room appear taller.

Let Mirrors Do the Work For You
Choose a focal point in the room, like a piece of art or a unique decoration, and mount a mirror on the opposite wall to reflect the piece. This adds the illusion of depth, plus it gives your favorite item twice the attention. Not sure you have a good focal point? No problem. Face your mirrors toward windows or lamps to reflect light and add the appearance of additional space.

Open Up Your Windows
Don’t set your curtain rods to the edges of the window-extend them beyond the frame for the illusion that your windows are larger. When you do this, you’ll also let more light into the room, making it warmer and cozier.

Play With Furniture Arrangements
When arranging a room, your instincts might tell you to push furniture against the wall to open up space in the center. Resist that urge and be playful with arrangements. Try angling pieces or pulling them away from other items to give them room to breathe. And when you opt for multi-purpose furniture, like an ottoman that doubles as a storage bin, you’ll reduce unnecessary clutter in the room.

It’s easy to make any room look larger and it doesn’t have to cost a bundle. In fact, you can try some of these ideas for free! Get started now and have your room feeling more spacious in minutes.

Reposted from AHS.com

Note: Moradifar Group, American Home Shield Corporation, nor its licensed subsidiaries assumes any responsibility for any loss or damage which may be suffered by the use of this information.



 



LA Hotspots - Best Places to Buy and Sell in Los Angeles

Market Map on Los Angeles Hotspots - Best Places to Buy and Sell.

Courtesy of MLS.com

Tip for Sellers: Buyer's May Not Love Your Pets Like You Do

Almost everybody loves pets except the home buyer who is buying your house. Don't ask us why, but that's often how it works out. Home sellers who adore their pets -- and we count ourselves as huge pet lovers -- have a hard time imagining the negative attitudes others harbor against pets. So, while this might be a bitter pill to swallow, if you want to get top dollar for your house, pay attention to how much you might lose with a dog or cat in residence.

Why Don't Home Buyers Like Your Pet?
•Nervousness. Pets make some people very uncomfortable. Not everybody grew up with a family pet or enjoys outings at the zoo. Fur and four legs does not a human make.
•Fear. Real and irrational. It's not only dogs that instill fear in people. All kinds of silly wives' tales and superstitions involve cats.
• Inexperience. Pets are not always predictable.
• Your pets aren't their pets. They imagine yours may bite, jump, vomit, claw, spit-up hairballs or are just plain hyper or bad in some way.

#1 Preferred Pet Solution
 You're not going to like this but we'll say it anyway, fully realizing that this very excellent piece of advice is likely to fall on deaf ears. The best thing to do to ensure top price for your home is to relocate your pets while your home is on the market. Putting them in the back yard, in the garage or in another room that you keep locked is insufficient, and it's not fair to them. You need to remove them from the house.
•Let a friend or relative care for Fluffy and Spike.
•Board them comfy and cozy at a kennel.
•Send them on vacation.

Overcoming Negatives Associated with Your Pets
If you shrug off all professional advice and absolutely refuse to move your pets out of the house, then at least minimize the objections and nuisance factors, real or otherwise:
•Cat Litter Boxes & Dog Potty Pads
 Keep them out of sight and impeccably clean. Nothing turns off buyers faster than opening the door to the laundry room and being greeted by a full or stinky cat box.
•Carpet & Floor Pet Stains
Hire professionals to remove the stains. Buyers will spot them and form unfavorable opinions about the rest of the house. If the stains can't be removed, then remove the floor covering and replace it.
•Pet Odors and Smells
1.Cat urine is the worst. Without question. The. Worst. Bring in a neighbor to do a whiff test.
2.Do not use air fresheners. People with allergies will react.
3.Try enzyme cleaners such as Simple Solution , Nature's Miracle or call a professional ozone company.

Remove Signs of a Pet
You may be required by state law to disclose that pets have lived in your home, but you don't need to advertise that pets live at your house. Removing signs that you have a pet is simply smart practice. Why turn off a buyer at the get-go? It's those first impressions that are so all-fired important.
•Do not put photos online showing your cat asleep on the bed
•Seal up doggie doors
•Put away food and water bowls when not in use
•Vacuum/sweep religiously, every day, sometimes twice a day
•Pick up pet toys and put them away
•Pack up cat trees and other signs of cat paraphernalia (you know who you are)
•Remove photos of pets from refrigerator, walls and table tops
•Pack up all cages, carriers and other tell-tale signs

Showing Your House
Put your pets into a carrier and attach a note warning buyers not to disturb them. The last thing you need is somebody sticking their hand inside the carrier and getting bit or scratched. You can't predict how your pet will react when locked up and alone.

An agent learned the hard way watching a cat run loose during a showing. They were outside talking to the neighbor while the selling agent showed the home. There was loud knocking and looked up to see the agent rapping on an upstairs window. They thought he was showing the buyer they had dual panes. It didn't dawn on them that he was panicking and couldn't figure out how to open the window. When the rapping continued, they went inside. Turned out the cat had cornered the agent and the buyer, and was growling at them.

Needless to say, that buyer didn't buy that house.
(A Repost)

Understanding Home Automation - Home Monitoring

These days, we are more likely to encounter homes equipped with home automation systems that allow homeowners to remotely access and control things, like heating, air conditioning, and even some appliances, using smartphones. David and I pride ourselves on using cutting-edge proven technologies that work for our clients. Here’s a look at some of the different systems to educate you about this rapidly evolving technology.

What makes a smart home smart?
Home security systems, lighting timers and programmable thermostats are nothing new. But in recent years, those technologies have evolved, becoming integrated into comprehensive, Internet-connected systems that provide an unprecedented level of visibility and control when homeowners are away.

Home automation services like ADT PulseSM, Comcast’s XfinityTM Home and AT&T Digital LifeTM offer features like remote video monitoring, alarm alerts, appliance monitoring and so much more. Using a smartphone or tablet app, you can not only see what’s happening at your home but also perform actions like turning lights on and off, locking and unlocking doors and setting the thermostat.
Forgot to close the garage door? What if your teenager loses the house keys? Not sure if you left the oven on? Connected home systems can solve all these problems.

The upside of this technology is obvious: It offers a tremendous amount of convenience and control. But, you may find that it’s not ideal for all of you.

What’s the downside?
All those cool features come at a cost. Some providers charge monthly or annual fees to monitor and maintain home automation systems, such as traditional home security systems. They all require an Internet connection, and you will need an app-enabled mobile device in order to control the system remotely. There are costs associated with each of these components, so it’s important to be aware of them when considering a home equipped with automation. Additionally, if you are older or not savvy about technology, they may find home automation systems confusing or intimidating. You may even have privacy concerns.

Automation in surprising places.
In addition to whole-home automation systems, connected technologies are beginning to appear in a variety of home appliances. Some high-end appliance manufacturers now offer WiFi connected appliances, including refrigerators and washing machines, that allow remote monitoring and control through smartphone apps.

Imagine getting a text from your fridge telling you that you need milk. With today’s technology, it’s possible. There’s even a water faucet filtration system on the horizon that will communicate with smartphones and tell you what’s in their water, when to replace the filter and which filter is best for your water chemistry. 

We want to hear from you.
What do you think are some personal pros and cons of this new technology? Are you already using it? Would you consider it for your home? 

reposted article from AmericanHomeShield

Los Angeles Homeowner Plumbing Tips

Prevention is often the best medicine. This is a great and short video on some plumbing tips for homeowners.

Please feel free to comment and share some of your tips with us. We want to hear from you!

Real Estate Websites and Limit Hold Em Poker Musings

We are going to admit something to you: these websites that have people fooled into thinking you can just hover over a house with your mouse to magically assess its value? You're kidding me. It's not a job for a computer. It's a job for a human. Computers can't touch us. This is a long essay-- we won't bore you. If that's enough for you, here, contact us for a holiday gift guide. If you want to read more, please see below.

It can take us a full three hours to comp a house. Sometimes more and I am a professional with 10 years experience. Make no mistake about it; it takes a lot of time. This isn't a bad thing, because 

A) maybe we get the listing, 

B) if we do it for a friend as a favor they never forget it and they invite us over for dinner and we like that, and 

C) it keeps us pencil sharp. If my real estate pencil isn't sharp, I'm toast.

For instance, the poker style no limit version of Wilson software, however, is absolutely worthless. It just was. A real poker player would know within two seconds. Because no limit isn't mathematical. It's a touch of math, but it's mostly experience and feel.

These real estate websites? I'm going to let you in on a little secret. All they are is Wilson Software -- the worthless, no limit version. They have one piece of data...which is OK, that's a form of empowerment for the client and I'm not mad at that. But we think they are confusing people more than they are helping, because comping a house isn't limit Hold 'Em. It's high stakes, no limit Hold 'Em all the way. Limit Hold 'Em is like driving an automatic car. It's a piece of cake. No limit Hold 'Em? It's as complex as flying an airplane. They are two different sports.

These websites have aggregated the most basic set of data a realtor uses, i.e. square footage, lot size, etc., and they have that bird's eye view. That's it. If that's all I used to comp a house, you should knock my commission down. Your local real estate agents her aren’t on top from above. We are in the streets. And we’re sick of talking about Zillow at dinner parties. Or at least this realtor is. My feet have to touch the pavement to comp your house. I can't do it from a map on top. That bird's eye view that tells people what the public records recorded is just one piece of data. I'm not going to tell you everything I do to comp a house, because I don't want to bore you. But for one thing, I'm in the houses on Tuesdays. So every time I walk into a house, whatever that house is telling me goes into my gut, and I'll use it later down the road. If the house isn't right for a client, I still go in there and pay attention and just "feel the house" a bit with my insides so I can file it in my gut for later.

Then we watch that house on the MLS at night with my headphones on, while the rest of the world is watching Million Dollar Listing (ugh) or American Idol. We watch that house go into escrow, fall out of escrow if that's going to happen, go back in escrow, and then eventually sell. We watch the whole thing. 

It's like watching a baseball game. It relaxes us. The rhythm of this is kind of like the rhythm of a poker table. I can tell by how long it took to go into escrow, and how quickly it goes from looking for backup to pending, and how quickly it sells, everything I need to know about the market. I can tell the whole story of the transaction. It's like watching a movie. If it's moving hot, that tells one thing. If it's cooling, that tells us another. If you're selling your house, your realtor uses this information when they counsel you about making a price adjustment.

These websites... can't do... any of this! Zillow is bird's eye view. I'm in the house. Then I eat lunch right there and I take the temperature of the neighborhood. Are there any new cool stores and restaurants? What's going on over there? How is the traffic? Is the traffic getting better or worse? We drive around. We talk to people. We feel it. This is what your good, hard working, local real estate agents do. We are Angelenos and we control our own schedule for the most part, but we are always "tuned in" to what's going on. Those websites can't touch us. Many, many agents don't do this. Most agents probably don't do it. But the good ones do.

Selling houses in L.A.? That's high stakes, no limit all the way. It's flying an airplane. It has so much texture to it, it's fascinating. You're at the table, and you're sitting there with your headphones on, and you're just feeling the table tighten up and loosen up. It's all feel. There's nothing we like more. It's no different than watching the real estate market at night with your headphones on. Let's say you have a pair of sevens or something, and there's a flush draw on the board, and the other player is betting into you and putting you up against the wall. What do you do? You take the most base, obvious data (the piece that Zillow can do), and then you use all your tools that you've built up from years in the game. You use your experience and your instincts that you have earned over time at the tables. And you make the call.

For us, houses are cards and cards are houses. It's all the same thing. 

Right now? There's no inventory. The table is tight. The interest rates are very low, more people with chips want to get into the game but there's none available. There initials are on the board. It will loosen up, but be patient. Hang tight and be ready to pounce. If you find a house you like, it's a seller's market right now. Bet large or someone's going to come over the top on you.

Excerpt by the Huffington Post: John Bronson