Month: December 2017

There are a number of horror stories that involve houses with lead paint. Such homes can prove a nightmare to rehab and sell. While older homes can certainly be visually attractive, they are best avoided because of the presence of lead paint in homes built before the late 1970s.

My company has had to deal with three houses with lead paint-that’s really three houses too many. It’s an expensive process to fix up such houses-lead abatement projects can run into the thousands, in some cases, the tens of the thousands of dollars. Few companies want to deal with that kind of expense, especially if they are trying to prepare homes for re-sale to tenant buyers.

In one particular case, a family was interested in obtaining a home, but they lacked the financial resources to make the deal a reality. As a result, they wanted to provide sweat equity-in other words, they wanted to invest their labor into the home rather than their dollars. The family would do the rehab work, rather than the company. As a result, the family was able to obtain the house at a lower price.

In this particular situation, the father went into the child’s bedroom and sanded and painted the room, stirring up the lead paint. Consequently, the lead rate skyrocketed, creating an unpleasant surprise for all involved.

In order to protect their health, the family ended up moving out and into another one of the company’s properties. However, they didn’t stay at that property long. They moved to another property, then wanted to move back into one of the company’s homes. Unfortunately, the house they moved into was tagged for lead as well. The contractor moved quickly to try to address the situation and remove the lead paint hazard.

When the company performs rehab work, contractors go in and paint everything. If there’s an old rotted window, the contractors will take the window out and put in new vinyl. The idea is to restore the property to its original pristine condition-or as close to that as is humanly possible.

Obviously, when a home has lead paint, the first and most important step is to protect any children living there. The idea is to solve the lead problem before a family moves into the property. But it’s a time-consuming, high-cost process and therefore, it’s not for the faint of heart.

With the real estate market on the downturn, it is tough to sell a house these days. It could be a simple problem called “curb appeal”. If potential homeowners drive by and see your house, they will generally make a first impression, split second decision on whether or not they will continue to look further. They may even come inside for a second look, but first impressions count. Here are ten home staging ideas to make your house more noticeable and inviting for potential homebuyers, and increase your likelihood to sell.

Step 1
Polish up the exterior. The look of the exterior of your house will have a lot to do with how much potential home buyers will consider your home. Its the first glance of your home and therefore it needs to look its best at all times. To do this, either use a pressure washer to clean any stains, or paint the exterior of your home if necessary. This will greatly add a fresh look for curb appeal. Many of the tools needed can be rented or purchased from a local hardware store.

Step 2
Lighting. Light up the houses front pathway and landscaping. Outside lighting will contribute greatly to the alluring qualities of your exterior. Lighting will add to the attractiveness of the home and adds security features.

Step 3
Landscaping using colorful plants and flowers. Include a few plants and flowers where it will accentuate the look of your house. Select colorful plants and flowers, or shrubs that align with the walkway or accent the front door and lighting. Before you decide on a final location youre your plants and flowers, take a step back and take a look from a distance. The flowers and plants shouldnt cover up any strong accent points like windows and doors. It is also a good idea to regularly maintain your landscaping.

Step 4
Looking through windows. Windows should be spotless, and it good shape. Repair any damaged window parts and tighten any screws. Regularly clean your windows too. Curtains and blinds may be added if windows are not in tip top shape.

Step 5
Add outdoor furniture. Entice potential home buyers by adding furniture to your porch of front area. A few chairs and a table will do. Add a nice table cloth to the table and a vase with beautiful orchids or other flowers of your choice. Make potential home buyers imagine their self sitting at the table having lemonade on a hot summer day.

Step 6
Polish up fences. If your fence needs a boost, scrape and repaint it. A fresh coat of paint can brighten the look of the fence and add to the look of the entire yard or front area.

Step 7
Repair lighting. Its a good idea to repair or replace any broken lights. Consider adding solar landscape lighting along the sidewalk and the driveway. Solar landscape lights are inexpensive and come in a variety of styles. For the inside, consider adding compact fluorescent light bulbs which can save you lots of money. According to the Energy Star government site, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

Step 8
Welcome your guests. Its always great to see a nice welcome mat at the front door. This will give potential home buyers a welcoming feeling, as if it was their own home.

Follow these simple home staging ideas and you can achieve a great looking curb appeal that many potential buyers can admire and appreciate as they drive by. Remember, homebuyers can continue driving by or stop and take a closer look inside.

First impressions count. And theyre especially important when you are selling a property. A buyer will often make a decision on a property within just a few seconds so spending a little now to enhance your homes best features can reap dividends.

Its called homestaging and it really is the best way to make sure you sell your property quickly, for the best price. At its simplest, it might mean making sure your property is neat, tidy and free of clutter. Or if youve lived in your home for many years, it might be time to take a hard look at it and maybe revamp furnishings and dcor to create a more contemporary look that will appeal to todays buyers.

Quite a few companies now offer professional homestaging services and furniture but if youre planning to dress a property to sell, take a look at our Top Tips for some design inspiration.

Our Five Top Homestaging Tips:

1. Declutter: Streamline your existing furnishings and take away anything that doesnt need to be there to make the space look bigger. Put large items in storage if necessary and remove smaller items like photos, paintings and maybe accessories that personalise the space too much.

2. Clean and repair: Nothing looks more unloved than a property that is shabby and unkempt. So steam clean carpets to make them look like new, regrout bathroom tiles and repair any chipped paintwork or fixtures that are broken.

3. Dcor: If necessary, give the property a lick of paint to bring it back to life. Neutral colours work best as they make it easier for a buyer to envisage themselves living there. Maybe add a touch of colour with some new accessories cushions, throws or a rug.

4. Furnishings If some of your furnishings are looking a little too lived in, think about renting some homestaging furniture. A new sofa and chairs or a new dining table can add a real wow factor and bring a modern, new look to your living space.

5. Kerb appeal Paint the front door if necessary black always looks smart and gives a classic feel. Tidy up and weed the front garden and add a pair of matching plant pots for a welcoming, personal touch.

Of course sometimes it helps to have a fresh perspective, particularly when you have lived in your property for some years. So you could also think about using a specialist in homestaging services to help you bring out the best in your property. Its a small investment now that should really pay off when you come to sell.

Selling your home fast can be one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks. However, this daunting task can help you earn huge profits if you opt for home staging services for selling your home fast. It is a process of preparing a house for sale incorporating certain proven methods, which are not only quick and cost-effective, but also add aesthetic value to your house. Home staging and redesign is considered to be a highly successful way of selling homes fast at a considerably better price.

Home staging services may include renovating the house, by painting or adding some personalized touch ups. It may also include new fixtures, window treatments, cleaning or re-stretching the existing carpet, select furniture to compliment the accessories and artwork of the rooms. Home staging services can also include the landscaping and pressure washing the exterior of the house. It helps in yielding significant results and helps to make a profit.

Home staging tips: Home staging tips help homeowners increase the probability of selling the home fast, at the highest possible price. They are as follows:

. Remove the clutter: By far the best way to sell your house fast is to get rid of all the clutter in your house. It is essential to clear the unnecessary clutter to achieve a neat and clean look. It certainly increases the chances of attracting prospective buyers, as buyers prefer buying uncluttered houses. You can sell or donate your unwanted utensils, clothes, boxes and many other insignificant things that occupy considerable amount of space in your house. Removing the clutter gives a descent look to your home that helps sell it fast.

. Showcase the house as generic: Try to bring a generic effect in the rooms, which appeals to a number of people. Mostly rooms reflecting pet, family, career interests does not appeal a variety of homebuyers. It is wise to include some room accessories, literature on the bookshelf and religious preferences. The idea is to redesign your house in such a manner that can arouse interest in people from different walks of life. It helps them find something or the other in the house that match their basic interests and help them to imagine their stay in the house.

. Modify the look: Home staging services help modify the look of your house, by making slight changes. You can enhance the beauty of your house by making the entryway of your house as welcoming as possible. You can plant flowers in the front yard to brighten it up. Besides you can also include landscape lighting to your garden, thereby brightening up the complete ambience of the house. Proper lighting in the house can add charm to the home and remove the gloomy shadows, making the rooms livelier.

. Arrangement of furniture: Making slight changes in the arrangement of furniture can make a lot of difference to the look of a house. You can arrange furniture in small settings if the room is large.

. Color psychology: Color plays a significant role in changing the attitude of people towards a house. It is essential to choose colors for your house wisely. Try to use bright colors in the bedrooms to make them appear lively.

In spite of the fact that each individual has his or her own requirements along with tastes, most people still possesses a quite similar knowledge of comfort and luxury. Because of this, staging a home for sale, it would be not difficult to follow some general things, used to create a fascinating atmosphere within the exterior and interior of a house, that may be appreciated by many.
So, first of all it happens to be important to make your house looking nice and trim. The existence of garbage or clutter will certainly spoil the impression made by the house, if you will demonstrate it to your prospective buyers. Secondly, the rooms at your residence need to be well-lit, to enable your prospective buyers to check out the furnishing of the property. And thirdly, the furnishing of your home as well as its style must provide the atmosphere of harmony and comfort, where your prospective buyers should be able to relax and enjoy their time, while staying at home.
You can try to develop this type of fascinating atmosphere, employing your very own comprehension of style and comfort along with some general principles we’ve mentioned previously above. However, if you want to get the the greatest results, while making your house looking very pricey and even getting the highest price for its sale, then it might be of great importance to take into consideration the advices of an professional on how to stage a house to sell.
At present the real estate staging a house to sell definitely seems to be quite intricate issue that will need a distinctive approach and consideration of the volume of significant points, which may be missed by non-professionals. In order to start staging a home we offer you to discover the decorating ideas proposed by Lise Desormeaux, that is known as the successful Home Staging and Decorating Educator. Her home staging tips present a superb guide as for realtors as for homeowners, that happen to be capable to transform their houses into the million dollar homes, which might be speedily sold. These tips can be also ideal for those, which are going to furnish their abodes into the clutter-free and beautiful homes by not hiring a decorator.
Go through the tips of Lisa Desormeaux, positioned on www.lisedesormeaux.com, and you will be able to save lots of money, discovering the powerful strategies for home staging.