ABC’s of Fine Design

I have been thinking of starting a decorating and house staging business. I think it may be the best way for me to get the experience I need to get into a good company. I know that sounds strange but because many states require that I take and pass the NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Education) I need to have 2 years of work experience under someone who also has passed the test, so now you see where my thinking comes in.

Anyway I think if I can prove that I can handle clients and work with people it may help me land that job after I graduate. Home stageing is something I have always been interested in so it works well for me. I have spent some time thinking of ways I can get the word out once I can get things going. I thought sending Business Christmas Cards or general holiday cards to people from a mailing list might help me get some interested clients. I want to do something different and unique that will get their attention. I may even include a discount coupon or something. The good thing is that I wouldn’t have to charge a ton of money for it either. I could do a free walk though and then offer the price for my services.

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Right now the housing market stinks in most places it is a buyers market and while that is great for the new home buyer, it’s not so great for the seller who is having to keep dropping the price on a home that they hoped would get them though retirement or there selling to avoid Foreclosure. I have a few tips for you home buyers to get the best price you can for you home.

Staging your home to sell is not hard, the first thing you want to do is clean, you would not believe how many people don’t do this. They figure the home will sell no matter what, but guess what a dirty home will not sell. I have looked at many homes and if it’s dirty I think cheep and look at all the work I have to do before I can even move in. If you have a clean home people like it as they feel they can move right in without having to do any work.

If you paint the rooms of your home a neutral color more buyers will be interested, that is just the way the market works, you can still use some color, but keep it to an accent wall or in accessories. Yes you will have accessories, homes tend to sell better when it’s staged in a way that makes you feel like you already live there. If you have already moved all of your things out, rent or borrow some nice Furniture for the day or days of your open house. You can sometimes rent decent Furniture for $500-$1000 for a month. This could really help add to your sales.

The last tip I have for you is a simple, but hard working tip. You want to make sure you have curb appeal. If you don’t most people will just walk by it and run fast in the other direction. You need to invite people into your home by having a well landscaped lawn and well kept garden. Now I understand if it’s winter or your in an area where there is water conservation going on, and so will your buyers, but if your not in those areas you need to keep the lawn mowed and the grass and other plants green.

These tips should help you to sell your home for the best price you can get for it today. Unfortuanitly that may not be the price you want, but with some work you won’t lose too much and hopefully you can feel better about that next offer.

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Right now as many of you know the economy stinks and it’s very hard to sell a home. Most people who are looking for a home are looking for something cheep and nice. Personally I’m looking for cheep and sturdy. I want something to fix up a little.

The following are a few tips I have to help you sell your home.

• Clean things up. Dirty homes do not sell. You want the buyer to believe that there is more space in a home then there is or at least not to think there is less because of all the clutter.

• Use promotional products to advertise your home. People love free stuff and even if they don’t buy your home, they may tell someone who does about the cool item they got from you.

• Use business cards. This does fall into the above category, but I wanted this one separate. You can leave business cards anywhere and they are very inexpensive to make. All you need to put on it is home for sale, price asked address and phone number of your Realtor.

• Throw a open house with food and entertainment. Invite your neighbors and have them meet your potential buyers. Some people may just decide to put in an offer if they like the people who live nearby.

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I was reading an interesting artical on yahoo this morning about how a couple decided to hire a fung shui expert to make some minor changes to their home. It cost them about $250 for the expert, but a few weeks later they found a buyer after 2 years of trying to sell.

Do I think fung shui had something to do with it, yes I do. It’s not some mystical reason fung shui makes a home more inviting. It makes the person coming into it want to stay forever. The reasons are simple many of the fung shui practices are things that would make most people calm and happy. Adding plants and letting in sunlight are just two ways to help. De cluttering is another, but these are pretty well known ways to help sell a home. The following are other ways you can use fung shui to sell a home.

Rearrange your furniture so that it is easy to move in your home, get rid of anything that could block the walking path or the flow of chi. Make sure when seated no one is facing with their back to the door. This can cause people to be uncomfortable. Yes when looking at a house many people will sit on your furniture if it’s there.

Most people like fountains, if you have one keep it there to create a peaceful environment. Make sure it is removable since a few people are not fond of them. Place them in the north area of the home to enhance your wealth luck.

Clean and repaint your front door. This not only is one of the first things a buyer will see, but the front door is associated with wealth. Keeping it clean will give you more wealth luck. If you can paint it read as this is the color of abundance in fung shui

Make sure all pictures and artwork are happy in nature. Having sad pictures or hurtful looking artwork can send the wrong message to a buyer. These types of things make people feel unwelcome and usually cause them to move on to another home.

I hope if you are trying to sell your home, you will check these things out. I know fung shui worked at least once for me. It could help you too.

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I live in Michigan, there are no jobs here and we are always getting companies from other states looking for people to move and work. My friend has spent a few days looking for land for sale Branson as she is moving to that area and wants to buy land and build a home. She has friends in the area she will be living with until it’s done.

The problem right now is that the homes here are not selling. I have told the few people I know who own homes and are trying to sell them that they need to make changes. They don’t want to. They don’t want to put that extra money into them. Right now many just want the house sold no matter how much they lose on it. Now for these people I’m not telling them to redo a kitchen or the bathroom, but updating the rusty faucet and cleaning the carpets are helpful. When selling your home you want it to look like a hotel, but a hotel that they can see themselves staying at for a long time. The best advice I have if you don’t want to put a lot of money into your home is at least make sure it is clean from top to bottom. Wipe the walls down and clean the carpets. If you do have a little extra pay someone to come in and do this right before your open house. It will help, you may not make big bucks but it should help sell your home.

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I talk about Mortgages a lot on this blog. Most people who do interior design work know a lot about them and homeowners should if they do not. When I talk about mortgages I usually am talking about the ones in the united states. Other countries have them too, like Brittan and France and so on. Right now they are actually doing well in those countries and it’s a great time to buy. Check out companies that have free financing and other great perks.

On the other hand if your in those countries and looking for a home in the US now is a great time to buy. Come help us out! Really though if you do have the money check out homes in the US or in the UK. Home buying is something you can invest in. You probably don’t want to try house flipping for the first time right now though. Since you probably won’t be able to sell a home in most places, but you can buy a home for yourself and invest in the future of your family and your retirement.

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Mailboxes are one of the things that many people may overlook if it’s just the same plain mailbox, but if you make it stand out in a good way, people will look at your home differently.

There are many ways to spruce up your mailbox. The following are a few of them:
 

• Clean it. A clean mailbox makes the home look cared for, remember details are what show you really care.
• Make it match the home. Either by drawing out the accent color with it or having it the same color as the home. 
• Don’t go overboard. If your not selling your home, you could probably get a weird looking mailbox and be fine, but if your selling take down the customized looks like your dog mailbox and put in something else. Mailboxes that look like the home, usually do go over well so you can keep those.
• Fix any broken parts. Preferably when they break, not only is it a hazard to you the homeowner, the mail man visits that box every day, be nice to them and fix it.

These tips should help make your mailbox stand out and add to the curb appeal of your home. Fix this and then start on the rest of that yard. Unless theres snow like I have right now, then wait a few months!

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