Real Ideas

Home Staging: What’s The Reality In Louisville Homes?

Anyone who watches home decorating shows has heard about home staging. On TV, proper home staging usually results in home sales—sometimes in an amazingly short time. But how does it work in the real world of Kentucky Real Estate?

Hiring a professional stager is an investment in your property.   A stager will come to your property and evaluate your house. The usual first suggestion is the least expensive: de-cluttering. While your family photos are wonderful reminders of those you love, they subtly tell a buyer that this is YOUR house—not theirs. Since you’ll be packing up to move anyway, start the process as soon as you sign the listing contract. Box up family photos and mementos, pack up out-of-season clothes and clean out and organize every drawer, closet and corner. 

Another inexpensive staging technique is painting.   Fresh paint in a warm neutral color lets buyers picture their things in the house. Your professional stager will help you choose a color that is current—which can do a lot to negate things like blue carpet or pink tiles. Buyers today want to be able to move into a home, put in their furniture and turn on the TV. If a seller can help a buyer see themselves in their home, it can be more likely that the buyer will make an offer. 

If you are moving before selling, leaving a house empty can be a negative. Buyers sometimes can’t visualize how things can be placed in a home. A professional stager may recommend renting furniture for vacant houses. While this is an added cost, it can be a good investment. Renting furniture usually runs between $500-800 a month (with many companies requiring a three-month minimum) but this cost, plus the stager’s fees, can be factored into the listing price. (It usually isn’t a good idea to “borrow” old furniture from family or friends for staging purposes—unless your friends have some great new things they’re willing to lend you.)

Staging your home professionally can be a good investment. A good stager will help you make your property stand out from the other KY Real Estate Listings and shine. Many Real Estate Agents in Louisville know or work as professional home stagers. He/she will help you make decisions about staging, help you find contractors to do the necessary work, and guide the work as its being done. Every seller is looking for the buyer who will walk into the home and immediately love it. A professional stager can help make your house the home of a buyers’ dreams. 

 By Marilyn Chavez
       Semonin Realtors
       4967 US Hwy. 42
       Louisville KY 40222
        502-457-1250
       Email mchavez@semonin.com

A National Holiday Especially For Sellers!

If your house is listed in the Kentucky or Indiana Real Estate market, you have no doubt been told by your agent that there are a few things you need to do to get it ready for its buyer. Now there’s a special day to give you the incentive to do the least expensive and most effective option for selling your house.

November 15^th is National Declutter Day!

The event was conceived in 2008 by a decluttering expert and Kijiji.com, eBay’s free classified site.   The day was designed to spur Americans to cure our “pack-rat-it is”, which is defined as “a condition that causes people to hold onto unused items when they are no longer useful, resulting in unnecessary clutter”. A Kijiji survey found that the average American home has 35 items it doesn’t use, with a resale value of $670. (As a self-proclaimed overachiever, I can confidently state that, alas, my home exceeds the average.)

As a seller, decluttering is the first step to making your home into a sellable house. Because you hope to soon move to another property, it is never too early to begin packing up those items that you are not using. Take family photos off the walls, box up out-of-season clothes and clear out kitchen cabinets. Buyers WILL look into your closets and cabinet drawers so make sure that yours are as empty as possible. The more “space” buyers see, the larger your storage spaces appear.

In this era of “green” living, you have several options for the clutter you remove. Donating items to charity can help at tax time. Selling items you no longer need or want online (eBay or Craig’s List are very effective) can bring in extra cash.  

Pack up items you want to move with you but make sure that the storage boxes look neat. Use new boxes (One option: check out www.igotboxes.com; you can purchase new boxes in various sizes at a great price) rather than used and stack them neatly in your garage, basement or a storage unit.

Celebrating holidays in Kentucky is always a fun experience. On November 15^th, call your friends and family and celebrate National Decluttering Day.  It may help you move closer to the next day you want to celebrate: Moving Day!

 


 
  By Marilyn Chavez
       Semonin Realtors
       4967 US Hwy. 42
     Louisville KY 40222
     502-457-1250
     Email: mchavez@semonin.com

Louisville Community Information: A Green Halloween

Written by: Marilyn Chavez with Semonin Realtors
www.marilynchavez.semonin.com

Living “green” doesn’t just mean recycling old newspapers. It can even be applied to holidays like Halloween! Here are a few tricks to treat the environment.

When it’s time to find a costume for the event, start with old clothing from your own closet or a thrift store. Reuse an old costume or swap with a neighbor or friend. Organize a play date with friends to swap costumes that children have outgrown. Donate used costumes to daycare centers or shelters.

Save and reuse Halloween decorations year after year, or make “new” decorations using recycled materials. (One suggestion that might not work as well is to stop dusting your home for October: by the 31^st, natural cobwebs will abound!) After the holiday, compost pumpkins, straw and other organic materials to use as fertilizer in your garden. 

Send children out with reusable buckets, canvas bags or pillow cases as they collect their treats on Halloween night. Teach children to dispose of candy wrappers properly rather than littering. Choose to hand out treats with minimal packaging or forego candy and offer more practical items like pencils, pens, erasers or coins.

Learning to live green includes responsibly celebrating beloved holidays. Have a safe, happy and GREEN Halloween!

Source: EarthShare (www.earthshare.org)

Statistics show that most buyers today shop for their new home on the Internet. It’s a great way to quickly see a great number of houses in your price range. However, there are some very good reasons to head out on a Sunday afternoon and visit realtor Open Houses.

The main reason to visit an Open House is that there’s just nothing like seeing a home “in person”. The Internet is great for getting an idea of what a property is like but many homes photograph differently from reality—either better or worse! Actually driving into a neighborhood will give you much better information than just “map-questing” the address.   Pulling into the driveway, checking out the yard, and walking up to the house will tell you a lot about whether or not you could live there. Photos on the Internet can be misleading; virtual tours are wonderful but can alter the size of the place. And the Internet may not show how close the neighbor—or the freeway—really is.

Another reason to visit an Open House is to meet the realtor. Buying a home can be challenging, especially in the current market. Going to an Open House allows you to meet agents and to find one with whom you are comfortable.   How your questions are answered will help you determine if this person has the skill that you need to buy this or another home. 

Sellers also can benefit from visiting Open Houses. If your home is on the market, going to Open Houses helps you size up your competition. If you’re a seller, just let the realtor know that you’re already working with an agent.   You can see exactly what you’re up against and maybe get some ideas to help make your property more marketable. 

Home buyers today have lots of options; it’s still a buyer’s market. Shopping the Internet helps you “weed out” homes that don’t interest you. But as you search, make sure to check when homes you like are having an Open House.   You may be able to see the home of your dreams in person—and the seller’s realtor will be delighted to help you make that home your own!