Early Bird's Guide to Selling

Spring brings out home buyers en masse. But in these waning days of winter, many home sellers are still hibernating. Well, it’s time to wake up! Although technically the peak home-buying period is still a few months away, the time to get your home in shape to sell is right now.

“Put in the prep work before the season starts,” says Peggy Yee, supervising broker at Frankly Realtors in Vienna, VA. If you dillydally, you risk having to scramble to get your house ready to list. Even though it’s a seller’s market in many parts of the country, you still need to bring your A-game if you want to get the most value out of your home.

Moreover, “you want your home to be ready to list at the start of the spring home-buying season,” says Lisa Cahill, co-owner of Evolve Real Estate in St. Petersburg, FL. “If you hold off on getting the process started, you may not be ready to put your home on the market until the late side.”

So what can you be doing now? Allow us to elaborate so you’re ready to roll once that wave of home buyers hits.

Find an experienced listing agent

Before you start making repairs or updates to your home, you’ll want to enlist an expert who can guide you through the process; otherwise you could wind up wasting cash on things that don’t improve your home’s sales value. You can find potential agents through word of mouth or on an online database.

Cahill recommends interviewing at least three agents before settling on one.

“You want a local expert,” she says. “Someone who knows the area and knows how to price your home.”

To ensure you’re hiring a neighborhood specialist, find out how many listings the agent had in your area within the past 12 months—and ask about the average days on market for the listings.

“Just because someone does a lot of business in your neighborhood doesn’t mean they’re necessarily good at selling homes quickly,” says Yee.

Statistics show that the median home spends 65 days on the market, from the instant it’s listed until the day it closes. But this number can vary widely. Use realtor.com®’s interactive map to find out the median days on market in your area and other local data that can help you determine how well your own agent should be performing.

Spread the word

By finding an agent early on, that person can then start marketing your home simply through word of mouth to other agents, letting them know that your house will be listed in the spring. Doing so creates buzz around your listing—and may even lead you to capture a serious home buyer before your home hits the market.

Plus, you can do some early marketing, too—by telling your friends and family that you’re hoping to sell. Go ahead and post some pics on Facebook and see what happens! Maybe your own social network will deliver a buyer right to your door.

When making repairs, focus on the interior

Curb appeal is important, but it doesn’t make sense to do exterior repairs until bad weather is over.

“If you replace siding in the winter, it could get wear and tear before spring,” says Yee. So if you live in a snowy city like Buffalo or Chicago, wait until closer to spring to do exterior work.

Instead, use that time to make updates to your home’s interior based on your real estate agent’s recommendations. Go room to room with your agent and create a list of things you need to fix. Even small repairs, like fixing chipped paint or replacing a leaky faucet, are good to get out of the way during the winter. Also, “when you repair surface issues, buyers are less concerned about finding major problems with the home,” says Cahill.

It’s also a good idea to have your HVAC appliances serviced by a professional now—“that way you can tell buyers that you’ve checked the system and everything is running well,” says Yee.

Dig into decluttering

Clutter can be a huge turnoff to prospective buyers. But even for nonhoarders, a thorough decluttering can take months, says Yee.

“Getting rid of your stuff always takes longer than you think,” she adds. “Even decluttering just one room each week starting today will reduce stress later on.”

Depending on how many personal items you choose to keep (donate or sell the ones you don’t, instead of schlepping them to your next home), it may make sense to rent a storage unit for a couple of months.

Consider professional home staging

Over a third of real estate agents stage their listings, and the payoff can be substantial: On average, staged homes sell 88% faster and for 20% more than nonstaged ones. If your agent doesn’t offer staging services, ask for a recommendation.

Why do this in the winter? Because staging costs can potentially add up to thousands of dollars—staging for a 2,000-square-foot home, for example, would cost around $2,000 to $2,400, says Boca Raton, FL, real estate agent Crystal Leigh Hemphill. Knowing how much money you’ll need well in advance can help you develop a budget plan, since staging expenses are typically paid out of pocket, says Cahill.

Are you looking to buy a new home while you sell? Then you’ll benefit from reading our early bird’s guide to buying a home, too.

Article from Realtor.com.

A Chocolate Affair: Equity Idaho's Client Appreciation Party

Today is the Day! If you're out and about this evening, stop by our Equity Idaho office for our Chocolate Affair. There will be loads of sweets & fun people to chat with. See you there!

12 Key Decorating Tips from Houzz

I hate to break it to you, but designers don’t follow a secret rule book. There are no hard and fast laws governing what we do. We are creative types by nature and love to imagine, dream and explore, following our intuition. That said, there are some rough principles that guide us to ensure a great result every time. They are just tried and true things that work. And these aren’t tricks or skills that take years to master. Anyone can do them from day one. Consider this a foundation for developing your own quirky, creative, rule-breaking intuition. 

White T Design

1. Pick the paint color last. I get calls all the time from homeowners who want to pick a paint color before they move in. I get the logic. Why not arrive to walls with a fresh coat of paint? Of course you can do it this way, but in my opinion it’s not ideal.

There are thousands of paint colors with various tints, tones and shades. And each one looks different from home to home, because light sources vary, meaning what looks good in your current home might not in your new one. You want the color that best complements your upholstery, artwork, rug and whatever else. You can pick that color only if your stuff is actually inside your home.

2. Give your furniture some breathing room. Resist overcrowding a room. Gracious living means space to maneuver with ease. This is really great news if you are working with a tight budget. You don’t need to fill up a space with lots of furniture. Spend more of your budget on fewer but better-quality pieces, and your room will look better than if it’s stuffed to the gills with flea market finds. The high-backed chairs shown here, for example, stand out because they don’t have to fight for attention.

Nest Architectural Design, Inc.

3. Hang artwork at the right height. Galleries and museums hang artwork so that the midline (center) of each piece is 57 inches to 60 inches from the floor. (The average human eye level is 57 inches.) And you should do the same.

In a room like this, where the ceilings soar, there might be a tendency to hang the art higher. But remember: It needs to relate to human scale, not the structure’s scale.

If you’re not sure, take a picture. It’s remarkable how much a photo can reveal. Print it out or use Photoshop or an app to draw on the photo. This can give you a sense of whether a larger or smaller piece of art is needed or a tall plant might be best to fill a vacant spot. 

KDW Home/Kitchen Designworks

4. Know how to arrange furniture on a rug. There are basically three ways you can arrange furniture on your rug.

All on: The rug is large enough to place all of the furniture legs on top of it. This creates a more luxurious feel. For this, bigger is better. Just be sure to leave at least 12 to 18 inches of floor surface on all four sides of the rug’s borders.

All off: If you have a small room, keeping all legs off the rug is a great cost-effective choice. You don’t want to pick too small a rug, though, or it may look insignificant, like an afterthought. The rug should appear as though it could touch the front legs of each of the seating pieces. This approach is best suited when you’re layering a pattern over a larger solid or textured rug.

Elizabeth Reich

Front on: Put just the front feet of all your seating pieces on the rug to tie the arrangement together visually and create a well-defined space while lending a feeling of openness. 

Blackband Design

5. Resist the urge to be too theme-y. For example, the Cape Cod look is a very popular request. You know the hallmarks: beadboard, a blue and white nautical palette, some sailboat paintings. But this has been done so many times, it lacks individuality. In this room the coastal vibe was achieved through a palette, artwork and materials that give the effect without drawing on the obvious clichés.

OLighting

6. Create a focal point. There are leading roles and supporting cast members in any production. The same holds true in design. Choose your star and make it the focal point to anchor a room. Allow other items to take a secondary role. Don’t ask everything to have a leading role; it will just result in visual noise.

Your focal point might be a dramatic hood in the kitchen, a mantel and art piece in the living room or a headboard in the bedroom. Whatever it is, choose something that will draw attention. In this room the fireplace and the lighting work together as a collective focal point, bringing your eye right to the center of the composition and anchoring it there.

Julia Cutler Interior Design

7. Consider sight lines. Your focal point should be free and clear from one room to the next, so that it feels like you’re being drawn between them. That’s why the best spot for a focal point is usually directly across from the entrance to the room.

Jamie Laubhan-Oliver

8. Edit your collectibles. Don’t hang on to a piece that just doesn’t fit. I don’t care if your great-aunt Sally gave it to you. If it’s not working for you, then find a new home for it (maybe in a different room).

The unifying theme here is the use of black in the utilitarian pieces. The balance is almost perfect. It reminds me of something Coco Chanel said about accessorizing: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” In design, know when to stop.


Sutro Architects

9. Vary the scale. What looks good in the store may look like an elephant in the room when you bring it home. Or it’s too tiny to be of any significance. So always vary scale and proportion.

The oversize sunburst mirror frame fills up the wall space nicely here, while the sand dollars make an interesting grouping below. They would be much too insignificant individually. Threes and fives make for more pleasing arrangements than even numbers.

Gast Architects

10. Add layers of lighting. In this kitchen seating area, the backsplash is lit, the artwork is highlighted and the cabinet interiors are filled with light. One central lighting fixture would not have had nearly the same dramatic result.

Professionals build layers of lighting to create interest, intrigue and variety. In a room where everything is lit evenly, nothing stands out. Pick a focal point and perhaps a secondary focal point and highlight those. Add general ambient lighting and some lower lighting, like table lamps, for interest.


STEPHEN FLETCHER ARCHITECTS

11. Be bold. Personality is what makes a space great. Make your own statement and have fun. The more you try, the more you will begin to see what works and what doesn’t.

Incorporate unexpected elements for drama. The unconventional ottoman seats, library-style bookshelves and oversize chandelier here are all unexpected in a conventional living room, but the result has charisma. Eschew expected pieces and interpretations if you want a room that will really wow.

sarah & bendrix

12. Ignore all principles in favor of creativity. Having some guidelines gives people a good starting point for furnishing and decorating their home, even if some of them aren’t practical for a particular space.

Go with something personal that makes you smile and, above all, is comfortable. Overly designed rooms don’t really translate in modern life. A pillow collection and an art arrangement that are seemingly haphazard, as shown here, create a dressed-down look with plenty of style.

Article from Houzz.com.

What Is 'Hygge'? The Feng Shui of 2017

You can thank Denmark for this year’s most talked-about home lifestyle trend. Think of “hygge” (pronounced “HOO-guh”) as a softer, cozier counterpart to feng shui. But instead of rearranging furniture to find harmony between nature and the environment, hygge is more about embracing life’s simple pleasures—like a steaming cup of coffee, toasty blankets, soft lighting, and nights spent around the dinner table with friends.

Just in time for these very uncalm times, say hello to the Danish concept of living calmly, slowing down, and experiencing the moment.

Although it’s primarily considered to be a state of mind, you can embrace hygge by tailoring your home with cozy furnishings and creature comforts.

The Heart of Hygge

Hygge is an intrinsic part of Danish culture, centering on the relaxed attitude that is so highly valued in the Scandinavian lifestyle. The word itself is derived from “hugga,” the 16th-century Norwegian term that means “to comfort.”

“Hygge is about spending time with loved ones, carving out me time, and letting yourself experience joy in the ordinary,” says Traci Pichette, founder of Pumeli, a company that curates gift boxes suited for the hygge lifestyle.

There’s no definitive date of when hygge took hold in Denmark, but it seems to have evolved over time as a counterpoint to the extreme boredom induced by the region’s long, cold winters.

While generations of Danes have cultivated hygge for eons, the snug lifestyle has only recently hit the U.S. consciousness. In April 2016, “The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country” was published, became a best-seller, and jump-started the trend.

Since then, at least six books on hygge hit the market in late 2016 (with more to come in 2017), including “The Little Book of Hygge” by the chief executive of Copenhagen’s Happiness Institute, Meik Wiking. Last month, the New York Times spoke with Wiking, who put hygge in terms that we can all understand: “Danes see hygge as a part of our culture,” he said, “the same way you see freedom as inherently American.”
How to hygge your home

Houses rocking a hygge vibe are first and foremost sanctuaries of comfort, so think about creating an atmosphere that appeals to all the senses.

Go for comfort when choosing furniture and accessories. Opt for inviting decor that encourages hunkering down with a good book—think couches framed by soft blankets and lots of pillows.

“Add lush, furry rugs to make sure you feel hygge down to your toes,” says Brentnie Daggett, a design writer.

Amp up natural light in common areas. For Danes facing a long winter, hygge involves bringing the fleeting daylight indoors.

“Avoid light-blocking curtains or blinds,” says Daggett. Instead, opt for sheer, white curtains. And when the sun sets, light candles and a crackling fire for an extra dose of hygge. “Candlelight emits the sense of calm that equates to hygge.”

If you don’t have a fireplace, consider springing for a ventless fireplace with a real flame.

Photo by Harpers Interiors – Crackling fire + hot cup of coffee + plush sofa = hygge

Plan evening gatherings with friends and family. Another translation of hygge is “kinship.” Invite your favorite people over for an intimate dinner or a cup of coffee.

Jessica Dowling, head of Wayfair Trade for interior designers, suggests adding artisan touches and tactile dinnerware to your table. She likes hand-poured candles, vintage wine glasses (which are great for serving “glogg,” a Danish mulled wine), and pottery coffee mugs. These sensory extras set the stage for a beautiful dining experience and encourage guests to linger at the table.

Decorate with meaningful found objects. Hygge doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy every cable-knit blanket and cashmere pillow you see. You should also fill your home with objects you love. In fact, the perfect hygge decor could be hiding in your attic: family heirlooms or a knickknack that invokes happy memories of friends or family.

Unplug from technology. “Hygge is counter to our digital, flat-screen lives,” says Pichette. Give yourself permission to tune out and unplug from the stresses of a constantly connected lifestyle by creating at least one screen-free room in your home.

Take time in the morning for breakfast with a cup of tea and some light reading. You’ll thank us.

THE 5TH

Keep clutter in your home to a minimum. To foster a sense of clarity, clear your kitchen counters and coffee tables of excess knickknacks. Fewer distractions will help you stay fully present.

Create a hygge ritual

Beyond decor, hygge is about continually gathering with loved ones to bond over a familiar and recurring ritual. To truly welcome the spirit into your home, it’s necessary to carve out moments of comfort and calm every day. That could mean savoring your morning cup of coffee, reading your favorite book next to a crackling fire, or indulging in a thoughtful conversation with a loved one. Enjoy!

Article from Realtor.com

Mortgage Rates Continuing to Stay Low!

Now is the time to buy with interest rates continuing to stay low. Contact your REALOR® today to get started with the home buying process.