Rehabbers are those folks that buy a distressed property (usually a foreclosure, but it can be any number of other situations), fix it up and then rent it. Sometimes, they'll sell, more often they prefer to rent - they like the drip income, as I understand it. They also refinance as soon as they can to pull out the appreciation so that they can move on to another property and do the same thing all over again. Their formula is B-R-R-R: Buy-Rehab-Rent-Refi
These property owners care about only one thing alone: - the bottom line. It's just about the numbers.
Well, isn't real estate always about the numbers? It's a concern but not the primary purpose for a home stager. Stagers are the people brought in to make a structure feel like a place to live. We give each room have purpose, and ignite the emotional side of a buyer looking for a "home". (think: Mom, apple pie and white picket fence - all emo-connex in a visceral, subconscious way)
Most realtors have their system for prepping a house to go to market. So, too, with home stagers who offer a list of "tips, tricks and time-tested strategies." Let's see which things Rehabbers do when looking to maximize profit with simple, low cost improvements....remember their entire purpose is to add NET VALUE, that's it.
1. Anything vertical gets a new coat of paint!
They like paint; we like paint. Paint and caulk cover up a multitude of sins, and can constitute an effective repair. Neutral colors cost the least and have the widest appeal. It's important to the job neatly so as to prevent costly and time-wasting cleanup (think: razor blades on window glass for a couple of hours) But for another reason we may not think of immediately: meticulous prep work allows you to get away with cheap contractor grade paint and still get terrific results.
2. Carpet is Convenient
Rehabbers will tell you that it is quicker and more cost efficient to simply carpet everything rather than remove linoleum or refinish hard wood floors. This seems grim, for the stager in me, but if a nice, soft carpet has been chosen....
3. Small stuff has big payoff
As we all know: you gotta sweat the small stuff! Those small, irritating repairs have the biggest impact because they illustrate how well the property has been cared for. Itsy-bitsy details like broken doorbells, torn screens, cracked window panes, missing knobs stained ceilings, and weeds everywhere in what reads on the survey as "garden". Home Stagers will call it "the honey do" list. They're fiddly, annoying but they speak volumes on pride of ownership.
4. Just Replace the High Impact Features
These guys will just replace only items that yield the best POW! So, instead of doing a new bathroom, they'll replace just the toilet and resurface the other fittings, like the tub and sink. No, 'Designed to Sell' here! In the kitchen they'll add merely a new stove in the kitchen, with bright lights, and if you're lucky, some bright linoleum (at least they won't carpet here, huh?) and they feel like they have tizzed up the space immeasurably and for very small expense.
5. Stick to the ORIGINAL plan
My husband is particularly good here in his rehabbing, where I - once I've rid the space of the really awful things - want to keep going until I reach "perfection" (or at least something really good looking!) You made a plan, you created a budget... you need to stick to it. Remember TIME, and the cost of carrying a place while you fix it up is as important a number to factor in as the out of pocket expenses for repairs.
A trick trainers offer here is to not do it all yourself. "When you do, you screw it up", says Jeff Schnitter of the EWI. You do too much and the budget goes kablowee! If all you're doing is managing the project, arms length, you can focus more on the marketing end.
How many stagers and realtors achieve that balance? Yeah, we could learn a few things, I guess....
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And now I'd like to invite you to pick up your free copy of my Spring Showing Tips for Home Sellers at http://www.JulietJohnsonStaging.com
From Juliet Johnson, author, speaker and leading authority on home staging luxury real estate in suburban New Jersey.
Article Source: Ezine Articles
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When remodeling and decorating, we usually look for furniture, paint, carpets and decorative items as pictures. However, the lighting can have a big impact on the overall look of a room. The lighting design is responsible for setting the mood or ambiance of a space. With careful design and planning for the type, color and hue of the lighting, the room can be given a different ambiance. The right lighting can set a mood, improve productivity and contribute to people’s sense of well-being. It can transform unappealing spaces into desirable ones. Bright rooms give a positive and optimistic feeling, while darker rooms are more intimate and romantic. Research had proven that light can make big difference in how we feel.
Good lighting design will not make you frustrated in the kitchen when you are not able to see what you are doing, and it will stop the arguments in the bedroom over whose turn it is to get up to switch out the light. Instead, you should be able to transform a room from a bright, vibrant living space to the setting for a romantic dinner for two.
Natural lighting is the light from the sun that comes through windows and doors. Direct sunlight is a healthy source of light, but the brightness and intensity is very variable. The time of the day, the season or the weather all influence natural sunlight. To control the quantity of natural light, different types of glass or curtains can be used. Diffusion and reflection are great ways to control this free light source. A good idea is to find the wall that received direct light form the sun and paint it in a bright color. The reflected light creates an ambiance in the room. The surface of the wall can control the diffusion of the light; rough surfaces have different effects than smooth surfaces.
Artificial lighting can be any kind of lamp. This light source can be controlled in every aspect; intensity, color, and the area of spreading. To get the desired effects in a room, the best idea is to use a combination of different types of artificial lighting. Ambient lighting is to lighten the whole room and give a certain ‘mood’ to the space. Accent lighting is used to illuminate certain aspects or details of the interior decoration, as sculptures, pictures or display shelves.
Lighting could be functional or aesthetic. Functionally, the lighting needs to be correct for the intended purpose. A great example of functional lighting is task lighting: lamps for reading, lights over the sink or over the mirror in the bathroom. Task lighting should always be glare free to make the task easier without straining the eyes. Aesthetically, the lighting gives an ambiance to the space. For creating an ambiance, environment lights are used in ceiling corners or along the sides of the room. The intensity and color of the lights are important for the ambiance. For ‘mood’ lighting, it is very important that the source of the light is hidden.
With a few lighting design ideas, you can change the visible appearance of a room and make it look larger or smaller. Rooms with high ceilings can get a cozier radiance by using lighting that is lower than the ceiling. The light should not escape beyond the height of the source. Use a lampshade that directs the light downwards. The other way around, by using upwards lighting pointed at the ceiling, rooms appear to be higher.
Standing lamps and table lamps work great for specific purposes and lighten up only an area of the room. A lamp should be placed behind a reader’s shoulder. Lamps are also perfect to brighten up dark corners in rooms. And of course, decorative lampshades on corner end tables and bedside tables enhance the ambiance and bring attention to a specific area of the room. The style of the fixtures will add to your interior decoration, whether turned on or off.
Lighting is just as important in interior design as the colors or the style of furniture and accessories. Your entire work in decoration can be ruined at once by poor lighting. But carefully planned lighting will greatly enhance the best details in your design.
  
About the Author:
Michiel Van Kets is a Belgian designer for unique lightings .Each of his lighting fixtures is individually crafted by hand with high demand of standards. He also designs exclusive lightings for those customers who desire lamps that are one of a kind.
Read more Articles on Interior Design at FileBlogs.com
© By: Michael Van Kets
Is it just me, or do we spend more time worrying about the safety of our computers these days than the safety of our own homes? You’ve got firewalls and virus protection for your CPU, but have you changed your door locks since you moved into your house? Do you have ladders, tools, and other things lying around your yard that a burglar could use to break a window and access your home? Do you have an alarm system you never arm? Windows you leave open? Doors left unlocked? When was the last time you walked around your house and, thinking like a burglar, considered just how easy it would be to break in? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Let’s take a look at some smart security tips that can help make your home safer for you and your family. And guess what? Most of them are easier to implement than the security software loaded on your computer.
First off, remember that in general burglars will avoid occupied houses. That doesn’t mean your family is always safe when they’re home, however. There always exceptions to the rule, and you shouldn’t assume that nothing can ever happen just because someone is there. If a burglar breaks in while you’re not there, your belongings are at risk. If a burglar breaks in when your family is home, your family is at risk as well.
Now that I’ve got you thinking, let’s look at some measures you can follow in order to minimize the risk of being targeted.
Keys: Don’t hand out keys to friends, even if they’re trustworthy. Make sure you know the location of all your house keys all the time. Never use hide-a-keys or leave the key under the doormat, above the door, in a flowerpot, or anywhere outside the house. You may think you’re being clever, but guess what? Burglars know all the tricks. It’s their job to (however despicable). Also, it’s a good idea to keep your car keys and house keys on a different ring if you ever use valet parking or leave your keys with parking lot attendants or even at a repair garage.
Don’t let strangers in the house: Adults have no problem telling this rule to their kids, but they don’t realize it should apply to them too! Home security means being cautious. Even before you open the front door to accept a package, you should ask for photo identification. This goes for anyone you don’t recognize. Don’t assume someone is "legit" just because they are wearing a uniform or driving some company’s truck (these things can be stolen). If somebody comes to your door and asks to make a phone call, offer to make it for them, but don’t let them some inside. If someone looks like they’re injured, call 911, but don’t open the door. When you walk away to make that call, lock the door behind you; you don’t want to leave the door unlocked and unmanned. A chain on the door helps insure people can’t force their way in while you’re home.
Locks: Keep your doors and windows locked, even if you’re at home. Get your children into this habit, too. It’s too easy to forget an open window when you leave the house, and that provides an easy way in for burglars. Don’t assume a second story window is out of reach for a thief. They’re good at finding ways in.
Don’t be predictable: If you always leave home at the same time every day and return at the same time, thieves can easily memorize your routine to take advantage of the times you’re not at home. Work is work, and you probably can’t change those hours, but if you always go to a class or the grocery store at the same time, try to make yourself less predictable. You can also consider automatic timers for your lights and electronics, to make it seem when someone is home, even when they’re not.
Valuables shouldn’t be on display: I know you want to show off your hard-won plasma TV, but if somebody can look in your window and see your wallet, credit cards, purse, jewelry, or fancy electronics in open sight, they’re going to be tempted. A computer or television placed in front of a ground-floor window may make an easy target. Likewise, electronics placed across from a window are easily visible, too. In a similar vein, don’t leave your garage doors open for the world to see all the cool stuff you have in storage. Lightweight items could be snatched away quickly and easily.
Be mindful of your trash: Just bought a new entertainment system? There’s no need to tell the world about it. A bunch of empty boxes out by the curb is an open invitation to would-be burglars. Instead of putting boxes out in plain sight, cut them down, and stuff them in trash bags. Also be wary of identity theft. Never put personal identification information in your trash until it’s been shredded.
Be alert: Try to be aware of your surroundings on a day-to-day basis, even in your own neighborhood. This doesn’t mean walking around like a crazy paranoid person; just get in the habit of watching for suspicious activity.
Paying attention to the simple things can make you and your family much less of a target. Burglar alarms and home security systems are great investments, but common sense prevention is the best way to stay safe.
© By: TC Thorn. TC Thorn is a freelance writer and the webmaster for Home Security Tips. Read more Articles on Home Security at FileBlogs.com
Everything is going green from cars to clothes to what we eat and where we vacation. Green buildings are the next step in the crusade for the environment and are no longer restricted to private homes or eccentric designers.
Going green has several benefits for the building owners and for the environment. The only downside for many is construction cost since eco friendly building materials do tend to be slightly more expensive than traditional materials. Most are fine with the increase in prices since it will pay off in the long run with reductions in the price of utilities.
Going green is becoming very popular with over 50,000 such homes being constructed in just the past decade alone. Whole communities devoted to being ecologically friendly are springing up and even professional buildings are joining the cause. At this rate, many experts believe that a majority of new homes and buildings will soon be all green with older structures being converted in an effort to reduce energy costs and consumption.
There are a large number of materials available on the market today that can be used in the construction of environmentally friendly buildings. From the outside, to the inside, savvy builders are implementing new technology and reused materials in a way that benefits the environment. In fact, many cities and states are looking into implementing guidelines requiring new buildings to be more eco-friendly.
There are many companies offering green building materials for the exterior and interior. Before beginning construction it is important to consider a few key points that will help determine what type of eco friendly materials should be used in construction.
With the variety of construction materials some of the materials will not be suitable in every environment. Builders have to take into consideration what it will take to heat and cool buildings during the winter and summer months when energy consumption for homes and offices are higher. If the materials used make it more difficult to keep the home cool then it will still be damaging to the environment even if the material is eco-friendly in itself.
The importance of recycled materials is worth repeating. There are several building materials on the market that are created using recycled content. Concrete, pipes, carpet, all have recycled counterparts. By buying recycled goods, the consumer is helping complete the cycle that reduces landfill waste and strains on the environment.
Of course, it is wise to purchase eco-friendly materials locally when possible. Most do not take transportation cost into consideration when ordering construction materials. Purchasing local materials will cut down the effects of transportation such as gas usage and harmful emissions.
So, what are some specific benefits of building green? These vary in several fields but all have an overreaching benefit. With the reduction of waste and harmful effects that buildings have on the environment, it will improve the quality of life.
Building a green home or building will aid in improving air and water quality which is becoming a major concern for communities the world over. By using recycled materials, these green buildings will help to conserve natural resources that are being rapidly depleted. The overall operating costs of green buildings have proven to be cheaper in the long run then traditional buildings. As more green buildings sprout up, the demand for them grows creating a very healthy trend that is pretty much guaranteed to continue throughout the years.
The Green Pages is the leading environmentally friendly directory for people who want to shop smarter to help the environment. To help Mother Nature, please visit Eco Services.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com
A trellis can provide a sensational addition to any veranda, regardless of the style you have and what kind of room you have available. If you are considering adding some to your existing layout however, it's a good idea to sit down and consider where you want to install it before you start.
Trellis is extremely versatile, which makes it ideal for using with any kind of veranda. From the complicated designs to the simple ones, whatever you choose provides a way of softening the design of your veranda and introducing more greenery at the same time. It can also close off your space from prying eyes, should you want a little more privacy.
Begin by sketching out a rough plan of your veranda and mark out where you might want to include some trellis. There are several different types you could go for - if you have a large section of blank wall that you would like to liven up you could attach a single piece of trellis to it. On the other hand a trellis gateway to link your veranda with your garden can look sensational once you have flowers and climbing plants trailing all over it.
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