Curb appeal has grown up, and using innovative Design Psychology techniques for marketing homes puts curb allure to work, enticing buyers to come inside your home.
Suppliers and Exquisite Details
To be successful, you need to spend less to make more; yet there are times when spending a little extra will yield significantly more profit, and adding exquisite details can also add dollars to your bank account. For instance, if you don't find what you're looking for at a bargain price, visit an upscale retailer and look for similar items at sale prices.
If you use ugly, cheap, or tacky fixtures, you'll actually make it harder to sell your home by lowering your home’s attractiveness. Think of it this way: spending $100 more for a quality fixture will save you at least one, and possibly more, mortgage payment. That means that your $100 fixture was really an investment, rather than an expense.
There are some things that you can make relatively inexpensively, compared to buying them ready made, such as lace curtains. But if you don't have the time or skill to make quality things yourself, you can save money by haunting home improvement warehouses and discount stores, assuming you're able to find quality merchandise at reasonable prices.
One of my favorite suppliers is Restore, which is the outlet store for Habitat for Humanity. Restore resells donated light fixtures, window hardware, paint, switch plate covers, house numbers, mirrors, sinks, and even beds. Restore also lets you bargain on merchandise, which means that the tagged price isn't always the final price. You can even sign up for Restore's mailing list and receive notices of half-price sales.
Creating an Exciting Exterior
Curb allure is the most important challenge you'll face when selling your home. Imagine prospective buyers driving up and examining your property for the first time. Your goal is to have them exclaim, "What a darling home!"
Buyers will forgive little inadequacies in your home if they love it from the first time they see it. So go a few extra steps beyond curb appeal and lure your prospective buyers inside with Design Psychology methods such as:
Psychology of the Entrance
A problem with many newer homes is that developers don't provide a separate walkway to the front door. You don't want to make buyers walk around cars and trip over driveway edges to navigate to your front door, so create a separate walkway from the street to the porch.
Feeling Welcome
When flowers line the walkway, it creates a warm reception. Cheerful flowers, in loud colors, near the entry announce to the world that you care about your home. Extras such as water fountains, fishponds, and scented vegetation will also be well received by potential buyers.
Sing Out Your Address
Address numbers should be proud, bold, and beautiful. Avoid tacky peel-and-stick numbers, and if you use brass numbers, attach them with screws, rather than pronged-end fasteners that will eventually work loose. Gold-gilded numbers look elegant on glass doors, and gold-gilded vinyl transfer numbers look especially exquisite in transom windows.
Welcoming Accessories
- Wind chimes will add pleasure to your buyers' sense of hearing.
- Potted plants, such as soft ferns, are also friendly, but you should avoid spiked plants with thorns near the doorway.
- Floral baskets with bright yellow and white flowers will show up better at night.
- A pair of rocking chairs, a double glider, or a porch swing will invite potential buyers to sit and chat.
- A welcome mat also adds a homey touch.
Taking a little extra time and spending just a bit more money, coupled with the use of Design Psychology techniques, will help sell your home faster, and for more money.
Copyright c. 2005 Jeanette Fisher. All Rights Reserved.
From Professor Jeanette Fisher’s Sell Your Home for Top Dollar-FAST! Interior Design Secrets for Optimum Selling in Any Market. For tips, newsletters, and reports, go to http://www.sellfast.info
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Mark your calender
If you missed "Interior Design Psychology Tips for Top-Dollar Sales" at the Las Vegas Real Estate Investing Expo, save July 14. I've been invited back. Gold Coast Casino 7:00-9:00 PM. Hosted by the Las Vegas Investor's Club.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
"Don't worry Brian; you can fix it!" -Jeanette
One reader of our website complained about my calling houses "doghouses." Take a look at some of our before photos and tell me what you would call our fixers.
Jeanette
P. S. Check out our other blog to see the "After."
Home Staging Tips blog
Electrical Home Inspection: What You Need to Know!
By Paul Forte
Whether you’re buying a home, or just moving in to your new home, here is some advice that can help you. If you’re in the buying process the things you will be looking for are safety and repair aspects. Most electrical contractors can offer you an inspection to check for both of these. If you are thinking to yourself right now that you have or are going to hire a Home inspector, think again. A home inspector does a generalized inspection. Most of them will know a little about a lot of different areas, but be an expert in none with a few exceptions. It is a certainty in most areas to say you will be forced to hire one to get a mortgage, and that’s a good thing. If you hire an experienced licensed electrician, your electrical inspection will be more thorough and you can get an estimate to what repairs will cost at the same time.
When buying a home you’ll want to know what if any defects there are, or safety hazards. Items that rate high on the list are things like aluminum wiring, GFCI receptacles, grounding and water leaking into service parts. The two of these that are most critical, dangerous and expensive are the aluminum wiring and water leaks into the main service. If you are just moving into a home you purchased, there are some things you can do to be sure your electrical system is safe. I highly recommend that all the devices be changed to new ones. This would be all the switches and receptacles. There is a reason for this. Most electrical problems occur when termination points become loose or corroded. See Picture.
By having the devices professionally replaced, you can nip any of these problems before they occur. The other item to consider changing is light fixtures. This can be a bit expensive so if it isn’t in your budget try to at least change the very old ones. The reason for changing these is older fixture wires tend to get very brittle. If the bulbs used in them over the years were of an improper wattage, this can exaggerate the situation, a very common occurrence.
The peace of mind you will get, knowing a professional in the electrical field inspected your home, is well worth the money spent.
Paul Forte is a Master Electrician and has been in the electrical field for over 25 years. For more tips and advice including Lighting design and troubleshooting with diagrams visit the web site http://www.forteelectric.com/
Whether you’re buying a home, or just moving in to your new home, here is some advice that can help you. If you’re in the buying process the things you will be looking for are safety and repair aspects. Most electrical contractors can offer you an inspection to check for both of these. If you are thinking to yourself right now that you have or are going to hire a Home inspector, think again. A home inspector does a generalized inspection. Most of them will know a little about a lot of different areas, but be an expert in none with a few exceptions. It is a certainty in most areas to say you will be forced to hire one to get a mortgage, and that’s a good thing. If you hire an experienced licensed electrician, your electrical inspection will be more thorough and you can get an estimate to what repairs will cost at the same time.
When buying a home you’ll want to know what if any defects there are, or safety hazards. Items that rate high on the list are things like aluminum wiring, GFCI receptacles, grounding and water leaking into service parts. The two of these that are most critical, dangerous and expensive are the aluminum wiring and water leaks into the main service. If you are just moving into a home you purchased, there are some things you can do to be sure your electrical system is safe. I highly recommend that all the devices be changed to new ones. This would be all the switches and receptacles. There is a reason for this. Most electrical problems occur when termination points become loose or corroded. See Picture.
By having the devices professionally replaced, you can nip any of these problems before they occur. The other item to consider changing is light fixtures. This can be a bit expensive so if it isn’t in your budget try to at least change the very old ones. The reason for changing these is older fixture wires tend to get very brittle. If the bulbs used in them over the years were of an improper wattage, this can exaggerate the situation, a very common occurrence.
The peace of mind you will get, knowing a professional in the electrical field inspected your home, is well worth the money spent.
Paul Forte is a Master Electrician and has been in the electrical field for over 25 years. For more tips and advice including Lighting design and troubleshooting with diagrams visit the web site http://www.forteelectric.com/
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
A Beginner's Guide to Flipping Houses
If you're dreaming of making money in real estate, it's time to stop dreaming and get to work, because making money in real estate isn't just a vague pipedream. It can be done, even by a young and inexperienced person, when you learn how to “flip” houses.
A friend of mine, we'll call her Tai, made a fortune in real estate, beginning at the age of twenty, with no help from anyone else. Here's how she did it:
Tai began by buying a HUD repo, which allowed her to get into the house for no money down. Then she fixed it up and sold it herself. At closing, she had made enough profit to by a second fixer-upper, but this time, she paid all cash. Tai went right to work fixing her second house, and when she sold that one, she collected profit of $44,000, which allowed her to pay cash for her third house!
By now, Tai was comfortable with her formula, and within a short time, she had flipped her third house, realizing enough profit to pay cash for yet another house, as well as being able to buy the custom pickup of her dreams. And all of this had happened in the span of just nine months!
Tai’s formula was simple. She located houses that needed only cosmetic work, avoiding those that required structural repairs. She did all the painting herself, inside and out, and updated the home's lighting, plumbing fixtures, and carpeting. Once renovations had been completed, all three houses sold quickly, and at a significant profit.
It's the most tried-and-true way to make a fortune in real estate, so don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you that it can't be done or that you need to have a great deal of start-up money. That's not true. You can buy houses with no money down through various loan programs, and sellers will often help you with the closing costs.
I know what I'm talking about! My husband and I bought our 27th house earlier this year, for no money down, and we expect to make a profit of at least $100,000 for just one month of hard work!
But we take the process a step further, making our houses outshine the competition by also using Design Psychology, although our buyers never know that. All they know is that they feel good when they're in our homes, which makes them want to buy them, even if they're more expensive than the house next door.
There's no other business that can make you as much money, with as little start-up cost, in as short a time, as investing in real estate. In fact, more millionaires made their fortunes in real estate than in any other business. And you can do it, too. You just have to stop dreaming and get started.
(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com
A friend of mine, we'll call her Tai, made a fortune in real estate, beginning at the age of twenty, with no help from anyone else. Here's how she did it:
Tai began by buying a HUD repo, which allowed her to get into the house for no money down. Then she fixed it up and sold it herself. At closing, she had made enough profit to by a second fixer-upper, but this time, she paid all cash. Tai went right to work fixing her second house, and when she sold that one, she collected profit of $44,000, which allowed her to pay cash for her third house!
By now, Tai was comfortable with her formula, and within a short time, she had flipped her third house, realizing enough profit to pay cash for yet another house, as well as being able to buy the custom pickup of her dreams. And all of this had happened in the span of just nine months!
Tai’s formula was simple. She located houses that needed only cosmetic work, avoiding those that required structural repairs. She did all the painting herself, inside and out, and updated the home's lighting, plumbing fixtures, and carpeting. Once renovations had been completed, all three houses sold quickly, and at a significant profit.
It's the most tried-and-true way to make a fortune in real estate, so don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you that it can't be done or that you need to have a great deal of start-up money. That's not true. You can buy houses with no money down through various loan programs, and sellers will often help you with the closing costs.
I know what I'm talking about! My husband and I bought our 27th house earlier this year, for no money down, and we expect to make a profit of at least $100,000 for just one month of hard work!
But we take the process a step further, making our houses outshine the competition by also using Design Psychology, although our buyers never know that. All they know is that they feel good when they're in our homes, which makes them want to buy them, even if they're more expensive than the house next door.
There's no other business that can make you as much money, with as little start-up cost, in as short a time, as investing in real estate. In fact, more millionaires made their fortunes in real estate than in any other business. And you can do it, too. You just have to stop dreaming and get started.
(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com
Monday, March 07, 2005
Credit Help! Get the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate
Get Financing for Multiple Properties
My Credit Help! book is ready!
Included with all the tips my lenders shared with me is a special chapter just for real estate investors.
Don't wait another day to get all you need to raise your credit score.
See the new book cover and get more information:
The Real Estate Credit Help Center
Buy your dream home or finance your future!
Jeanette
My Credit Help! book is ready!
Included with all the tips my lenders shared with me is a special chapter just for real estate investors.
Don't wait another day to get all you need to raise your credit score.
See the new book cover and get more information:
The Real Estate Credit Help Center
Buy your dream home or finance your future!
Jeanette
Friday, March 04, 2005
Great Recycling Web Site
. I love using unusual achitectural pieces to create a buyer's dream home--one they just can't live without!
Here is a web site that has great finds:
http://www.recyclingthepast.com/Default.asp
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Cheap Homes For Sale In Great Towns
by Steven Gillman
Good Homes Under $50,000?
My wife Ana and I found cheap homes for sale all over the country during a seven-week drive, and we even bought one along the way. It was in a pretty little town in the mountains of western Montana, and it cost us $17,500. We spent almost $2000 to fix it up the way we liked it, and lived there for several months before selling it for $28,000. You can see a photo of our little pink house on the homepage of our site www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com. This was not a fluke. There are still great towns where you can find cheap homes for sale.
Cheap Homes, Nice Towns: An Example
In Anaconda, Montana you can fly fish, go to a movie for three dollars in a beautiful old art-deco theatre (the 5th most beautiful theater in the country, according to the Smithsonian), drop some nickles in a slot machine (a dozen casinos), eat at a fine restaurant, stop by the bar for a dollar beer, and buy a house for sale under $30,000 - all within a four block area! There are good schools and churches, a library with fast internet service, and wildlife (including bears) a few hundred yards from downtown.
Why Are There Cheap Homes For Sale?
The reason there are so many cheap homes for sale in Butte and Anaconda, is that there aren't many good jobs left. I personally found jobs in Anaconda easily-but not good ones. People left the area in the 80's especially, after the mines and smelters closed. This exodus has left one-in-seven "housing units" in Anaconda vacant, according to the U.S. census. This has driven down the prices of homes dramatically. Since both towns still have all the basic ammenities, are cleaner now, and are slowly recovering, they are great places to retire to or to move to if you have an internet or other non-location-based business.
The economic situation is the primary reason that you can buy a cheap house in many parts of the country. These are towns that have seen troubled times, but are often recovering, and with good reasons. Anaconda, an example we know well, now has a ski resort,a Jack Nicholas golf course, and beautiful mountain scenery. The houses cost four times as much if you go an hour in any direction, and those higher prices are bound to reach Anaconda eventually.
Cheap Houses You Don't Want To Buy
On the other hand, there are towns like the one in South Dakota where we stopped for lunch. The bulletin board had ads for cheap homes for sale, placed there by desperate home-sellers trying not to be the last to leave town. There was a photo of a beautiful old five-bedroom farmhouse for $11,000. We looked up the deserted street as we ate, and noticed that most of the buildings were boarded-up. This was a town that was clearly dying, and didn't have anything to help revive it. Inexpensive homes are easy to find here, but I wouldn't take one for free.
Cheap Homes For Sale In Paradise
Maybe paradise is too much to expect, but there are many wonderful towns, from Florida to Oregon, where there are cheap homes for sale. So what does a town need in addition to inexpensive houses in order to make our list? Well, the criteria are certainly subjective, but include at least the following:
1. Population between 4,000 and 80,000.
2. A good library.
3. A good grocery store.
4. A movie theatre.
5. Cheap houses: at least six for sale under $50,000.
6. The town "feels" good.
When we researched and built our website, we broke the towns up into two pages. One is for the towns with houses for sale for less than $50,000. The other is for the towns with really cheap homes for sale - under $30,000! Yes, they are still out there. Using a phone and the internet, searching for your affordable dream home is easier than ever. Good Luck!
Steve Gillman and his wife Ana Blum have traveled the country exploring beautiful towns where there are still affordable homes. The result of their research, and their experience buying their own cheap dream home, is the website: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
Good Homes Under $50,000?
My wife Ana and I found cheap homes for sale all over the country during a seven-week drive, and we even bought one along the way. It was in a pretty little town in the mountains of western Montana, and it cost us $17,500. We spent almost $2000 to fix it up the way we liked it, and lived there for several months before selling it for $28,000. You can see a photo of our little pink house on the homepage of our site www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com. This was not a fluke. There are still great towns where you can find cheap homes for sale.
Cheap Homes, Nice Towns: An Example
In Anaconda, Montana you can fly fish, go to a movie for three dollars in a beautiful old art-deco theatre (the 5th most beautiful theater in the country, according to the Smithsonian), drop some nickles in a slot machine (a dozen casinos), eat at a fine restaurant, stop by the bar for a dollar beer, and buy a house for sale under $30,000 - all within a four block area! There are good schools and churches, a library with fast internet service, and wildlife (including bears) a few hundred yards from downtown.
Why Are There Cheap Homes For Sale?
The reason there are so many cheap homes for sale in Butte and Anaconda, is that there aren't many good jobs left. I personally found jobs in Anaconda easily-but not good ones. People left the area in the 80's especially, after the mines and smelters closed. This exodus has left one-in-seven "housing units" in Anaconda vacant, according to the U.S. census. This has driven down the prices of homes dramatically. Since both towns still have all the basic ammenities, are cleaner now, and are slowly recovering, they are great places to retire to or to move to if you have an internet or other non-location-based business.
The economic situation is the primary reason that you can buy a cheap house in many parts of the country. These are towns that have seen troubled times, but are often recovering, and with good reasons. Anaconda, an example we know well, now has a ski resort,a Jack Nicholas golf course, and beautiful mountain scenery. The houses cost four times as much if you go an hour in any direction, and those higher prices are bound to reach Anaconda eventually.
Cheap Houses You Don't Want To Buy
On the other hand, there are towns like the one in South Dakota where we stopped for lunch. The bulletin board had ads for cheap homes for sale, placed there by desperate home-sellers trying not to be the last to leave town. There was a photo of a beautiful old five-bedroom farmhouse for $11,000. We looked up the deserted street as we ate, and noticed that most of the buildings were boarded-up. This was a town that was clearly dying, and didn't have anything to help revive it. Inexpensive homes are easy to find here, but I wouldn't take one for free.
Cheap Homes For Sale In Paradise
Maybe paradise is too much to expect, but there are many wonderful towns, from Florida to Oregon, where there are cheap homes for sale. So what does a town need in addition to inexpensive houses in order to make our list? Well, the criteria are certainly subjective, but include at least the following:
1. Population between 4,000 and 80,000.
2. A good library.
3. A good grocery store.
4. A movie theatre.
5. Cheap houses: at least six for sale under $50,000.
6. The town "feels" good.
When we researched and built our website, we broke the towns up into two pages. One is for the towns with houses for sale for less than $50,000. The other is for the towns with really cheap homes for sale - under $30,000! Yes, they are still out there. Using a phone and the internet, searching for your affordable dream home is easier than ever. Good Luck!
Steve Gillman and his wife Ana Blum have traveled the country exploring beautiful towns where there are still affordable homes. The result of their research, and their experience buying their own cheap dream home, is the website: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Fixing Houses: Using Psychology for Profits
Real estate investors who specialize in fixing houses for profit gain new insights from Interior Design Psychology ideas. Increase your profit potential in the new buyer’s market with these new transformation strategies.
Your satisfying and lucrative real estate business depends upon your correct assessment of profit potential, successful purchasing, and triumphant transformation of a fixer into a dollhouse. The renovation process includes the physical work and the choice of the best supplies to elicit maximum positive emotional effect from prospective buyer.
This article brings to light the psychological impact of design details which result in the desired transformation, promising the highest potential resale value. By incorporating the psychology of residential design, you intentionally choose how to transform your fixer by using colors, textures, building materials, and decorations that assure your future speedy and cost-effective sale.
The psychology of residential design joins the entire home, inside and out. Transformation Psychology differs in that you make use of residential Design Psychology with a different goal in mind. Using Design Psychology in your personal home is much more individualized. Renovating a doghouse for dollars integrates generalized design ideas appealing to a broader spectrum of buyers.
Using Transformation Psychology to increase your real estate profits means that you learn how our human senses, and thereby our emotions, are biased by different decorating details and choices of materials. Buyers view a prospective home with their eyes and yet their brain interprets what they see and feel according to subtle touches you purposefully put in. Design details additionally influence our senses of touch, smell, hearing, and even taste.
So, how does all this psychology stuff work? You choose colors and materials based on your prospective buyers’ income level and the house style.
Here’s a simplified Color Design Psychology Plan for Fall and Winter:
Selling Season: Fall and Winter
Target Market: First-time Buyers
House Style: Cottage
Exterior Colors: Pale yellow, Khaki Brown, Creamy White
Front Door: Dark Green
Interior Colors: Walls: Pale yellow, Sunny Yellow, Tan
Trim: Pure White
Flooring: Cream to Mocha wall-to-wall carpeting, white linoleum
Target Market: Upscale
House Style: Tuscan
Exterior Colors: Tuscany Gold, Chocolate Brown, Olive Green
Front Door: Terra Cotta Red
Interior Colors: Tuscany Gold, Mocha, Mixture of these colors
Trim: Ivory
Flooring: Ivory carpeting, hard wood, tile
Your goal of composing a glorious home that buyers can't live without begins with your planning of changes desired. Following a design plan, from inception to realization, bit by bit, simplifies and organizes your makeover. Taking the time to make a design plan assures you of a profitable and quick sale.
(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
Your satisfying and lucrative real estate business depends upon your correct assessment of profit potential, successful purchasing, and triumphant transformation of a fixer into a dollhouse. The renovation process includes the physical work and the choice of the best supplies to elicit maximum positive emotional effect from prospective buyer.
This article brings to light the psychological impact of design details which result in the desired transformation, promising the highest potential resale value. By incorporating the psychology of residential design, you intentionally choose how to transform your fixer by using colors, textures, building materials, and decorations that assure your future speedy and cost-effective sale.
The psychology of residential design joins the entire home, inside and out. Transformation Psychology differs in that you make use of residential Design Psychology with a different goal in mind. Using Design Psychology in your personal home is much more individualized. Renovating a doghouse for dollars integrates generalized design ideas appealing to a broader spectrum of buyers.
Using Transformation Psychology to increase your real estate profits means that you learn how our human senses, and thereby our emotions, are biased by different decorating details and choices of materials. Buyers view a prospective home with their eyes and yet their brain interprets what they see and feel according to subtle touches you purposefully put in. Design details additionally influence our senses of touch, smell, hearing, and even taste.
So, how does all this psychology stuff work? You choose colors and materials based on your prospective buyers’ income level and the house style.
Here’s a simplified Color Design Psychology Plan for Fall and Winter:
Selling Season: Fall and Winter
Target Market: First-time Buyers
House Style: Cottage
Exterior Colors: Pale yellow, Khaki Brown, Creamy White
Front Door: Dark Green
Interior Colors: Walls: Pale yellow, Sunny Yellow, Tan
Trim: Pure White
Flooring: Cream to Mocha wall-to-wall carpeting, white linoleum
Target Market: Upscale
House Style: Tuscan
Exterior Colors: Tuscany Gold, Chocolate Brown, Olive Green
Front Door: Terra Cotta Red
Interior Colors: Tuscany Gold, Mocha, Mixture of these colors
Trim: Ivory
Flooring: Ivory carpeting, hard wood, tile
Your goal of composing a glorious home that buyers can't live without begins with your planning of changes desired. Following a design plan, from inception to realization, bit by bit, simplifies and organizes your makeover. Taking the time to make a design plan assures you of a profitable and quick sale.
(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
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