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Tips for Staging Every Room in Your Home

There is a lot that goes in to home staging beyond just tidying up. Interior designers and real estate experts have found specific ways to make the absolute best of any home by knowing how to make the best of every room. General staging tips like cleaning and going for neutral colors apply everywhere, but here are some tips and tricks for staging every room of the house:

Living Room

Create Symmetry – If you’re stumped about how to arrange your furniture or decorative items in your living room, go for symmetry. Placing smaller pieces like throw pillows, table lamps and end tables evenly is pleasing to the eye and will let buyers focus on the room itself.
Highlight Important Features – Does your living room have a particular selling point like a working fireplace or a bay window? Make sure you give special attention to these features in cleaning and decorating.
Remove Some Furniture – One secret to making a room look larger is removing at least one piece of furniture. Even in tiny spaces you can create the illusion of more space by removing what is least essential. Things like bookcases, sideboard tables and extra seating are examples of things to stow away.

Kitchen

Pack Away (Almost) All Dishes – Leaving a single set of (ideally matching) dishware in your cabinets will help the kitchen feel lived in while making it appear more spacious. Removing clutter is important, but keeping a small amount of dishes and flatware keeps the space from feeling too sterile.
Clean Your Fridge – If your fridge is covered in magnets and reminders it’s time to stash those away. This hides personal touches that could distract buyers and also keeps the focus on the appliance itself. Don’t forget the inside, too: scrub all the drawers and shelves in your fridge until they look brand new.
Empty & Hide the Trash – While emptying the trash might seem like enough, take it a step further and remove the trash bins entirely. If they’re usually located under the sink, hide them somewhere else and leave that space empty instead. This is an instant way to create more storage space in the eyes of a potential buyer.

Bathrooms

Hide All Personal Products – Any and all personal products should be removed from the bathroom. Don’t settle for tossing everything in a drawer, either: clear out all the storage space to create a clean slate.
Add White Towels – Fluffy white towels instantly turn any bathroom into a luxurious spa retreat. Even if you have nice towels of another color, consider swapping them out for white ones. This makes the bathroom look bright and clean while creating a calm, clean environment.
Don’t Forget the Toilet – Like it or not, the toilet is one of the most important appliances in your home. Make sure you scrub it clean and fix any nagging issues like leaks or running water. For an extra boost, replace your toilet seats with new ones.

Bedrooms

Stay Neutral – While you’re probably sticking to neutral colors and decor in the rest of the house, it’s especially important in the bedrooms. Avoid anything gendered or aimed at specific interests or hobbies. You can still use color and minor decorative touches but the more neutral the better.
Stow Your Valuables – Any jewelry, heirlooms or treasured memorabilia should be safely stowed away. This not only reduces clutter but keeps your valuables safe from any chance of damage or theft.
Show Off the Closet – Take extra time to clean and organize your bedroom closets, as they are a huge selling point in any home. For a quick staging hack: pack up all but 3 outfits’ worth of clothing and accessories to make your closet look more spacious.

These are just some tips for home staging beyond the obvious deep clean. Working with a real estate agent or home staging professional can also help you make your home look like the absolute best on the market.

Choose the Best Kitchen for Your Family’s Lifestyle

For generations, people have been saying that “the kitchen is the heart of the home.” The meaning of that expression is open to interpretation, but just about everyone would agree that kitchens are generally a relaxing place where family and friends congregate.

Although there are a lot of things to consider when searching for just the right house that meets your needs, the size of your next kitchen and its practicality are important things to keep in mind. If you enjoy hosting dinner parties and family gatherings, a large kitchen with plenty of seating room and counter space is highly desirable.

In addition to the fact that you need space to prepare and serve food, you may also need room to put out snacks, hors d’oeuvres, and beverages. If your objective is to serve meals “buffet style” or “family style,” then you’ll also want to line up the necessary supplies, such as plates, napkins, utensils, cups, and condiments.

While a large, open kitchen is not absolutely essential to the success of a dinner party or holiday gathering, it does provide convenience, food serving options, and more mingling space. If you end up buying a home with a narrow galley kitchen, then you’ll have to rely more on adjoining rooms for entertaining guests and serving food.

On a day-to-day basis, spacious eat-in kitchens are usually much more practical for busy families, too. Otherwise, space is at a premium and family members may find themselves bumping into each other as they prepare meals, wash cookware, or put away dishes. As you can imagine (or have experienced first-hand), a claustrophobic kitchen does not lend itself to family harmony! On the other hand, having a place where family members can comfortably sit across from each other at meal time lends itself to open communication and, hopefully, better family relations.

Other characteristics of an “ideal kitchen” might include energy-efficient appliances, a floor that’s both attractive and spill resistant, and sufficient lighting in food preparation and eating areas. If homes you’re considering don’t have dimmer switches, that’s a relatively simple and inexpensive feature to install — preferably with the help of an electrician. Having the ability to soften the intensity of light will enable you to decrease the room’s brightness and transition to a “relaxation mode” at the end of the day. Being able to turn the brightness back up will come in handy for paying bills at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper (if you don’t access it online), helping your kids with their homework, or playing cards or board games.

Whether your kitchen requirements include stainless steel appliances, a quartz or granite island with a gas stove, or just plenty of room for a large kitchen table and chairs, your real estate agent will work with you to find the home that best matches your needs, lifestyle, and budget.

Three Sources of Home Decor Inspiration for Sprucing Up Your Home

Whether you’ve just bought a home or you’re hoping to spruce up your current house, redecorating can be a great way to make a home feel new and exciting. However, when it comes to the actual decorating and design, many homeowners are at a loss.

Sure, you could hire an interior decorator to help you out, but oftentimes that expense doesn’t fit into the average homeowner’s budget, especially if you just spend thousands closing on a new home.

Fortunately, there are many free sources of inspiration available that will help you identify the right style for your home at the right price for your budget.

In today’s article, we’re going to give you some tips on where to find interior decor inspiration so you can get started on restyling your home.

Grab an app or two

Searching for redecorating tips doesn’t have to be a full-time job. You can browse ideas when you’re on the train to work, relaxing in bed at night, or waiting for an appointment at the doctor’s office just by downloading a few select apps on your phone.

Two of the most common apps for home decorating are Pinterest and Instagram. However, you’ll need to give those apps some information to make sure you’re getting the right images in your feed.

On Pinterest, add “home decor” “interior design” and “home decor ideas” to your interests so that you’ll see those images and articles first in your feed.

For Instagram, you’ll have to follow accounts that post what you’re looking for, then Instagram will recommend similar accounts.

Here are a few common interior design accounts to get started with:

Take an online course

There’s more to interior decorating than just finding some furniture you like, making sure it will fit in your living room, and buying it. Design principles of color, texture, and form all work together to create the full experience of a home’s interior.

While people study for years to develop techniques of design, you can learn the basics relatively quickly. If you’re interested in learning something new and updating the design of your home, you could take an online course in interior design.

Howcast has a great series of free videos called Interior Design Basics that will provide you with a good overview. Then, if you want to continue learning, check out one of SkillShare’s many interior design courses.

Take a trip to the library

When it comes to seeing the best examples of interior decoration or finding detailed information on design techniques, nothing can beat your local library. Most libraries also have subscriptions to common magazines like Better Homes and Gardens, Elle Decor, and HGTV Magazine.

If your library doesn’t have many options, you can often request items for free through their interlibrary loans system. They’ll send you books and magazines from surrounding towns and give you a notification when they’ve arrived.

Why Should You Approach the Homebuying Journey with an Open Mind?

If you’re ready to pursue your dream house, it generally is a good idea to enter the real estate sector with an open mind. In fact, there are many benefits to keeping your options open as you search for your ideal residence, and these benefits include:

1. You may be able to discover a bargain.

As you kick off your home search, it helps to pursue houses in a wide range of cities and towns. Doing so can help you separate your dream home must-haves from your wants. Also, this may enable you to find an affordable residence that matches or exceeds your expectations.

There is no telling whether a real estate market will favor buyers or sellers. The housing sector fluctuates constantly, and a buyer’s market today may morph into a seller’s market tomorrow.

Luckily, if you maintain an open approach to buying a house, you can remain patient as you search for your perfect residence. Perhaps most important, you can capitalize on homebuying opportunities as they become available and avoid the temptation to overspend on a house.

2. You can move quickly to acquire your dream residence.

With an open approach to the homebuying journey, you should have no trouble moving quickly to acquire your ideal residence. If the opportunity presents itself to buy a great house at a terrific price, you can submit an offer and proceed accordingly.

Of course, you should always think ahead before you submit an offer on any house, at any time. If you put together a competitive offer on a residence, you may receive an instant “Yes” from a home seller. Then, you can seamlessly finalize your home purchase and move into your dream residence.

3. You can minimize stress throughout the homebuying journey.

Buying a home is a major decision, and as such, stress can be problematic throughout the homebuying journey. If you are open to new ideas as you pursue a home, however, you may be better equipped than ever before to purchase your perfect residence.

Remember, stress may force a homebuyer to make rash decisions – something that a homebuyer probably wants to avoid at all costs. But if you’re willing to take a deep breath and step back from the homebuying cycle at times, you can look at the big picture. And as a result, you can remain calm, cool and collected as you consider all of your homebuying options.

For those who are looking for extra help in their pursuit of the perfect home, it may be beneficial to hire a real estate agent too. This housing market professional can share details about a broad array of houses in cities and towns where you want to live. Plus, a real estate agent can keep you informed about new residences as they become available, help you submit offers on houses and much more.

Make your homeownership dream come true – take an open approach to the homebuying journey, and you may be able to accomplish your homebuying goal faster than ever before.

Inspections and Contract Contingencies in New Jersey

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Once you and the seller agree on a price for the seller’s property, you must sign a purchase agreement. Because a contract has to have consideration to be considered valid, buyers put down “good faith money,” which is held in escrow by an attorney, real estate broker or a title company. This could be any amount from $100 to a percentage of the agreed-upon purchase price. In most cases, the contract benefits the seller by making that deposit non-refundable.

Once you both sign the contract and the buyer gives the agent the good faith money, the house is “in escrow.” However, the contract does contain contingencies. If the buyer or the seller cannot satisfy certain requirements, either is free to back out of the contract without consequences.

The Mortgage Contingency Clause

Most people have to get a mortgage to buy a house. However, if you cannot qualify, you might lose your deposit unless you include a mortgage contingency clause in the purchase agreement. The clause states that if you are not able to procure financing, the seller must return your deposit. The transaction then falls out of escrow.

Inspections

While sellers in New Jersey are required to disclose certain defects that affect the property, a seller cannot disclose what they don’t know. You should always get inspections before you complete the transaction. If the purchase agreement does not have clauses for various inspections, be sure to add them in before you sign the contract. The two most common inspections are for termites and a general home inspection.

A termite company will come out, at the buyer’s expense, to do a termite inspection. If the inspector finds termite damage, the buyer has a couple of options:

Request a refund of their good faith money;

Ask the buyer to repair the termite damage and have the house tented; or

Ask the buyer to reduce the price of the property by the amount it will cost for the buyer to have the house tented and repaired.

If the termite damage is so extensive that it affects the structure of the house or will eventually affect the structure of the house, you might want to request a refund of your good faith money and look for a different property.

During a general inspection, a home inspector checks:

The heating and cooling systems;

Plumbing in and under the house;

The electrical system;

The walls, ceilings and floors;

The roof and the attic;

The foundation, including the basement and crawlspace, as applicable;

Windows and doors;

Visible structures; and

Environmental concerns, such as the removal of an old oil tank.

As with the termite inspection, if any of these are deal-breakers, you can request that the seller return your good faith money. If you really like the property, you could also ask the seller to make the recommended repairs or to deduct the cost of the repairs from the purchase price.

In some cases, you may want to make repairs yourself and deduct the cost from the purchase price, so that you know you hired reliable companies to do those repairs.

Adding an Outdoor Kitchen Increases Your Living Space

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Today’s home buyers are looking for ways to maximize their space and their enjoyment of that space. While having friends and family over to enjoy a meal out on the patio or a backyard BBQ has long been a favorite way of spending time with loved ones, it’s frequently left the hosts separated from the guests. Adding an outdoor kitchen offers numerous advantages. It could boost interest in your home and set it apart from similar ones in the area.

1. Makes Entertaining Easy

One of the most exciting things about having your own home is the ability to entertain more. Adding an outdoor kitchen to your home means that the home buyer is instantly set up for a home-warming party or any other type of gathering.

2. The Hosts Can Participate

As mentioned above, one of the best reasons for installing an outdoor kitchen is that it eliminates the separation of the cook — which is nearly always the host — from the rest of the party outdoors.

3. It Becomes a Team Effort

With an outdoor kitchen, there are more opportunities to make cooking a group effort. By keeping food prep as part of the overall party, it’s easier for other people to jump in and help out. It’s also great for when the homeowner wants to plan for shared cooking experiences.

4. It’s Cozy

While the gathering place inside a house used to be the living room, the past few years have seen the kitchen take over that spot. If you think about it, this transition just makes sense. People like to gather where there’s food. It encourages chatting and camaraderie. An outdoor kitchen that includes tables and chairs or other outdoor furniture encourage the same kind of coziness.

5. Increases Living Space

Adding an outdoor kitchen doesn’t have to be complicated. One idea is to use the covered porch or patio you already have as the foundation for the outdoor kitchen space. Next, add the appropriate appliances. The result is that you’ve instantly increased the living space of your current home without having to add on another room.

If you’re in an area of the country that is going through a housing boom, you might wonder if you should spring for an outdoor kitchen. Adding this highly-desirable feature to your home could also increase its value and make it easier to get your asking price during its sale.

4 Ways to Reduce Home Buying Stress

40% of all homebuyers report that buying a home is one of the most stressful events in their lives. There are many sources of stress, but the more prepared you are, the better you’ll be able to handle them. Here are some tips for handling the most common stresses of buying a home:

Find the Right Real Estate Agent

The right real estate professional can make an enormous difference in your home buying experience. Let their expertise and knowledge of the market guide you and take care of some of the most stressful aspects of buying a home, such as finding the right listing. With the wealth of knowledge real estate agents possess, you’ll gain peace of mind working with one.

Keep Your Timing Flexible

Nothing is more stressful than a hard deadline. If you keep your buying and moving plans flexible, you’ll avoid a lot of unnecessary frustration and rushed decisions. Finding the perfect home can take a long time, and even after you find it, the buying process can take months or more. The more time you give yourself to complete the journey, the calmer and more comfortable you’ll be.

Get Pre-Approved for a Loan

A major source of stress in home buying is securing financing. The earlier you can get a preapproval letter from a mortgage lender, the earlier you can put that anxiety to rest. While it doesn’t cover the entire scope of expenses you’ll encounter when buying a home, making sure you have a mortgage lined up and ready will make your buying process much smoother.

Expect to Make Adjustments

Finally, accepting that the process might not go according to plan is an important step in taking the stress out of home buying. With so many steps and moving parts, careful planning will help you stay organized and on top of the current task. However, things are bound to change. Keep an open mind and remind yourself that you might have to adjust your plans in order to make everything work.

It’s no secret that home buying is a tremendous decision. While it can be stressful, remembering these tips can help make the process easier.

Energy Efficiency: Ways to Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly

Image by Ulrike Leone from Pixabay

Building a new home allows you to incorporate the latest technological advancements into your home, and that includes the latest energy-related innovations. If you’re building a new home, consider these five ways to make a home more energy-efficient. Including one or several of them in your new home will be good for the environment — and will likely have benefits for you too.

1. Upgrade the Insulation

Homebuilders today can use several types and grades of insulation in a home, and many of these are much more effective than what has been used in the past. Upgrading to high-end insulation isn’t a change that you’ll see in the home, but it’s one that you’ll feel.

Good insulation will help maintain a consistent temperature throughout the day and night, and it’ll reduce drafts in the house. You’ll also save on utility bills any time you turn on the heat or air conditioner. Most times, the savings that you realize over the life span of your home could exceed the added cost of higher-end insulation.

2. Upgrade to High-Efficiency Windows

After insulation, the next major energy-related item to consider upgrading is your new home’s windows. A significant amount of heat transfer occurs through windows and installing high-efficiency windows can lessen how much heat or coolness transfers through the glass. This is another upgrade that can provide substantial utility bill savings over time.

3. Install a Smart Thermostat

A smart thermostat affords precise control of your home’s HVAC system even when you’re not at home. The thermostat can increase comfort, heating or cooling your home just before you arrive. It can also help you save energy by managing the exact temperature settings in your home. Installing a smart thermostat is easy when the HVAC system is being put in.

4. Consider Solar Panels

For the ultimate in energy efficiency, consider having solar panels installed on your new home’s roof or in a nearby yard. Your home won’t only be using green electricity, but it’ll be generating that electricity itself. Should you generate more solar electricity than you need, you can often sell it back to the utility company in your region.

Your homebuilder may not install solar panels themselves, but they’ll likely know of and work with a specialized contractor who does. The contractor can give you a precise overview of what solar panels will do for your home, given your home’s particular location, size and other factors.

5. Consider EV Charging

To extend your energy-efficient efforts beyond the home itself, consider having your homebuilder work with a contractor who installs EV (Electric Vehicle) charging stations. An EV charging station will let you quickly recharge an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, and you may qualify for a substantial tax credit if you have a station installed.

While this work is most often done when someone purchases an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, it might make sense to install a charging station when you’re building a new home, even if you don’t yet have a compatible car. You’ll need a station if you purchase an electric vehicle soon, and it may be less costly to install a station during a home’s construction than afterward.

Make Your New Home Energy Efficient

Homes are becoming more energy-efficient every day, and there are many ways to make your new home more efficient. Take advantage of some of these ideas, and both the environment and you will reap the benefits.

Cultivate a Lush, Beautiful Lawn With These 4 Simple Tips

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Every homeowner wants a beautiful lawn devoid of dandelions and unsightly brown patches. Unfortunately, hiring an organic lawn care service isn’t always in the budget. However, there are some easy things you can do to manage and improve your lawn without breaking the bank or harming the environment. You can care for your lawn without poisoning the water table if you use safe methods to discourage pests and weeds. You’ll boost the beauty of your grasses and gardens while allowing helpful organisms such as bees and earthworms to flourish. Use these four tips to give your lawn a boost:

1. Aerate Your Lawn Regularly

Roots need air, water and nutrients to grow strong and lush. This is why it’s necessary to aerate areas of your lawn that have become compacted over time. This is especially important for newly constructed homes with lawns that are still trying to recover from the shock of heavy machinery. Early spring or fall is the best time to aerate soil because it allows time for new growth before the change in growing seasons. You’ll want to wait for a drenching rain before you begin.

You can rent a lawn aerator from your local home supply store. You can even use something so simple as a pitchfork. Poke it into compacted areas and wiggle the handle back and forth to create large holes. Save work by choosing only the most compacted areas of your lawn for aeration.

2. Mow Your Lawn Frequently

Allow grass to grow to approximately 3 inches before mowing, then strive to maintain that ideal height. By mowing often, you’ll generate short clippings that won’t need raking. If you allow them to sink down into your soil, they’ll become a natural source of food that acts as organic fertilizer.

You’ll also want to sharpen the blades on your mower regularly. Dull blades damage grass blades, making them more susceptible to disease and infestation.

3. Water Your Grass Efficiently

Over watering your lawn may be just as damaging as allowing it to dry out. For best results, only water when you can see footprints in the grass. But when you do water, water deeply and thoroughly. Do your best to plan around the weather by making allowances for wet days instead of sticking to a rigid schedule.

4. Use Lawn Chemicals Sparingly

If you take good care of your lawn, it will defeat weeds naturally. Most weeds that infest lawns thrive on neglect. So if you pay careful attention to maintaining a lush, green carpet, you’ve already won half the battle. If you do decide you need the help of pesticides or fertilizers, shop from the organic section of your home supply store. You can even make your own using ingredients like boiling water, vinegar or salt. These common household materials kill weeds without leeching toxic chemicals and carcinogens into the ground. For fertilizer, start a compost pile in your backyard and feed it regularly with vegetable clippings, leaves, coffee grounds and more. As it decays and turns to compost, you can spread it in thin layers on the weakest parts of your lawn to green them up beautifully.

If you keep up with your lawn in an eco-friendly way you’ll see a natural resurgence of beneficial wildlife such as beetles, honey bees and earthworms. These creatures will help you keep the soil aerated and discourage harmful pests.

Staging Your Home to Sell Begins Early in the Process

There are a lot of factors that can cause one house to sell quickly, while others in the neighborhood languish on the market for months.

In many cases, homes are scooped up because of a desirable location, a great school district, or irresistible curb appeal.

While all buyers have their priority items and wish lists in mind when shopping for a new home, final decisions are often based on psychological factors, emotions, and gut feelings — not just cold, hard facts!

If you’re getting ready to put your house on the market, here are a few strategies for improving your chances of making a fast sale:

Good feelings help sell houses. Prospective buyers are going to be drawn to your house if it looks impeccable from the street and well cared-for on the inside. When your home conveys a sense of pride in ownership and attention to detail, it sends a positive psychological message to house hunters. Very often, the power of suggestion can work in your favor when you’re trying to make a favorable impression on potential buyers. Displaying fresh flowers, an appetizing bowl of fruit, or even table settings in your dining room or kitchen can help create a more inviting, appealing atmosphere. The right furniture arrangements can conjure up images of family gatherings, intimate conversations, or relaxing afternoons on the backyard deck.

Clutter creates discomfort. If you notice visitors side-stepping past your furniture or walking through your home as if they’re navigating a maze, that’s a sure sign your house is cluttered. Too much furniture or furniture that’s too large and bulky for the space it occupies will make your rooms look and feel cramped. Creating a feeling of spaciousness and openness, on the other hand, helps bring out the best in all areas of your home.

Small touches make a difference. Displaying vases of fresh-cut flowers, an appetizing bowl of fruit in the kitchen, or colorful, new towels in the bathroom can help enhance the ambiance of your home. When conditions permit, the smell of fresh muffins, bread baking, or coffee brewing can infuse your home with a comforting and inviting fragrance. A house that looks and smells clean will also help create a positive multi-sensory experience for your visitors.

The right price can clinch the deal. Ideally, the price of your home should be based on comparable properties in your neighborhood and what they recently sold for. If your home is not in the same ball park, you could easily scare away qualified buyers who would otherwise be ready to make an offer. Working with a real estate agent can help ensure that you’re house is competitively priced and that it doesn’t linger on the market longer than necessary. Once you get caught in that cycle, the perceived value of your home and it’s overall desirability can begin a downward slide. Take steps to prevent that from happening by having a comparative analysis done.