Special Interest Considerations

Take the special interests of your customers into consideration.  You can do this as you set up the property.  Or, you can make plans to include your residents’ interests after your property has been in business for years.

Getting the younger crowd into apartments or condos can be a real challenge.  They have very distinct ideas of what they want.  Besides this, most of them are on a somewhat limited budget.

You can cater to this crowd by furnishing your model from a discount warehouse.  This could be Ikea or any other place where they can get cheap furniture and linens.  Somewhere that is popular with them is ideal, but you would have to find out what that is.

The idea is to get them to see that the apartment does not have to be done up with the finest furniture and lamps.  It can be a home that is more suited to them, and to their budget.  That is appealing to them on many levels.

The younger people also like to communicate in different ways than those of us who are older.  Their special interests in this area tend to center around their phones.  Many of them have had cell phones since they were in Jr. High.

It is so much a part of them that you can hardly separate them from their cell phones for a moment.  What they like to do is send pictures and text messages.  If your staff can find ways to communicate with them in these ways, they will excite the young people about the property and the staff.

On the other hand, you cannot overlook the limitations of the older crowd.  They may not be able to adjust to text messaging, either physically or emotionally.  Their special interests lie in more nostalgic areas.  They mostly like using their computers, but they may need a larger font.

Yet, this group of people, the group around fifty or so, do like to take care of themselves.  They like to go jogging and work out.  Your clubhouse can help out with this immensely.  You can have all the weight machines, exercise bikes and work out machines you want.  You might even go so far as to hire a personal trainer.

If they need a place to jog, you can set up jogging trails with mile markers.  You might even put in benches at different places along the trails for people who are just starting to get into shape.

Environmental issues are special interests with many people these days.  Both the young and the old are concerned about the planet.  Make any concession you can make to the ecology of the property and its grounds you can.  This will create good will among those who care about the earth.

Special interest considerations often have to do with age.  One generation has its toys and another generation is happy with something else.  Some issues are cross-generational.  No matter what the special interest is, if you find a way to feed it, you will make friends for life.

May 2009 Financial Tips

Sometimes the least expensive way to get the maximum return on your real estate investment is by spending a little money on curb appeal.  Now that millions of Americans are struggling to find property to rent or lease-to-own or purchase outright that fits their new budgets, curb appeal can mean the difference in thousands of dollars in selling price on your properties.  One thing I have found to be continually true is that a house that looks marketable will receive less bargain hunting, haggling offers than a house that does not.

In most parts of the United States, spring is upon us and one of the things I love the most about spring and summer is that they are economical times to get a lot of curb appeal for a just a little work and a little money.  Here are a few financially sound tips for maximizing your property’s curb appeal while minimizing your investment.

Make the entry way to your property inviting.  A hanging basket under a covered porch or over-the-railing planters along porch railings, make a house look like a home.  For less than $25 you can purchase ready to hang planters or pre-planted containers that significantly raise the appearance value of a property.  If your property has cement walkways, make sure the cement is clear of overgrown grass and edge along the walkways.  Rock walkways look suddenly alive again just by blowing the leaves and debris away.  Under $10 for a container of Round-Up can kill off any plants that look like they don’t belong around your property’s entryway.  Fruit or berry producing plants turn a rental property into an inviting home.  A $10-15 decorative flag gives your property a lived in appearance.  Most of these simple investments can be moved from one property to the next, as you sell off your inventory.

Your local home and garden center can help you pick inexpensive plants that will thrive with little care.  You want drought resistant foliage that won’t require you to stop by the property and water every day.  Shade loving plants can include: Ferns, Coral Bells, Bleeding Heart, multiple varieties of Hosta, Astilbe, Artemesia, and Stokes Aster.  Sun seeking favorites include: Broadleaf Purple Coneflowers, Black Eyed Susans, Russian Sage, Coreopsis, and Salvia.  If you are motivated to do inexpensive, permanent landscaping check out http://www.MichiganBulb.com.  Michigan Bulb sells preplanned gardens for dry or damp areas, sunny or shaded areas, small or large areas, and more.  A $40 investment and a couple of hours of your time can create a homey, lived-in, attractive property even in the least desirable of neighborhoods.  If your property is slated for rental, this is an easy and affordable long-term investment.

What family with children isn’t drawn into a home with a front porch swing, a glider chair, or even a wooden swing hanging from an old Oak tree?  While hammock swings might start out at $300, wooden swings can be purchased for under $100.  Home improvement stores still sell simple swings that cause children to beg mom and dad to move here!

According to Ian Shepherdson, economist at High Frequency Economics, while home sales have continued to decline, they appear to be stabilizing.  The National Association of Realtors president Charles McMillan said first time buyers made up 53% of existing home sales in March.  First time buyers have less money to spend but bigger dreams for their home purchases.  A little bit of curb appeal can go a long way when selling low to medium price rehabbed property.

Another low end investment in a property that improves curb appeal is a brass door knocker or a simple wreath or floral swag.  When the front door says “come on in” the potential buyer is already in a purchasing mood.   Front door color can have an impact in making a property memorable to shoppers who are visiting numerous houses each day.  Red, green, or even magenta – as long as it matches the overall coloring of the property – can stand out significantly in the mind of buyers.  And don’t underestimate the value of a welcome mat.  You can pick them up at Wal-Mart for under $5.00.  If you are working with multiple properties buy several at a time when you find attractive ones.

A backlog of existing homes in the market drives real estate prices down.  A small investment in curb appeal can set your properties apart from the other similarly priced properties in your market.

Once you treat your curb appeal and get prospects into the property, other similarly low investments can further raise the value of your residence.  Closet organizers start out under $100 and take less than an hour to install in an empty closet.  Add-ons such as shoe cubbies, canvas baskets, or tie and belt organizers give the appearance of increased storage in older homes lacking closet space comparable to newly constructed properties.

If your property has a garage, it should be empty.  You and I know that people store everything under the sun in their garage.  But prospective buyers want to see spacious, empty storage space.  An hour of pressure washing can remove oil or gasoline stains, and make the garage smell brand new.  Likewise, basements and crawl spaces should be empty.  Pressure washers can be rented from Home Depot or Lowes for a minimal investment.

Generally speaking, we approach rehabbing as the lowest investment to make in a property.  But if you aren’t planning on wholesaling to an investor, if you want to attract quality renters, or if you hope to find buyers who will want to live in your property; you must invest in your curb appeal.  Empty houses look larger than they are, but empty houses also are more challenging to present with curb appeal.  Walk through your property with an eye to ownership.  If you were going to move in tomorrow, what would be the first things you would want to do to the property before your friends or your in-laws were going to visit? 

For just a few hundred dollars you can significantly raise the perception of value in a property while simultaneously attracting a better quality of buyer or renter.  That’s a sound financial tip that can move a lot of homes through your Ultimate Buying and Selling Machine funnel.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall…

What is the first thing that you always want your potential buyers to see when they first walk into your home that is for sale?

Kitchen?

Bathroom?

Multi-Level Deck?

The correct answer is “themselves.” 

One of the best staging techniques is the use of mirrors, although most don’t know how to effectively use them.  The first place that you should have a mirror is directly on the wall in front of someone when they open and walk thru the front door. 

I love having a small mirror right there with a little key hook next to it, holding the house keys (I label them of course; “front door,” “back door,” “garage,” “Fido’s house.”)  Just above or below the mirror, I do a stencil that says very simply “Welcome Home.”   We never fail to get an “ohhhhh” response as soon as someone walks into the front door. 

What if you don’t have a wall that is facing the front door, hence, no place to hang your mirror?  The first place that they will walk (you are staging in order to create the flow at which you want them to move thru the house…right?) and be able to see themselves is the next best area in which to hang your mirror.

If you are doing an Open House Event (like in our Exit Strategy Marketing System), you can even use this trick on the outside of the front door.  It can be hung in the center of a wreath with a small “welcome home” sign suspended from the wreath.   You can also put a small mirror just above the doorbell with a stencil that says “Just use your key” and tie a small key on a ribbon and fix it to the mirror.  These are great ways to get people to fall in love with your home before they ever even come thru the front door.

My next favorite place to put a mirror is in the bathroom.  Of course, you will have one above the vanity or lining the wall above the sinks, but have you thought about putting a small mirror in the bathtub or shower?   It should be carefully placed so as not to fall, but then, using pale lipstick, put a tiny kiss in the top up left corner.  Take a pale lip liner pencil and write “no one loves you like I do”– I will keep everyone in stitches.

A mirror can always be used to expand the size of a room or make a narrow room look wider.  Don’t be afraid to have mirrored closet doors in the right environment, or do a mirrored wall.  What you don’t want, are mirrored tiles-can we say 70’s?

A Great look are large wardrobe mirrors (usually really inexpensive, about $20), fixed to a wall centered, top to bottom.  Space them about 2-4 mirror widths apart and paint a “frame” around each one. Now you have added a great decorative and interesting element to the room, while still giving it the benefit of “expansion.”

Where do people like to “sneak a peek?” In the mailbox, pantry, medicine cabinet, refrigerator?  Where ever it is, you can add a small mirror that says “gotcha’.” They will double over with laughter and enjoy the home even more for the entertainment value.
 

Lastly, I love a wall of mirrors.  Not the panel mirrors that we have been talking about, but rather, all different shapes and sizes, framed, etched, big, small, round, square…you get the idea.  

The key to success on creating a wall of mirrors is balance. You have to make sure that you end up with a sense of flow and even distribution.  You can couple wood frames with frame-less, round with square and etched glass with metal accents.  But if you have something heavy, then put something light next to it.  Try to keep the same shapes from being next to one another and feel free to keep the entire wall neutral or add one or two really bold splashes of color with frames.  I love all neutral for an elegant look and then throwing in one or two viscously bright colors like orange, red or yellow to modernize the scene a bit. 

However you decide to use mirrors in your staging, make sure that you use them effectively so that you can truly get the greatest amount of impact from such a great staging tool.

Karen Schaefer is the Founder of Simple Appeal, Inc. and APSD^TM, The Association of Property Scene Designers. She is widely recognized as the Premier Staging Designer for Investment Properties in the Country.  For more information and additional staging tips, go to www.SimpleAppeal.com