Archive for the ‘Tips & Tools’ Category

Homeowners who are looking to remodel their kitchen should keep the following factors—that can significantly affect the price of their remodel—in mind as they begin to make plans to upgrade their kitchen. According to Kitchen Tune-Up, homeowners should pay attention the following five factors before they begin a renovation.

1. Wood species or cabinet covering material. The material that covers the cabinet will effect the overall pricing of a kitchen renovation, but not as much as you might think. A stainless steel clad cabinet will be the most expensive and a melamine (thin plastic laminate) surface will be the least costly. Cherry is usually about 7-10% more than oak, while hickory, oak and pine usually run very close in price. Unusual cabinet woods like alder, mahogany, fir, rift cut woods, redwood, teak, etc. will usually cost more than common oak or pine.

2. Kitchen layout. The layout of the kitchen and the cabinet configuration will largely affect the price of a remodel as well. For example, a lazy susan will cost more than a sink cabinet, a stack of drawers will be higher priced than a one drawer/two door base cabinet, a U-shaped kitchen costs more than an L-shape with an island and a wall oven/cooktop combination makes the kitchen cost about $1,000 more than a free standing range. Setting a budget to design within can often save homeowners many hours of re-design.

3. Cabinet door style. A door with many details will usually cost more than a simple door. If an arch is added to a square panel, homeowners can expect to pay more. A door with lots of grooves or molding generally cost more than a simple door and a full overlay door (door that covers almost the entire cabinet face) costs more than a traditional overlay door. Doors set inside the cabinet frame (called inset) cost more than doors that are mounted over the cabinet frame.

4. Type of cabinet finish. The type of cabinet finish you choose will vary the pricing of a kitchen remodel as well. Painted cabinets will run 10-15% more than a standard stain finish and glazes or layered finishes will run 7-15% more than a standard stain due to the extra labor.

5. Cabinet construction methods and materials. Don’t skimp in the area of cabinet construction in order to save money on your kitchen renovation as better construction methods make a kitchen durable. In fact, cabinet construction may be 60% of the entire cabinet cost.

From RIS Media

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Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.

Search Luxury Homes in Los Angeles at Valerie Fitzgerald Real Estate Listings or contact Valerie Fitzgerald at 310-285-7515.

Kendra Todd, host of My House Is Worth What?, tells you how to set your home apart and get the maximum price for your property.

Liven Up the Landscaping

Not only does good landscaping give you the highest return on your money, but it also can literally transform the exterior look and feel of your home. Hire a landscaper to do the job, or do it yourself for some old-fashioned sweat equity. Either way, be sure to turn your front yard into a colorful, floral oasis.

Enhance Your Exterior Entryway

Make your front door the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal. Repaint it a striking, tasteful color, or sand it down and stain it for an antique, weathered look. Finish the look with updated lights, potted plants on either side of the door and a new, high-end knocker and handle.

Have a Welcoming Walkway

The front walkway is essential to drawing the buyer in the door, so it’s got to pop. You’ll get points with buyers for installing a high-end material such as brick pavers. If your pathway is curved, accentuate the movement by lining it with lights or flowering plants.

Freshen the Foyer

What do people see first when they enter your home? Consider that the foyer is the first impression of your home’s interior, so make sure it doesn’t block the line of sight to any marketable rooms or views. Remove bulky furniture, paint it a neutral color, upgrade the lighting, and have fun with things like high-end entry tile or even marble flooring.

Light It Up Right

The right lighting can make a small home appear larger or a dark home seem sunny and cheery. The wrong lighting can make your home feel dark and dreary. Installing brighter, modern light fixtures not only highlights your home’s best features, but the right style of fixtures can also create a more current look.

Neutralize With Paint

Paint color is a personal choice, and potential buyers will probably want to customize it for themselves when they move in, but that’s no reason not to paint when selling. You are out to showcase your home in its best light, right? Don’t fall into the “white or beige” trap, but also avoid rich, dark colors as those don’t appeal to everyone. Think about richer colors with wider appeal, and don’t forget to focus on the details: window and door trim, baseboards and crown molding.

Update Fixtures, Hardware

Avoid major kitchen and bathroom overhauls if you are ready to sell. Instead, highlight the existing good features by tackling small tasks such as updating the lighting and installing new faucets, nozzles, mirrors and cabinet doorknobs. You’ll be surprised how big an impression these small, relatively inexpensive updates will make.

Repaint Cabinets

Replacing or even refinishing cabinets can be costly and therefore risky if you dump a ton of money into your place right before you sell. A quicker and less expensive way to recoup your costs and still modernize your home is to repaint the cabinets. It’s incredible to see how a coat of paint can transform the entire look of your kitchen or bath.

Don’t Forget the Flooring

Flooring has one of the most dramatic effects on the size and appeal of your home, and you get a great boost in value if you choose the right materials. If you have worn, stained carpet or vinyl flooring, rip it up quickly and replace it with tasteful tile, wood laminate, or, if your market allows, nice hardwood floors.

Create a Backyard Oasis

What do buyer’s see when they walk out back? A vacant slab of concrete? A rarely used covered pool? Transform your backyard into an entertaining space, so the buyer can visualize all the good times they’ll have out there with neighbors and family. Buy some inexpensive patio furniture, a grill and some potted plants to fill extra space and tie it all together. Install some outdoor lighting as the finishing touch. By the time you’re done, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.

Search Luxury Homes in Los Angeles at Valerie Fitzgerald Real Estate Listings

Marketing and identifying green homes just got easier for home buyers and sellers with the new Green MLS Tool Kit. The National Association of Realtors now offers the tool kit to help Realtors add a green initiative to their local multiple listing service (MLS).

“Realtors are the best source for real estate information and have access to the most comprehensive data in the world,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associate in Tucson, Ariz. “NAR research has consistently shown that there is a considerable and growing market for green buildings. Many of today’s consumers want homes and communities that are sensitive to the larger environment. The Green MLS Tool Kit allows Realtors to support this growing market.”

The tool kit provides a snapshot of the green home industry, outlines why adopting a green initiative for MLSs is important, and offers strategies for effective changes. It contains myriad resources to help NAR members plan the process of greening their MLS. For example, it features case studies of several MLS systems that have completed a green initiative and examples of forms and strategies from several MLSs that have gone green.

In addition, it offers recommendations for navigating everything from assembling the team and developing green data entry forms to personalizing the MLS to specific locations. The tool kit also includes links to additional resources, such as a publication on the “Top Ten Ways an MLS or Association Can Go Green.”

The tool kit was a collaborative effort by a team of individuals, associations and organizations that either have had direct experience with MLS system management or with implementing a green MLS initiative. NAR worked with the Appraisal Institute; Council of Multiple Listing Services; EcoBroker International; Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.; Metropolitan Regional Information; Multi-Regional Multiple Listing Service System; National Association of Home Builders; NeighborWorks America; Traverse Area Association of Realtors; and the U.S. Green Building Council to develop the tool kit.

“By identifying which homes contain energy efficient and environmentally friendly characteristics, the Greening MLS Tool Kit will help all home buyers- especially first-time and low- and moderate income home buyers- make more informed choices about the cost of their housing and where upfront payment may lead to long-term saving,” said Ken Wade, NeighborWorks America CEO.

Copyright© 2010 RISMedia

Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business.

Check out Valerie Fitzgerald Beverly Hills Real Estate Listings

Take a look at your systems, your schedules, your expenses, and your goals. Each of these areas could use a little ‘touch up’, so without getting overwhelmed, take a look at these suggestions and decide to make the positive change.

Systems – Systems are the foundation of which you work from. You can think of systems as the guide or rules for each particular area of your business. When your systems are effective and in place, you can spend more time generating business than crawling out from under piles of paper.

What happens when you go away on holiday? Do you come back to a huge ‘pile’ of things to do before you can even dive into your work load. When your systems are in place, you can effortlessly assimilate back into work mode and take off running.

How do you write and implement your ‘to do’ list? How do you monitor your contact with clients? How do you keep records and important data? How do you organize your office, including your computer? What simple changes can you make to get more organized and efficient?

Schedules – They say, if you have a task to complete – give it to a busy person. It seems there are those who can do 1,000 things each day, and there are those who can’t get 1 thing done. Usually the person who can’t get 1 thing accomplished has the most available time. Setting your schedule enables you to focus on what you need to get finished and weeds out ‘time wasters’. Set your weekly schedule on Sunday and allocate tasks to specific days.

Each night, review what you need to do the following day and get together anything you’ll need to complete those tasks. Of course, things get shifted throughout the week, but once the plan is in place, you can clearly see how to rearrange things to be sure everything gets finished.

Be sure to put an “end time to your day”. Set a time you leave the office, or if working from home – your “stop” time. You’ll find you’ll still complete your ‘to do’ list because you’ve set parameters on your time. It’s a trick I’ve played on myself for many years, and I find I am finished around the same time every day and I’m able to complete the things on my list.

Are you setting your schedule the night before, noting things that must get done and including things ‘if you have an extra minute’? Are you being reasonable with the time it takes to complete your tasks? Are you allocating time to ‘return calls’, ’send emails’, and other daily tasks. What are your “time-wasters”?

Expenses – It’s not just in today’s economy, this an important arena to pay attention to. Every little bit adds up. I tend to use this example often because many can relate to it. Let’s say you buy yourself a $3.00 latte each day before going into work. If you multiply that by each day, and each week, and each month – you are spending, on average, $600 a year.

Although, you need to make about $900 – before taxes -to ‘take home’ $600. That’s just for coffee! Ok, so you allow that, but what about all the other $3.00 expenses that add up the same way. No matter what the expense, every little bit adds up and you need to ‘get real’ with your budget.

Do you have a personal budget? Do you have a business budget? What unnecessary expenses can you cut? What changes can you make in how you run your business, in order to save on expenses?

Goals – I saved the best for last! It’s not too late to write your business goals for 2010. This is an important component in reaching success in your business. What do you want to accomplish this year? Do you want to increase your database by 500? Do you want to close (4) deals each month? Do you want to generate enough business to hire an assistant? or two? Do you want to extend your on-line marketing efforts? Do you want to make an additional $_____ (fill in the blank) each month? Regardless of your goals, write them down, visualize them, and take the necessary steps to make them h happen.

Have you written your goals for 2010? Can you see your goal list while sitting at your desk/laying in bed/driving in the car? What changes and action steps do you need to make to reach your goals?

It may seems like a lot to ask of yourself, but aren’t you worth it? I urge you to make the necessary changes that will enable your business to grow in 2010. Establish your systems, set your schedules, respect your budget, and reach your goals. Be the change you need in your world!

“Failing to plan, is planning to fail.”

~Anonymous

The Valerie Fitzgerald Group specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business. Buy it here.

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Last week I had the distinct pleasure of sitting in on an interview with Tim Harris.

The time and care Tim put into my pre-interview was amazing. He asked me in-depth questions the day before so that he could strategically connect my answers to reinforce the most important ideas and issues that resonate with his listening audience. Thank you Tim!

To listen to the interview Click here.

Learn more about Tim and Julie Harris at http://timandjulieharris.com

Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business. Find it at Amazon.com.

Tim and Julie Harris