Our goal is to create an emotional trigger for your buyer while they walk through your house, creating an interior that feels beautiful, inviting and spacious without too many distractions.

Top Ten

1. Stager walkthrough targets 5 key areas: curb appeal, entry, living spaces, kitchen & master suite.

2. Remove all personal, political, religious and sports related items including photos.

3. Trim bushes, edge lawn and remove leaves/clutter on front yard.

4. Be prepared to rearrange some furniture to highlight your home’s key features and focal points.

5. Place extra accessories in one area for stager to utilize including pillows and placesettings for dining room and/or kitchen. Think romantic (not formal) dinner and cheerful breakfast.

6. Edit down closets 50% or more if full, leaving floors empty.

7. Clear kitchen countertops except for a couple of large accessories and refrigerator fronts.

8. Clean all windows, glass surfaces and hardware fixtures, plus remove window screens. (Screens block light)

9. Edit down book shelves or china cabinets 50% or more if full. Think about replacing some books with large accessories.

10.Ensure main walkways through home are clear (4 ft wide min.).

“You only have one chance to make a great first impression! Within seconds after entering a house, potential homebuyers make an emotional decision whether or not to buy. So why not stage before listing it?” Karen Mills –interior designer and host of Living Largeon News Radio 980 KMBZ.

K.C.s Top Home Stager”(Cort/Berkshire Hathaway), keynote KCRAR, KMBC TV9 Concept Home designer
& nominated Small Business of Year 2009, 2008 & 2007.
Secrets to Home Staging at http://karenmills.net/pdf/secretstostaging.pdf
Karen Mills 913.764.5915
Interiors by Design, Inc.
karen@karenmills.net
www.karenmills.net
livinglargeshow.com (Design Blog)

If you plan to live out your retirement years in your own home, adding universal design features will make aging in place safer and more comfortable. And if you should later sell the house, you’ll find that buyers appreciate how these upgrades anticipate their future needs.

Unlike home improvements designed to make an immediate impression, universal design additions with the most sales appeal are those that go unnoticed until you point them out.

“The beauty of universal design is when you’re able to incorporate something that looks great and doesn’t jump out at you,” says Paul Sullivan, a remodeling contractor in Newton, Mass.

In other words, says Armand Christopher, a Realtor who is designated a Seniors Real Estate Specialist: “You don’t put in hospital-grade grab bars in a bathroom when you are remodeling.”

Fortunately, you don’t have to settle for the institutional look. From ergonomically designed faucet handles to skid-free flooring, today’s universal design products are stylish and subtle. Financing options include home equity loans and reverse mortgages.

The best time to add aging-in-place upgrades to your home is before you need them, says Pat Rowen, an interior designer and Certified Aging in Place Specialist in Hillsdale, Mich. Rowen had to tackle a rush job when a client in his 80s fell and broke his hip just before Christmas, and she scrambled to track down materials and workers to do the needed remodel. She says the experience underscored the importance of planning ahead.

“If you have to do it under the gun at Christmastime, and you know that your husband is coming home in two weeks and you have a bathtub that he can’t get into — that’s not the time to do the remodeling,” Rowen says.

Here are nine ideas that can boost the value of your home and the quality of life you enjoy while you’re living in it.

Make It Easier to Get Around

Create zero-step entries. If your home has a basement, Rowen suggests grading the landscape to create a new entry at the lower level. If you’re thinking of building a ramp to an existing entry, consider placing it inside your garage instead of at the front door.

Make your doors easier to open. Sullivan recently installed several doors with levers instead of knobs for one of his clients. “It’s for a young, single woman, but she loves it because if she’s coming in with groceries in her arms, she can elbow the door handle and get through the door,” he says.

Create clear 3-foot passageways to make it easier to accommodate a wheelchair or walker. This might mean widening your interior doorways as well as rearranging and de-cluttering rooms. “As people get older, they have a lot of stuff,” Rowen says. “They need to think in terms of ‘How can I get to and from everything I do without any furniture or clutter?’”

Improve safety and comfort

Swap out your old stove and faucet to reduce the risk of burns. An accidental scalding is less likely with a single-lever faucet than with one that has separate handles for hot and cold, Sullivan says. Therese Crahan, executive director of NAHB Remodelers, a division of the National Association of Home Builders, recommends buying a stove that has the controls in the front, so you won’t have to reach over the heating elements.

Fall-proof your floors. Look for products such as nonslip vinyl and nonglossy tile in small patterns (the extra grout lines provide more slip resistance), Rowen says. It’s also a good idea to eliminate variances in floor height from room to room, she says.

Add features that lessen the need for reaching up and bending over. Christopher suggests shopping for items such as kitchen cabinets with pull-down shelves, refrigerators with middle drawers and washers and dryers with raised platforms.

Upgrade the Bathroom

Prep your bathroom for grab bars, even if you’re not ready to install them yet.“You can either put plywood on the wall before you put the drywall up or put blocking between the studs,” Rowen says. Without that preparation, you are limited to installing the grab bars at the location of existing studs, or tearing out drywallto fit them in.

Put in an easy-to-use shower. Rowen likes the ones from Best Bath Systems, which offers a model with grab bars, a folding seat and hand-held sprayer for about $3,100. Curbless showers are another option. They are wheelchair-accessible and eliminate the need to step over a threshold. “The bathroom floor just rollsseamlessly into the shower,” Sullivan says.

Sullivan adds that for experienced contractors, installing a curbless shower costs no more than doing a conventional one. “The one thing we have to do is waterproof the floor underneath,” he says. “You’re talking maybe 15 (additional) minutes of labor and $50 worth of materials. And you’re not building and tiling the curb, so it’s pretty much a wash.”

Get a comfort-height toilet, which will raise you up about 17 inches off the floor and set you back $200 to $300, Rowen says. Those seat booster rings aren’t nearly as efficient, according to Rowen, because they slip easily and are difficult to clean

A short sale is when a borrower is forced to sell their home for less than they owe on it. Typically, it is the result of some kind of hardship. Sellers are forced to ask the lender to take less than the full amount owed. Considering a Short Sale is a stressful and overwhelming process. Finding the facts and reliable information is even harder. Part of that is caused by the fact that there are many different loans, lenders and real estate agents all with their own requirements and experiences. Below is a list of links for information and sources that we trust.

Statistics from Hitwise, the web research firm shows that Realtor.com has 5.49% of the visitors and Zillow had 3.63% of the visitors for the week of 7/17/2010.

What is really interesting is that most of each site’s visitors did NOT visit the other site during that same period, this information came from comScore data, another research firm.

What’s the point? For seller’s you want your home to receive the most exposure on as many real estate “portals” as possible. Most portals are reaching different buyers.

For example, Homefinder.com, the home search portal for over 130 different newspapers had about 910,000 unique visitors in May, it allows sellers, through their real estate agent to reach potential buyers who are searching on newspapers’ websites but may not be visiting sites like Realtor.com. SIDEBAR – Our local paper, The Kansas City Star uses Homefinder.com as their real estate search tool. What is really interesting is that some of the largest real estate brokers in town have refused to post their sellers’ homes on the site! They have made a careful decision to limit their clients’ home’s exposure.

According to Zillow, “Due to the limited audience overlap among top national listing sites, agents and brokerages must cast their net as wide as possible on the Web and broadly syndicate listings to the top sites that home shoppers visit most frequently.”

Point2Agent, a listing distribution and syndication company, used by client centered agents and brokers, says “distribution trumps destination.” Like I explain to my clients, “I have over 50 websites because I prefer to fish with a net instead of a fishing pole.”

Bottom line, find an agent that knows what they are doing when it comes to internet marketing and will place your home on as many websites as possible. This is no different than selling toothpaste in 1950. The only difference is that most real estate agents do not really know where there clients homes are being advertised. Nor can you trust that the local big name broker is doing this.

From Bernice Ross, “Syndicating listings to multiple real estate portals in today’s competitive real estate market is an absolute necessity. … the greater your exposure, the more likely you are to sell that listing for the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time.”

Thanks Bernice I could not have said it better!

EPA maintains a comprehensive web site on radon at: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/ where you can find internet versions of all of EPA’s documents, brochures and publications relating to radon.

Below are descriptions of three of the more common EPA publications on radon, copied from site http://www.epa.gov /iaq/radon/pubs/index.html

A Citizen’s Guide To Radon (second edtition) The Guide To Protecting Yourself And Your Family From Radon.
This booklet was developed by the EPA, the U.S. Department of Health, Human Services and the U.S. Public Health Service.  This is a complete guide to taking action to lower the radon level in your home. It offers strategies for testing and discussions of what steps to take after you have tested, discussions of the risk of radon and radon myths.
EPA Document Number 402-K-92-001. September 1994. (www .epa.gov/iaq/radon/pubs/citguide.html)

Consumer’s Guide To Radon Protection How To Reduce Radon Levels In Your Home …
This booklet is for people who have tested their home for radon and confirmed that they have elevated radon levels. EPA Document Number 402-K-*93-003.  (www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/pubs/consguid.html)

Home Buyer’s And Seller’s Guide To Radon
This guide has been developed for anyone buying or selling a home who wants to learn about radon. For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328. Order Number – ISBN: 0-16-041680-9. EPA Document Number: 402-R-93-003, March 1993. (www.epa.gov/radon/pubslhmbyguid.html)

Buyers are encouraged to conduct any and all inspections by qualified experts to verify the condition of a property. This list summarizes many types of inspections, but you should investigate anything that concerns you. Be careful to watch the dates and other requirements about inspections in your sales contract.

Order a C.L.U.E. report from www.choicetrust.com to determine any potential insurance issues for your or the property.

Research School Information (School District – Be sure to ask about any upcoming school boundary changes.)
Covenants and Restrictions

Talk to Neighbors

Builder’s References and Reputation (for new home purchase)

Building Site Info (i.e. excessive fill, built over pond site, etc.) Check with engineering firm that developed the area.

Whole House Inspection (for plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling, appliances)

Structural Engineer (for foundation, roof structure and chimney)

Termites & Wood Destroying Insects

Radon Gas (EPA Radon Gas)

Chimney Sweep

Roof

Sewer Line (house to street) Sewer Hook-up (Is it actually hooked up to the public system?)

Septic system (Johnson County Sewer / Septic Inspection)

Masonite Siding (Masonite Siding Claims)

Mold & Microbials (EPA Airduct Information)

Synthetic Stucco Exterior (EIFS)

Polybutylene Pipes (http://www.plumbing911.com/)

Proximity to Toxic Areas (www.epa.gov)

Proximity to Sexual Predators (Contact local Sheriff’s Department)

Swimming Pool

Sauna, Hot Tub

Inground Sprinklers

Alarm system

Taxes & Zoning & City or County Master Plans – Contact local city and county governments.

Cistern / Well (EPA Safewater)

Lead Based Paint (EPA Lead)

Asbestos EPA Asbestos

Electromagnetic Fields

Carbon Monoxide

Underground Storage Tanks

Hillside Stability

Air and Water Quality (EPA Air & Water Quality)

Causes of Moisture in Basement (Water in Basements)

Other Information: Consumer Housing Advocates – HADD) and Better Business Bureau

Inspectors are supposed to be licensed and insured in Kansas but not Missouri.

Many belong to National Home Inspection Associations. –

ASHI(American Society of Home Inspectors)

NACHI (National Association of Certified Home Inspectors)

NAHI (National Association of Home Inspectors)

PITI (Professional Inspection Training Institute)

ACI (Association of Construction Inspectors)

IHINA (Independent Home Inspectors of North America)

Another consideration is a “re-inspection” by your own inspector after the Seller has completed the agreed-upon repairs.

Always hire the most qualified person you can find. Ask about their experience, education, references and insurance. Many of the above inspections require an engineer to conduct a “Phase 1 Inspection.” Making informed decisions about your home avoids surprises. You can eliminate the guesswork and reduce the potential for problems by hiring qualified inspectors. Your cousin Bob might not be that person. ]]> http://kansascityrealestatereport.com/2010/01/buyer-inspection-list/feed/ 0 http://kansascityrealestatereport.com/2010/01/home-inspection-process/ http://kansascityrealestatereport.com/2010/01/home-inspection-process/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:54:02 +0000 Steve Kornspan http://www.kcrealestatereport.com/?p=671 Read More]]> Now it is time to begin the inspection process. It is CRITICAL that we watch the dates. We must complete ALL inspections and respond before the deadline. Otherwise the seller does not have to fix a thing and you own the home “as-is”. Relax it is not quite as bad as that, if something does come up we can ask (in writing) to extend the inspection period.

INSPECTIONS - We begin with the whole house inspector. You may use anyone you like for this process. In KS inspectors are now required to be licensed, and carry insurance.

A top professional will have at least $250,000 worth of insurance, be a member of a association with educational requirements, and take continuing education on a regular basis.

Also, I prefer inspectors that climb on the roof (weather permitting), crawl in the crawl space, and climb in the attic. Good ones stay abreast of building material recalls and past problems.

On my web site, I have some that I trust. http://stevekornspan.com/referrals.htm#inspectors

TERMITES - In addition to the whole house inspection, it is prudent to have a termite inspection done. Lenders previously required it on all homes, now some do and some don’t. Termites are quite common in this area so if there is evidence of activity, it should be treated. Don’t get excited, KC has termites, the damage is normally not as bad as in the warmer climates where termites work on a home year round. It is common to see a couple of boards with damage. In most cases, the home inspector will bring in a termite specialist or be trained to do termite inspections.

RADON - Radon is a naturally occurring gas. The EPA rates geographic areas of the US based on the potential that it might exist at various levels. The counties in the KC area have, based on the EPA scale, the “highest potential” of exceeding 4.0 pCi/l.

Link http://www.epa.gov/radon/zonemap/kansas.htm

In my estimation, about 30% of the homes in the KC area have levels that exceed the EPA recommended limits. A home can be fine one day then be high the next. It can occur in any type of home, but in my opinion, it tends to be more of a problem in homes with non-walkout basements. Basically, the gas comes up from the ground and builds up in a confined space. If it is a drafty “older” basement or a home on a drafty crawl space, the gas is more likely to blow outside. Most home inspectors have a testing device that measures the levels over a 48 hour period.

Here is a link to the EPA website for more information. http://www.epa.gov/radon/realestate.html

If a home has radon levels exceeding the recommended levels, the fix (in layman terms) is to install a fan and seal the cracks.

TIME - The average home can be inspected in 2-3 hours. Most home inspectors have lock box keys so they can let themselves in to begin the process. Then, it is normal for the buyers (and their agent) to come for the last hour or half hour to review the findings and ask any questions about the home. Home inspectors are happy to answer any questions or address any concerns. If you desire, you are welcome to be there during the entire process.

REPORT - Most inspectors will produce a very detailed report including pictures taken of any issues. Usually, the reports are posted to a website or emailed within 24 hours of the inspection.

PAYMENT - Payment is due at the time of inspection unless prior arrangements are made. In some cases, inspections can be paid at closing, in most cases the buyers can be reimbursed or credited on the closing statement. If you want a credit please be sure to get me the receipt.

SCHEDULING - Let me know a few days or time that work best for you so we can coordinate our schedules.

Generally, we start with the whole house inspection. Depending on what is discovered, the inspector might suggest you contact specialists for such things as A/C / Furnace, Roof, Foundation/Structural, Mold, Plumbing, Electrical or others.

4 weeks before your move

2 weeks before your move

Week of your move

Contact and contract with a reputable moving company

Have school records transferred

If you are moving out of town, arrange to transfer (or take with you) medical,

dental and other important records

Prepare to transfer your homeowners and auto insurance to be sure you will be

covered for unforeseen disasters

Hold a garage sale to get rid of unneeded items and/or arrange to place excess

items in storage

Obtain and mail change-of-address cards to the post office, subscriptions, credit

card companies and important contacts

Cancel and order utilities (gas, electric, water, telephone, cable).

If you are moving out of town, close or transfer bank accounts

Terminate newspaper delivery service

Arrange for transfer of vehicle and driver licenses

Keep money, valuable jewelry and important records/documents with you; do not

pack them with the rest of your household goods

On closing day, the home purchase documents will be recorded

Review preliminary settlement documents with agent

Clean property for buyers