Question:
I would like to sell my home in the next 5 to 7 years as I know my current home is not my ideal  for the long term, but will suit me just fine in the short term.

Since I would like to sell at some point, does it make sense to do any home improvements? The only significant improvements that I believe would be attractive to a potential buyer are updating the kitchen (current kitchen is useable but would look tired to a potential buyer), installing energy efficient double pane windows and adding air conditioning. I would really like to avoid doing any of these because they would just add more debt to my loan balance and cut into my proceeds at the time of sale. However, I also want to make my house attractive when it comes time to sell.

I know these improvements have the potential to add value, but it is my understanding that I would not get that great a return on my investment. It seems like it would be a waste to do a kitchen remodel when a prospective buyer might not even like the updates that are done.

-Casey

Answer:
You raise a very common, yet important question. 

It is my experience that buyers have a few “hot buttons” when they are forming a first impression of a property. 

The first one is curb appeal. Curb appeal is a powerful selling tool, and you don’t need to create the Versailles Gardens. Simply mow the lawn, plant some pretty flowers, replace the mailbox, and perhaps paint the front door.  If you spend about $1,000 on this, you will get this money back for sure. 

I believe you should focus on smaller, more visible upgrades inside your kitchen (second hot button), such as installing new granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Keep your costs down and use a few high-end materials to make your kitchen look fresh. 

To answer your “recoup” question: While the amount you recoup may not be as high as it once was, projects like these will help you sell your home faster and for a better price than a home that isn’t renovated.

 According to cost vs. value report that I recently read:

Question:

I’m preparing to sell my house and have decided to change the shutter, front door, and garage color. The house is a pale yellow Cape Cod with white trim.

My instinct is to match the garage door to the house color and do the shutters and door in black. My REALTOR®, however, wants to go with muted browns. He indicates that the current market color palette is very organic and earth-toned and that these colors will be more ‘on-trend’. Do I trust the Realtor’s instincts or go with my more traditional perspective?

-Stanley

Answer:

My opinion is that it is best to go with the tradition of the architectural style of a home.

If the style is Cape Cod, then look at photographs in home design magazines and match the paint colors and palette that works with that particular style home.

I also recommend not getting too many opinions.  Just trust your instincts.

- Karen Crystal

Forbes estimates he is the 183rd richest person in the world, with a net worth of 3.3 billion US Dollars, and he lives right here in Thousand Oaks, California.  His name is David H. Murdock, and he is a property developer (among many other things).

I have been watching Mr. Murdock carefully with regards to his new phase of real estate development in Sherwood Country Club, and waiting patiently to see what this highly successful man will do.  And  perhaps even more importantly…when he will do it.  You might say that this Billionaire is my own personal “economic indicator” for this geographical area.

Why?  Because David Murdock only builds property that he believes will sell, and he does so, only when he is confident that the marketplace has the ability and the desire to buy.

Well……our Billionaire is building, and with the interest rates still at an historic low, it is definitely time to buy!
There are currently 3 homes under construction with completion dates at the end of June 2010, with 3 more already breaking ground.  The pricing is very competitive: all under $2.5 million, and the sq. footage is a bit smaller than a typical Sherwood home : approx. 4,500 sq ft. on average.

Here are some photos I took the other day, along with a rendering of a very rare Single Level new home called “Amalfi”.

sherwood luxury construction

I’ve been to Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and even Kensington (the “small” little palace where they threw Diana after the divorce). I’ve also visited our own national treasure The White House. When it come to opulence and luxury they all pale in comparison to the grand craftsmanship of 2500 White Stallion.

If a picture is worth a 1000 words the movie above is the entire Harry Potter set. Bound in leather hardback and signed to you by the author, of course.

Featured Post on a Luxury Homes Blog – Staging a Luxury Property

A look through the eyes of the luxury buyer reveals an emotional core.

By Karen Crystal

Whether it’s a polite conversation, or a heated discussion, luxury real estate brokers are committed to the value of staging, and sometimes our view of this important marketing strategy may clash with that of our client.

The million dollar question: is staging worth the investment?

By staging your home, you are visually inviting buyers to become emotionally attached, thereby enabling them to imagine the lifestyle they’ll soon be enjoying.

Visually inviting

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million, right? So, why are visual images worth so much more than the spoken word? Because visual images are actually emotional triggers. In fact, studies have shown that at least 65% of us are visual learners, much of which comes from “our mind’s eye.” Our “Visual memory.”

For example, when luxury buyers describe what they desire in their dream homes and the lifestyle they want to achieve, they tend to use phrases like this:

Here’s how I’d like it to look… This is my vision… Let me show you how I am picturing it… I can see my family relaxing together…

dark creek before

dark creek after

Here is another important point to remember: not everyone possesses a vivid imagination.

Emotional attachment

Whether you want to admit it or not, we are all emotional beings. Many of our thoughts, and most of our important decisions are charged with emotion.

I observe as a luxury agent. This is part of my occupation. I spend thousands of hours with luxury home buyers. Their actions and buying impulses are far different when buying stocks and bonds—or even a company—than when purchasing a home.

Luxury buyers may not discuss how they feel regarding their business decisions, but they definitely talk about how they feel when it comes to their home buying decisions.

Those of you who are scientific thinkers, may not believe this is true… but it is.

To demonstrate my point, visit the staged model of a brand new luxury home development. I don’t know about you, but the minute I walk through the door, my visual senses awaken. Immediately, I begin to feel and imagine the lifestyle of the staged model home. Life seems a little better, and I imagine moving in—with only my toothbrush. It can be a vivid and emotional experience.

What about you? I’ve watched my own buyers “fall in love” with a home, feeling it in their emotional core. They imagine their children’s birthday party in the backyard, and they picture their family eating at the beautiful dining room table already set for holiday dinner.

Lifestyle

The luxury home buyer is looking for a home where everyday living and the luxury lifestyle are inseparable. The home overlooking the 6th hole of the golf course, with the outdoor living room equipped with a flat screen TV over the fireplace, and a bar for entertaining your family and friends. This is the life….the lifestyle we are selling… and the lifestyle they are buying.

So, when my sellers say (and this is an actual quote),

“If they can’t imagine their stuff in my house just because it is empty, then they are too stupid to afford this house anyway…”

I remind them that we are not selling their 13,000 sq ft house with 12 inch crown moldings, we are selling a home with a lifestyle. We need to market visually to buyer’s emotional needs, as well as their rational minds.

I recommend you ask your seller who is resisting staging a few questions.

1“Would you prefer getting a massage at the physical therapists office or the Four Seasons Resort Spa?” The answer is obvious. Then ask them..

2“Why they like the spa more than the therapist’s office?” They usually say they like the atmosphere in the spa better because it feels more relaxing.

3“Is it worth paying more for the massage in the beautiful spa then the cold therapist’s office?” I think most of us would agree the answer is an emphatic—YES!

The luxury home buyer will pay a premium for a staged home that creates a lifestyle image that resonates in their emotional core.

Who knows? They may just buy all the furniture with it!

Read it…..unless you are afraid of truths….then just don’t read it.

By : Karen Crystal

linchpin

I Just finished reading Seth Godin’s latest book Linchpin, and one engrained thought keeps popping forward from my past.

KISS (not the band), but the acronym : “keep it simple stupid”.

My USC Business School education was filled with acronyms.  I still remember some of them, and I admit KISS has proven useful at times and still seems to work.

The MOST memorable acromyn though was Radio Station WIIFM.  You know, the station that we were all told to tune it to…What’s In It For Me?

Well, if you haven’t changed the station yet, don’t bother.

WIIFM already altered it’s local programming to include a global satellite feed, and is now airing as WIIFM…What’s In It FROM me?

So here’s my thought for you on Linchpin.

Read it.  Unless you are afraid of truths….then just don’t read it.

One truth is that Linchpins are obvious.  They stand out from the crowd.  In fact a Linchpin gave me this book to read, Alex Beattie from duPont Registry.  Alex is a linchpin.  He is connecting luxury marketers and luxury consumers with the duPont brand on a human level through his “gifts”……and it’s working.

I now utilize duPont as a luxury property marketing vehicle, and my luxury clients are clicking on duPont for the latest and greatest in all things luxury.

Why?  The human connector….the linchpin.

 Whale & Dolphin watching tours are ‘fun’!

Island Packer’s trips to the Channel Islands cruise with an open eye for wildlife, especially everyone’s favorite, whales and dolphins. Go out into the waters of the Santa Barbara Channel and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary just to look for whales. Trips that set out to view the migrating gray whales depart from both locations; 1691 Spinnaker Dr. in the Ventura Harbor, and 3600 S. Harbor Blvd., in the Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard.  Whale watching tours are 3 to 3.5 hours long, morning departures are often scheduled for 9:30 and 10:00, and afternoon departures are at 1:30 sometimes they have trips at 9:00am & 2:00p.m. please check the departure schedule for the date of your choice. Also, additional departures, and group charters may be added to this schedule if the demand is high. Reservations are recommended for these popular trips.  Whale watching tours do not land on the Channel Islands, however the island trips during this time of year will also be on the look out for whales as the boats travel to and from the park.

Author: Karen Crystal

John Mayer ‘Battle Studies’ was recorded entirely in this Hidden Hills Home that is now for Sale and listed with Nicki & Karen of Ewing & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty. John experimented in different locations within the home to capture the precise mood and sounds he desired for the album. As an example, his second video which is scheduled to be released soon shows John bent over the piano in the ‘grand foyer’ area gently stroking the Ivory keys as the music echos eerily off the banister. The home recording site was a right of passage for John who clearly throughly enjoyed the process saying he wanted to tap into that ‘hazy, Sunset, rustic, California, Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac feel’ for this record!

Muvico

We are located at the Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks!

Muvico is a growing chain of premium, megaplex motion picture theaters in the United States. The Company currently operates 154 screens in 9 locations located in Florida, California, and Illinois. The Company’s theaters have developed a reputation as true entertainment destinations *attracting patrons from as far as 25 miles away. Come check us out today!

The Company differentiates itself from its competition by building architecturally “themed”, state-of-the-art theaters and offering such amenities as expanded concession menus, VIP areas with full-service bars and restaurants, children’s playroom, reserved seating and Internet ticketing. Muvico believes in offering the guest an integrated entertainment experience that is not “just about the movie” but where the “movie is part of the overall entertainment experience”.

Muvico’s business strategy is to provide a total integrated entertainment experience to the movie-going guest, most important of which is superior guest service. All of the Company’s theaters have state-of-the-art equipment in comfortable, attractive stadium seating auditoriums. Sony will also be providing Muvico with alternative content programming to its theaters including but not limiting to, sporting events, concerts, and other live events.

YELP review:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/muvico-theater-thousand-oaks

Address: 174 West Hillcrest Drive
City: Thousand Oaks
Zip Code: 91360
Phone Number: 805-496-5487

Luxury Golf Cart

Luxury Cars: If you like playing golf, then you will definitely be interested in this car, a so-called reinvented golf cart in the form of a luxury car. Garia is built using the highest standards of the automotive industry, using a double wishbone front suspension similar to those found in sports cars and inspired by Formula 1 vehicles.

Also, the drive train used on this vehicle is produced by a company that builds Ducati gearboxes while the aluminium profiles in the frame are made by the same company that supplies aluminum profiles to Aston Martin, Jaguar and Volvo. The car comes with hydraulic brakes on all four wheels with discs, but the most interesting thing is that it will be built at the Valmet Automotive factory in Finland, manufacturer of the Porsche Cayman and Porsche Boxster.