On Monday July 11, 2011, Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain, was a guest on the Real Estate Radio show on The Big Talker 1580 AM, hosted by Ryan Sloper.

Listen to the show.

Part 1 (24:33)

Ryan covers the Casey Anthony murder trial. Ryan noted that Moody’s downgraded Portgual’s credit rating to junk status. Ryan and Louis discuss Italy’s credit rating. Louis notes that Italy is too large of country to bail out and that many western countries have similar debt issues and keep kicking the can down the road by issuing more debt. Louis notes that the road eventually will be a dead end. Louis notes that the debt issues faced by countries can not be solved by issuing more debt. Ryan predicts that the US debt ceiling will be raised. Louis agrees and notes that the issue is that the debt ceiling gets raised routinely and immediate spending cuts are not taken seriously. Louis speculates that the Fed could secretly funnel money to third parties to purchase US debt and comments that since the Fed is not audited it is difficult to keep tabs on their activities;Ryan and Louis note that interest rates are kept artificially low and that all the sovereigns have debt issues; Ryan note that by keeping interest rates low bubbles are created. Louis notes that today’s low interest rates are designed to reflate the housing bubble but notes that as our currency is debased, even if interest rates rise and home prices drops the losses could be offset by paying back in the debased currency;Louis notes that owning a home, commodities, gold and silver may be safe havens in light of economic uncertainty;Louis and Ryan discuss the difference between buying  homes as investments vs. speculating and flipping homes;Louis notes that at interest rates in the single digits and below the real inflation rate, the banks are paying borrowers to take the money;Ryan and Shaun Murphy of Remax discuss the Arlington real estate market and note that the market is relatively stable given the amount of government contractors in the area. Shaun notes that 12% of loans in June were VA loans ; cash deals were 11%, conventional loans were 60% and FHA loans were 17%;Ryan and Louis discuss stated loans for self employed borrowers;Louis asks what will happen to the DC market if there are federal cuts; Louis  notes,however, the prospect for significant federal cuts are remote;Ryan notes that Warren buffet predicts a housing rebound at the end of this year and that unemployment would drop below 8%; Louis remarks that just because Warren Buffet is a good stock picker does not mean that he understands the overall economy and notes that Warren Buffet has belittled gold as an investment, yet gold has out performed Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway’s stock; Louis also notes that  Buffet often expresses his opinions on the debt ceiling and the tax ceiling; Shaun discusses the rental market in the DC area. Louis notes that as rents rise, owning a home as a primary residence or investment becomes more attractive and also notes that as inflation rises, rents will also rise, whereas a home owner with a fixed mortgage will not see their monthly payments go higher.

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This article is delivered by Elliman Realtors, New York City Apartments.

Staging professionals across the world will agree that many of the things that we miss upon staging a home are simple oversights. In order to address many of these, we must first focus on three separate categories of neglect, and further break those down into separate do’s and don’ts. The first would be appearance.

Appearance

One of the most accommodating things any seller can do is make more room. The more rubbish you have lying around, the less chance you have of selling in a short period of time. In fact, the overall look of both the inside and outside of your home is priority #1.

What some stagers have deemed as “counter intelligence,” simply translates to keep your countertops clear. A home always looks dirtier when countertops, or floors for that matter, are covered in unsightly clutter.

Another notable word of advice is to play it safe. Refrain from hanging provocative decor (i.e. – deer head). Meanwhile, be sure to check your house for other distasteful furnishings. Dust, cobwebs or trash are three other examples of DO NOT DISPLAY.

Damages are serious no-no’s; Replace deteriorating wallpaper and cover scratches or holes in the wall and floor.

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HomeGain.com announced today that it has released the results of its nationwide home improvement and home staging  Home Sale Maximizer™ survey. Past findings from the survey have been a guide for thousands of home sellers in preparing their homes for sale.

HomeGain recently surveyed nearly 600 real estate agents nationwide to determine the top 10 low cost*, do-it-yourself  home improvements for people getting their home ready to sell.

The top five nationwide home improvements that Realtors recommend to home sellers, based on average cost and return on investment (ROI) to sellers, are:

1. Cleaning and de-cluttering ($290 cost / $1,990 price increase / 586% ROI / 99% recommended)
2. Lightening and brightening ($375 cost / $1,550 price increase / 313% ROI / 97% recommended)
3. Home staging ($550 cost / $2,194 price increase / 299% ROI / 80% recommended)
4. Landscaping ($540 cost / $1,932 price increase / 258% ROI / 93% recommended)
5. Repair Electrical or Plumbing ($535 cost / $1,505 price increase / 181% ROI / 92% recommended)

Costs are averages and rounded up.

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“Reuse, Reduce and Recycle” is a tune my grammar school son chants all the time. He learned it in school and I have even found myself chanting it at times. And as with anything, once something gets in to your head you find yourself applying it to your everyday life.

As Earth Day approaches I am excited by how I have applied some of the “Green” principles of my son’s song to my own home staging business in Marin. As home stagers, we try to have environmentally sustainable designs that improve our environment rather than detract from it.

REUSE & RECYCLE

The most obvious is that we reuse our furniture for home staging. And when we need to add to our collection we try to buy locally so we can reduce transportation costs and waste.

When clients are thinking of replacing their upholstered furniture I suggest that they have their furniture recovered rather than just throw it away. Upholsterers can recycle the furniture to look like new, with half the waste as buying new, and half the cost.

REDUCE

Lighting is also an easy way to be eco-friendly. Before any open house Realtors turn on all of the lights in the home. This creates light and a welcome environment. This is also something I do before a party when I want my guests to feel welcome and the energy in the house come alive. But before wasting all of that wattage consider using only compact florescent light bulbs. Switching from a traditional light bulb to a CFL is a simple change everyone can make to reduce up to 20% of our greenhouse gases without skimping on the ambiance.

Another way we reduce waste is to reuse our packing materials over and over again rather than have our moving companies use new materials. Continue reading this post

This is my first contribution to HomeGain and thought what a better place to start then at the beginning – the importance of home staging and why it is such a hot industry in the real estate market.

In 2009 HomeGain released its national survey results for the top Return on Investment (ROI) for home sellers. HomeGain surveyed over 1,000 realtors across the country and found that the number one home improvement ROI was cleaning and de-cluttering. These two are inexpensive and truly the first two necessary steps in preparing any home for sale. The second best ROI was home staging — followed by lighting and landscaping.

The previous survey released by HomeGain was in 2007 and placed home staging behind lighting and landscaping. HomeGain estimated a 585% ROI, with average costs under $5K, and I am not surprised given the importance and success in this growing industry.

Although many have claimed starting the idea of home staging, the industry really was born out of necessity for realtors who were selling run down and cramped houses. Back then there just was not a name for it.

Savvy realtors realized that some homes needed serious help before they could put the home on the market. Continue reading this post

This week we met with Realtor® survey respondents, home stagers, staging bloggers and members of the press to discuss the results of the HomeGain 2009 Top 12 Home Improvements Survey on HomeGain Radio.

If you didn’t have a chance to attend, listen to it here:

Participant Comments Included:

Stephanie Decker, Staged Homes Marin: “The timing of the results coming out was amazing because I had an office presentation that day and it was very useful information for me to include. It gave me more substance to what I was trying to say and what I am trying to do to help the Realtors. I really appreciate it.”

Lise Desormeaux, RMR Real Estate Marketing: “More people are becoming aware of what needs to be done to market a property these days. I agree with the survey findings that HomeGain has compiled. I’m appreciative as a home stager for this information.”

Gina Vierra, StagedHomes: “When was the data compiled? Where can I find the data?” (answers: October 2009; blog.homegain.com)

News coverage of the October Home Improvement  includes: Continue reading this post