You may be feeling overwhelmed? You may be feeling tired? You may have lost your passion? You are not alone…

Without giving you an ear bashing…‘YOUR LIFE IS TOO CLUTTERED’

As a professional home stager who has worked for years with clients preparing their homes for sale it has always astounded me that a large majority of people live very disorganised lives that do not support them emotionally.  Their solution to the chaos is to sell their home and buy a new one where they upgrade to a  more expensive but still cluttered lifestyle!

If I had a dollar for every time a client said to me (at the conclusion of their home transformation) “I’ve always wanted to upgrade the kitchen”, ” wish I had made these changes years ago” or “the house looks the best it has ever been and now I am not going to enjoy the changes”, I’d have a very big pot of gold!  I specialise in transforming broken, outdated, chaotic sellers homes into warm, inviting, nurturing homes that buyers fall in love with because buyers do not buy a house – they buy a lifestyle. The same principles apply for people who need some inspiration to stay and rejuvenate.

Would you like to stay in your existing home and create the lifestyle you have always dreamed of?

If you are madly nodding your head then read on……..there is a solution

Transform and evolve your family space

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun.

I have joined forces with International Interior Designer and Author of  Create Your Dream Sanctuary, Victoria Millar-Wise to present a one day Master Class that will be a practical and enlightening guide to give you the essential keys needed to discover what truly inspires you in your home and life.  Victoria and I are both passionate about inspiring people to create a simpler more serene lifestyle and we believe there is no better way to gain clarity and create a better lifestyle for yourself than by “De-cluttering Your Home – De-cluttering Your Life“

Based on the 5Cs of design, the Create Your Dream Sanctuary Design and Life Styling Academy aims to teach others how to acquire or transform an existing property, visualise a space, clarifying their individual goals, needs and desires thereby creating a holistic home that is unique and timeless.

In the one day Masterclass you will discover how to

1) Connect with your heart in the home

2) Gain great clarity on what to keep and know the stuff to let go of

3) Create a home that is healthy and sustainable using climate-smart eco-friendly principles and products

4) Create purposeful rooms such as a fabulous kitchen or an inspiring studio office to balance work and play

5) Balance your design budget by learning how to be savvy, stylish and practical

You will reignite your inner  passion and learn how to live a holistic lifestyle that is in alignment with your soul’s purpose yet supports your family, your friends and the environment.

If you are serious about de-cluttering your home, if you are serious about de-cluttering your life – then this is a must for anyone who is interested in enhancing the energy of their house into a unique, harmonious environment to nurture both your senses and your soul.

Join us in Adelaide for the Masterclass on Sunday 18th September, 2011.

Explore your dreams, take action and fulfill your goals.

BOOK NOW

It’s time for a change, forever.

Charyn Youngson

Author | Professional Home Stager | Inspirational Speaker | Mentor

My local real estate agent, Jim, referred me to my latest project management client. The vendor Jeff had just accepted a new job in Sydney and had to relocate in 2 weeks.

Jeff’s problem – he needed to sell his home and he needed to sell it fast! Jeff’s biggest problem – his 1970’s house was still in its original condition and he didn’t have time to get it ready for market.

So I met with Jeff and told him how Houses to Impress could take care of his whole house renovation for him, eliminate the stress and leave him free to concentrate on the big move.   I assessed the property while I was there and gave Jeff my expert opinion on what needed to be done to bring his 1970’s home into the 21st century so we could attract some serious buyers in this very tough market.

Jeff was willing to invest some money in some home improvements as he hadn’t done any upgrades since he moved into the house in 1983. He was well aware that it would be very difficult to sell the house in its present condition, in the current slow market.  Jim, the real estate agent, appraised the house “as is” at $280,000 – $300,000. I did a quick calculation on the upgrades that were required and estimated that to fully renovate and style the house for sale would cost about $20,000 – $25,000. Jeff was prepared to spend that amount to ensure he could sell his home fast and for a higher price. I discussed my planned renovation ideas with Jim, the agent, and after doing some comparisons for the area we both agreed that the market price “after reno” would sit in the range of $330,000 to $350,000.

Jeff was happy with these estimated figures and gave me the go ahead to project manage the cosmetic renovation. I immediately got to work with a plan that would enable me to get the whole job done in 30 days.

Step 1 – Renovation Plan

Kitchen

• Remove old narrow style kitchen
• Get electrician to install new power points
• Install new kitchen
• Remove old freestanding stove and replace with new oven, cooktop and range hood
• Install new sink and modern flick mixer tap
• Install tile splash back

Bathroom

• Remove and replace old shower screen
• Remove old style vanity and replace with a new corner unit
• Resurface existing wall tiles
• Resurface existing floor tiles
• Get electrician to install new 3 in 1 heat/lamp/light and replace power points

Toilet

• Resurface existing floor tiles
• Replace cistern and toilet seat

Laundry

• Resurface existing floor tiles

Paintwork – Interior

• Repair minor cracks and gaps in cornices in most rooms
• Paint all ceilings
• Paint all walls
• Prime and paint wall paneling in main lounge room (same colour as walls)
• Paint all door and window trims

Paintwork – Exterior

• Spray Paint old galvanised fences
• Spray Paint shed
• Paint some areas of timber gables at front and rear of property where needed

Main bedroom

• Remove old doors from built-in robe
• Install new doors, frame and return on built-in robe

Bedroom 3

• Remove built in desk and bookcase to open up the space

Flooring

• Remove 70’s shagpile carpet from bedrooms, lounge/dining and hallway
• Replace with new Godfrey Hirst textured loop stainmaster
• Lay new vinyl (over top of old vinyl) in kitchen

Gardening and exterior improvements

• Remove weeds from old garden beds
• Place bamboo screening on one section of fence to hide ugly fence
• Add low maintenance plants to rear garden beds
• Add eco mulch to all garden beds over top of existing scoria
• Trim back all shrubs in front garden
• Repair small sections of wood rot in front windows and paint
• Remove amber glass from front courtyard area and replace with timber slats to match existing features in courtyard
• Paint letterbox

One of the main keys to success in project management is great planning and organisation. Next step will be gathering my dream team of tradies and coordinating the work to fit in with my home makeover schedule.

See some teaser photos below!!

I had no renovation experience when I started out as a property renovator so the most an important criterion for me was “Can I do it myself?”  Of course for my first renovation I couldn’t build and install a kitchen myself and I needed a plumber, tiler and electrician to assist with the kitchen installation. However,

• I could pull up Masonite sheeting on the floors and prepare them for the carpet install
• I could clean and scrub ceilings and walls, fill holes, sand patches and prepare all surfaces ready for painting
• I could paint – I got advice from my local paint store and found out the best paints for each surface, what brushes and rollers to use and I chose the same neutral colour paint to use throughout the whole house
• I could weed the garden, cut back dead and overgrown plants, plant new plants and add some mulch to tidy the back yard

I set myself a time frame to complete the renovation (5 weeks) and had a budget of $12,000, which included the brand new kitchen with new appliances.  Kitchens don’t get built in a day so it was vital for me to make the kitchen my first priority so that I could select the kitchen cabinets I wanted, get quotes from a few kitchen suppliers and source the appliances, tapware, tiles to ensure the kitchen would be completed within my 5 week time frame. I used the weeks leading up to settlement to get the kitchen planned and ordered which helped me to achieve getting the renovation on time.  While the kitchen was being built, I was busy cleaning, fixing preparing

I bought the property for $109,000 spent $12,000 on the renovation and sold it for $155,000.  An increase in value of $46,000 in 5 weeks. My actual profit after all buying and selling costs was $30,000 – not bad for my first renovating for profit project.

6 years and many renovations all over Adelaide later, I would like to share my simple tips for a successful “cosmetic” renovation

1. Great planning and organisations skills – getting the job done on time and within your budget will depend on it. Keep accurate records and receipts through the process. (see our Renovator’s Organiser in the product store)
2. Identify which jobs you can do yourself and hire licensed tradespeople to carry out work that needs specialised skills and compliance. How to choose a great tradesperson is a topic all of itself however I do recommend getting word of mouth referrals from friends, colleagues and relatives is a great start.
3. Be on hand to supervise the tradespeople as things can easily go wrong and result in cost blowouts.  Give clear directions to tradespeople about the work you want done (I write a checklist that can easily be followed and ensure nothing gets missed), communicate well with them and show appreciation like making them a coffee or giving them a beer at the end of a good days work.  A happy tradie is a good tradie.
4. Allow some padding in your budget for unexpected problems that may occur. Renovating is all about problem solving!
5. If you don’t feel confident in any of the above areas or you simply don’t have time to supervise the work yourself then consider hiring a project manager. A project manager will ensure that the “cosmetic” renovation is done quickly, takes responsibility for hiring and coordinating all the necessary tradespeople, sources products to get the job done and makes sure it comes in under budget.  People managing their own renovations can take months to complete the job instead of weeks, which not only costs more in the long run but it means quite a bit of disruption to the family environment.

Houses to Impress specialise in Project Management and with an office in the north and an office in the south we have all locations in Adelaide covered if you need assistance with a home renovation.

Second Hand week brought out the best and worst in The Block couples.

Jenna and Josh were in their element and delivered a bedroom that impressed the judges and gave them a back to back win. This will give them a huge head start going into week 3, renovation of 2 rooms – bathroom and laundry. Bathrooms are always big budget rooms to renovate and Jenna and Josh not only have the plumbing advantage over the other couples, they now also have $10k up their sleeve! There is no reason why they can’t manage their budget wisely with Josh being able to do ALL the plumbing himself so they can hold some cash over for the rest of the reno.

Katrina and Amie struggled with the second hand theme, which resulted in a room that lacked wow factor. Their biggest mistake though was designing a room that could only be utilised as a study. The bulkhead they built will ensure that a potential buyer will not have enough space to change the room to a functional bedroom and the judges penalised them for this oversight. This cottage will now have to be marketed as a 2-bedroom property, which John McGrath pointed out will greatly devalue it when it goes to market.

One of the easiest ways to add value to a property is to increase the number of bedrooms and this is one option I always discuss with clients who are preparing their homes for sale.  Quite regularly I consult with homeowners who have repurposed a 3^rd or 4^th bedroom as an office, gym room and most frequently a junk room with no purpose.  I recently saw a home where the client had the third bedroom as a “toy room”. The first thing I recommended to her was to pack up the majority of toys and bring in a bed so it could be marketed as a three-bedroom family home.  I always recommend that these “extra rooms” are returned to and styled as a fully functioning bedroom.  Depending on the location of the property this can add many thousands of dollars to the market value. Home buyers are very visual and if a property is displayed as a 2 bedroom + study they will literally view it as such and not imagine the potential third bedroom.  Even if some do they will put a ‘renovation cost” on having to change or improve the room. This results in lowers offers and a reduced sale price.

The Block houses are located in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond on the doorstep of Bridge Road’s very best cafes and shops.  On realestate.com.au I found two recent sales of renovated Victorian cottages in Richmond.

2 bedroom 1 bathroom renovated Victorian cottage

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-richmond-107389729

Sold for $886,000 June 4, 2011

3 bedroom 1 bathroom renovated Victorian cottage

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-richmond-107432367

Sold for $1,100,000 June 18, 2011

Even though there are a few differences between these 2 properties, that is a $200,000 price difference between a 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom cottage of the same era!

Week 2 – Lesson 2 – ALWAYS display your home with the maximum possible bedrooms and add thousands to your sale price.

Charyn Youngson
Property Renovator | Professional Home Stager | Author

I sold one of my properties last year and one of the final clean up jobs I had done before sale was to bring in my expert pressure cleaner professional.  After 40 years of wear and tear, the concrete driveway and paths surrounding the house badly needed a facelift.

Pressure cleaning is one of my most common recommendations for vendors before they go to market.  It is a simple way to give instant appeal.  Not only can a professional pressure cleaner clean your cement but he can give all your external walls a wash down prior to painting or selling. Sometimes it makes such a difference that painting is no longer necessary. It is amazing what a good scrub will do.

When my pressure cleaning guy was giving my outdoors the once over, I also had him pressure clean the timber decking on my balcony. It came up a treat and then I re-coated it with a natural timber stain and it looked like it was brand new!

Of course you can hire or buy a pressure cleaner to DIY but my feedback is these small machines just do not stack up against the industrial pressure cleaners and only get half the result.  There are some jobs that are just better done by a professional and I think this is one. Some of the other areas that benefit from being pressure cleaned are:-

• Dull and worn pavers
• Moss covered pavers and concrete
• Drink, BBQ and oil stains
• Roller doors and security screen doors
• Fences

Even if you are not thinking of selling your property consider pressure cleaning one of those prevention and maintenance jobs that will keep your concrete and paving looking new and fresh.

Here are some before and after photos to motivate you.

Before                                  After

Happy Easter!

Charyn Youngson,
Australia’s Leading Home Staging Expert
Author “Sold for Top Dollar – Low Cost Home Improvements to Maximise Your Sale”

I recently started writing articles as an industry expert for The Saving Money Expert digital magazine.  The online magazine was created for Australian consumers to discover ways to become better, smarter, consumers and by providing news, articles,guides and how-to’s they educate their readers about how to save money.

My first article is Prepare your House for Sale by Getting Dressed for the Occassion.

In the article I share my Top Six Makeover Strategies to Add Massive Value to Your Home

Read More

Charyn Youngson

Author | Professional Home Stager | Speaker | Mentor

All home sellers are concerned with justifying spending money on home improvements when they are just about to move. Some of my clients need a lot of convincing that you need to invest money to make money when it comes to maximising the return on your largest investment. So it is always a bonus when you can quantify the return on your home improvement investment.

I certainly measure all the results I get with my clients using “as is” appraisals before any renovation and home staging improvement begin. Then after the house is sold I compare the gain that has been made – usually in the tens of thousands!

I recently came across a survey that had been done by HomeGain.com that measures the average cost of a range of home improvements done pre-sale, the average increase in sales and finally the average return on investment for that particular home improvement. The survey demonstrates that you don’t need to spend a large sum of money on improvements to get some really great returns.

HomeGain 2009 Top 11 DIY Home Improvements For Sellers (National)