property development

Curb Side Appeal

September 12, 2016 by Naomi

Curb side appeal is a fancy way to describing what people see when they look at your house from outside when they are driving or walking past. Having aesthetically pleasing curb side appeal makes a home look neat and tidy and also increases the chance of selling the home faster as it means more people will like the look of the home from the outside and will be intrigued to look inside. Improving your curb side appeal isn’t difficult but it is important to know what makes a house look nice on the outside and what you should do to make your house look as if it fits in to the surrounding neighbourhood.

So, how can you improve your curb side appeal?

PAINT: Painting your property is a great way to make the outside look clean, new and modern. When it comes to painting the colour palette is huge! Typically, natural, muted colours are your best bet for exterior painting. Creams, browns and greys are great colours to paint your exterior. Making sure all the colours used match is a must as the first thing possible buyers will see is the colour of the property. While the colour of a property is not necessarily a make or break situation for most people, it is still in the seller’s best interest to make sure the exterior of the property colour is looking as best as it can.
Image Source: casahaus.net
GARDEN: Having a clean and tidy garden is of utmost importance. Making sure all hedges are trimmed, flowers are in bloom and neat, leaves are scraped away and there are no toys in the garden is of utmost importance. Be it pet toys or children’s toys it is of utmost importance when selling that there are no toys on display. This includes swing sets, dog houses and food and water bowls. Having these out will separate the buyer from the property and reinforce that the is someone else’s.
Image Source: trademe.co.nz
LAWN: Having a freshly mowed lawn is a must! Overgrown lawns make the space look as if it is unloved and abandoned. Ensuring a freshly cut, even lawn is an easy way to increase curb side appeal. Having patches of grass missing or a different colour makes the space look messy so it is important to try your best to cover these up!
Image Source: thedesignfiles.net
MAILBOX: Getting a new mailbox is an easy, cost effective way to make a massive difference to your curb side appeal. Mailboxes come in many different shapes and sizes so ensuring that your new mailbox fits in with the rest of the exterior is of utmost importance.
Image Source: poppytalk.com

Modern yet inviting!

February 28, 2016 by Naomi

The 2012 home built by Macquarie Designer Homes is a duel level home us functional and well thought out, being perfect for a growing family. The home is on a quiet street and sits on 309sqm of land. The home features a private alfresco area and a low maintenance garden.

The lower level allows for a modern lifestyle thanks to open plan living, dining areas and 2.9m ceilings. The natural lighting creates a seamless flow to outdoor living on a Merbau decking. A main feature in the home is the kitchen with a Caesarstone kitchen island beach and high quality appliances.

The master bedroom features a walk-in robe and ensuite, and sits on the ground floor. The ground floor also features access to the double garage, laundry and powder room. The second level is a great space for teenagers, featuring a second living area, family bathroom and two spacious bathrooms. A study nook is positioned to maximise space and create a family friendly home. Other great features of this family home is a security system, ample storage and four zone ducted air-conditioning.

This family friendly home is in prime location, between between Marketown, Beaumont Street and The Junction shops.

Pulver Street, Hamilton South styled by Silk Home — Styled by Silk Home

FAQ: What is the best way to advertise my property?

June 5, 2015 by Naomi

The FAQ series answers all those questions that often crop up when buying, selling and preparing a property. Everyday I work with people seeking to understand the process of selling their home a little better. Today we look at the different kinds of advertising channels and tips you should consider when selling your house.

The main ways sellers advertise their property is through newspaper listings and/or advertisements, online listings and/or advertisements, and leaflet drops. Which channel is best for you is largely driven by the kind of buyer you’re looking to attract.

Know your buyer

Selling your house is all about working with a great team so I asked Mark Kentwell, principal for PRD Nationwide Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and (Real Estate Business Australian Regional Principal of the Year 2014 and owner of PRD’s Number 1 office nationally) his thoughts on this FAQ. Kentwell says there are four main types of buyers you’re likely to reach and each have particular behaviours that recommend one advertising channel or another.

1. Active buyers constantly scour online listings and directly receive alerts from real estate websites and agents. They are highly informed and often conduct lot of research before they make an offer, which means they are logical and analytical when it comes to purchasing. These are desirable customers who are ready to pounce on a property that suits their needs. Online listings and real estate agent relationships are the best way to reach this bunch.

2. Passive buyers generally come from the greater local area. They may be active buyers on a bit of a break, or simply happy to see what’s out there with no burning desire to buy. The trigger that makes these buyers jump is a match between their aspirations and what your property offers— and this could lead to an emotionally driven offer. A newspaper advertisement could be the best way to capture a passive buyer’s attention.

According to a recent survey from realestate.com.au, 81% of adult newspaper readers read the real estate section even if they are not looking to purchase at that time. If you’re going to advertise in a newspaper, keep in mind that the bigger the better. On average, a buyer spends 16 seconds looking at a page and they scan rather than read, so use the space wisely to capture their attention and hold them for longer.

3. Neighbourhood buyers are those who live in the immediate area of a property, and are usually looking to upgrade, purchase an investment, or refer a friend or family member to an area they’re familiar with and enjoying living in. You’re more likely to find these buyers through a signboard or a letterbox drop.

4. Out of area buyers will generally do an online search to find your property, so a newspaper ad is unlikely to be the best use of funds to attract these buyers. Invest in communicating details about the proximity of schools, shopping areas, transport and other amenities instead (don’t say ‘close to transport’ when you can say ‘600 metres from bus stop’). They also love video walkthroughs.

Decide on the mix

So we know the 4 main types of buyers and where they come from, what you can’t predict is where the best buyer(s) will come from. So it’s important to make sure your campaign has a mix of all channels and the investment is worth the return.

To give an idea of budget, in metropolitan areas, a good benchmark is to invest 1% of the property’s target value into the marketing campaign and in some prestige or highly competitive areas you might find that 1.5% or so I required to stand out.

In regional areas, 0.5% – 1% of the target value will often do the job of getting you above the competition.

This is separate to the agent’s commission, which is the fee you pay for their labour, strategy and skills in running the campaign and negotiating a premium outcome for your sale.

Properties with standout marketing campaigns regularly achieve 5% above comparable properties that haven’t used a campaign covering all channels. When combined with presentation works and home staging this can often amount to 10% over the competition, provided the right agent and sale method is used to extract the best from the market.

The Block twins Alisa and Lysandra work the shop

May 26, 2014 by Naomi

Twins Alisa and Lysandra, two-time contestants of The Block, spent a day in and out of interiors stores to revise and strengthen their design and business skills.

There’s no doubt Alisa and Lysandra have plenty of talent and good eyes for design. Their winning transformations on The Block are testament to their amazing instincts which, with time, will only get stronger when paired with a foundation of knowledge.

Click the image to view the video!

As Lysandra recently wrote in her guest post , instinct is great but it’s also helpful to learn the principles that sit behind why a room looks good. The twins undertook an Institute of Home Staging mentoring package with me following the completion of two courses—The Art of Home Staging (Course 1) and Advanced Home Staging (Course 2)—and a workshop.

This video shows Alisa a Lysandra undertaking a one-day workshop with me, click here to check it out.
The courses enhance students’ skills and knowledge on the art and business of making homes attractive to buyers. While The Art of Home Staging is great for the basics, I highly recommend those going into business to take the Advanced Home Staging course as it offers a deeper insight into home staging principles, including specific modules on colour and light and living spaces as well as dealing with clients through consultations and installations.

The purpose of the above workshop was to revise what the twins had learnt in both courses. The first half focused on the modules of work they had completed, hence lots of sketching, notes and coffee!

The second half of the workshop looked at developing a design and styling business. This goes beyond the actual skills of home staging and covers things like what offerings to have, what products to deliver, and how to price them, which is why we visited a few interiors stores to get a fuller picture.

Another aspect many business owners forget is how to value and manage their time. When you’re passionate about styling, it’s so easy to fall into a time trap (ever been absorbed by looking at swatches for hours?) when you need to learn to prioritise and work effectively. For interiors specialists packaging and using your intellectual property is a key element as well.

Since the twins now run their own online homewares store, Alisa & Lysandra Collections, and their careers will for the foreseeable future be in the interiors sector, it was not only important to establish the principles of design, but to make sure they were confident in going forward as a business.

Click here to see highlights of the day.

What do you need extra help on?

Newcastle Herald

April 4, 2014 by Naomi

Old, new come together

When Naomi Findlay of Silk Home Staging & Styling was approached by a couple to fit out and furnish their apartment in Mayfield, she decided to work with the art deco structure of the building in designing a personable and practical space…. To read more, click here

The Home Page

April 4, 2014 by Naomi

Top tips: renovating your investment property for profit

Renovating to make profit has quickly become an effective strategy to create wealth for many savvy property investors. However, people with all sorts of qualifications and jobs are now also successfully investing in properties to renovate and sell as a way to “get ahead” financially…. To read more, click here

Get ready to think BIG

December 6, 2012 by Naomi

Hi everyone, welcome to the month of goal setting at the IIHS! As Naomi mentioned my name is Andrew Dart and I am a personal and professional development specialist and I am going to be working with you this month on getting yourself and or your business ready for the new year.

To get you started and thinking, in 12 months time if you were to look back on the year of 2013 what do you want to see?

Is it…..

You have taken four vacations?
Only worked school hours?
Grown your company turnover to over $100 000?

On a piece of paper write down three of the things that you can see when completing this exercise. Don’t over think it or worry about how it is written, this is simply the first step to getting what you want out of 2013

Is it to be the next Shaynna Blaze?

Spend some time here?

Or make more time to relax and fall into your favourite blogs?

Once you have this done, stay tuned for the next installment to coming one step closer to achieving your goals!

Andrew