Today we staged a terrific Hollywood Bowl adjacent condo for a Beverly Hills real estate investment company. This beautifully renovated Los Angeles condo has granite counters, new cabinets, new stainless appliances and new flooring throughout. We love contemporary home staging and we really got to exercise our contemporary home staging muscles today.
We must have done something right because I got a phone call tonight from one of the project managers asking if I had time to look at another condo unit that they want to put on the market next week!
For more information about this centrally located 1 bedroom/1 bath updated Hollywood Hills condo, MLS#: 10-464257.
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
We recently completed staging this very chic and modern condo loft in Valley Village, Los Angeles.
My clients are real estate investors who understand the added value that home staging brings to any real estate listing. Since I've staged several condos and model homes in Pasadena and Glendale for themthey've experienced first hand that home staging will help their listings sell faster and for more money. As a Los Angeles home stager, I have to be familiar with all areas of the Los Angeles area and understand who the buyers are and what they are looking for. This loft style condo has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on 2 floors. I wanted to show there was enough space to have a comfortable seating area and dining table as well as the counter bar in the living room/kitchen great room.
This home is not yet listed. As soon as it is, I'll update this post
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
As a top notch Los Angeles home stager, my clients expect me to bring beautiful, realistic silk, faux or fake flower arrangements to use in their homes or listings. While most people would prefer live plants, due to the expense and need to maintain them, it is not always realistic to use live plants. Here's photos of 2 arrangements that I made to use in this Larchmont Village Hancock Park home staging project this week.
I really enjoy creating these plant and flower arrangements. It allows me to create exactly what I want and need for my home staging projects.
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
This post is in remembrance of all the who fought so valiantly 66 years ago so we could live in freedom today.
On June 6, 1944, 66 years ago, approximately 160,000 US, British and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, in a concerted push to defeat Hitler and Nazi Germany. 10,000 American men died on the beaches of Normandy after a perilous crossing of the English Channel.
I was saddened to see that there was no mention of this being D-Day in the Los Angeles Times or the Pasadena Star News, only an AP article about efforts to protect one of the locations from the effects of erosion.
A few statistics:
160,000 Allied troops took part in the assault
There were 10,000 American casualties in one day
5,000 ships crossed the English Channel on the morning of June 6 to deliver troops and supplies
800 planes dropped 13,000 paratroopers behind enemy lines. Many were shot out of the sky as they drifted to earth
These maps are part of a display at the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer
A couple of years ago, my husband and I made a pilgrimage to Normandy, France. Neither one of us had family members who participated in D-Day (my father was a defense plant worker and his father served in the Pacific), but we felt it was an important part of our American heritage to stand where so many had died fighting so we could live free.
We booked a tour with Overlord Tours out of Bayeaux, France due to reviews we had read on-line. We signed up for Tour #2, a tour of Utah and Omaha beaches and surrounding areas.
Our guide, Laurent, at the start of the tour
Our tour guide, Laurent, was very knowledgeable and passionate about all things D-Day. He, like many other people we met on our trip, love Americans and frequently expressed their appreciation of the sacrifices the American people made to help defeat Nazi Germany and expel them from France.
The tour inspired both sadness and awe. Standing on Utah and Omaha beaches, looking up at the German gun emplacements, it was hard to believe that anyone survived landing on the beach that day. The American troops were caught in a horrific cross-fire from German guns on a very deep beach with no cover for hundreds of yards.
2 movies worth watching are The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan. Both accurately depict what the Allies were up against landing on the beaches of Normandy.
Normandy Beach landing in Saving Private Ryan
Pont-du-Hoc landing in The Longest Day
Another remarkable must see is the mini-series Band of Brothers.
Here's some photos from the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer:
Some facts about the American Cemetery at Colleville:
The cemetery sits on 172 acres on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach
It holds 9368 graves of soldiers killed during the assault on Normandy
307 graves are marked "unknown"
1557 names are listed in the Garden of the Missing, those who's remains were never found
There are 4868 British soldiers buried at Bayeaux Cemetery. There were also 946 Canadian casualties as a result of the assault on Normandy.
Map of Normandy Beach assaults as seen from the American Cemetery
View of Omaha Beach with map in the foreground from the American Cemetery. American soldiers had to run across that wide expanse of sand while being fired upon by German soldiers and gun emplacements.
If you only get to make one overseas trip in your life, or are wondering where to go on your next vacation, I highly recommend making a pilgrimage to Normandy. You will be welcomed with open arms by the locals. You will see some beautiful countryside and eat some delicious food. And you will be paying homage to true American (and British and Canadian) heroes, who richly deserve our admiration and respect.
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
Yesterday I read an article on Mashable that YouTube recently passed 2 Billion views a day on their network. YouTube, a company that recently celebrated their 5th birthday has become quite the major component to any businesses online marketing strategy. Whenever I am doing online consulting with a client regarding their social media marketing strategy, I always try to encourage them to integrate video as a main component of the online marketing strategy.
Next to behemoth search enging Google, YouTube (which is actually owned by Google) is the second most used search engine in the world. Companies can gain instant notoriety by establishing a solid video online. Examples: Remember the Social Media Revolution? This video regarding some statistics on the power of social media gave a businesses YouTube channel an instant jolt of traffic. Or maybe you remember the infamous song of how United Breaks Guitars? The band Sons of Maxwell became overnight successes because of their catchy tune about how United Airlines broke a guitar and refused to pay for it. They created a quick video poking humor at the event & within no time the video had been viewed over 8 million times. Their success was so great they even created another video United Breaks Guitars Breaks My Career that basically says thanks for destroying our gear, you made us famous!
So how does someone optimize their efforts on YouTube & other video sites? Well, there are a few things that if done consistently will help you to get the best results.
1.Tagging & Title of Video. Just like when you write a blog, the title of the video is one of the most important parts. I had a client who had a video that was really good on something that people would want to see, but the title was done all wrong. In fact, it had just the basic random title that the video camera named it when they downloaded the video. When the client uploaded it to YouTube, they never took time to change it and could not understand why their video was not getting much traffic. So, we renamed the video to a term people would search for & the video started to take off almost instantly. Now, that video has over 1,100 views! The tags are also important on a video because they help to categorize your video properly to be searched. I find myself going to YouTube now for answers on a question rather than search engines.
2.Distribution of Video. The second thing most people is load their video to YouTube but nothing else. Nowadays we all have Facebook, Twitter, websites, blogs, Posterous accounts & more. YouTube has now made it really easy to distributet your videos out to other networks. When I take my reach of all these networks & add them together, it is well over 8,000 people. Why not share those videos with that audience? The more exposure you can give to a video, the more likely it is to be viewed by masses. Not to mention, those who watch the video & like it will then also share it on with others. Each person has a wide net of connections and you can see quickly how your video can then spread like wildfire!
3. Keeping it to the point. Have you ever clicked on a video to watch & as it starts you see it is 8:39 and you just do not want to sit there that long? Videos that drag on longer than 3-4 minutes normally have a lot higher viewing level than those that are 8-10 minutes.
In addition to these three tips on how to optimize the use of YouTube & other video services, here is a post I wrote a while back on how to create effective videos. This post shares with you 5 really basic tips on how to make videos that people will actually sit & watch without having to spend thousands of dollars to have the videos produced. It covers things like music, how to pan shots properly, and much more. It is a great beginners guide to starting on video.
In closing, if you are not yet using video in your marketing strategies, it is definitely time to start exploring this. One final piece of advice: You do not need to be a professional videographer to create good video. Most videos that go viral are ones shot with basic digital cameras, flip cams, and most of the times are not even edited. So do not allow things like that hold you back from getting started. Raw video can be just as beneficial for your business as one that is shot by the pros. If you want some assistance in getting started with this, feel free to contact me and I can help you. The biggest key however, is to just get started!
Feel free to subscribe to my blog to keep up to date with my latest posts of tips & tricks to enhance your experience on ActiveRain. If you would like, you can sign up to receive updates via email directly in your inbox.
Also, let's connect on these great social networks:
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
I'm here to tell you, home staging works no matter your price point!
Here's 2 homes we staged in the past 2 months:
Listed at $225,000, this Pasadena Affordable Housing condo (64 Mar Vista #115) sat on the market for almost 3 years before staging. We staged it in March and it's now about to close escrow, 60 days later! We've destaged this unit and staged another to help with a faster sale on that one too.
We staged this Beverly Hills luxury home, listed for $6.9 M in April. They received an offer after the first week on the market! I'm going to repeat myself: $6.9 M with an offer in the first week.
The Pasadena condo was vacant and unoccupied. The Beverly Hills luxury home was occupied - the home owner was living in the home after we staged it . It doesn't matter.If you are thinking of putting your Los Angeles, Pasadena, Arcadia or San Marino home on the market, and you want it to sell quickly, hire a professional home stager.
Home staging works for a faster sale, no matter your price point!
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
"Foreclosure is the most challenging issue against a security clearance (besides a felony conviction or serious misdemeanor). With a foreclosure on the record of a police officer, law enforcement, military servicemember, CIA employee, or any position requiring a security clearance, clearance will be revoked and position will be terminated (in almost all cases)."
That's pretty scary stuff!
Thanks Regina for clearly outlining the differences (and cause and effect) of a short sale vs. a foreclosure.
A homeowner who loses a home to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage for a period of 5 years.
A homeowner who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage after only 2 years.
Future Fannie Mae Loan (Non-Primary Residence2)
An investor who allows a property to go to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae-backed investment mortgage for a period of 7 years.
An investor who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae-backed investment mortgage after only 2 years.
Future Loan with any Mortgage Company
On any future application, a prospective borrower will have to answer YES to question C in Section VIII of the standard 1003 form that asks "Have you had property foreclosed upon or given title or deed in lieu thereof in the last 7 years?" This affects future rates.
There is no similar declaration or question regarding a short sale.
Credit Score
Score may be lowered anywhere from 250 to more than 300 points. Typically affects a credit score for over 3 years.
Only late payments show; and after sale, mortgage typically reported ‘paid as agreed', ‘paid as negotiated', or ‘settled'. This can lower the score as little as 50 points if all other payments are being made. A short sale's effect can be as brief as 12 to 18 months.
Credit History
Foreclosure will remain as a public record permanently, and on a person's credit history for 10 years or more.
A short sale is not reported on a credit history. There is no specific reporting item for ‘short sale'. The loan is typically reported ‘paid in full, settled'.
Security Clearance
Foreclosure is the most challenging issue against a security clearance (besides a felony conviction or serious misdemeanor). With a foreclosure on the record of a police officer, law enforcement, military servicemember, CIA employee, or any position requiring a security clearance, clearance will be revoked and position will be terminated (in almost all cases).
On its own, a short sale does not challenge most security clearances.3
Current Employment
Employers have the right and are actively checking the credit of all employees who are in sensitive positions. In many cases, a foreclosure is reason for immediate reassignment or termination. In some states, your real estate license (or other state licenses) may be revoked.
A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge to employment.4
Future Employment
Many employers are requiring credit checks on all job applicants. A foreclosure is one of the most detrimental credit items an applicant can have and in most cases will challenge employment.
A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge to future employment.5
Deficiency Judgment
In deficiency states, 100% of foreclosures the bank has the right to pursue a deficiency judgment. In non-deficiency states (such as CA), even after a foreclosure, a deficiency judgment may still be pursued by junior lienholders (2nd and 3rd trust deed holders); or by holders of non-recourse loans (such as a HELOC with a personal guarantee).
With a successful short sale negotiation, the lender can agree to give up the right to pursue a deficiency judgment against the homeowner.
Deficiency Judgment (amount)
In a foreclosure, the home will either sell at auction or the lender will take it back and sell it as an REO. This typically results in a lower sales price and longer sell-time in a declining market, which results in a higher possible deficiency judgment (in those states that allow such).
In successful short sale, the home is sold at a higher price than an auction or REO sale, resulting in a lower deficiency.
1 Fannie Mae Announcement 08-16: Michael A. Quinn, Senior Vice President, Single-Family Risk Officer. 2 Fannie Mae Announcement 08-16: Michael A. Quinn, Senior Vice President, Single-Family Risk Officer. 3 Short sales are currently not explicitly reported on a credit report. 4 Short sales are currently not explicitly reported on a credit report. 5 Short sales are currently not explicitly reported on a credit report. Data source compliments of Distressed Property Institute, http://www.cdpe.com/distressed-property-institute.html
Regina P. Brown CA Real Estate Broker DRE # 00983670
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
Here's some important facts to help sell your Los Angeles home:
This weekend I went to a real estate conference (RainCamp) at Loyola Marymount University and I learned the following:
87% home buyers are using Internet to search for homes
94% of 24-44 year olds are using Internet in their home buying process
37% of home buyers found their home on the Internet
How can you use these home buying statistics to help sell your home in Los Angeles?
List your home with an internet and social media savvy real estate agent.
Have your home professionally staged so it looks great in person and in on-line photos. Professional staging allows you to make your best first impression on the internet.
Have your home professionally photographed after its staged. Some listing agents include professional photography as part of their marketing because they recognize the difference it makes. Point & shoot photos from a snappy pix camera won't create a compelling desire to see your home
Make sure your listing agent posts 10-20 photos of your home on the MLS (each MLS limits the number of photos allowed, so number of photos may be different)
Consider the above important facts to help sell your Los Angeles home.
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
I was one of the lucky ones (lucky and smart!) to be able to attend RainCamp Los Angeles yesterday. It was well worth the investment of time and money. Besides getting to meet and hang-out with a terrific group of Los Angeles real estate professionals (a big shout out to the men and women who traveled from as far away as Hawaii, Puerto Vallarta and New Jersey!) I got a head full of new information to incorporate into my blogging and social media efforts. I took away great info to propel my Los Angeles home staging business to a higher level. I was happy to see there were 3 or 4 other Los Angeles home stagers in attendence.
I took 4 pages of typewritten notes! I tell you what...there were a lot of fingers flying over a lot of keyboards in that room; all of us trying to record this valuable knowledge for later use.
Here's some important information I came away with (via Ben Kinney):
Why you should care about social media:
74% of Americans are spending twice as much time on the Internet over TV
32% participate on social websites
112,000,000 people are on FB
13,000,000 people in CA are on FB
5M people in Los Angeles are on FB
85% of qualified searches come from search engines
75% of consumers don’t go past 1st page of Google
87% home buyers are using Internet to search for homes
94% of 24-44 year olds are using Internet in home buying process
37% of home buyers found their home on the Internet
Here's some information about Active Rain and why it should be an important part of your marketing efforts (via Brad Andersohn):
180K members
200-300 new members per day
2,000 new blog posts per day
2.5M unique visitors each month
1.7M blog posts on AR
National & hyper local news media coverage
Superior SEO due to all the activity
#1 top Real Estate Networking site
(numbers are approximate)
The day flew by! I was fully engaged and absorbing information from 9:00AM-5:00PM. It was worth every penny and I highly recommend you attend if you get the chance. (I bought a platinum ticket which included wireless Internet, lunch and an after party). I was sorry that RainCamp LA was only a 1 day event (hint, hint).
Ben Kinney
Brad Andersohn
Tom Ferry
Irina Netchaev, Pasadena real estate agent (and my carpool buddy)
Hobnobbing with the brains behind Active Rain (and a bunch of really nice Los Angeles real estate pros)
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
If you accept credit cards, here's some important information about credit card processing fees and your ability to offer a discount if your client pays with cash or a check.
"Reforming credit and debit card swipe fees took a huge step forward today as the Senate voted 64 to 33 to include Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin’s (D-IL) amendment to address swipe fee reform as part of the larger financial regulatory reform bill....
Sen. Durbin’s amendment (#3989) seeks to reform swipe fees on debit cards and address the rules and regulations associated with accepting debit and credit cards."
In addition, the press release states (and this is important to both merchants & anyone who uses a credit card):
"The Durbin amendment also prevents card networks like Visa and MasterCard from penalizing sellers for offering discounts to customers. The amendment would allow sellers to offer discounts for customers to use competing card networks or other payment methods."
"What's this got to do with me?" you might ask?
Currently, if you accept credit cards as payment for home staging or for any purchase, you cannot offer your customers a discount for paying by cash or check. If you do, and the credit card company gets wind of it, you will lose your merchant account priveldges.
As a consumer, you may see shops and vendors offering a "pay by cash discount" if/when the Financial Reform Act passes with this ammendment attached. I don't know about you, but I'd be happy to save 2%-3% on my purchases.
If you incorporate 2% or 3% into your home staging bids to compensate just in case your client wants to use a credit card, you may lose more jobs because your bid is higher. If you don't adjust your pricing to factor in the cost of accepting a credit card, you may be hurting your bottom line.
This bill will allow you to offer your clients a discount if they pay with a check or cash, or charge them more if they want to use a credit card.
This amendment to the Financial Reform Act is not a done deal. It still has to be reconciled with a bill that was passed by the House of Representatives.
Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, is one of the most successful home stagers in Los Angeles, CA.
Michelle measures her success by the speed in which her staged homes sell, often with multiple offers above listing price.She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale.
Some of Moving Mountains Design's services include vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties.
For more information about our home staging services, contact Los Angeles home stager, Michelle Minch (626)441-8975 or by email.
We must have done something right because I got a phone call tonight from one of the project managers asking if I had time to look at another condo unit that they want to put on the market next week!
3. Keeping it to the point. Have you ever clicked on a video to watch & as it starts you see it is 8:39 and you just do not want to sit there that long? Videos that drag on longer than 3-4 minutes normally have a lot higher viewing level than those that are 8-10 minutes.
