Charleston Home Round Table

My longest form piece of content I’ve ever done (apologies in advance). Gathered up 3 people I love to take a leap of faith and discuss all things Charleston, Development, Design, Local Business. Needless to say our conversation ran the gambit, but trust these people’s insight, opinion and expertise in Architecture, Building and Design. Having them provide commentary on this discussion was an invaluable insight for any type of person that’s enthralled with Charleston. Whether you’ve lived here, moved here or vacation here, I hope there’s a nugget of value in here for you.

(don’t worry topics are bullet pointed to the second below so you can skip around)

We can all agree that Charleston has been subject to a lot of change in recent years and this video discussion was geared around talks I find many of us are having privately. The post (linked above) has been bookmarked by topic so you can skip ahead to any you find most intriguing to you. Topics included:

Minute Markers

• 1:28 - Design, Trends and Pros Insight

• 16:34 - The Affordability Problem and How to Fix it

• 23:29 - Small Business Question: Is Segmenting the Holy Grail?

• 28:01 - Who is Moving to Charleston & Why?

• 31:15 - ‘Charleston’s Development Problems are as Old as It’s History’

• 36:10 - Container Building

Joining me and providing their thought leadership were Interior Designer - Jesse Vickers (Owner of JLV Creative), Builder - Rick Rockwell (Owner of Rockwell Construction) and Architect - Nicholas Rehberg (Owner of ADO) for participating. If ever you're in need of their services you'll get a resounding thumbs up (and not just because they jumped in front of camera, but they're each incredibly passionate and qualified). Each, as local business owners within the home space, brought incredible insight to this macro discussion.

My hope is that regardless of your station in life, your relationship to Charleston or what you do, that there is some tid bit of insight within this that resonates with you or helps answer a question you have.

Local Spotlight: Helen Hall (Hustle Smoothie Bar)

A sit down with Charleston Smoothie Queen, inventor of the Blender Bomb, owner of Hustle Smoothie Bar and friend, Helen Hall. We discuss Helen's rise, passion for all things health and (of course) how to make the perfect smoothie. 

 

5 Things Under $100 to Sell Your Home for More

Spring is here and a lot of you are getting ready to sell your homes. Many of my listing appointments I end up imparting a lot of the same advice to folks looking to sell there homes. Here’s a few handy tips on how to make your home more appealing to buyers for under $100.

1.) Double Check the Curb Appeal
    
Whether you like it or not perspective home buyers will be flipping through 100s of properties and occasionally driving by them so the curb appeal is going to be the first thing they notice and draws them in. So make sure it’s photo ready!

Spruce up exterior, power wash, fresh pine straw, potted plants, clean/paint front door and swap any dated hardware

2.) Light Bulb Check
    
Whether seem like minutia, but if you want your home to tell perspective agents and their buyers you didn’t take good care of the home, give them subconscious  hints like dirty lighting fixtures or burnt out bulbs. Simple fix that will go a long way in to alleviating any surface level concerns and negate the question, ‘if they didn’t tend to the small things we can see, what may be hiding under the surface?’

3.) Paint and Spot Touch Up
    
Want to know every Agent’s trick to fixing something that looks old and tired? Spot touch ups and neutral paint go a long way into breathing some life into a pre-owned home regardless of how hard a certain space has been used.

4.) Deep Deep Clean and Declutter
    
There’s no quicker way to turn off a perspective buyer entering home than a dirty space, w/ odd smells or cluttered rooms. Buyers will decide within 15 seconds of seeing a home whether they’d buy it or not. So don’t give them a reason not to in the last 5 when they open the door. Clean the baseboards, appliances, swap the air filters and deep clean the bathrooms/kitchens where. Also if you’re living in the home, that’s fine, but you’re going to be moving so it’s time to put a lot of the excess in boxes so buyers can focus on the space and not your family vacation to Wyoming 2014.

5.) Organize the Garage

You know why i love selling homes for engineers and mechanics? Most of the time their garages are the most organized space in the house. Most use it as the space where they store excess and becomes cluttered quickly. We’re going to keep playing on the buyer subconscious here, in that a clean and tidy garage says ‘I’ve kept up the space where most keep the dirtiest/disorganized, so clearly I've kept the rest of the home in tip top shape’. Think about it, at this point the other homes prospective buyers have seen will be the place of dirty lawn mowers, boxes of Christmas decorations thrown haphazardly on a shelf, and tools thrown about. If this one space stands apart from the rest, it's yet another reason to choose your home over another.

These are some of the most common I find from home to home that will help set yours apart and cost you mostly time. There are (of course), many more things you can do to prepare your home for sale (and should), but these easy tips will set you apart from most and get your home sold just a bit quicker.

For More Tips and Ideas on your home email, text, DM or follow me at any of the following...

 

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