9 Do's & Don’ts of Holiday Home Staging

You want to show off your house, not the holiday decorations. Some decorations, done tastefully, will convince buyers that they can make this house, their “home for the holidays”.

No Huge Inflatable Yard Decorations - Curb appeal is as important in winter as the rest of the year. Forego this year’s neighborhood lighting contest. Keep the lighting to a minimum, accent specimen trees or outline the architecture.

No Scents - Holiday aromas-baked goods and live greens-enhance seasonal decor, but overly strong odors from air fresheners and candles may send buyers running.

No Oversized and Over-Decorated Trees – If you have soaring ceilings show them off with a taller tree; just be cautious of the amount of floor space that the tree occupies. You are selling square footage, not holiday décor. Pick colors to compliment your décor. But, too much red and green can backfire. A neutral palette of fresh greens, elegant silvers and gold’s, and classic white will compliment almost any décor.

No Window Decals – Or wreaths, garlands, or other decorations that will restrict light flow or the view.

Don’t Hide the Positives - Holiday villages consumes space, too much garland on the staircase railings & fireplace mantle hide sellable details, to many holiday accents on the tables equals visual clutter.

Don’t Be Charlie Brown – If you are going to decorate for the holidays, put some thought into it. Make sure the scale is correct for the space; the decorations don’t look like an afterthought, or childish.

Do Keep Private Spaces Private – Confine the holiday decor to public spaces, not the bedrooms. If you do extend your holiday décor to the bedrooms, keep it simple & small.

Do Invite Buyers In - Keep the heat up; invite buyers in from the cold to a warm & cozy home. Consider lighting gas fireplaces if you will be home right after a showing.

Play Soothing Music - Most people get their fill of jingles and carols, so if you play music for showings, pick a non-seasonal favorite that appeal year-round.

Many people treat holidays as a serious time of religious observance. Keep in mind that not everyone practices the same religion as you. The more decorating you do, whether the decorating has any religious undertones or not, the greater chance you have of potentially making a buyer feel less welcome. If you want to set out your nativity sets or menorah, consider putting them away during showings or open houses. Afterwards, you can display them again for your family and friends to admire and enjoy.

4 Real Estate Ownership Myths

“Owning a Home is a Solid Investment”

The recent challenging market has proven the problem with this statement. You can lose money investing in property whether it is for your personal residence or investment property.

Real estate ownership is can be considered “good debt” especially if you have paid down your mortgage and despite the declining market, have equity in your property. But, as many people have learned when selling their homes, the loss in market value of a home can reduce your “investment” significantly. Conversely, during an “up” market many see large increases in value.

For most people, a real estate investment is considered a “long term” investment even if they don’t intend on living in a home for an extended period.

“Distressed Properties Mean Big Profit”

You may buy at a great price, but after adding in the cost of buying, selling, property taxes, and renovation costs (especially the undiscovered problems that crop up) your return on investment is considerably less than you had anticipated.

Added to these concerns, living through a “renovation” requires a high tolerance for chaos, stress, and unusable areas of the house. Or if it is empty during renovation, you incur the cost of the mortgage, taxes, utilities, and landscape chores etc. subtracting from your rate of return.

“You Make All the Decisions”

Of course, you decide when to buy, where and how to pay. You decide how to decorate, upgrade, and landscape. What you have no control over is the condition of the neighborhood or how it changes. Foreclosures, zoning changes, governmental regulations, association rules, negligent neighbors . . . all effect the value of your home.

“You Can Sell When You Choose”

You are personally invested in your property and it is not an easily liquidated interest. You could be stuck in a bad situation longer than you are comfortable with if you find your neighbor is a drug dealer, has the dogs from hell, fixes cars in their spare time, parties heavily on the weekends or just hates you.

The Pros and Cons of Paying Cash for a House

If you have the cash on hand to purchase a house, should you?

PROS

No Credit History Required – As long as you have the cash in the bank, no one will question your ability to pay.

Risk Free Savings – If mortgage interest rates are higher than what you get on your investments, you gain by paying cash.

It All Belongs to You - You own the house free and clear. You have also freed up the money you would be paying on mortgage or rent payments to invest in other places.

Negotiating Power – With cash, there is no contingency on getting a loan, so closing can occur in a shorter period of time.

Investment Property – Second homes are considered investment properties and carry with them higher interest rates and penalties. If you are buying a home to fix and sell, it often makes sense to pay cash.

CONS

Less Liquidity – If you have all your liquid assets tied up into a house purchase, its harder to free that money up in the event you need it. If you need to get a mortgage at a later date it is considered a refinance and will carry a higher interest rate.

Tax Advantage – You are not able to take advantage of the deductible on your income taxes. Depending on your tax bracket, this could be a substantial amount.

Magic of Birmingham - Holiday Shopping

Enjoy the sights and sounds of Birmingham for the holidays! Stores are open late, plus enjoy Santa House, free carriage rides, carrolers from local schools and more!

Random shoppers will receive FREE GIFTS from Birmingham stores, right on the street.Each Thursday night, one lucky shopper receives a GRAND gift!

On December 10: A jewelry item, courtesy of Astrein's Creative Jewelers. http://www.astreins.com/

On December 17: Two airline tickets good for domestic travel anywhere in the continental United States courtesy of Departure Travel Management. http://www.dtmdeparturetravel.com/

Birmingham broadcast partner WCSX 94.7 and their sponsors will host a warming tent next to Santa House December 10 and 17th, with carolers, family friendly activities from 6-8 p.m. They will provide other exciting enhancements to the event, which will be announced soon.

Birmingham Holiday Lighting

Where: Steps of City Hall
When: Wednesday, November 25, 6p.m.

Contact: Birmingham Principal Shopping District at 248-530-1200Jump into the Holiday spirit with a night that brings the festive lighting of the winter season and the opening of Santa House! Help Santa and Birmingham Mayor Rackeline Hoff light up the town for the holidays. On-air personality Jim Harper will emcee again this year!

Enjoy live caroling from Greenfield Elementary Honors Choir, festive music from the Birmingham Brass Band, free hot cocoa compliments of Starbucks, and enough holiday spirit to last through the entire season!

Plus: Get a Magic of Birmingham magical preview!

Winter Family Fun Activities in Oakland County

Skiing, sledding, hiking or just walking in the dog can be an adventure in Oakland County's many parks. So get outside, enjoy Michgan's winter, and get some exercise for yourself , family & friends.


Click here for more information about the parks that are open, what activities are available & to check conditions of the park when you are planning on going.

Real Benefits of Giving to Others

4 Benefits of Giving

Children and adults alike can also benefit from the act of giving to charity.

Allan Luks, author of The Healing Power of Doing Good, describes many scientifically documented accounts of people gaining physical, mental and emotional benefits from doing good. For instance, holding an abandoned baby may help get rid of your backache, he says. Luks even describes a “helper’s high” that is similar to the high we feel after exercising. And, Luks maintains that volunteering provides:

1. A heightened sense of well-being
2. Relief from insomnia

3. A stronger immune system

4. Speedier recovery from surgery

Feel good - volunteer!

What organizations do you volunteer for?

4 Charities That Could Use Your Help

9 More Charities That Could Use Your Help

4 Oakland County MI Charities That Need Your Help

Most of us will have the opportunity to sit around the table this Thanksgiving with family & friends to enjoy their company, abundant good food & perhaps recount our blessings. Many are not so fortunate.

During the holiday season many of us look for ways to help others, ways we can give back to our neighbors, the community & families in need during this joyous season.

Below you will find the 1st of several posts with organizations that could use your help. If you can, give of yourself, your time or money & lend a helping hand to someone in need.

Common Ground: Providing a lifeline for individuals and families in crisis, victims of crime, persons with mental illness, people trying to cope with critical situations and runaway and homeless youths. The core purpose is to empower people to reach their goals. Helping people in need for more than 35 years, Common Ground serves more than 40,000 individuals per year. The majority of services are free of charge and 89 percent of every dollar received goes to direct service. http://www.commongroundhelps.org/

Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan: The dream was that no one should go hungry while food was going to waste. The idea was to create a distribution network that would provide local non-profit agencies with a low cost, reliable source of food for hungry people. Gleaners is a vital link between available food and those who need it most. Gleaners collects, warehouses, repacks and distributes many millions of pounds of food for over 400 local partners. http://www.gcfb.org/

HAVEN: The only domestic violence and sexual assault center in Oakland County. The safe place when home is no longer safe, the shelter in the storm of a crisis, the source of healing, and the guide to a violence-free life. HAVEN’s mission is to eliminate domestic violence and sexual assault through treatment and prevention services across Oakland County and surrounding communities. http://www.haven-oakland.org/

Capuchin Soup Kitchen: Serving the poor who suffer from the lack of basic human needs: material needs, such as food, clothing, and household necessities; psychological needs, such as motivation, self-esteem, and rehabilitation; and social needs, such as support systems and meaningful relationships. http://www.cskdetroit.org/

9 More Charities Serving Oakland County MI That Need Your Help!

Grace Centers of Hope Grace Is Oakland County’s oldest and largest homeless shelter providing hope and help since 1942. Today, Grace Centers of Hope is considered one of the leading faith-based organizations in Southeastern Michigan daily confronting issues of homelessness, addiction, poverty and spiritual emptiness. On any given night, Grace Centers of Hope will accommodate between 150-200 men, women and children. Each year we serve over 127,000 meals and provide over 55,000 nights of stay. http://www.gracecentersofhope.org/

Habitat for Humanity Detroit Habitat for Humanity Detroit, in partnership with God and families in need of adequate housing, brings together people from all walks of life to revitalize Detroit neighborhoods through the construction of decent affordable homes. Since 1986, Habitat for Humanity Detroit has helped to house over 220 families in the city of Detroit. http://www.habitatdetroit.org/

Leader Dogs for the Blind Founded by three Detroit area Lions Clubs members in 1939, Leader Dogs for the Blind provides dog guides to people who are blind and visually impaired to enhance their mobility, independence and quality of life. Each year, over 270 students attend our 26-day residential training program to be paired with a dog guide. This is a life-changing event that opens the doors to independence, safety and self-worth for many of our students. Leader Dog is recognized as a “Best In America” Charity by the Independent Charities of America (ICA). http://www.leaderdog.org/

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan Since 1984, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan has granted wishes to over 5,600 special children in Michigan. Of each dollar spent in FY 2007, more than 80 cents went directly to granting wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Funding comes from individual contributors, special events, corporate donations and sponsorships, foundation grants, workplace giving programs and planned gifts. These wishes would not be realized without the dedication and support of the volunteers, donors, and staff. www.wishmich.org/

Salvation Army The Salvation Army red kettle’s impact extends far beyond the holiday season-changing lives, one at a time, every day, all year long. The scope of The Salvation Army’s influence is vast, touching nearly every segment of society and providing help, hope, and healing for those who come within its sphere. It is at work in more than 113 countries around the world. And although programs vary from country to country and community to community to help people most effectively http://www.usc.salvationarmy.org/usc/www_usc_emi.nsf

Volunteers of America One night in a shelter can provide comfort and security, but one night won't end a man's homelessness. Solving the problem that makes him homeless will. Volunteers of America helps people change their lives for the better. Volunteers of America is unique among humanitarian organizations in that we provide both immediate assistance and long-term solutions that benefit individuals and families. They provide wide range of community-based programs and services for people of all ages. http://www.voa.org/

Yad Ezra Yad Ezra (translated from Hebrew it means "helping hand") provides free kosher food, toiletries and household cleaning items to low-income Jewish families in Southeast Michigan. During 1990, Yad Ezra served an average of 250 families every month. Current statistics indicate that we provide an average of 1,600 impoverished families (almost 3,300 individuals) with food, health care items and household goods every month. Yad Ezra will distribute 800,000 pounds of food, toiletries and household goods this year. www.yadezra.org/

Toys for Tots The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future. http://toysfortots.org/

Michigan Human Society Their Mission: To end companion animal homelessness, to provide the highest quality service and compassion to the animals entrusted to their care, and to be a leader in promoting humane values. They receive no government funding and is not a United Way agency & depends on the generosity of individual and corporate supporters to fund their programs and services. http://www.michiganhumane.org/site/PageServer

Royal Oak Holiday Magic Parade

This 8th Annual Parade features musical acts, performances, floats and more from over 55 parade units.

The parade route starts at Washington and Lincoln and heads north on Washington to Fourth, where it then heads west to Lafayette.

New this year is the Santa Scamper before the parade, A Fun Run, through the parade route for kids and families at 9:15am.

After the parade, visits with Santa are from 11am - 1pm at Stagecrafters.

Also new this year, bring a toy to the parade to help less fortunate families in the metro Detroit area. Marines will walk in the parade and collect them from the crowd for Toys for Tots.Parking will be free downtown from 10am - 2pm for guests to the parade!