Top Tips for Selling a Home in 2016 Want to sell your house in 2016? It’s a great year to sell your home and if you go about it the right way you’ll get what it’s worth and maybe more. Now I could write this post and do the usual “do this, “do that” type stuff but I wouldn’t be doing you any favors. Because unless you know your numbers and the value of your home, you could wind up leaving money on the table or even losing it. So here you go. If you want tips for selling your house in 2016, listen to me - a guy who has bought and sold hundreds of properties as a full-time professional Real Estate Investor. Before you repair anything or call a real estate agent… ...you have to know your numbers. Tip #1: Know the After Repair Value (ARV) of Your Home If you’re going to get the right amount of money for your house, you have to know the After Repair Value (ARV). Essentially this means that you should know what your home can sell for after it’s is 100% rehabbed. If you have a house that you can sell for $120,000, you need to know that. If it will sell for $350,000, you need to know what you need to do to your house to get it there. At the same time, you don’t want to overdo it. If you have a house that’s currently worth $100,000 as is and it can sell for $115,000 when it’s all fixed up, you may or may not want to put the money into a rehab job. If you put $10,000 in just to make an extra $5,000, it might not be worth the hassle. So whatever you do, know what it’s worth now (as -is) and know what it’ll sell for afterward. If you want to find out how much your house is worth, there are plenty of agents out there who will give you comps (Comps is a term that is short for “Comparisons” that lets you determine an appraisal value for your home by comparing it to recently sold homes in your area that are similar to yours) or advice for free, so ask them. So don’t over do it, but don’t be hesitant to put money into your house if it’ll yield a big payoff when you sell it. TIP #2: Make Your Agent Work For You After you determine your ARV and enlist a good agent to help you sell your home, It might be worthwhile to hop in their Escalade to drive around town and look at some high end houses in your area to see what kind of upgrades they have. And when you see a common theme, you’ll have a good idea as to what kind of upgrades you might want to do to be able to sell your house. Granite? Concrete? Tile? Carpet? Wood floors? It depends. I don’t know your area or market so you have to do the research, ask your agent questions, and exercise wisdom. Every market is different and you don’t want to put money into an upgrade or rehab if it’s not the type of thing people in your area are looking for. So talk to a competent agent, and even offer to pay them a bit more in commissions if they can sell your home for a higher price. This is not a waste of money. A good agent with a proven track record is worth every penny because they know exactly what needs to be done to sell your home for the most money. Tip #3: Interior Improvements So once you have an idea about what your home is worth, have a good agent, and have toured homes in your area to see what kind of upgrades homes in your area typically have, it's time to look at your interior to decide what you should and shouldn’t do to sell your house in 2016. No matter what you do, you need to be wise about it. Maybe you live in non-traditional or funky house. That’s fine. Just go through 2 or 3 times with a notepad, write down the frustrations you have with it, and do what you need to do to make it functional, warm, beautiful, and inviting. Interior must-haves: 1. Make sure your kitchen is functional. 2. Always have (or add) a 2nd bathroom: If you don’t have a second bathroom, build one. Sure it could cost you $5-$6k, but it could net you an additional $20k when you sell. No matter what you do, make sure there is a second bathroom. It’s a must. 1. Open floor plans are huge in 2016: If you don’t have one, first- make sure it’s right for your area, and if it is, create one. This might mean building or breaking down a wall, but it’ll pay off in the end. 2. Stage your house: Just do it. Staging your home means that you hire a home stager and/or an interior design consultant (like the lady on Love It or List It) to set up your home in the most inviting way possible and tell you everything you need to do to make it sell. You’ll pay some cash up front but staged homes are shown to sell for 6% to 10% higher according to realtor.org. Tip #4: Exterior Improvements Just like the interior, you have to make sure the exterior of your house looks appealing if you want to get the most value of your house in 2016. Exterior must haves: 1. Add curb appeal: When people pull up to your house, most won’t even want to go inside or look at it unless it looks good from the curb. So make sure it looks gorgeous. Rake the leaves, plant some flowers, mow the lawn - make it inviting. 2. Make sure the picture on the MLS listing matches what your house currently looks like: People don’t want to look at a picture and pull up to your house, only to be disappointed. 3. Hire a professional photographer: This is crucial. It could mean the difference between someone viewing your house, or someone skipping it because the pictures look like a child took them. Hire a pro - it’s worth it. Ask me how I know. 4. Don’t paint your house diarrhea green or brown: This is just common sense. If you’re going to paint, use a neutral color. You don’t want to make your house unsellable because you chose an odd color or made a bad decision elsewhere. Tip #5: Common Sense, Common Sense, Common Sense No matter what you do or do not do, don’t make any hasty decisions. Ask your agent questions, look around, be observant, and don't do anything extreme. If you need to fix up your house to see a big profit, do it. If you have a modest budget and improvements won’t raise the value or your house (the ARV) anyways, don’t go crazy. 2016 is a great year to sell your house. Do it right and do it wisely. Cheers, Nate --- Nate Pyles is a long term Real Estate Investor who made it through the crash in 2008 and spends his week buying and selling houses for profit in the Boise, ID area. He runs House Flip Mentor, has 4 kids, a gorgeous wife, loves to fly, and even built his own Irish pub on his property.

This is a corner cabinet in a small shaker kitchen. The room is 9x9. The space is a kosher kitchen in a condo in a building in Miami beach that was once a hotel. Here is how we maximized upper cabinet corner. Many cabinet shops make a blind corner to save money, but there is a lot of wasted space. Or, they make a 45degree cabinet which sticks out very far, covers valuable counter real estate and It's difficult to keep uncluttered. In the next frame, you will see the bifold door which opens to provide excellent storage that is easy to access and takes the same space as a blind corner. Tzvi Morantz.

Example of a large trendy open concept medium tone wood floor living room design in New York with a standard fireplace, a stone fireplace and gray walls

Arts and crafts home design photo in Atlanta

A complete kitchen and powder room remodel in Herndon, Virginia, designed around two clear priorities: open up the kitchen to the rest of the main level, and create an experience that felt warm and timeless rather than trendy. The original layout had a wall separating the kitchen from the dining room and an awkward fridge wall that limited both storage and traffic flow. Our solution involved removing the dividing wall (confirmed non-load-bearing), tightening the new dining room opening to 66 inches, and extending the fridge wall 25 inches into the kitchen to create a proper full-height pantry run. The result is a kitchen that breathes — open to the dining and living areas, with clear sight lines from the island to the bay windows at the far end. Design Approach The clients came in knowing they didn't want white. They didn't want navy. They wanted something with real wood character — the kind of finish that ages well and looks more like furniture than stock kitchen cabinetry. Cherry was the answer to that question. We anchored the room around contrast: warm cherry cabinetry against clean white walls and white quartz, black hardware grounding the cherry's warmth, and a single waterfall island acting as the architectural focal point. Stainless appliances, brushed gold pendant accents, and the herringbone hardwood floor pull the room together without any one element shouting for attention. The Cabinetry Medallion Gold Line Sonoma Cappuccino — a stained cherry finish that catches light differently throughout the day. All-plywood box construction, solid wood doors and drawer fronts, soft close everywhere, US-made with a lifetime warranty. Four pull-out drawers built into the pantry bottoms keep the deep storage actually usable rather than a black hole. Cabinet hardware is Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in flat black — 40 pulls across drawers and doors, plus three longer pulls on the 36-inch base drawers. The black was a deliberate decision: with cherry and stainless already providing warm and cool tones, brass or gold would have been one warm tone too many. Black grounds the cabinetry and gives the kitchen its architectural definition. The Island and Countertops MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold quartz throughout — perimeter counters, island, waterfall ends, and the powder room. The Gold variant has subtle warm veining that pairs with cherry where cooler whites would have fought the wood tone. The island gets a full waterfall edge — slabs book-matched, miters precise, the finished edge essentially seamless. Treating the island as architectural sculpture rather than just functional storage. The black undermount farmhouse-style sink ties back to the hardware throughout the rest of the kitchen. The Backsplash MSI Metro Gold tile — small format white and gold tiles in a herringbone-adjacent pattern with intermittent gold accents. Full height, continuous behind the floating shelves and behind the hood. Four custom floating shelves are spaced above a 3-inch countertop ledge: first shelf 18 inches above the ledge, second shelf 9 inches above that, third 18 inches above the second. The shelves are stained to match the cabinetry. The backsplash continues behind the shelves and behind the hood, so the wall reads as a continuous textured surface that the shelves and hood float in front of. The Appliances This is a serious cooking kitchen. The clients chose a 48-inch Wolf gas range, a Sub-Zero built-in refrigerator integrated into the cherry cabinet wall, a Wolf microwave drawer in the island base, and a Bosch dishwasher. For ventilation, we installed a 1200 CFM hood paired with a make-up air system to balance the negative pressure that hood pulls. New ducting was routed through the exterior siding on the side of the house. The Flooring MSI engineered hardwood throughout the entire main level — approximately 800 square feet — installed in a Bramlett herringbone pattern. Herringbone adds roughly 15-20 percent to material and labor costs because of the angled cuts and waste factor, but the result is a floor that reads as more considered and luxurious than standard plank flooring. Finished with 4.5-inch white wood baseboards throughout. The Powder Room A small room with a big personality. The clients chose a deep blue and teal scallop pattern wallpaper (client-supplied, we installed) and paired it with the same Sonoma Cappuccino cherry vanity used in the kitchen — material continuity between the spaces. Powder room countertop is the same MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold quartz from the kitchen with a rectangular white undermount sink. Hardware on the powder room vanity is Top Knobs Riverside in honey bronze rather than the kitchen's flat black — the warm bronze pulls the brass tones from the faucet into the millwork and complements the wallpaper. New sconce, kept the existing toilet (refinishing or replacing a working toilet is wasted money in a powder room remodel), and a Panasonic Whisper Green exhaust fan. Project Specs Location: Herndon, Virginia Project type: Combined kitchen and powder room remodel Project duration: Approximately 4 to 6 weeks Style: Transitional, Modern Farmhouse, Warm Wood Contemporary Color palette: Cherry, white, black, brushed gold, deep blue (powder room) Materials Cabinetry (kitchen and powder room): Medallion Gold Line Sonoma Cappuccino cherry, Shaker-style, all-plywood box construction, lifetime warranty Kitchen hardware: Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in flat black (TK1014BLK and TK1017BLK) Powder room hardware: Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in honey bronze (TK1012HB) Counter tops: MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold Quartz, pencil edge, waterfall island Backsplash: MSI Metro Gold tile, full height Floating shelves: 4 custom shelves at 48" by 9", stained to match cabinets Range: 48-inch Wolf gas range Refrigerator: Sub-Zero built-in Microwave: Wolf microwave drawer (island base) Hood: 1200 CFM with make-up air system Kitchen sink: Kohler farmhouse-style, 36-inch base, black Kitchen faucet: Brizo (homeowner-supplied) Flooring: MSI engineered hardwood in Bramlett herringbone pattern, approximately 800 sq ft Baseboards: 4.5-inch white wood throughout Powder room wallpaper: Client-supplied scallop pattern in blues and teals Powder room exhaust fan: Panasonic Whisper Green Paint: Benjamin Moore Designed and built by My Kitchen and Bath out of our Herndon showroom at 285 Sunset Park Drive. We've been designing and building kitchens, bathrooms, and full home renovations across Northern Virginia and the DMV since 1994.

Main Line Kitchen Design’s unique business model allows our customers to work with the most experienced designers and get the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing.. . How can Main Line Kitchen Design offer both the best kitchen designs along with the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing? Our expert kitchen designers meet customers by appointment only in our offices, instead of a large showroom open to the general public. We display the cabinet lines we sell under glass countertops so customers can see how our cabinetry is constructed. Customers can view hundreds of sample doors and and sample finishes and see 3d renderings of their future kitchen on flat screen TV’s. But we do not waste our time or our customers money on showroom extras that are not essential. Nor are we available to assist people who want to stop in and browse. We pass our savings onto our customers and concentrate on what matters most. Designing great kitchens! Main Line Kitchen Design designers are some of the most experienced and award winning kitchen designers in the Delaware Valley. We design with and sell 8 nationally distributed cabinet lines. Cabinet pricing is slightly less than at major home centers for semi-custom cabinet lines, and significantly less than traditional showrooms for custom cabinet lines. After discussing your kitchen on the phone, first appointments always take place in your home, where we discuss and measure your kitchen. Subsequent appointments usually take place in one of our offices and selection centers where our customers consider and modify 3D kitchen designs on flat screen TV’s. We can also bring sample cabinet doors and finishes to your home and make design changes on our laptops in 20-20 CAD with you, in your own kitchen. Call today! We can estimate your kitchen renovation from soup to nuts in a 15 minute phone call and you can find out why we get the best reviews on the internet. We look forward to working with you. As our company tag line says: “The world of kitchen design is changing…”

Why waste your money on a boring roof when you can have a rooftop terrace for about the same cost as a deck! This rooftop includes Gas tiki torches and firepit, cumaru decking, a stream, real grass and plants, and a sandbox.

Example of a transitional open concept living room design in San Francisco with white walls

Example of a mid-century modern garage design in Austin

Main Line Kitchen Design’s unique business model allows our customers to work with the most experienced designers and get the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing.. . How can Main Line Kitchen Design offer both the best kitchen designs along with the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing? Our expert kitchen designers meet customers by appointment only in our offices, instead of a large showroom open to the general public. We display the cabinet lines we sell under glass countertops so customers can see how our cabinetry is constructed. Customers can view hundreds of sample doors and and sample finishes and see 3d renderings of their future kitchen on flat screen TV’s. But we do not waste our time or our customers money on showroom extras that are not essential. Nor are we available to assist people who want to stop in and browse. We pass our savings onto our customers and concentrate on what matters most. Designing great kitchens!

A low water native Carex lawn was installed. We plant these in plugs (tiny plants) and they will fill in the lawn area within a few months to produce a meadow-like, water-wise, and low maintenance lawn area.

This is how to combine classic and modern to achieve timeless design. Photo by Angelo Cane.
Kitchen - coastal kitchen idea in Orlando

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Main Line Kitchen Design’s unique business model allows our customers to work with the most experienced designers and get the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing. How does Main Line Kitchen Design offer the best designs along with the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing? Our expert kitchen designers meet customers by appointment only in our offices, instead of a large showroom open to the general public. We display the cabinet lines we sell under glass countertops so customers can see how our cabinetry is constructed. Customers can view hundreds of sample doors and and sample finishes and see 3d renderings of their future kitchen on flat screen TV’s. But we do not waste our time or our customers money on showroom extras that are not essential. Nor are we available to assist people who want to stop in and browse. We pass our savings onto our customers and concentrate on what matters most. Designing great kitchens! Main Line Kitchen Design designers are some of the most experienced and award winning kitchen designers in the Delaware Valley. We design with and sell 8 nationally distributed cabinet lines. Cabinet pricing is slightly less than at major home centers for semi-custom cabinet lines, and significantly less than traditional showrooms for custom cabinet lines. After discussing your kitchen on the phone, first appointments always take place in your home, where we discuss and measure your kitchen. Subsequent appointments usually take place in one of our offices and selection centers where our customers consider and modify 3D designs on flat screen TV’s. We can also bring sample doors and finishes to your home and make design changes on our laptops in 20-20 CAD with you, in your own kitchen. Call today! We can estimate your kitchen project from soup to nuts in a 15 minute phone call and you can find out why we get the best reviews on the internet. We look forward to working with you. As our company tag line says: “The world of kitchen design is changing…”

All brands of polymeric sand are NOT equal. Don’t waste money on inferior quality polymeric sand that will cause surface hazing or wash away during a heavy rain. Your brick paver patio, walkway or driveway deserves the best finish possible. Many types of polymeric sand rely on Portland cement, which often causes hazing, & cracking. Portland cement does not surpass a cohesion threshold that will prevent rain or strong wind from causing washout of the sand. All Surface Restoration has tested every major brand of polymeric sand on the market in Michigan’s climate for cohesion, adhesion & set up. The most durable, longest lasting type of polymeric sand is Poly Sweep. Poly Sweep is a different blend of sands with high quality synthetic polymers specially formulated to allow joints to expand & contract with extreme freeze thaw cycles common in Michigan. No sealer is required to keep the sand hard & stable. Poly Sweep Polymeric Sand has an advanced clear set technology, which uses high quality clear polymers that don’t leave a white haze. Poly Sweep proved it had a significantly stronger set up than ALL other brands. It reduces overall maintenance by inhibiting weed growth & deterring insects. Salt & deicing chemicals do not affect performance. Poly Sweep is available in Tan or Gray to blend with the color of your brick pavers. Searching for solution to prevent weeds, moss & water penetration in brick pavers in Michigan? Contact the paver maintenance experts at All Surface Restoration to request a free estimate today on cleaning & installing Poly Sweep Polymeric Sand. Michigan residents request a free estimate at: www.surfacerestoration.com/contact or call 248-475-0004

Main Line Kitchen Design’s unique business model allows our customers to work with the most experienced designers and get the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing.. . How can Main Line Kitchen Design offer both the best kitchen designs along with the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing? Our expert kitchen designers meet customers by appointment only in our offices, instead of a large showroom open to the general public. We display the cabinet lines we sell under glass countertops so customers can see how our cabinetry is constructed. Customers can view hundreds of sample doors and and sample finishes and see 3d renderings of their future kitchen on flat screen TV’s. But we do not waste our time or our customers money on showroom extras that are not essential. Nor are we available to assist people who want to stop in and browse. We pass our savings onto our customers and concentrate on what matters most. Designing great kitchens!

Main Line Kitchen Design’s unique business model allows our customers to work with the most experienced designers and get the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing.. . How can Main Line Kitchen Design offer both the best kitchen designs along with the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing? Our expert kitchen designers meet customers by appointment only in our offices, instead of a large showroom open to the general public. We display the cabinet lines we sell under glass countertops so customers can see how our cabinetry is constructed. Customers can view hundreds of sample doors and and sample finishes and see 3d renderings of their future kitchen on flat screen TV’s. But we do not waste our time or our customers money on showroom extras that are not essential. Nor are we available to assist people who want to stop in and browse. We pass our savings onto our customers and concentrate on what matters most. Designing great kitchens! Main Line Kitchen Design designers are some of the most experienced and award winning kitchen designers in the Delaware Valley. We design with and sell 8 nationally distributed cabinet lines. Cabinet pricing is slightly less than at major home centers for semi-custom cabinet lines, and significantly less than traditional showrooms for custom cabinet lines. After discussing your kitchen on the phone, first appointments always take place in your home, where we discuss and measure your kitchen. Subsequent appointments usually take place in one of our offices and selection centers where our customers consider and modify 3D kitchen designs on flat screen TV’s. We can also bring sample cabinet doors and finishes to your home and make design changes on our laptops in 20-20 CAD with you, in your own kitchen. Call today! We can estimate your kitchen renovation from soup to nuts in a 15 minute phone call and you can find out why we get the best reviews on the internet. We look forward to working with you. As our company tag line says: “The world of kitchen design is changing…”

Main Line Kitchen Design’s unique business model allows our customers to work with the most experienced designers and get the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing.. . How can Main Line Kitchen Design offer both the best kitchen designs along with the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing? Our expert kitchen designers meet customers by appointment only in our offices, instead of a large showroom open to the general public. We display the cabinet lines we sell under glass countertops so customers can see how our cabinetry is constructed. Customers can view hundreds of sample doors and and sample finishes and see 3d renderings of their future kitchen on flat screen TV’s. But we do not waste our time or our customers money on showroom extras that are not essential. Nor are we available to assist people who want to stop in and browse. We pass our savings onto our customers and concentrate on what matters most. Designing great kitchens! . Main Line Kitchen Design designers are some of the most experienced and award winning kitchen designers in the Delaware Valley. We design with and sell 8 nationally distributed cabinet lines. Cabinet pricing is slightly less than at major home centers for semi-custom cabinet lines, and significantly less than traditional showrooms for custom cabinet lines. . After discussing your kitchen on the phone, first appointments always take place in your home, where we discuss and measure your kitchen. Subsequent appointments usually take place in one of our offices and selection centers where our customers consider and modify 3D kitchen designs on flat screen TV’s. We can also bring sample cabinet doors and finishes to your home and make design changes on our laptops in 20-20 CAD with you, in your own kitchen. . Call today! We can estimate your kitchen renovation from soup to nuts in a 15 minute phone call and you can find out why we get the best reviews on the internet. We look forward to working with you. As our company tag line says: “The world of kitchen design is changing…”

Main Line Kitchen Design’s unique business model allows our customers to work with the most experienced designers and get the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing. How does Main Line Kitchen Design offer the best designs along with the most competitive kitchen cabinet pricing? Our expert kitchen designers meet customers by appointment only in our offices, instead of a large showroom open to the general public. We display the cabinet lines we sell under glass countertops so customers can see how our cabinetry is constructed. Customers can view hundreds of sample doors and and sample finishes and see 3d renderings of their future kitchen on flat screen TV’s. But we do not waste our time or our customers money on showroom extras that are not essential. Nor are we available to assist people who want to stop in and browse. We pass our savings onto our customers and concentrate on what matters most. Designing great kitchens! Main Line Kitchen Design designers are some of the most experienced and award winning kitchen designers in the Delaware Valley. We design with and sell 8 nationally distributed cabinet lines. Cabinet pricing is slightly less than at major home centers for semi-custom cabinet lines, and significantly less than traditional showrooms for custom cabinet lines. After discussing your kitchen on the phone, first appointments always take place in your home, where we discuss and measure your kitchen. Subsequent appointments usually take place in one of our offices and selection centers where our customers consider and modify 3D designs on flat screen TV’s. We can also bring sample doors and finishes to your home and make design changes on our laptops in 20-20 CAD with you, in your own kitchen. Call today! We can estimate your kitchen project from soup to nuts in a 15 minute phone call and you can find out why we get the best reviews on the internet. We look forward to working with you. As our company tag line says: “The world of kitchen design is changing…”