HOW TO GET THE MOST MONEY WHEN YOU’RE SELLING YOUR HOME

For over 20 years I have been in the design and home improvement industry. I have had the pleasure of working with many realtors, brokers and investment firms as well as public. I decided to pass on my knowledge and what I have learned about how to hire a realtor and negotiate a better rate, but also if you should fix up your home before you sell it.

• The first thing you need to decide is how to sale your home.
•  one way is to market and sell it yourself.
•  But for the best result, hire a reputable realtor in your area who knows your market place and knows how to advertise effectively to sale your property.

If you decide to hire a realtor here are some tips how to save money.

• When interviewing a realtor asked them upfront how much commission they and their broker charge, also if they are the broker who represents you and the buyer are they willing to cut their commission rates?
•  A motivated realtor and broker whom want your listing will cut their rate to get your business.
• Find out who pays the closing cost, for most part both buyer and seller share the closing cost. Negotiate so the broker pays your share of the closing cost once the house is sold. These two steps alone can save you thousands of dollars.
• Find out how they will be marketing your home.
• When picking an agent find out how many homes they have listed in your area and sold in the past six month. This will give you a gauge of how capable they are and how motivated they are to sell your home fast.
• Ask who will pay for you inspection and appraisal fees and if the answer is you, then try to negotiate for broker to pay for it.
• Truth of the matter is the only thing you have in common with a realtor is the fact you both want to sell your home. It’s up to you to be assertive in trying to save and get as much money as you can.

Now that you have negotiate with the realtor it’s time to decide if you should fix up the house.

• Look at your financial situation and think about why you are selling your home.
• Do you have any equity?
• One of the deciding factors is to look at the comparable home that has sold in your neighborhood.
• If you are asking top dollar for your home you need to make sure your house has the same appeal as other home that has sold in your neighborhood.
• If your home needs improvements you may sell it as is and hope for the best. The down part is your home may sit on the market for a long time.
• You might also decide on giving credit or reducing the price to sell the home as is.
• Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Would you buy this home when there are so many homes to choose from with better condition?
• You have to look at your home as a product and you need to make this product as attractive as you can to a buyer.

 How much should I spend?

• The answer to this question is the least amount possible.

What areas of my home should I improve upon?

• I am sure you have heard this term before, and there is a program on HG TV, called curb appeal.
• First impression is the most important.
• Make sure your lawn is trimmed and groomed and the trees and bushes are not out of control. You also want to make sure your tree and bushes are not hiding any architectural attribute, and they are not blocking natural light when looking from the inside out.
• Your screen door and front door need to be in good condition and if need be, paint the door.
• Make sure your kid’s toys and bicycle and skate boards are not all over the lawn.
• The kitchen and the bathroom are the most important part of any home for a buyer.
• If your kitchen and bathrooms are old and tired you don’t need to remodel, all you do is paint or re stain the cabinets or change the doors on the cabinet and put new knobs and hinges. If you can afford it install new counter top and change the faucets to give your kitchen and bathroom a brand new look at a fraction of the cost of a new kitchen and bath.
• The paint on the walls are very important, you need to make sure the walls are clean and don’t have your kids hand print or stain. If need be you should paint the walls and make sure it’s a warm neutral color that is easy to decorate around for the new buyer.
• Flooring is as important. If your carpet has stains or if your cat and dog have had an accident in the house don’t waste your time trying to clean it. Depending on how old the carpet is you won’t be able to get all the stain and smell out. Change the carpet in a warm natural color, if you can afford wood floor that will be great or for lesser cost you can install laminate floors. Hard surface always adds to the value of your home and it also makes it look bigger and buyers love it.

As always I hope this information is helpful, for more information about how to get your home ready to sell you can email us at info@urbanhomedesignllc.com or call our office 949 588-9300 for a free in home consultation.

In my next blog I will talk about how to stage your home. You can also look for other blogs on different product and services on our website. Urbanhomedesignllc.com.

Best Wishes,

Urban Home Design llc.

HOW TO CHOOSE A FLOORING CONTRACTOR AND SAVE MONEY.

Q: How do I find the right flooring contractor, and what’s the cost to install hardwood floors?

A: with today’s technology most people will turn to Google, yahoo or Bing to find a flooring contractor. Just type flooring contractor in your area and within seconds you will get result up to 10 per page.

You will also find companies who will just sale the material; all you have to do is find an installer to install your hardwood floor or any other flooring you might need. That’s a great start, but to find the right flooring contractor here are some tips to save money time and aggravation.

WHAT NOT TO DO

• Stay away from unlicensed contractor. This may surprise you but a lot of people will hire unlicensed contractor to save a few dollars.If anything goes wrong with the installation, or the unlicensed contractor starts your job and not show up you have no recourse.

Let’s say everything goes well and the job is done, and six month later you have some issues and you are not able to make them return or worse yet you can’t get them to call you back.Now you have to find a new contractor and hopefully this time you have hired a licensed contractor to fix any and all problems.This means you have to pay additional funds to correct the problem and that’s not good.

• Stay away from any flooring contractor who does not have a showroom or an office were you can physically visits if anything goes wrong.

• Don’t buy your product online unless it’s a reputable company and they have a great return policy at no cost to you and make sure you get in writing their warranty on product after installation.

• Don’t hire a handy man, for most part they are unlicensed and they don’t specialize in flooring but they are jack of all traits.

HOW TO CHOOSE FLOORING CONTRACTOR

• When contacting local flooring contractor asked them about design ideas and their expertise in design and floor planning. This will help you weed out flooring contractor who know nothing about design and floor planning.

• Once you have found several licensed contractor with a showroom in your local area make time to visit their facility and look at all the flooring samples.

• Get three quotes to compare.

• Make sure they bring all samples to your home so you can see the samples next to your furniture and lighting before deciding on color & style.

• Make sure you get a total square foot measurement so you can compare with other flooring contractors, some flooring contractor will add 5% and some 10%. Be sure to ask about the waist factor and how they came up with that number. This will help you not waist product therefore you save money.

• Do your research online for pricing, this way you can better negotiate pricing with flooring contractors.

• Make sure in their proposal all molding and transition pieces as well as demolition and disposal fees plus furniture moving are included.

• Make sure you get a firm date on installation in writing, get a start date and completion date.

HOW TO CHOOSE HARDWOOD FLOORS.

• Hardwood floors come in 4 basic constructions:
• Solid Hardwood Flooring – are  hardwood  floors cut into wood planks  from a solid piece of wood that  generally  come in 3/4″ thick. (use over raised foundation, not recommended for concrete slabs.) unless you first install additional plywood over concrete  & then nail down the solid wood floor over the ply wood substrate..
• Engineered Hardwood Flooring – are several layers of wood that are glued and pressed together to create a wood plank.The  Range of thickness vary from 1/4″ to just over 9/16″. (this product can be installed almost anywhere in your home, including over dry concrete slabs.) using glue down as well as stapled or floating application.
• Long strip Hardwood Flooring – are created exactly like engineered hard wood floors but  the main difference is with a longer and wider plank. this product can be glued-down, stapled or floated over many sub-floors and used almost anywhere in your home, including dry basements.
• Exotic Hardwood Flooring – is a way to describe hardwood species from around the World. you wont find these hardwoods in North America and they come from Australia, Africa, Brazil and the Far East. with Exotic hardwoods you can get a unique wood graining and colorations. Most exotic floors are available in engineered wood construction but some are only available in solid hardwood planks

• Research the species of the wood floor you are interested in. Different species have different tolerance janka for wear and tear.

• Check for wear layer thickness, (this is very important). The thicker the wear layer the longer the floor will last and the more sanding you can get out of it.

• If you are purchasing hand scraped or hand distressed product even though you will never sand it. It is important to have a good wear layer for performance.

• Ask about the finish on the hardwood floor and the type of protection it has for long term wear and tear and let’s not forget about the warranty.

• Dark hardwood floor will give a formal look to your house so make sure you match your color & stain with the design of your home and furnishing. This why it is so important to work with a flooring contractor who understands design and floor planning as well as product and installation.

I hope this will help you in your search for flooring and flooring contractor. Here is couple of links for a square foot calculator and

virtual decorator to help you design and estimate how much flooring you may need.

If you have any comments or questions you can contact us by emailing to info@urbanhomedesignllc.com

Best wishes, Urban Home Design llc,

HOW TO SAVE MONEY AND CHOOSE THE RIGHT KITCHEN REMODELING CONTRACTOR

Q: Kitchen Design Remodel can be very stressful and costly,  how do I begin and what should I know?

A: With all the information available on the internet and your willingness to invest a little time in research you can save a lot of money on your next kitchen remodel, here are some steps and what to consider.

Before you start preparing for your kitchen remodel you must consider the value of your home. This is important so you don’t overspend or under spend, this is a big consideration when you want to sale your home in the future to get the most out of your investment.

• Decide what you hate about your kitchen and the kind of changes you like to make and additions.
• What type of design and style are you going for so the contractor can give you what you want.
• Come up with a budget you can live with, don’t forget to include your appliances and fixtures within your budget.
• you need to take a rough measurement so you have an idea how many linear feet of cabinets you will need for top and bottom as well as island, this can help you better negotiate with your contractor.( cabinets are priced per linear feet and they can range from $80.00 to $300.00 per linear feet depending on (custom or prefabricated) and the type of material being used.
• For counter top decide what type of stone you would like and the edge detail as well as the kind of back splash to go with it.
• Are you keeping your old appliance or you want to order new ones, remember to allocate funds for re installation of your old appliances or if you are getting new appliances negotiate a good rate with the supplier.
• How many sinks & faucet are necessary and the type of look you are going for.
• The type of flooring you would  like to use, and make sure it will blend with the rest of the house.
• The type and style of lighting and plugs.
• Finally break down your kitchen in all the categories you need, this way your contractor will have to give you an individual price on all different part of your job so you can make sure you are not overpaying and you have a better control of your project.

Here are the categories for your kitchen remodel

• demolition
• painting and dry wall
• electrical
• plumbing, sinks, fixtures, appliances
• cabinet
• counter top and back splash
• flooring

If you do your research in advance there is less chance for mistakes and delays as well as unexpected cost. Make sure to get line item pricing for all the categories and the time for each part to be completed. A good contractor will break down your project in categories and prices as well as a schedule for each step. This is also a good sign when you are interviewing contractors to see if they give this service without asking for it.

you can visit our website urbanhomedesignllc.com for helpful tools like flooring square foot calculator or virtual decorator as well as links to appliance and fixture.

I hope you find this information helpful,

Best Wishes,

Urban Home Design llc
Now for a shameless plug for our company. For your next kitchen & bath remodel give us an opportunity to impress you with our knowledge and design ideas, all at the same time delivering you a dream kitchen at affordable prices.

Porcelain Versus Ceramic

You have decided to install new flooring & you are not sure If you should use ceramic tile or porcelain.

To start with you should know that generally both product are known as ceramic tile, & they are processed the same way & they consist of Clay & Quartz & Ferrous Sand material  plus water, However the main differences between the two is  when it comes to producing porcelain tile they use a clay that is more purified & highly refined,Therefore the porcelain tile becomes a denser product opposed to ceramic tile.

Because  porcelain is a Denser product you could use it in much tougher environments & because of  its density they generally absorb less moister, and they are much stronger & resistance to staining so you can use it out doors as well as indoor.

Now that you know the  general differences between porcelain & ceramic tile you need to decide the type of application you have in mind so you can use the right product. To start with porcelain is generally 10 to 15 % higher price oppose to ceramic tile, however that really doesn’t come out to be much depending on the size of your project.when it comes to any project & installation your job outcome will always have to start with the right ingredient.

All porcelain & ceramic tile have a (PEI) Rating so the higher the rating the better & stronger the material becomes. For Example if you are installing tile on the wall you really don’t need any more than a PEI of  1, & If its going to be on the bathroom floor or even the kitchen we recommend a Rating of 2 & for the rest of your home you should use a product that has a PEI rating of 3 & if you you are  installing it in a very high traffic area or a commercial application then its best to use a PEI rating of 4 & 5.

One other thing to consider when you are ordering your tile, you should always allow a 5 to 10% waist factor & most importantly make sure when the job is done you have 2 to 3 boxes of tile left over for future repairs. From personal experience as a contractor & designer I have come across a lot of clients that were forced to rip out an entire area of tile simply because the did not have any left over material to fix few broken or damage  pieces ,& since tile distributor & manufacturer will phase products out every 4 to 5 years to make room for new product the client is not able to purchase what they had originally installed.

For more advice on maintenance of your flooring please go to our web site: urbanhomedesignllc.com & go to our floor care page .For Free estimate & design ideas please email us at info@urbanhomedesignllc.com or contact us by phone 949-588-9300. you can also visit our beautiful show room.

Good Luck with your project,

Sami Behzad, Designer

Urban Home Design llc,

Biggest Flooring and home Renevation Sales Event Of The Year

As the weather is getting warmer & you are thinking about some of the projects you have put off  because of economic crunch & now some of those home repairs & upgrades can’t wait no longer we have some great news for you.

Urban home design llc, is having our mid year Blow out sale,From upgrading  from carpet to laminate floor or hard wood flooring  maybe you are thinking about ceramic tile or porcelain or natural stone, maybe you just need to get new carpeting.What ever your needs are we have great deals available & we have close out Prices directly from the Manufacturer to save you a lot of  time & money Plus we only work with quality installers so your installation always come with a life time guarantee.

We also have some of the lowest prices on Granite ,caesarstone or other natural stone If you are thinking about new counter tops, With the state of the art Fabrication Facilities we can guarantee the best look at wholesale prices.If you are looking to remodel your bath room & shower or new cabinets for your kitchen or perhaps Redesign a whole new kitchen, We can help you from design to Appliance to installation.

We are a one stop destination & we can help you from painting to pluming to electrical & all the different trade you will need to get your project done. We are offering up to 65% off Retail Plus Free installation on all flooring projects Plus you get the benefit of working with a designer to get the best look for your home at no charge.

For more information & to set up a free estimate Please contact our office at 949-588-9300 or email us at info@urbanhomedesignllc.com You can also visit our website at urbanhomedesignllc.com & use some of our cool tools  like Project calculator or use our virtual Decorator to help you find the right look before purchasing.

I want to wish you all a great summer & thank you in advance for considering our company to help you with your next home renovation Project.

Sami Behzad,

Urban Home Design llc,

wood flooring installation

Free installation guide when you are ready for your wood flooring installation.
Here are somethings you should do first before your wood installation stack the floors indoors for a few days to allow the time to adjust to your home’s humidity level. Make sure after you have removed your old flooring & depending on what you have removed that there are no glue or thin set or dirt & dust left on your floor and it is cleaned & ready for your wood flooring installation .
If you are installing engineered floor over concrete you can use the glue down application.
For floating application you can glue the tongue & groove together, It is very important that you check for moister content of your floor if you are gluing down your wood floor it is always a good idea to use a moister barrier to protect your new wood floors you can use a vinyl floor for moister barrier or for easy application you can use roll on moister barrier on your concrete or you can use an adhesive that has moister protection in it, make sure it complies with the wood manufacturer warranty guide lines.
If you are planning to float your floors its recommended you float the wood over a foam & film to protect it from moister & it will also help with sound & warmth.
If your planning to install solid floor over concrete you must first put a moister barrier & install ply wood over your concrete so you can nail down your solid floor.
Now that you have done all your preparation you are ready to install your wood floors.
Decide which direction you want to lay your floors & then  you can drop a chalk line in the middle of the room & work toward the walls depending on your manufacturer & their recommendation make sure you leave enough space for the wood expansions.
For your safety always wear eye protection when you are cutting your wood & remember measure twice & cut once.
Make sure you when you install your floor you stagger the pieces for looks & stability
once you are done with your installation you are now ready to install your moldings & trimming.
for more information visit our website urbanhomedesignllc.com you can also order material & use our room decorator under resource page as well as our project calculator to help you with your project budget.

Best Wishes,
Urban Home Design llc.

How to clean your carpet

Carpet Stain Removal

Treatment of the affected area should begin immediately upon discovery. The more time that elapses before

Treatment, the more difficult a stain will be to remove.

First scrape the food spill gently with a spoon or dull knife, removing as much as possible.

Always work from outer edge of the stain towards the center to avoid spreading. Blot, do not rub or scrub, as the carpet may fuzz.

When using a mild detergent, use a clear, non-bleach laundry detergent. Do not use cloudy detergents as they can

Leave a sticky residue. Use only 1/4 teaspoon of detergent to 32 ounces of water. Follow detergent cleaning with clear water

Rinsing and then blot dry as much as possible.

For any stain removal, use a white cloth or paper towel for cleanup

For all other floor cleaning help go to our General floor care page.

Best Wishes,
Urban Home Design llc,

Free vertual decorator for flooring and decorating ideas.

Now that you have decided to change your flooring in your home you have to decide on the type of carpet & flooring you want to install.
for most people they go through decorating magazine & for others they start by getting  samples from various dealers & bring them back home to see what style & colors works.
these are all great ideas but we at Urban Home Design llc.like to give you a head start with our virtual decorator.
before you start visiting various dealers you can start here by having access to our virtual decorator free.
You can change room seen as well as the paint color on the walls but most importantly you can choose from many different types of flooring & color to give you an idea which direction you want to go to.
for more information & decorating tips you can go to our website & go to our contact us page & send us an email or call our company for more help.

Best Wishes,
Urban Home Design llc.

How to estimate for your Carpet & Flooring with our free flooring calculator

The first thing you want to do after deciding on changing your carpet & flooring in your home you need to decide on a budget for your project.
for most clients they will call various dealers to come to their home & give them an estimate.
Some dealers will measure for free & some will charge for this service.
flooring contractors  have different ways of measuring your flooring some will add too much waste & some will add too little waste, if you are lucky you will find a professional flooring contractor who knows exactly what he is doing.
for the flooring contractor who over estimates on your measurement that will mean you are spending more than you should, & for the contractor who under measures for your flooring it will mean more money to be spent once the contract is signed but most importantly it will mean delay on the job since they have to stop an order more products to finish your job.
Urban home design llc wants to give you help on your flooring measurement without feeling pressure to buy any thing or having to pay for an estimate, so you can figure out what your budget is going to be.
simply click  here on flooring calculator and you can start your journey without any pressure hassles or fees.
if you are not able to go to that page log into urbanhomedesignllc.com & go to our project calculator.
Measure each room in feet & inches & don’t forget to put in how much per square feet you would like to spend & our calculator will estimate your total square feet & total cost.
This will also help you in your purchase since now you know exactly how money square feet & how much money you want to spend.
for free estimate and other decorating ideas visit our website & go to our shop at home page .
we will measure your home room by room & walk you through our measurement so you know exactly what you are paying for.
you can also use our virtual decorator to help you with designs & color choices.
Don’t forget to visit our weekly special page for coupons & rebates as well as products on sale.

Best Wishes.
Urban Home Design llc.

WHEN IS A GOOD TIME TO FIX UP MY HOME

 HOW  DO I SAVE MONEY ON MY REMODEL &  HOW DOSE MY REMODEL EFFECT THE ECONOMY

For most of us who own a house today and are in need of some minor fix up or maybe major remodel it’s a very scary time to think about fixing up our home.

With the unemployment on the rise and the big companies down sizing is it really a good idea to spend any money on our home.

Well some believe we should keep our money in the bank & live with the problems we have and hope things will get better.

It seems that’s the general consensus and it sounds like a smart  idea & if we all bury our head in the sand hopefully the government will bail us out of this trouble. But wait isn’t the government the same people who got us in this mess to begin with, and if they were so dang smart would we have been in this position in the first place.

These are the same people who looked the other way when all these banks & Wall Street giants made up their own rules and when they got caught they simply ask for more money & guess what they got it.

Your probably wondering what the heck does all this have anything to do with me fixing up my home, after all you are not hearing anything you already don’t know so what is a person to do.

The good news is the future has always been in our control & the government can’t fix all of our problems alone, we all have to chip in and make a better economy and future for all of us.

There has been no better time to fix up our homes and save a lot of money than today every body from the manufacturers who produces materials to the stores who carry the product to the contractor who does the work are bending over back ward to earn your business.

They will all take a lower margin to earn your business specially the small business owner ,sometimes the difference between staying in business and closing the door is a couple of jobs.

So how is it by fixing up your home you can make a difference in the economy and save a lot of money, well I think you are getting the idea.

It’s like throwing a rock in the middle of the lake and the splash will create a ripple that goes out in all directions, so you are the rock and the lake is the economy and the ripple is how you change our current situation to a better one.

With every buy you make you will literally put hundreds of people to work ,from people who produce the product  to the ones who package it to the one who ships it to the ones who sales it & finally the contractor who  installs it so really its a win , win situation.

So yes to answer your question it is the best time to remodel your home & the truth of the matter is you can dictate your own terms with these stores and get a great deal.

The trick is to deal with small family owned companies they are just like the rest of us & they really need the business.

Please remember the job you save today can save your job tomorrow!

Your local flooring designer,

Sami Behzad.

Urban home design llc,

For more info go to our website.

Urbanhomedesignllc.com