It’s (finally) Hip to be GREEN

Being ‘green’ seems to be in the forefront of the media. Everywhere we look there are advertisements that include words such as ‘eco-friendly’, ‘organic’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘sustainable material’, just to name a few. But what does it all mean and how can you get involved in this GREEN movement and start to make your contribution? Here are the top 5 questions answered.  If you would like a list of quick web resources, “5 easy steps to Green-up your household” and some fun and creative ways to get kids thinking green send me an email or give me a call and I can send a great resource that will help green up your home and life:

Your Top 5 Questions Answered

Q. Paper verses plastic bags at the grocery store?

A. NEITHER! Both are pretty bad for many varying reasons. Bring your own cloth bags. Most stores offer a credit at the register for each bag of your own you bring and use.

Q. Paper towel or electric blow dryer in a washroom?

A. The dryer is best but drip dry if you can.

Q. Is it better to leave electronics on (computers, game consoles, stereos, DVD players) or turn them off and restart them at start of use?

A. Shut them off and restart when you need them. Way more energy is used keeping them idle.

Q. Is it best to buy organic products from far away or non-organic produced locally?

A. Ideally you can buy products that are both, but if you have to choose go with local products.

Q. Which plastics are OK?       

Do you believe in magic….WORDS? 

The right phrasing in real-estate can speed up a sale and even boost the final price.  This study done by a real-estate economist, Paul Anglin, in Guelph, Ontario, says that homes described as "beautiful" in real-estate listings sell for 5% more while "move-in condition" has no effect on sale price.  When speed is of the essence listings with the words “beautiful” or “gorgeous” sold 15% faster.  Using the word “Landscaping” quickened the sale by 12%.  Calling a home a “handyman special” cut sale time in half. Using words such as “must see” or “vacant” had virtually no effect on the sale time.   If you would like the article on what words are most effective and what words to stay away from in marketing a property please send me an email or give me a call. I can easily email it over or drop it by your home.

5 EASY steps to GREEN-up your household

1. RECYCLE! If you don’t have a blue BFI bin call and get one, then USE it! Create a way to store and sort your recyclables. It’s amazing how little will end up in your trash can.
2. As your bulbs burn out, replace them with compact fluorescents.
3. Cleaning products: Make a homebrew: Baking soda for scrubbing, Vinegar for sanitizing and pure soap for cutting grease. Make the switch to fragrance-free products (massive amounts of chemicals are used to make those nice (fake) smells. Do not use bleach or products with bleach in them.  Try these brands: Biosheild, Ecover, Seventh Generation and Naturally Yours.
4. Install a programmable thermostat that sets your temperature to go down at night and during the day when you are not at home.
5. If you have a dishwasher use it bout only run it when it is full. Use an eco-friendly detergent and turn off the heat dry cycle.

Get your kids thinking GREEN

1. Keep used printer paper (collect it from your office), empty cereal boxes and any other cardboard pitch packaging for creative art projects. Turn artwork into wrapping paper.
2. Have the kids set out buckets and containers to collect water run-off at your down spouts. The kids will be delighted to see the water collected and use it to water the house plant (or dog/cat).
3. Do the STOMP! The kids will love flattening the recyclable milk jugs, egg cartons, aluminum cans and boxes.
4. Switch off the lights. The kids can fine Mum, Dad and siblings for not switching off the lights (coins go towards a special family treat).
5. Have a monthly power-down day. No TV, computer use/games, battery operated toys etc. It’s amazing what other fun activities kids will come up with and how they will look forward to this special day.

Local and Internet RESOURCES

·        Onpointadvantage.com – Home consultation to create a more energy efficient home

·        Omyourhome.com – Consultation for home energy efficiency, using sustainable resources and working with the natural environment.

·        Green Foundations Building Center, 5242 W. Chinden Blvd, Boise ID       321-1400 greenfoundations.com

·        Second Chance Building Materials, 1423 W. Grove Street, Boise ID           331-2707

Don’t miss the Idaho Green Expo, May 17^th & 18^th, 2008

www.idahogreenexpo.org

What's 'beautiful' worth? About $12,500

The right phrasing in real-estate listings can speed a sale and even boost the final price, a Canadian study says. And here's a tip: If you must sell, don't put "must sell" in your ad.

By Marilyn Lewis, MSN Real Estate

 

In real-estate listings, what's the difference between describing your home as "beautiful" versus "move-in condition"? About $12,500 on a $250,000 home.

Professor Paul Anglin, a real-estate economist in Guelph, Ontario, says that homes described as "beautiful" in real-estate listings sell for 5% more while "move-in condition" has no effect on sale price.

Anglin and his colleagues from the University of Windsor and researchers from Canada Mortgage and Housing examined about 20,000 real-estate listings and sales data in Windsor and Essex counties, Ontario, from between 1997 and early 2000. Among other things, they studied how listings' phrasing affected sale prices and the length of time it took for the listings to close.

When speed is of the essence

Listings with the words "beautiful" or "gorgeous" sold 15% faster. "Landscaping" in a listing hastened a sale by 20%. Describing a property as in "move-in condition" quickened the sale by 12%. Calling a home a "handyman special" cut sale time by half (researchers excluded listings that used the term to describe a workshop or hobby area).

Other familiar jargon, such as "must see" or "vacant," or including the information that a seller was moving, had virtually no effect on the time before a sale.

The kiss of death appears to be language that reeks of desperation -- words such as "motivated" and "must sell." These slowed sales by 30%. The term "ranch" house slowed sales by 10%. Properties described as rentals (income-producing) took 60% longer to sell.

Though Anglin assumes the basic effects he identified are universal, the size of their impact will vary by locale, he says.

Do you believe in magic words?

Is there magic in these words? Does the concrete, visual nature of "landscaping," for example, fire a buyer's imagination?

Stella Frize, a real-estate agent in Cerritos, Calif., believes so. But for her, the magic word is "turnkey."

"Any time I see the word 'turnkey,' I expect that house is in immaculate condition," she says.

Frize's business partner has his own favorite turn of phrase: "He always writes, 'This could be the best buy in town.' He believes in this wholeheartedly. We put it on every listing. It's like good karma for us. We have sold 100% of our listings.”

 

What surprises Anglin is that some hot words not only speed a sale but also seem to raise the closing price. "If a house is described as 'beautiful,' everybody expects it to sell for a higher price," he says. "The thing that surprised me is that it sells for a higher price -- and faster. ... I don't have a good explanation for it."

Maybe, he says, buyers' idea of beauty includes features such as structural integrity, a good neighborhood and excellent upkeep, qualities agents call "curb appeal," which allay the fears buyers usually bring to big transactions.

 

The right words pay off in speed and money*

Language + price = sale

None of this is to suggest that opting for "must see" over "must sell" is all it takes to sell your house quickly and garner a higher list price. The hot words have to be used accurately, and they must be combined with the right price.

"The single most important message that a seller can send to a buyer is their choice of list price," Anglin's study says.

Thus, the study does not illustrate a triumph of style over substance, Anglin says, but how certain words, used accurately, can boost a listing's power. Although "beautiful" seems to make a house sell faster, using the term dishonestly can offend buyers and create distrust that will backfire on a seller.

"The basic idea is that you are trying to find the one buyer who is going to buy the house. As a seller, you hope they'll pay a high price and quickly find your house. But usually it does not work that way," Anglin says. "It takes some time to find a buyer, and usually the buyer does not want to pay a high price. The purpose of the listing information is to attract not just any buyer but the buyers who would like the house that you are trying to sell."

That's why, although "handyman special" may sound negative -- "most people do not want to go anywhere near that place," Anglin notes -- it's an efficient, positively framed means of isolating such properties for the specific buyers interested in tackling fixer-uppers.

Size matters

Home size, too, is another important factor. The smaller the property, the quicker the sale. One-bathroom homes sold 13% faster. Homes with three bathrooms took 50% longer to sell. Homes with two stories or more took more than 20% longer.

The size-speed relationship makes sense to real-estate agent Joe Dobson of Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Smaller homes usually cost less, and there's more competition in lower price ranges, he says.

For the most part, Dobson says, his experience bears out Anglin's research, with a couple exceptions. "'Motivated,' that's been beat to death. In a slowing market, every seller is 'motivated,'" Dobson says.

But sometimes, he says, desperate language can work when accompanied by an emotion-laden explanation such as "must sell due to health reasons" or -- a phrase Dobson likes but has found occasion to use only three times in his 36-year career -- "divorce dictates dumping."

http://realestate.msn.com/selling/article2.aspx?cp-documentid=2856666