An informational source for people who are relocating, with a particular focus on moving to the Carlsbad area of North County San Diego (and nearby coastal communities), with advice, guidance and true stories to help you on your way and make it a great journey, from a REALTOR� with plenty of personal (4 major moves, most recently from Boston to Carlsbad, California) and professional relocation experience. Are you running into problems selling your home? Need to find a new one quickly? Never moved before and haven't a clue? You'll find some great tips on how to solve your relocation issues here. Or ask me a question any time and I'll share some solutions or tell you where to get more information.
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Getting Organized - Preparing Your Home To Sell (Part 3)
Here we are at the end of our discussion on preparing your house to sell. Since you need to pack to move, Kathi shares her tips on how to use this need during the purging phase of getting organized as you continue on your journey of learning how to addSpace to your life.
As you purge your excess, also pack the items that will move with you. As you pack, group like items together. Consider how they will be stored and organized within your new home. Think about their “home”, where they will live, within your new home and place them in a box marked and destined for that location.
If you are unsure about an item’s destination and can’t figure out how to mark the box, consider what type of activity relates to using it. For instance, if you discover a grill cover, tongs for grilling, bug spray and outside chair cushions, they might be destined for the same area, your fabulous new deck! Items that will live together in your new home should also live together in the same box until unpacked. Place the heaviest items on the bottom of each box to avoid damage enroute.
Mark each box clearly with the room destination desired so that the movers can do most of the work for you. This also helps you locate items if you need them in a pinch before they are officially unpacked and stored.
Reload Your Closets
If you are simply purging and not moving, stop before you reload your closet or cupboard. Consider each item and whether it should actually keep living where it was found or if it would serve you better in a different location. Things end up in the craziest places by default when life gets busy. Take a moment to reconsider before you tuck it away into the same space.
There is Help Available
Professional Organizers thrive on this kind of challenge. We love this process! If you feel overwhelmed and under-motivated, help is a phone call away. As a Board Certified Professional Organizer, I can expedite this process and make your home or move less stressful. Call me direct at 760.840.9997 to discuss your challenges and I will explain how the Professional Organizing solution works. You can also visit my website to view actual client ‘before and after’ storage solutions .
Moving On
After you have sorted, packed and purged your closets and cabinets, you are ready to strategize for the actual move. Or maybe you will enjoy your newfound space so much that you will decide that your house really isn’t too small, it was simply packed with too much stuff! No joke, I have witnessed this phenomena with actual clients!
Next up, we will cover the big day – the move and how to best prepare for this dramatic shift in scenery!
If I can provide more information about the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360
or email me at JDowler@remax.net.
Getting Organized - Preparing Your Home To Sell (Part 2)
As you continue on your journey of learning how to addSpace to your life, here are some suggestions for how to get rid of STUFF you don't need by DONATING or TRASHING/RECYCLING.
If you choose to donate, simply place the items into an empty box and keep adding to this box until full. At the end of the day, load your donations into your car to take away to your local charity the next time you drive away. Do not let these boxes stockpile, get them out of your life as soon as possible! Momentum is your objective!
If you decide that an item could be given to someone else, realize that this action will require more energy. Also, keep in mind that your clutter might become their clutter. Most people are not very good at saying no when offered something for free, even if they don’t have a use for it, especially when that offer is from a friend. After all, they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Make sure that they truly need what you offer and will actually use it.
If you decide to give multiple of items to a single person or charity, arrange for them to pick them up within a set time frame. Many times my clients have fantastic intentions taking time and trouble to pack goody boxes for their friends or friend’s children and then no one shows up to claim the goods. Arrange a timeline with a predetermined deadline that, on a certain date, everything still on site will go to charity
Recycle / Trash
If you decide to discard an item, try to recycle it instead of adding it to the local landfill. Visit my website to see a comprehensive list of San Diego’s recycling or donation stations for your castaway goods.
In the next post I'll talk more about packing to move as part of this purging process.
Call me if I can help (760-840-9997) or visit my website.
Here's the first installment in our series on Getting Organized before, during and after your RELOCATION. You are in for a treat - there is a ton of great stuff here, so get ready to get organized and addSpace to your life!
Kathi Burns will guide you on your journey to organization. The first 3 articles will focus on PREPARING YOUR HOME TO SELL.
And even if you are NOT moving, these tips will help you get YOUR HOME more organized.
Know someone who could use this help too? Please pass along the link to this article.
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Preparing Your Home to Sell
Your home is your castle. Unfortunately, with the abundance of closets and cabinets, you probably have no idea how many treasures you actually have tucked away into the nooks and crannies.
The best way to prepare to sell your home is to begin by methodically taking inventory of your possessions and purging all unwanted possessions and clutter. Adding space to your home makes it more desirable to prospective buyers and also solidifies your intention to move.
Before I moved to Southern California from Florida, I began getting rid of excess possessions. I did not know how or when we were going to be able to move, given the dramatic difference in real estate values and cost of living, I knew that we had to begin somewhere.
The fact that the move would be across the entire Untied States made it easy to see what I didn’t want to pay to move! The actual process of de-cluttering set the intention that we were going to move. I feel very strongly that by starting to downsize. purge, plot and pack, our dreams became much easier to manifest!
An easy place to begin in decluttering your life is to methodically empty closets and cabinets. You will be amazed at the things you have managed to store away over the years! As you empty each space, examine each item and make a decision. I’ll explain more about that process in Space Clearing 101.
Once you have mastered clearing, organizing and/or packing the items in your hidden spaces, it will be easier to clear the visible spaces. You will have fresh eyes and a new perspective about how much stuff you really own. This makes it much easier to let go of the tchotchkes collecting dust throughout your home.
Buyers want to see wide-open spaces, clear ledges and countertops. Space helps them visualize how their possessions will look in their new home. If your home is overflowing with clutter, it is more difficult for them to see their life superimposed in your home. Make it easy for the buyer. Give them plenty of space in which to dream their own dreams as they take the grand tour!
Space Clearing 101
To prepare for your de-cluttering project, equip yourself with empty boxes, packing paper and trash bags. Pick a door, open it and get started! As you pull items out, ask yourself these questions:
When was the last time I used this?
Will I need it or even want it in my new home?
If so, is it worth packing and paying to move?
If you immediately catch yourself thinking, “where did this come from?” instead of asking yourself one of the above questions, this is a good indication that you should quickly donate it and move on!
Each item will involve one of three possible actions. You can
The NEW YEAR is here, and it’s time to get organized.
Sound like another new year’s resolution? Well, perhaps.
But if you are planning to sell your home and move into a new one, your success, and happiness, depends on being organized. Most of us probably aren’t as organized as we would like. And as my friend Linda Scanlan asked so poignantly in her recent, and popular, article, is your life organized? I had to say no. Perhaps you do too.
Selling your home, moving, and getting settled in a new one can be a Herculean task, enough to challenge the most organized obsessive. And, admittedly, no matter how organized you might think you are, things will just not go the way they should, or clutter and confusion will take over. Life is just that way sometimes. I know, I’ve been there.
So, making the assumption that you might be in need of some assistance, if you are planning a move, here are some tips to help you on your way. And if you are sticking around the homestead but really need to apply a bit of organization to your home and life, this may benefit you as well.
While I have my own ideas on the subject, I thought I would ask Encinitasbusiness owner, and Founder of addSpace to Your Life!,Kathi Burns, to help us out. Kathi’s expertise, and business, is all about organization. You can tell the minute you talk to her or visit her website. Not the kind of organization that makes your eyes roll, but simple, straightforward, easy-to-apply strategies for improving the disorganization in your life, getting rid of clutter, and overcoming chaos.
Kathi has written many articles, and made multiple public appearances including radio and TV, plus she is a Board Certified Professional Organizer (BCPO). So she knows what she is talking about.
For those of you who are relocating, to make it easy we’ll talk about three stages of the process:
preparing your home to sell
the move itself
getting settled in your new home.
All must tie together or you will have a mess on your hands, and a mountain of frustration and teeth gnashing. And much of what Kathi has to share will help YOU get organized even if you aren’t moving.
Are YOU ready to get organized?
So let’s started…stay tuned for the first article later this week.
And if you can’t wait, why not give Kathi a call at (760) 840-9997 to set up a time to meet with her to get started. Or visit her website to learn more about how to addSpace to Your Life.
As a home buyer, you likely have some thoughts on what homes interest you.
Perhaps things are a bit cloudy...
OR you may have some very definite ideas about what you want AND the homes you want to see on your house hunting trip.
I personally feel it's better if the home buyer makes the choices about homes they want to see. After all, it's your decision as to what to buy, not mine. So for me to create the list of homes that I think you should see, rather than you deciding doesn't make sense. IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU! And until I get to know you and what you are looking for, I cannot reasonably make those decisions.
That being said, however, some Carlsbad home buyers who do not know the area find it hard to even make a decision about what homes to tour based only on the listings from the MLS (some listings are rather misleading, unfortunately), particularly if it is their first visit to the area and they are trying to learn more about the Carlsbad community or other coastal towns.
In these situations, I think it's fine for me to develop a list of properties to see based on the general criteria you give me about what you want. Since I know these areas well (Carlsbad, Encinitas, Cardiff, Oceanside, San Marcos, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, Carmel Valley, Vista) I can select properties that I feel will work for you and provide you with a good idea of different neighborhoods so you can gain a better feel for areas that are right for you, or not.
It is not in your best interest, IMO, for an agent to make those decisions upfront unless you have a discussion and agree that they should choose, at least for the first round of viewings, because you need their expertise and knowledge of the area.
So, do you pick, or shall I?
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This blog has a great collection of articles about the San Diego area (my recent article on the LUX Art Institute in Encinitas was one of the posts included in the special edition, along with articles about the housing market, area attractions and much more).
The BEST Way to Learn About Neighborhhoods When Relocating
I am often asked "what is the best way to learn about neighborhoods?"
To some extent, the answer depends on YOU and what information you need in order to determine what neighborhood you like.
Home buyers often have different ideas of what is important to them in a neighborhood.
Here's why...
some things are rather tangible (the way it looks, the size, the type of housing, traffic, proximity to shopping)
other attributes are less obvious (is it friendly, what are the demographics of the residents, noise) and have different meaning to different folks.
So, it is really UP TO YOU to determine what things ARE important so you can decide where to live.
Sometimes price will determine what neighborhoods will be suitable (this may be true in expensive areas, like Southern California, or if your budget is limited), or access to certain schools or other amenities.
When relocating, you should do extensive research on-line to learn more about the neighborhoods that interest you, or even to find out what they are in places that are totally unfamiliar. If schools are important, for example, you might start researching these and then target, geographically, the areas that are near those schools. You will be amazed at how much information you can find on the Internet about neighborhoods.
I absolutely recommend visiting the neighborhood you are planning to move to and spending significant time in the area, driving or walking around and getting a feel for the community and the people who live there. You can also stop in at some houses if you wish and chat with some of the neighbors, although some people aren't comfortable doing this. You might visit the area at different times of the day or on weekends if traffic and noise is a concern.
You will also probably drive around with me or your agent to look at houses, and that will help too. Plus I can tell you lots about different areas that I service, as can the agent you decide to work with.
Please keep in mind that as agents there are some things we cannot discuss because of potential discrimination issues, e.g., what school is the best, which areas to buy in due to the presence of different religious institutions, or the demographics of the community, or the crime statistics, and so on. We are prohibited by law from directing folks to or away from areas based on these kinds of factors, so please be understanding if we say we can't provide the precise information YOU would like to have. Those are things that you can investigate if they are important to you.
There is lots of information available to you about neighborhoods, and spending the time doing your due diligence will reward you with finding a home in the community that meets YOUR needs.
2007 was a tough year in many parts of the country for real estate. No question. And 2008 is not expected to be a banner year although projections are for some improvement. No one has a crystal ball so despite these predictions NO ONE knows for sure what will happen.
The media, of course (radio, TV, newspapers), tends to portray the real estate situation as pretty dismal all over, with dire predictions of doom and gloom, and headlines screaming about the drop in sales.
Yes, there have been significant changes in many markets, but unfortunately what you see in the media are the averages, the summary, the more unpleasant news, without paying much attention to what is the reality in many areas. Some market ARE doing well, with low inventory, buyers actively buying and so on. The media seems to ignore the fact that REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL. And general market conditions from a county, state or national perspective do NOT accurately reflect what is going on in the local economy, such as a city or smaller towns.
As a buyer or seller it is essential to have all the market information you can obtain so YOU have an accurate picture and can make the decision that is right for you. This is especially true if you are moving to another part of the country, as local conditions may be far different from what is being reported on the news or in the headlines. A local REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL can provide you with the data you need so you can decide what's best. For example:
Are prices stable or trending up or down?
What are the conditions for your particular price range (in some areas the low end market is doing very well, while the mid range is much slower)?
It may be that the buying or selling conditions in your intended area are not very favorable. And you still need to look at your personal financial picture to determine if buying now is right for you. And if you plan to be in your house for a number of years market fluctuations are not going to have much, if any impact in your long term outlook.
The rates are the best they have been in 2 years. Even if prices DO drop in some areas, if the rates go up, then there is a strong possibility you could pay more for the same house. Who wants to do that?
If selling your home and buying a new one is YOUR plan for 2008 (a pretty good likelihood in a relocation) do your homework NOW.
Here's my next summary article on relocation tips, Relocation is NOT for Dummies.
1. Relocation to another state or across the country is a challenge, and there is so much to coordinate. Making a list is a smart idea to keep things on track and not miss anything. There is packing to do, movers to hire, possibly kids and/or pets to worry about, and so much more. Get the lowdown on these issues here.
2. Some of you who are relocating may have a RELOCATION PACKAGE from your current or new employer. I would suggest reading this summary of the things you should consider.
Finding a new home is tough, and even tougher when doing a search from a distance, and when you don't know the area. You need to find a good REALTOR, and utilize the resources available to you to learn more about communities, housing costs, and more. And a house hunting trip is likely to be part of your game plan - here's how to make the most of it.
Using the Internet is, of course, essential in gathering the information you need. But once you have decided on a REALTOR to help you, phone conversations are important, too. You can have a more effective dialog, get quick answers to questions, and work on the relationship with your agent, which can be tough from a distance.
You may be a big tech junkie, but don't rule out the good old fashioned telephone. It's also a good way to check out how responsive your agent is...something you need to be concerned about when making a big move where timing is critical.
Are there things about your house that need fixing. Need some home improvement suggestions? Want to pick a plant color for your family room to spruce it up for selling?
Expert Village has thousands of HOW TO videos from experts on numerous topics - home and garden, beauty, pets, automotive, music, food and drink, and much more.
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Mark each box clearly with the room destination desired so that the movers can do most of the work for you. This also helps you locate items if you need them in a pinch before they are officially unpacked and stored. 
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If you choose to donate, simply place the items into an empty box and keep adding to this box until full. At the end of the day, load your donations into your car to take away to your local charity the next time you drive away. Do not let these boxes stockpile, get them out of your life as soon as possible! Momentum is your objective!
The best way to prepare to sell your home is to begin by methodically taking inventory of your possessions and purging all unwanted possessions and clutter. Adding space to your home makes it more desirable to prospective buyers and also solidifies your intention to move. 
But if you are planning to sell your home and move into a new one, your success, and happiness, depends on being organized. Most of us probably aren’t as organized as we would like. And as my friend Linda Scanlan asked so poignantly in her recent, and popular, article, 
As a home buyer, you likely have some thoughts on what homes interest you. 
I am often asked "what is the best way to learn about neighborhoods?"
Here's my next summary article on relocation tips, Relocation is NOT for Dummies..gif)
Here's the next summary post in my