Have you ever felt that a home just didn’t feel good? Or that it had bad vibes? Sometimes the signs of good and bad Feng Shui are not so obvious. The following outlines what makes for good and bad Feng Shui in a home. You can use these as a general guideline when shopping for a home.

Even when it comes to Feng Shui, it’s still location, location, location. Why? Because you can’t change it! You can change price and condition but not location. SO that is where we will start:

1. Preowned? Good Feng Shui if the previous owners are moving to a bigger house, job promotion and are moving away or won the lottery – this would all be good energy.

2. Lot: wider in the back or square is good Feng Shui. Reverse pie lots are not. Square or rectangular shaped lots are considered ideal.

3. Cul-de-sac: be sure not to be at the T intersection of the cul-de-sac to the road – this considered bad Feng Shui. You will end up getting the glare of headlights into the front of your house in the evenings.

4. Fire Hydrants: can’t have those in front of the house: bad Feng Shui as it represents your wealth being ‘washed’ away.

5. Bedrooms: should not be located over the garage, kitchen or laundry room. In addition beds should not share a common wall with a toilet. Master bedrooms should ideally be north facing and the bed should back onto the south wall facing north. In addition there should be no mirrors across or beside the bed.

6. No bathrooms over a dining room or kitchen. (This would seem obvious – no leaking toilets over my Turkey dinner!)

7. Home office: should be in the southeast portion of the home. Morning sun brings good energy and the south sun provides daytime sunshine to keep you energized throughout the day.

8. Homes facing south and backing north are ideal.

9. The flow of the home is important. The front door should not open up directly to the up or down stairwells. Nor should the front door ‘see’ the back door (have direct line from front door to back door). This allows the chi or energy to walk right on through the back door. The energy should be allowed to meander back and forth throughout the home. You also do not want to see the fireplace from the front door.

10. The kitchen, nor the stove should be in the centre of the home. Nor should the kitchen face a toilet door (bathroom). This door should be closed at all times.

11. Office desks should back onto a solid wall – not a window. Nor should a desk or bed face an angled wall.

12. Living too close to a cemetery brings grief into the air – not a good thing.

Feng Shui’s aim is to balance to all aspects of our lives by creating an environment that has good chi or energy. You can do this by firstly looking for a home that fits the locational aspects. The interior of the home can always be changed. But the more you know up front about good energy – or Feng Shui the sooner you will be able to recognize it in your next home.

Happy House Hunting!

Jackie Stewart

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Perdicaris_Kennedy

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6632371

You may be faced with a number of challenges when selling a home on your own. Granted some homes actually do sell on their own (for sale by owner). The problem is – the stats are against you…
1. When you are selling on your own – you are basically waiting for a buyer to call you directly. This would be the same chances that a Realtor has of ‘double ending’ a sale – which amounts to the same thing – he or she gets a call directly from a buyer. The stats for this happening on MLS listed properties is less than 5%. Meaning that 95% of all sales comes through another buyer agent. SO – basically you are waiting for the same thing – a buyer to call you directly…..
2. When it comes right down to it – there are some homes that are just destined to sell on the MLS system. This could simply be that the demographic attracted to this type of home – prefers to work with a REALTOR®, or they are just not comfortable dealing with the owner directly. Or for more expensive homes – buyers are alittle more resistant or hesitant dealing either without representation or the owner directly.
3. The other resounding reason is really quite obvious: there are around ~3000 hungry Edmonton area REALTOR®’s all motivated to bring buyers through the door. This is quite a herd of sales people working on your behalf. Once a REALTOR® posts a property on line – it gets put into the general MLS mix and is open to all 3000 REALTOR®’S to help sell it. When you are selling on your own – you do not have this force working on your behalf. And keep in mind even with that force behind you – sometimes it still takes a while to sell. I can’t imagine how much longer it would take to sell that same property privately.

KENNEDY Real Estate understands that everybody has different needs for selling and a variety of methods to sell their property. The above is by no means a comprehensive list – but probably the most compelling.

** Please Note: At KENNEDY Real Estate, we offer a competitive (full) Buyer’s agent commission. After all – if 95% of all sales are brought in by the Buyers Agent -we certainly like to thank them with competitive compensation.

Jennifer Kennedy

Broker/Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate

Need to get YOUR home sold…click here.

Did you  know about our Staging Services?

One in our series of Seasonal Ads…Enjoy!!

To Find Out MORE on how we sell homes differently!

Check out our LIFESTYLE home searches!

Jennifer Kennedy

Broker Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate

Rental Reno's that Last

The market is prime right now for investment purchases, with interest rates still low and inventory prices have dropped investors are starting to gobble up properties once again.

Take this one: Bought for $180,000 – invested another $15,000 to upgrade it so it will last another 20yrs. Maintenance free, all appliances replaced, kitchens and baths replaced, new baseboards, lighting and paint.

The exterior was transformed from the traditional piece of grass and patio stones – to a full deck on one side and patio stones/rock liner on the other. This way you do not have to rely on your tenant to take care of the grass. Inside – front entrance there is a commercial grade carpet glued down…to trap moisture and wik it away. No more lifting the carpet up to clean underneath it!.

Kitchen is Ikea cabinets – bought during their kitchen event…with 10% off – that allow you to either buy cabinet inserts – or drapes/rods. The tile backsplash is actual floor tile cut in thirds – cost effective and it looks great.

Half baths are great for pedistal sinks – but be sure to tile all around for the long haul. Tub surrounds are always replaced – most older ones do have mold behind – this is not good for the long run! All toilets were upgraded to a wider trap series…no more calls in the middel of the night with plugged/overflowing toilets! Yuck!

Nothing beats real hardwood! In this case a rustic Birch was chosen for its durability and ability to hide scratches.
All baseboards were replaced with a simple 1X3 – easy to install and keep clean and will last many move in’s ad out’s.
The little bit of effort makes for an easier to maintance investment for years to come!
Additional “Before & After Projects” Articles…

Jennifer Kennedy
Broker | Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!

Basements are usually the last place that a buyer sees when viewing your home. So why not make it a lasting impression?

Here are some things to consider when ‘Setting the Stage’ for the basement:

 1. Clean up and Clear out – get a bin, bag, shovel – whatever you need to only leave the essentials behind – less is more in this case – always…and no kitty litter in sight!!
2. Give Purpose to the space:
i. ) if the basement is unfinished and is used for storage – then make the best most organized storage space on the block – painted floors, proper shelving , bins for storage that fit into the shelving. It also shows that you are a conscientious home seller!
ii.) if the basement is divided into a bedroom and recreation space – play up the function of these 2 rooms
III.) if the space is one big rectangle: divide it into a games table section, desk area and a t.v. area using a couch table or Ikea low rise open book shelf unit to divide the spaces.
3. Apply Basic Staging Rules: lighting in a triangular positioning – make sure you have lamps/lighting in three areas of any given room; when in doubt angle your furniture/bed – this always makes the room look bigger by defining the space more efficiently; and all art work at eye level – or in a collage at eye level.
4. Warm it Up! If a buyer feels the basement is too cold – they will deem it not as user friendly – therefore attach less value to the over feel of the home…

Basement Photo - family room

5. Place a sticker on the furnace and hot water tank stating the age of them and when they were last serviced – buyers will really appreciate the notice.

Basements are often overlooked by home sellers – when it comes time to sell. However – on the buyers end of things – it is one of the aspects of a home that may make or break a decision. A well presented, and well kept basement completes the perfect home package for alot of home buyers out there. This is becoming increasingly so.
AND – if you live in a new home – finishing your basement right away – well ahead of the rest of your neighbors will ensure you have a completely finished home when you go to sell. Apples to apples for newer homes -ones with finished basements sell quicker and for more money!

Additional “Edmonton Home Stager” Articles…

Jennifer Kennedy
Broker | Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!

Backyard Privacy using privacy panels

Yes – I did say backyard! One of the HOTTEST trends right now is yardscaping and outdoor living spaces. One of the BEST ways to start is by creating PRIVACY…If you feel like you are constantly on display in your own backyard – you will tend not to use it.

Create luxury by creating privacy…privacy panels shown here can be made for as little as $200 a panel – a very easy DIY project.

This was MY backyard a few years ago…complete with its own Piazza water fountain! Privacy panels on three sides – so awesome – good fences make good neighbors – well mostly I guess 🙂

Additional “Edmonton Home Stager” Articles…

Jennifer Kennedy
Broker | Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!

healthy sandwich options

Homefront Tip of the Day:
Healthy Go to Lunches in a Snap:

Aged cheddar on a hamburger bun, with lemon zested mayo, spinach and optional tomato and avacado = heaven.

** you can add lime zest too to the mayo – giving any sandwich some real ZING…enjoy 🙂