Distinctive Dwellings: The World’s Best Gingerbread Homes

Jennifer Chait over at OffBeatHomes put up a great posting awhile back that seems appropriate  to refer back to today considering it’s Christmas eve and this is a tradition that often takes place on this very day….. she calls it “some of the world’s best offbeat gingerbread homes” and here are a few teasers to inspire you! 😉

 

From the build an edible Gizmodo-House contest a few years back….

 

…The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe by Marye over at Baking Delights….

…and the 2006 grand prize winner at The National Gingerbread House Competition at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa. Full Story

 

Utilize Your Winter Downtime: 10 Tips for Real Estate Pros

As the holidays and long winter months quickly approach, December brings many real estate professionals extra time to anticipate their success for the upcoming year. Instead of facing a bleak and potentially slow month of business and leads, utilize this exclusive downtime to your advantage. Try these 10 actions from RISMedia to lay the groundwork for a successful and profitable 2008:

1. Create a specific, realistic and competitive business plan for next year and stick to it! Develop short term goals for each season and set aside four specific days each year to assess how you’re reaching these goals. You want to make sure to set goals that help sustain your drive and vision of success for the whole year. Don’t push yourself too far and remember that a lot of your learning will come from the mistakes you make.

2. Define your marketing niche and go for it! Seek out a professional to help you focus on a particular market segment if you are unaware of successful marketing techniques. Look at the area surrounding your properties. Should you appeal to expecting parents? New college graduates? Retiring, older adults? What generation are you trying to target? Make sure your advertising appeals to whichever market you’ve selected. If you’re very ambitious, look into becoming a short sales expert. The short sale occurs when the net proceeds from the sale of a home are not enough to cover the sellers’ mortgage obligations and closing costs. Lenders will pay a reasonable commission to the real estate professional as an incentive to get into short selling.

3. Incorporate new technology into your Web site. Add moving graphics, virtual tours and request forms for potential clients to elicit more information from you. Ensure that the message “I’m available to help you” is loud and clear. The more accessible you are, the more opportunity you give potential clients to make contact with you. Remember – people need a fast response to an e-mail or phone call. If they don’t hear from you within a couple of hours, they will find someone else to answer their questions.

4. Make phone calls. Set a minimum number of phone calls to make each day and stick to it! Figure out how many phone calls you usually make during the busy season and double that number during the winter months. Call past clients to wish them a happy holiday season and check in with them to see if they have any friends or relatives looking to buy or sell a home. Call your prospects and figure out if they are hot or cold leads. The stronger the connection you have with a potential client, the more likely they will choose you to guide them through the home buying process.

5. Host a seminar. Choose a topic that is pertinent to the local community.

6. Volunteer. By getting involved in the local community you’ll be able get your name out and make connections. Community service gives you the chance to express yourself outside of work and to develop the personal relationships that you need to promote growth and future referrals. The more people that recognize your face, the more likely they are to turn to you for real estate advice.

7. Master your home staging techniques. Read a few books or articles on what real estate professionals are doing now in terms of staging and make sure that you’re equipped to do the same for your customers. Look into a home staging training program that upon completion will provide you with a certificate as an Accredited Staging Professional^TM. This certificate provides you with a competitive edge and yet another free service that you can offer to potential clients.

8. Attend open houses. Take time to see what’s available in your area so you are aware of the close competition and how other real estate professionals are selling. (While you are perusing the open houses note the other real estate professional’s home staging techniques for tip 7.)

9. Improve your ad copy. By practicing your writing techniques you will increase your ability to make your ads more appealing. Focus on spelling out amenities and highlighting any benefits that homeowners would want to find in their ideal home. Make sure the description is not vague and avoid euphemisms. Practice by reading current listings and try to spruce them up.

10. Get a designation or certificate. The more qualifications you can add to sell yourself and widen your client base as the best agent in your area, the better. There are several different areas that you can get a designation in from becoming an Accredited Buyer Representative to becoming a Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager. Turn a professional weakness around by becoming an expert!

Full Story

 

UPDATE – Homes for the Holidays: Adding Inexpensive Appeal

As a follow-up to my posting on Homes for the Holidays: 4 Reasons Now is a Prime Time to Sell a Home, here are some quick tips from MLS HomeQuest for easy and inexpensive ways to make your home more appealing for potential buyers:

• Keep driveways & walkways neatly shoveled.
• Keep your snowblower/shovels out of site.
• Be sure kids put away their toys.
• Trim bushes so they don’t block windows and cut down on light.
• Buy a new doormat.
• Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch.
• Put new doorknobs on your doors.
• Buy a new mailbox.
• Upgrade the outside lighting.
• Use warm, incandescent light bulbs for a homey feel.
• Polish or replace your house numbers.
• Put out potpourri or burn scented candles.
• Buy new pillows for the sofa.
• Buy a flowering plant and put it in a window you pass by frequently.
• Make a centerpiece for your table with fruit or artificial flowers.
• Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light.
• Buy new towels.
• Put a seasonal wreath on your door.

Note: Some tips edited for seasonality 🙂

 

2007’s Top 10 Holly-Jolliest Cities

Dallas or Houston? Tampa or San Antonio? While there may not be any snow, and you’re more likely to need sunglasses than a coat, these southern cities are tops when it comes to decking the halls. According to data provided by Superpages.com, Dallas outdoes New York as this year’s Holly-Jolliest City – Houston takes third, and Tampa is fourth.

Top 10 Holly-Jolliest Cities:
1. Dallas, Texas (16)
2. New York, N.Y. (14)
3. Houston, Texas (12)
4. Tampa, Fla. (11)
5. Pittsburgh, Pa. (10)
6. Portland, Ore. (10)
7. San Antonio, Texas (10)
8. Fort Wayne, Ind. (8)
9. Redmond, Wash. (8)
10. Brooklyn, N.Y. (7)

*The number after the city denotes the number of listings it has on Superpages.com in the “Christmas Decorating,” “Christmas Decorations & Lights Retail,” “Christmas Shops” and “Christmas Trees & Wreaths Retail” categories combined.

 

Homes for the Holidays: 4 Reasons Now is a Prime Time to Sell a Home

Serious home buyers are always ready to make a purchase when they find the right home at a good price. That’s why the holiday season is just as a good a time as any to sell a home-in fact, it can be a great time.

Home sellers need to seize the opportunity by preparing their home, so that it is ready to show a buyer at anytime. RISMedia gives us four good reasons to either put a home on the market right now during the holiday or keep it on the market if it already is listed with a real estate firm.

1. Homes look their best during the holidays – Right now, many homes look more inviting than at any other time of the year. Holiday decorations and the clean look of homes, without clutter, make properties look more inviting inside and out. Live evergreens and scents of the season remind buyers of the warmth they are looking for in their new home.

2. Less competition – Most home sellers believe the holidays are too distracting to sell or buy or home so they take their house off the market. Less competition, in fact, makes it a good idea to do just the opposite because your home is more likely to be seen.

3. More serious buyers – Buyers shopping for a new home at this time of year are ready to act, and these are the kinds of buyers a seller truly wants to attract. Like everyone else, homebuyers have a long list of things to do during the holidays. If they are making time to visit homes in December and early January, it is quite clear they are ready to make an offer.

4. Strong connection between home and holidays – There’s no better time for buyers to see themselves in a new home. It’s the holidays and for many homebuyers the season inspires images of friends, family and home. The reality is that people buy homes in December and even during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

 

“Wired” for the Sustainable Life

 

Built on a foundation of shared respect for technology, sustainability and prefab chic, WIRED magazine and LivingHomes partnered to create an amped home of the future in Los Angeles. Wired for the green and high-tech life, the 4,057-sq.-ft. space utilizes many reclaimed or recycled resources. According to Iconoculture, other features include all-black solar panels with double the power of conventional ones and a computer dashboard program with real-time feedback on home energy use. The abode gets even more green gadgetry with Toto’s sensor faucet, Bosch’s efficient kitchen appliances and a smart thermostat system. So what does this mean for business?

1. Despite tech’s partial image as an energy vampire, smart design can mean efficiency and eco-friendliness.
2. But, just as Live Earth’s musicians jetted around in their private planes for a good cause, did the Wired home really need 4,000+ sq. ft. to make a green point? A question to consider when bringing the fantasy prototype down to earth.
3. A benefit for builders: Since prefabs spend most of their development time in the factory, onsite construction is quick, leaving little time for thieves to run off with site materials. Full Story

Note: Original story content expressed here was  from an article published by Iconoculture, Inc.

 

Distinctive Dwellings: Luna Parc

Deep in the woods of northwestern New Jersey lies a very whimsical and unique place. Luna Parc, named after an amusement park in Rome, is the home and studio to artist Ricky Boscarino and is a perpetually ongoing work that is unabashedly original.

Luna Parc has been featured on HGTV’s Extreme Homes and Offbeat America programs as well as having been written up in the New York Times. The property features an endless array of oddities from the roadside mailbox and front gates to the sculpture gardens and numerous outbuildings.

The house itself, both inside and out, continues with the eccentricity and whimsy. Portions of the colorful exterior and interiors are finished in mosaic work – literally millions of pieces of tile, pottery, broken china, natural stone and glass, painstakingly arranged. Many of the windows are stained glass created by Ricky himself as well.

Ricky’s web site features a very full virtual tour of the house, studio and property that is well worth a few moments of time. It also showcases much the Ricky’s actual artwork that he exhibits and sells. Truly a unique fellow!

Luna Parc Website

 

Hot Hot Holidays: 19 Safety Tips to Prevent Holiday Home Fires

 

In this – the season of tinseled trees, lavish lights, overloaded outlets, and candy scented candles – the American Red Cross offers us the gift of holiday home fire prevention tips to keep us all safe in this most festive time of year…

 

Christmas Tree Care

• Purchase flame retardant metallic or artificial trees.
• If you purchase a real tree, make sure that it has fresh, green needles that aren’t easily broken.
• Keep live trees as moist as possible by giving them plenty of water.
• Use a sturdy tree stand designed not to tip over.
• Keep trees at least three feet away from heat sources, including fireplaces, portable heaters, radiators, heat vents and candles.
• Make sure that any light strings or other decorations for the tree are in good condition and follow manufacturer’s instructions for their use. Do not use anything with frayed electrical cords.
• Be careful not to drop or flick cigarette ashes near a tree.
• Never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or wood burning stove.
• Safely dispose of trees as they become dry and needles begin to drop.
• Dispose of trees through recycling centers or community pick-up services. Dried-out trees should not be left in a house or garage, or placed against the house or garage.

 Holiday Lights and Decorations

• Always unplug tree and holiday lights before leaving home or going to bed.
• Inspect holiday lights each year for frayed wires, bare spots, broken or cracked sockets, and excessive kinking or wear.
• Avoid overloading electrical outlets by not linking more than three light strands.
• Use decorations that are flame-resistant or flame-retardant
• Place decorations at least three feet away from fireplaces, portable heaters, radiators, heat vents and candles.

 Holiday Candles

• Always extinguish them before leaving the room or going to bed. Do not leave a room before extinguishing candles.
• Never use lit candles to decorate a tree.
• Keep them at least three feet away from trees, evergreens, holiday decorations, and other items that can catch fire like clothing, papers and curtains.
• Use candle holders that are study, won’t tip over easily, are made from a material that cannot burn, and are large enough to collect dripping wax. Remember that even glass holders can shatter and explode from the heat of a candle flame.
• Place them where they cannot be reached or easily knocked over by children and pets.

 

Painting Parties + Cocktail Concoctions = Renovation Redos

 

As home equity lines draw thin and confidence in the housing market takes a dive, weary consumers are turning to an inexpensive option for home improvements — their friends (Wall Street Journal 10.1.07). And whether they’re crazy for DIY or lured over with the promise of booze, friends are finding themselves at remodeling parties and pitching in on projects like painting, drywalling and laying floors. One homeowner estimates she saved $3,500 in contractor fees by enlisting 10 neighbors for a “stripping” party.But what’s more dangerous than an amateur hammer-wielding friend? When they’re holding a cocktail in the other hand. And the producers of HGTV’s renovation-redo show Over Your Head say they’ve received numerous submissions from botched renovation parties. So what does this mean for business? Consumers are feeling empowered by successful DIY projects portrayed in the media, from TV shows to magazines to blogs. Many are thinking, “If that person can do it; so can I!” Tight budgets and slow house sales might move some consumers back to the days of barn-raising. But it’s not just the experienced renovator who’s getting in on the, er, fun; many of these homeowners and their happy-to-help friends are amateurs who could use a little guidance in the form of classes, promotional material or online tutorials. Contractors may also benefit from these parties; someone needs to fix the mistakes made by incompetent — or intoxicated — friends. Note: Original story content expressed here was from an article published by Iconoculture

 

Living Walls: Vertical Gardens Venture Indoors

  

Any florist or gardening company can place potted plants in an office, then dutifully drop by to water them when needed. But according to Springwise, it takes skilled artisans to create the indoor walls of greenery that are indoorlandscaping’s speciality. The German firm’s Grüne Wand (green wall) adds a welcome green element to sterile office environments and improves air quality while taking up less floor space than potted vegetation does.

Indoorlandscaping isn’t the only company creating green walls for public spaces. Green Fortune, launched by two Swedish entrepreneurs, has already amassed an impressive list of international clients, placing their Plantwalls in offices, stores, restaurants and even car dealerships. Likewise, French artist Patrick Blank’s meticulously sculpted Vertical Gardens have transformed ordinary walls in Paris and elsewhere into works of foliage art.

From LEED certification to green roofs, commercial buildings are being swept up in a big eco-wave. Which isn’t just good and necessary, but also creates a host of new business opportunities for entrepreneurs—whether creating their own eco-friendly concepts, or partnering with up-and-coming players like Green Fortune and indoorlandscaping. And how about making green indoor walls feasible and affordable for private homes?