Real Estate Seller Information and Tools

5 Ideas to Get that Perfect Fall Home

The best part about living in the Chicagoland Area is our incredible Fall. This is one of my favorite time to go out with buyers. Nothing feels more cozy and comforting than walking through a home with pumpkin candles lit and chunky throws draped over sofas. Sellers should take advantage of this season! When buyers walk through your home, you want them to feel like they can insert their lives into that space. There is no better way to do that than bringing in the fall feeling by decorating your home. Here are some tips to get your home fall ready.

1. Dress up your Fireplace

There are so many ways to make your fireplace mantel autumn ready. Break our the candles, bring the outdoors in by incorporating beautiful dried leaves and branches. Add some pumpkins to your Mantel. If you are still at a lose for ideas, jump on to pinterest or go to your local craft store. You are guaranteed to get some great ideas.

2. Hang Lights

String lights are not just for Christmas and can really transform the space. There are a lot of great LED string lights out there that can add just the right amount of cozy.

3. Add Chunky Throws and other Textiles

It is getting chilly and crisp out and we all have that feeling of wanting to snuggle underneath a warm blanket and sipping hot tea. Break out sme of those chunky throws and drop them over your sofas or oversized chairs.

4. Build and display a collection of Fall Colors

Oranges, browns, reds…..all elicit a memory of fall. Build of collection of decorations that are based on these fall colors other fall themes. Michael’s and Jo Ann’s carry a huge variety of faux fall flowers. Buy a bunch and display them throughout your home. Go outside and collect a bunch of branches and put them in a large floor vase. Buy some burlap and decorate mason jars (bonus! Fill the mason jars with homemade apple butter!) There is so much you can do. Once you have a robust collection of decorations you can store them away and be ready for next Fall.

5. Fall Printables

There are so many online resources that carry wonderful fall phrases and Quotes. Display these on your pillows, create a chalkboard and post up a great fall printable. It will really bring everyone into the fall spirit.

Are you in need for more ideas for selling your home? You have come to the right place. The Kaplan Team has been helping people buy and sell homes in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago for over 30 years! Feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to give you a consultation and market analysis on your home.

10 Tips for Sprucing Up your Home on a Budget

Getting your home ready for the market does not have to be a stressful or expensive undertaking. We teamed up with Holly Waxman of Holly J Waxman Interior Designs to bring to you the best tips on how to ready your home for the market without having to break the bank.

COLOR | Paint something…anything…a fun new color. Painting a room is one of the least expensive ways to make the most impact. If painting all the walls is still not as cost effective as you were hoping, paint one accent wall. Or, paint the ceiling!! Ceilings are the fifth and often forgotten wall. If your walls are all white, go bold on the ceiling. If even painting one whole wall is too much, consider taping out a shape or pattern and just paint a portion of the whole wall. Lastly, if painting the wall(s) still seems like too much work, opt to paint a table, picture frame or chair a brand new color. Just make sure you use the right finish.
DECLUTTERRR | Spring cleaning is a great excuse to declutter, organize and make sense out of spaces that have been hibernating all winter. By getting rid of out-dated and unused items, your room will feel fresh and clean and be more functional! You will also feel good for donating items to people who may be in need.
GO SHOPPING—IN YOUR OWN HOME! | Reusing items your already own, but in a different way, is the least expensive way to make a change—it’s free! By “shopping” in your own home, you move accessories, artwork and maybe even furniture from one room to another. By giving your belongings a “new home” they take on a completely different look and feel.
SWAP MEET | Another great way to not spend any money is to recycle your things. Organize a party with your friends who also want to spruce for less. Have everyone bring art, accessories, throw pillows or even furniture that they no longer want or need. Then, you take theirs and they take yours. Not only will you enjoy your “new” items, but when you visit their home, it’ll feel even homier with familiar pieces.
ADD SOME BLINGGG | You may not have the budget to remodel your kitchen or bathroom, but a great way to make a subtle, yet noticeable impact is to switch out the hardware on your cabinets. Knobs and pulls are like jewelry for our cabinets, and just like any great outfit, the accessories can make the difference. Updating knobs, handles and pulls—from brass to brushed nickel, or polished chrome to oil-rubbed bronze—may be just what your kitchen or bathroom cabinets need. And if your cabinetry does not currently have any hardware, consider adding some.
SCRUB IT DOWN | Sometimes all a home needs is a good ole fashioned deep cleaning. Whether you clean your own home or have the luxury of a service, sometimes the everyday cleaning and maintenance just doesn’t cut it. Every now and then you need to get down and dirty and scrub those hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. Washing windows—interior and exterior—lets the sun shine through in a whole new way. Rent a carpet cleaner to get rid of icky stains. Wax those hardwood floors. Steam out those draperies. Grab the extension hose on the vacuum and rid vents (both high and low) of dust and debris that has accumulated over months of being shut in. Polish tarnished picture frames, accessories & tchotchkes.

FLOAT & FLIP | The way your furniture is currently arranged in the room may not be the only option. A lot of the time people are not sure the best way to lay out furniture, so things often get shoved up against the walls. Float furniture in the room. Reverse the way everything is facing. Floating and flipping can create new pathways and lines of sight. By moving the sofa from there to over here may give you a whole new vantage point of your room or even your whole house. Just because the outlet for the cable is on one wall does not mean the TV has to go on that wall or that the sofa has to be on the opposite wall. You likely have more flexibility than you think!
IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE | You need not purchase a new piece of furniture or remodel a kitchen or bathroom to feel the change. The littlest things can make the biggest impact. Add a new bright throw pillow to the sofa, or simply make or purchase a pillow cover for existing ones. Swap out the photographs that have been in those picture frames for years with newer, artsier ones. On the computer, you can crop, make black & white, or add some cool crazy effects. For a more dramatic change, paint the picture frames, too. Fresh flowers go a long way to brighten a space. If their life span concerns you, consider a silk flower arrangement that will live forever! Orchids are gorgeous, but tricky to keep alive. Going faux here will never make you feel like a failure! New sheets on the bed can not only totally change the look of your bedroom, but can also make for a great night’s sleep! Mix and match bright bold colors for sheets and pillow cases, or select fun big patterns.
HONEY-DO LIST | Ah, that never-ending list of things that need fixing & repair. Anything that is broken, damaged or dysfunctional should be addressed. That hole or crack or creak or leak or rip or tear, once repaired, will be like new again and no longer be a burden or the source of dismay or even arguments. Yes, these things can be tricky to take care of, but once they are it will feel so good!
UPGRADE | While these things may require a bit more expertise to handle, they will not only breathe new life into something old, but can ultimately add value to your property. Consider changing out your kitchen or bathroom faucet or install new light fixtures. If you own a home, chances are the things that came with the home may not be the style of your choice. Perhaps you prefer separate hot and cold handles on your faucet instead of a single lever. Or, maybe you like brushed nickel light fixtures instead of the builder-grade brass ones. Places like Lowes & Home Depot have a great selection of cost-effective fixtures for both plumbing & lighting that will suit your personal style.

Thank you, Holly for the excellent advice! Do you need interior design or home staging help? contact Holly Waxman at holly@hollyjwaxman.com
Or, if you are getting your home ready to sell and need an excellent real estate team to do the selling, call the Anne Kaplan Team for a free market report. 847-401-7904

Lincolnshire’s (not so little) Gem- Adlai E Stevenson High School

If you have been in the market to buy a house in the Northwestern Suburbs of Chicago, then chances are you are also doing some school research. You probably consulted with Newsweek’s rankings, maybe checked out a little greatschools.org. Their rankings give you an idea about the students average testing scores, student teacher ratio, and how much money is spent per pupil. All good to know. But, as a person who has spent many years teaching in the public schools, I like to uncover why schools has particular rankings. And why not begin with one of the big guns, Lincolnshire’s Stevenson High School.

: Stevenson High School’s Main Entrance

: Stevenson High school

: AESHS

Historically, Stevenson High School has always had a reputation as being on e of the top schools in the area. Located in Lincolnshire, the school houses over 3800 students and an overwhelming majority of these students are college bound. In state tests, Stevenson students have scored top 1% of all high schools in Illinois in all academic areas. All Stevenson students are required to take the ACT where the average composite score is the top 1% in the nation!

Now for the most impressive Stevenson High School factoid. Stevenson students write more AP (advanced placement) exams than any other comprehensive high school in the world! Not state, not nation, but the world!

For you sports fanatics out there, Lincolnshire’s Stevenson high school has things to offer you as well. Stevenson has a huge comprehensive sports program with several practice fields, a state of the art baseball field, a fully lite stadium and two olympic size pools. In fact, the Stevenson high school boys bastketball team is competing for state title this year. Go Patriots!

How do they do it? First of all, Stevenson teachers have a reputation for working incredibly hard at their job. Stevenson High School has also been committed to creating successful professional learning communities (PLC). These communities of educators are committed to collaborating with each other on a regular basis to figure out how they can best serve their students. Stevenson High School has also been on the forefront of integrating technology in their classroom. Stevenson’s SMART program has set a goal to outfit their entire student body and all 300 teachers with an Ipad by 2015. Their extensive AP program makes them one of the best in the States. The list can go on and on.

Are you looking to relocate and want all of the stats on the schools in the Northwestern Suburbs of Chicago? Give me a call at 847-401-7904 or email me at anne.kaplan@cbexchange.com.

A Little Color Can Go a Long Way

It really is amazing what a little coat of paint can do to a room. last year, I listed a home in Arlington Heights that had the potential but was not showing well. I hated to say it but the house was really quite drab and uninspiring. When a prospective buyer walked through the house, they were immediately underwhelmed. I get it. The house needed some love. I suggested that we take down the dated wall paper and attack those walls with a fresh coat of paint. My buyer took my advice, hired painters and the very next day, wow. Just wow. It looked like a different house. Offers started to come in and shortly thereafter, SOLD!

I know, I know. Sometimes it takes more than a coat of paint. Sometimes the house needs to be gutted and furniture needs to be burned. (I don’t mean your furniture, of course.) But the topic is paint so let’s stay focused.

Most people equate your paint picking process with going to to your local big box home repair store, grabbing a massive stack of color samples, obsessing over three shades of mauve until you finally go with an off white. We have all done it that way. When you don’t have a color theme or vision of the room, you end up guessing on a color and crossing your fingers that it works.

But, for those of you that want to take the style of your home to another level and don’t want to guess on what might look good, check out Sherwin-Williams. They have teamed up with Pottery Barn ( including West Elm, PB Teen and Pottery Barn Kids) and HGTV, to bring you, the consumer, quite impressive and inspiring color collections. These colors are rich and modern and there is only 15-20 colors in each collection making your decision making process much easier. Yes, less is more. They also have several inspirational photos with some of the different paint colors in action. Just looking at West Elm’s swatches makes me want to swap out some color in some of my rooms. Check out Sherwin-Williams website to see what I am talking about!

By the way, if you are in the market to find a new house, let me help you find your dream home. (I will even help you pick out the colors for your rooms!) Want to sell your home? Give me a call! I would love to work with you. 847-401-7904