Carmela Abella

Organizing your kids toys when selling your home can be a huge problem! Trying to sort out what to keep and what to throw away can have a traumatic effect on kids, especially young ones. But there is an easier solution. Instead of taking it upon yourself to sort it out, get your children to help. There are many reason to do this, here are just a few:

1) If you make them a part of the process they will feel empowered.

2) They get a say in what stays and what get packed away.

3) Let them know this is only temporary and that all if not most of the toys will come with you in your new home.

4) If you're trying to get rid of some the toys, give it to charity and let them know you will find their toys a good home for them.

5) Let them help you organize the toys by putting them in storage bins.

6) Reward them when they put the toys back in the storage bins.

Children need to have a say in where their toys goes, it's their possession. Just like you wouldn't want anyone touching you possession, children don't want you touching theirs. Organizing can be a family fun project if you present it that way. It may take some time but the rewards are great. No trauma, no crying and an organized home will be your reward in the end.

There is enough stress when selling your home, and children will pick up on that stress. By talking to them and getting them involved by organizing their toys, they will feel much better about it and so will you.

With the economy being the way it is, foreclosure is an all time high. This is not new, we all know that. Many home owners facing foreclosure will decide the best solution for them is to sell their homes.. But many home owners will make the mistake of not even considering hiring a home stager. Why is this? Well for one thing they're potential going into foreclosure so they have little or no money to play with. But if you decide that selling your home is your best option, you will need to prep your home for showing. Just like you detail your car before you sell it. You need to "detail" your home before you put it on the market.

Home staging has proven time and time again that staged homes sell 6x faster and for a higher price. You want your home to be the one that buyers fall in love with. Buying a home is emotional, no matter how hard you try to buy realistically people buy emotional. The heart wants what the heart wants, period!!

But staging isn't the only thing to consider. Hiring the right realtor and pricing your home right works in conjunction with home staging. These three ingredients can be the difference between selling your home or going into foreclosure.

About a year ago, my husband and I decide to purchase a second home. We though we would do a foreclosure or short sale. We found a home that fits our criteria and put a bid in. It was a short sale. Now my husband and I know that short sale are really disguise as LONG Sales! Our bid was accepted and we went for a mortgage. We decide to go with Wells Fargo. What a disaster!!

Six months later we still haven't closed!! Our initial loan officer kathleen was so incompetent that they finally fired her. She was constantly asking us for the same information . Day after day she would request bits and piece of information she needed, many times it was the same request for the same information!! Then she went on vacation. The fact of the matter is she never went on vacation. She was fired for incompetents. We learned this thru different channels. I am frustrated that this has gone on for so long. Now I know that short sale take time but this long!! Our contract deadline came and went. They never contact us to let us know that they had extended the contract nor do we now if our rates are the same. Of course we have been in touch with our lawyer.

But what I want to know is this the norm for short sale? Do banks really handle their clients this way? I tell you one thing I will never go with Wells Fargo again, nor would I recommend them to any one else!! I heard thru the grape vain that this is not unheard of with this bank. Shame on them!! No wonder people have lost trust in the banking industry. We need to hold banks accountable for their action, just like everyone else. My advice to everyone, do your home work and research the bank, not just for the rates but for their integrity and their history on how they handle their clients. Customer satisfaction counts!! Good Luck to any one searching for a mortgage!

Real Estate Investors and Builders who forgo on furnishing their houses are losing potential thousand of dollars. It's easy to understand why they would forgo this last step, over budget, out of time, just to name a few of the problems, puts a crimp in your wallet. But don't under estimate what Home Staging can do for you. Vacant homes don't sell. And here are some of the reasons why.

1) People buy homes, Not houses.

2) Without furniture, there is no frame of reference.

3) When a room is empty, buyers focus on the negative because there is no other details to focus on.

4) Only 10% of buyers can actually visualize the potential of the home.

5) When a house is empty, they start to wonder under what hardship is the owner under? Can I low-ball an offer since they can't afford to furnish the place.

Staging your home will not only address these problems but will most likely translate into a higher return on your investment. Home staging can show off your homes best feature, while downplaying the negative. With potential thousand of dollars at stake. Why wouldn't you stage your home?

We all look forward to the 4th of July where we celebrate our freedom, have a barbecue and watch the fireworks. But not everyone in the world is free. And some people see fireworks of a different kind. I'm talking about the pain and suffering that goes on in Africa in places like Darfur. I know this is a heavy topic but its one I feel very strongly about.

We've all seen movies like Rwanda, Rising Sun and many more that touch upon the barbaric cruelty of humanity. But I recently read a James Paterson book where Alex Cross went to Darfur and describe the horrific torture he saw. Now I know it's only a book, but it did touch upon some truths. It was a difficult read to say the least. But it brought things into perspective.

We are home stagers, we try to beautify the world one home at a time. That's what we do and we love it. But we sometimes come across a difficult client or a difficult job and wonder why these things happen to us.

When you take a moment to realize how truly blessed we are, these problem seem small in comparison to the problems of the world. We take for granted what we have (myself included). We are truly blessed to have out freedom. Never take it for granted, count all your blessing and even if we have sorrow or pain in your life it is nothing compared to what others have suffered.

Lets us hope that one day (wouldn't it be nice to see it in our lifetime) we can all celebrate our freedom. That the world can know peace and we can all live like human being and not some barbaric creature we seem to be at times.

Happy 4th everyone. Gold bless us all.