Posts

Category: Blog
No Comments

Design Trends 2013

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
The speaker at our local Chamber lunch club talked about the Design Trends for 2013. Apparently there a couple groups of elite people somewhere in Germany and another remote location who get together behind closed doors and decide for all of us – This Year’s Trends! Well, the information has been gathered and some of the trends we are to follow are:
  • Tactile Texture – objects that beg you to reach out and touch them. They could be soft, rough, bumpy – texture in the visual and literal sense.
  • African inflluence – beyond the animal prints, carved pieces and wrought iron frames perhaps covered with animal skins.
  • Floral prints with white background – sort of Granny’s shabby chic.
  • Pastel colors – think shades of Easter.
  • Graphic Retro – chevron, stripes with a modern updated twist.
  • Hand sketching and wall writing – think blackboard walls with lines of handwritten verses, the words create a pattern, even on a ceiling.
  • DIY – Re- purpose old one-of-a-kind items into a current use creating unique decorative items.
  • High gloss paint. Try it on an accessory piece for a pop of accent color.
What’s your favorite decorating idea? Would love to hear from you, see photos etc.

The Eisenlauer Team    Easy to Work With…Hard to Beat!   www.eisenlauerteam.com

Bill  770-2455   Bob  979-2883

No Comments

Lighting Trends and Inspiration

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
So, we all agree that brass light fixtures are passe. The next decision is – replace with what?  Too often I limit my choices to the local big box stores. Lowes and Menards offer convenience and low price, but problaby not cutting edge, definately not unique. So I perused some online choices.

Ikea offers fun inespensive choices. It may even be an excuse for a road trip to Minneapolis. The fun option on the left is $25. At that price you can change it out if you tire of it. The other is $59.

Pottery Barn is another trendy option. A bit more expensive, but options that definately make a statment and probably won’t be found duplicated in your neighbor’s home. 

Ballard Designs have some interesting choices. I searched through the sale items are saw many intriquing styles.

Barn Light Electric boasts that it’s a merge of vintage and modern. Definately nolstalgic and leans toward an industrial feel. Fun, unusual options here.

If you are changing out your lighting in preparation to sell your house, let us assist you. We have a stager that we work with that can give you current advise and years of experience of helping people achieve their real estate goals. Hire the professionals on the Eisenlauer Team.

Bill 770-2455   Bob 979-2883

No Comments

Design Turnoffs

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
Realtor magazine polled readers – dated design features that make homebuyers cringe?  What do you think were their top turnoffs?
  • Shiny brass fixtures. There are lots of posts on the internet giving instructions to paint these ugly fixtures to give them new life. The DIY photos I’ve seen have varied results. Update with new fixtures. It’s really not that big of investment.
  • Dated Wallpaper. I know – cutting edge sources say it’s coming back. But I’m not falling for that. Dated wallpaper in a for-sale house says “lots-of-work” to potential buyers.
 
  • Peach and mauve. I’m going to add country blue and ceramic geese. Everyone and their grandma had (maybe still has them) these in the 90’s.  They’re not going to be coming back anytime soon. Trash them!We all have our nightmare design trends – the fads that we love to hate!  It’s all good until you want to sell your house. Then it’s time to kick those outdated items to the curb. If you’d like some help – The Eisenlauer Team would love to be a resource and your Realtor. Give us a call.

Bill Eisenlauer 770-2455

Bob Eisenlauer 979-2883

No Comments

Iowa Foreclosures are on the Decline and other little-known facts!

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
The Iowa Business Record reports that the foreclosure activity in Iowa has declined to 2.1% of all outstanding home loans for Sept. The figures are from CoreLogic Inc. Our state is not amongst the best or worst (depending on your viewpoint) of the American states for number of foreclosures. Lenders completed 3,380 foreclosures in the state of Iowa during  Sept 2012. Trends in first-time home-buying – home ownership rate of 30-34 year old continues to fall. This is a critical age range to track because this is the age group that is typically first-time home buyers.  This is also the age-range that are most likely to be burdened with student loans. When this number begins to grow again, that will be a good indicator of economic recovery. Nearly half of the homes in the United States have inside stairs.  Renter-occupied houses are more likely to be without stairs. Here in the Midwest, 65% of our homes have indoor stairs. In comparison, the South and the West have 35% with stairs.  This has absolutely nothing to do with economic recovery and is only mildly noteworthy! Another totally useless bit of information – The average man in the United States weights 195.5 pounds. The average woman is 166.2. This is actual weight, not “reported” weight. If you want more information about any of these facts and statistics, don’t call the Eisenlauer Team. BUT, if you want to know about the local real estate market – we’re the go-to team!

Bill 770-2455  Bob 979-2883

   
No Comments

Shades of Grey (G-rated)

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
There are so many subtleties with choosing a color for your home. We had our house painted this summer. How do you choose from a 3″ x3″ swatch of color, how your house will look!  It was overwhelming for me, especially since I do not see the subtleties of shades. I don’t discern whether there are blue, green, pink undertones.  Last week I put on a pair of black slacks with a navy sweater and thought they matched till I was in the car on my way to my destination. That’s why it’s important for people like me to rely on resources that have a discerning eye. I just read through an entire web post about the shades of grey, some have no undertones, some have warmer tones, and blue/green greys. Who knew that grey could be so complicated. This blog author recommends grey as the current de rigueur neutral for Now Home Decor. But explains that there is no Perfect Gray. So if you’re contemplating a color change, whether it’s grey or another color, buy the pint or sample size and try it out to see how it looks in your environment.  You can live with the small portion of the color and “try it on”. So many decisions, whether to spell it gray or grey, whether to paint it warmer or cooler. One thing’s for sure, it’s to buy or sell- Call the Eisenlauer Team. We’ll walk you through the options. (We’ll even give you color advice, if you’d like!)

Bob 979-2883   Bill 770-2455

 
No Comments

Free and Clear!

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
I’ve gotten on the Dave Ramsey bandwagon.  “Debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the new status symbol of choice.” It’s really not becoming a disciple of Dave Ramsey, but a reinforcement of the common sense that is not-so-common today. People who survived the Great Depression knew how to make do or do without. When did we buy into the false premise that we deserve whatever  we desire, and need it now!  There’s a saying -We Buy Things We Don’t Need With Money We Don’t Have To Impress People We Don’t Like. Crazy isn’t it. So I was surprised when I saw the figures on how many of the 74 million homeowners in the US own their home free and clear?  What do you think the number is?  I would’ve guessed about 20%.  The figures from the US Census say 34% are mortage free. Over 1/3 of American homeowners have sensibly paid off their mortgage. That’s a pleasant surprise. If you have been thinking about refinancing your home- it’s still a good time to do that. And while you’re at it, shorten the term. If you have questions regarding this, or other real estate related issues – please give The Eisenlauer Team a call. We’d love to be a resource for you.

Bill 770-2455   Bob 979-2883

No Comments

Why MLS photos are essential.

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog

Almost all buyers now look on-line at houses before they call a Realtor. This makes good MLS photos essential. The goal of the photos is to showcase your house’s best assets, entice buyers to want to see your house in person, thereby getting the house sold at the best possible price.

Bright colors and unsual furnishings draw attention, but not necessarily the attention you want. You want the house to appeal to the widest group of people. You’ll want to “neutralize” your house. We want potential buyers to imagine their possessions in your house, not admire your possessions. The featured photo today is an ok photo of the sellers TV. Do you want to sell your TV or your house? Every Friday, we’ll continue to show you bad photos from our local MLS. Again – no names or address will be given in order to protect the un-enlightened.

The Eisenlauer Team will do their best to advise you in how to prepare your house to succeed in getting it sold. Lets talk shop.

Bill 770-2455     Bob 979-2883

No Comments

Freaky Friday Fotos – from our MLS

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
Or What Not to Do!  If the photo isn’t the right size, don’t stretch it to fit!  Or how about this, hire a professional photograher to showcase your house to it’s best advantage.  I’m pretty sure this microwave is NOT 4′ x 1′. But it does look like a slimline in this photo doesn’t it?

For more information about how to best stage your house to make it appeal to the widest audience – consult a professional. The Eisenlauer Team is ready to help.

Bill 770-2455    Bob  979-2883

No Comments

Wednesday Review (on Thursday!)

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
                          The standard Thai dish is Pad Thai – and its a good place to start if you’re unfamiliar with the menus items. My favorite entree is Vermicelli. It’s more like a salad, rice noodles, grated carrots, cucumbers, grilled pork and a refreshing sauce that gets mixed in. This is the best summertime meal, but satisfying all year-round. We also had a bowl of Yellow Curry when we ate there this week. Both were delicious! Hope you give Cafe Fusion a try. And if you can’t decide what to order – give Bob a call. He’ll give you his recommendations. Better yet- talk real estate and food – two of his favorite topics! Cafe Fusion  (515) 262-8488 1240 E. 14th St. Des Moines, IA

Bill 770-2455   Bob 979-2883

No Comments

Friday’s Freakish Fotos from our MLS

Author:myrna
Categories:Blog
The National Association of Realtors statistics show that now 99% of buyers are using the inter-net to search for their next home. That is why it is paramount that listing photos showcase your house at it’s best. We all know, there is no second chance for a first impression.  Every Friday we’ll be highlighting some of the photos that are currently on our local MLS that do the opposite. No names will be mentioned in order to protect the innocent! But we will tell you the Eisenlauer Team would NOT use these photos and what could be done differently in order to achieve the goal of selling the house. Here’s our first photo. It is new construction and the caption says “Exterior Front: Breaking ground now and putting foundation in! Pick your options now!   Wonder what options these guys are picking! How long would it take to wait till the lunch break is over?

Bill  770-2455  Bob 979-2883

The Eisenlauer Team is Easy to Work With…Hard to Beat!

Search

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta