• Ask a friend to give you his/her honest opinion what they would change on the outside of your house
• Make sure that the doors and shutters are the same color
• Have the lawn mowed and neatly edged.
• Add fresh mulch to your flower beds.
• Add a couple of potted plants to add some color.
• Weed regularly.
• Trim bushes and trees if needed.
• Clean your windows and the window frames.
• Power wash the siding, sidewalk, shutters and doors.
• Make sure the entryway is free of clutter.
• Buy a nice welcome mat.

Are you looking for the perfect piece of art to put on your wall?  Are you looking for a great focal piece?  Try the Visual Arts Club auction!  The Visual Arts Club is a collective of student visual artists and art enthusiasts. The art for sale was created at a student-only artist lock-in in early February.

Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts, 161 Calhoun St., Downtown

• Make labels for your boxes on the computer.  You’ll find that this will be much speedier than hand-writing the information on each box.  This makes it easy to find exactly what you are looking for when you arrive at your destination.
• Label moving boxes on all four sides (not the top and bottom) so you can see what’s in a stack without having to move everything around.
• Draw a “this side up” arrow on all four sides of your boxes so you and your movers don’t accidentally place the box upside-down.  If fragile items are in the box, put brightly colored “fragile” stickers or a red marker to indicate the box contains fragile goods.
• Label cables, cords, and plugs. Better: tape them to the side of the system they belong to.  When you go to hook up your electronic systems, you’ll be thankful you don’t have to remember exactly how they were originally configured.
• If you or your movers are disassembling furniture, be sure to keep all screws and hardware in a sealable plastic bag that you take with you. Don’t let these important pieces get lost in the shuffle.

Make sure there is a dining room.  In every house, buyers will look for a dining room.  If the house you want to sell is small, even a round table in a corner with some great artwork around it can do the trick.  Show the buyer the possibility the place has.

Make sure the dining area / room looks light.  If you have one window in the room, you can get more light in by hanging a mirror on the opposite site of the room.  Or add a couple of lamps to a sideboard.  Just make sure the dining room has good lighting.

Make sure that you update the look of wallpaper and light fixtures.  With a brushed silver of bronze rod iron light fixture, the room will instantly look younger.  Make sure that the color on the wall is a warm and neutral tone.

When showing off the dining room, traffic flow is very important.  Make sure that the dining area looks spacious and it is easy to move around in.

Do not overstage the dining room.  The room should be pleasant and have one focal point, which can be a vase with flowers or a nice picture on the wall.  You don’t need to set the table.

Now in its 30th year, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition has grown to be the largest event of its kind in the nation, attracting over 500 artists and exhibitors from around the globe who present their offerings to over 40,000 attendees. From an Oyster Roast to balls to cooking classes and art exhibits – there is something for every taste!

• Pack books flat in a small box with the spine touching.  Since books are heavy, it is better to use a small box.
• Photographs, video slides and negatives should be packed in a separate box.
• Pack framed photos with padding and stand them on edge in box.
• Bring irreplaceable items yourself to your new house.
• Remove CDs and DVDs from your closet.  Stand them on edge on a cushioning layer.  Top with another cushioning layer and label “fragile.”
• Another good way to pack CDs and DVDs is to put them in a CD/DVD folder who is already cushioned.

Statistics show that the average cost of staging a home is $300 to $400.  The first benefit of this extra expense is that the house will sell faster than if it would not be staged.  On average, a staged house sells after being 29 days on the market compared to 145 days for a non staged house.

This means the home owner gets money faster and doesn’t need to worry if the house sells or not.  This leads us to the second benefit of staging a house: the home owner will make more money on the house if the house is staged.  The reason is simple.  Usually, if the house doesn’t sell, the home owner will think about reducing the cost of the house in order to make it more attractive.  Looking at numbers, if the house would sell for $200,000 and the home owner decides for a 5% reduction in price, that is a loss of $ 10,000!  It is for sure cheaper to stage the house and sell it faster.

Inman News®

Deep price declines have made metropolitan areas in the Sunshine State popular destinations for online house hunters looking to move to a different metro area, according to a quarterly report by real estate search and marketing company Trulia.

Trulia’s Metro Movers Report is based on the ratio of inbound property searches onTrulia.com in a given metro area by out-of-area residents, compared to outbound searches by locals. The report examined searches on Trulia.com between Oct. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2011, in U.S. metropolitan areas.

Trulia reported that more than 1 in 3 home searches on the site cross state lines. Seven of the top 10 metro areas where the ratio of inbound searches from out-of-area site visitors to outbound searches from locals was highest were in Florida. All but Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., were in the South.

Where demand among online house hunters is strongest

• Remove all breakable items from drawers and closets.
• Tape the bottom of the box before you start packing to make sure it is secure and can be lifted.
• Place a two- or three-inch layer of crushed paper in the bottom of a carton for cushioning.
• Heavy items should be in the bottom of the box and lighter items at the top.
• Wrap all breakable things individually with paper.
• Stack plates like in a dish washer.  Plates are great as the lowest layer in a dish box.
• Glasses should be placed upright in the box.
• Stand shallow bowls (soup plates, etc.) on edge in the carton and deep ones (such as mixing bowls) nested two or three together, upside down on their rims.
• Wrap bowl lids in tissue, turning them upside down on top of the bowl. Then, wrap both together in clean paper, followed by an outer double layer of newspaper. Place bowls and similar pieces upright in the carton.
• As each layer is completed, fill in empty spaces firmly with crushed paper and add more crushed paper to make a level base for the next layer, or use sheets or cardboard cut from cartons as dividers.
• Cushion well with crushed paper; towels and lightweight blankets also may be used for padding and cushioning. The more fragile the item, the more cushioning needed. Be sure no sharp points, edges or rims are lifted uncovered.
• Pack small, fragile, individually wrapped items separately or a few together in small boxes, cushioning with crushed or shredded paper.
• Wrap each piece individually then wrap up to three in a bundle with a double layer of newspaper. Place these bundled items in the carton in a row on edge.
• Label cartons, “FRAGILE — THIS SIDE UP.”