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“I always find it helpful to ask what their favorite piece of clothing is,” she said.

“Aagggghhhhh she picked all hot pink clothes for school this year.  I mean ALL hot pink.” I replied.  Considering it took us four coats to cover the hot pink that had been there previously, I wasn’t too excited about the prospect of doing that again, but it was time for a change.

Several years ago I was in a home that made the issue of undertones crystal clear to me.  They wanted to sell their Salem Oregon newer construction home and talked with glee about how they picked out all their cabinets and paint colors.  The problem, as I saw it, was that the kitchen with its nice granite slab counters, cherry cabinets, and tile floors needed to be redone.  The problem: undertones.  The cabinets had a red undertone, the counters yellow, and the walls and flooring blue.  Individually, they all looked good.  Taken together, it was a disaster.  After having viewed the clash of the undertones, I have been extra careful with making sure I am working in the same undertone family when decorating my house.

This year it was time to get rid of my daughter’s nursery colors and get her into a young girl room.  The problem…she likes hot pink and well….I hate pink.  I was convinced that if I gave her a couple of choices with other colors including some pink ones, that she would see the error of her ways and not go pink.  As I looked at paint color after paint color, virtually painting the walls, I decided I needed some help narrowing things down and not coming undertone Hari Kari.

So I did it.  I called the big guns of reasonable cost color coordination here in Salem…Margaret Oscilia.  I told her my dilemma that my daughter loves pink; I hate it.  But it is her room,  and I wanted to respect that…well in theory anyway.  A little manipulation isn’t bad, right?

“Give me some color choices that include pink as well as alternatives, lots of alternatives.” I begged.  That’s when Margaret asked me the dreaded question about her clothes, and I had no choice but to tell her that they were all hot pink.  I could lie and tell her they were all a blissful blue, but then she’d walk in my daughter’s room and see the hot pink jumping out from the closet.

Margaret came out and we talked about what my daughter likes.  She’d paint a rainbow room or tie dye…all walls with different colors if I would let her.  Margaret worked her magic and gave me some virtual choices to share with my daughter including some of the dreaded pink options.

“Come here kiddo.  I want to show you some color choices for your room.” I said.  Her eyes scanned all the choices.  Beads of sweat started to form on my forehead as I was sure I was going to be in pink hell in very short order.  Scrolling up and down on the screen, she thought about it and picked the green and blue choice.  I wanted to throw my arms around and sob with relief for having her save me from the pink beast, but merely stated, “Excellent choice.”   My inner emotional toil was submerged….at least until the next installment of kid induced torture.  Thank you, Margaret.

When in doubt consult it out. If you are working on a house  remodel or just wanting to spruce up your home to make sure that you avoid the clash of the undertones, considering hiring one of our local Salem Oregon home stagers for color consultation.  Color consultation is really inexpensive and can make a huge difference in getting that “Wow that looks great” genuinely, or through a mask of disbelief at your lack of color coordination.

Oh, and because I love my kid…

hot pink accents.

I think it is a good time to buy a home that is a fixer.  Before you start thinking that I’ve been wandering around in our national forests and maybe partaking of some of the “natural flora” that we have out there, let me explain.

It’s a good time to buy a fixer in our corner of the Salem real estate world.  I can’t believe I used the words it’s a good time to buy because it makes me feel like I need to use some anti-propaganda soap after a NAR shower.  Unfortunately, saying “It’s an agreeable moment to acquire real property,”  makes me sound like I need to get ready for a Cotillion.  I’m not a fashion designer, only guessing here, but I think my hiking boots would clash with my petticoat.  So alas, I’m stuck with “It’s a good time to buy.”

Some of you may know that I purchased a house built in 1960 about 8 years ago now, that needed a lot of work.  I still have my 1970′s rust colored counter tops in my kitchen which are crazy ugly, but that project is for another day when my kids can survive the kitchen being ripped up for three months.  Anyway, our plan was to do a few projects every year improving the house and bringing it back to life.  This past year we were able to do two more projects than expected.  Why?  Because contractors are seriously cheap these days.

In case you haven’t noticed, the economy stinks.  Really, I know that is a shocking revelation to you guys, sorry to break the bad news to you all.  Contractors, as a result,  are super competitive with their quotes.  Margaret Oscilia, my favorite local stager, just wrote about the paint sale that Sherwin Williams is having this weekend (Sept 24-26) in Salem Oregon, and yes, I will be there buying loads of paint.  Think about it. If a gallon of good paint costs $35 and you can get it for 40% less, that means you can now afford those closet organizers, that quite frankly every home should have.  Seriously.  Think closet organizers people.  You all have too much stuff. I know…I’ve been in your homes. Must. Focus…back on topic, now.  Having a solid budget and keeping to it, is really important with homes that need work.

We replaced our electrical panel not too long ago. The quote we got in 2007 was 30% higher than what it cost us in 2009 to do it.  What I am finding is that my “remodeling” dollar is going a lot farther than it did during the boom.  During the boom, contractors didn’t have to drop their prices because there was ample work.  Now, they need to be really competitive and not be excessive in their charges.

So…if you are leery about taking on a fixer because it will cost too much to fix it, think about how much farther your money will get you into projects today than before.  Watch for sales, which seem to occur more frequently than before.    It still costs a lot of money, and yes, your time to remodel,  BUT if you are so inclined, I think it is a good time to buy a fixer.  Low interest rates mean you have lower payments so you can stash more money away for those projects AND contractors are super competitive.  You can get good quality contractors for less than before as they work hard to stay busy.

And remember, think closet organizers people.

You can see homes that need work right over here on my Salem home search tool.

A few years ago I went to a house owned by a single man here in Salem Oregon.  He was contemplating putting his home on the market.  “What do I need to do to get the house ready?” he asked.  “Bulldoze it?” was what I really wanted to say, but with all my mental might I held my tongue (which is no small feat) and instead said “It looks like you tackled some remodeling work yourself. ” (I use the word “remodel” very loosely here)

See, like many homeowners, he decided to embark on a remodel project.  Possessed with the pioneering spirit that made Oregon…well Oregon, he boldly went where no homeowner should go: neon paint.  Unfortunately how to miter a corner correctly, how to cut tile, and how to pick paint that isn’t oh say…the color of alien slime…wasn’t one of his skills.  Why they even make paint that color is beyond me, but I think they make it to sucker people into having to buy more paint since it looks so bad once it is done.   Unfortunately,  he was oblivious to the devious plot of the paint company and actually thought it looked good.

As I looked at the botched jobs it was difficult to put a damper on his pioneering spirit, but the fact is his remodel work stunk.  Back then we didn’t have local home stager, Margaret Oscillia around to do my dirty work for me and tell people their homes need work.  It was just me and my brain doing my best to summon all the polite words I could.    He was so proud of his improvements and I felt bad telling him that his improvements actually cost him money because it wasn’t done well.   Yes some remodels will actually cause the house to lose value.

Now, I have seen many excellent home owner remodels done.  I have had some clients that understand that laying out tile takes more thought than…I’ll start in this corner.  If you are a first time home buyer and thinking of diving into a remodel project consider a few things:

• Do you have the time to LEARN how to do the task properly? There are many great videos online that demonstrate how to do some projects.  Home depot offers some classes for some things as well.  Learn before you dive in. This one step will save you thousands in lost resale value.  Seriously, I really don’t want to write on my MLS listing “new counters poorly installed by home owner…just look past that and the poorly installed trim,  pretty please with sugar on top.”

• Do you have patience? The fact is that as you are learning you will mess up tile cuts, crown moulding, and baseboard cuts.  Plan on making mistakes.  The pros had to make mistakes to learn too.  Often times people get tired of the project taking too long and they just “hurry up and  finish”  which really means “Let’s leave this project for a future homeowner to deal with.  They won’t mind.”

• Do you have the money? If you are tight on a budget, wait a bit to get more money.  Projects tend to cost more than you expect because…well…you mess up and need to rebuy materials. Plan for this.  I can’t tell you how many times a buyer has walked in a house and said “Well they cheaped out on that, didn’t they?”  Make sure the quality of your materials are consistent throughout the project.

• Can a contractor do it cheaper? Sometimes people get so caught up in the DIY mode that they forget that those tools to do that task properly cost money. Now locally you can rent many tools at Capital Rental but really there is nothing worse than a $400 saw collecting dust in the garage for all the “DIY” work you planned to tackle.  A table saw really can’t double as a coffee table….well unless you are super crafty or something…

So as  the economy has gotten difficult an many homeowners taking pay cuts, I encourage you all to consider future resale when you tackle home repair and remodels.   To DIY or DDIY?  Be honest about your skills and motivation…you may want to join the ranks of the DDIYer’s…Don’t Do It Yourselfers and save yourself some money in the long run at sale time.