Patricia Kluge, a well-known altruist and founder of the esteemed Virginia winery that contains her name, has put up her 300-acre estate in Charlottesville, Va., for $100 million, making it as one of the most high-dollar listings in the nation.

Albemarle House, a 300-acre estate snuggled close to Thomas Jeffersons Monticello and James Monroes Ash-Lawn Highland, includes a lavish 8-bedroom, 13-bath home. The primary house is the work of world-renowned architect David Easton and carries its influence from historic British estates of the realm; Kluge was raised in London. Their cooperative resourcefulness developed an astounding memorial to craftsmanship and design, according to Michael Rankin, the Supervising partner of TTR Sothebys International Realty who is marketing the property.

Its created at a level that many folks have not seen in a long time, he said. The total combination is truly phenomenal.

Planned in the neo-Georgian mode, the home has a home theater, library, hardwood flooring, a physical fitness gym with spa and sauna, and multiple fireplaces inside its 45 rooms. The place itself features many outbuildings and amenities, including staff rooms, a historic log cabin, a pool and cabanas, stables, a barn, a helipad, two fresh water pools, a Private exterior terrace and a golf links designed by Arnold Palmer, which Lies underneath present gardens and landscaping, states Rankin.

[The property] boasts several of the most awesome gardens and architectural structures have been established since the turn of the century, Rankin says.

Albemarle House, one of the most remarkable mansions produced in the United States since the Golden Age consists of 300+/- acres in Charlottesville Virginia. Bordered by history, Albemarle House a neighbor to a few of Virginia’s most preeminent and most essential estates including Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and James Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highland. Built in the neo-Georgian Mode, Albemarle House is a beautiful instance of an English country estate. Conceptualized by altruist and wine maker Patricia Kluge and world famous architect/designer David Easton and his team, simply the most superior materials and Expert artisans and craftsmen were hired in building this Dramatic mansion house. Their imaginativeness became one of the best-known homes in the United States and the inspiration for the future generation of manor-style houses.

So you have decided to offer your home for sale but now what do you do? Prudence dictates that you make your home and property as immaculate as possible as you prepare for the sale. This procedure is known by several names, such as house staging, house fluffing and home staging. When you “stage” your home, you are actually presenting or displaying your home at its fullest extent. The real purpose in performing a home staging is to set the appropriate ambiance and to evoke the sensory emotions that will give the buyer an ‘at home’ feeling the minute they step into your home. It makes them feel as if they just arrived home.

When marketing your property the manner “show” or “present” your home can provide you with the setting where you are able maximize the value of your property with the end result of selling it faster.

If you start out your selling plan by stripping out of all the furniture, rugs, pictures and other items, down to just the empty bulb receptacles underlying the fact that the house has been uninhabited, you may find that you, as well as many other sellers, do not have the skill to prepare your home to draw in sufficient potential buyers. Since not everybody was created equally talented and perceptive it goes without saying that not all purchasers are capable of seeing the inner beauty of a vacant home. that has been stripped of all the furniture, rugs, pictures and other items right down to the empty light bulb receptacles underlying the fact that the house has been uninhabited. Numerous sellers do not have the skill to prepare their place to draw in the bulk of buyers.

As stated previously, you will want to stage your property appropriately in an effort to provide a likely buyer the intuitive feeling of desiring to live there. Therefore, everything has to be precise: the furniture has to be scrupulously selected and matched, the color schemes, paintings, art objects and other accessories must be in sync with the overall decor. What’s the best way to do this to achieve your desired results? Contact your realtor who can refer or even proved direct access to their list of professional home stagers. They are in business to help you with everything necessary in preparing your home for sale.  Their services can range from easy consultation to an ‘all encompassing’ full blown home staging. Read the rest of this entry

Can an updated kitchen help sell your home in this market?

The huge question of, “When will we began to see a rise in prices on home sales, and have we hit the bottom?”, is what all homeowners want to know, and those who are selling their homes want to know, “How can we successfully differentiate our homes from the others?” Also, “what amount of money is worth gambling on a home in such a depressed market?”

Industry experts say that homeowners attempting to sell their homes should do certain things to maximize their selling prices in this down economy.  What is it that they recommend? They replied,” It all starts in the kitchen!”

Kitchens and Master Bathrooms are the big selling points in any house. Improving and/or upgrading these areas are what will move the home. It’s considered the grand finale, the finishing touch. So just how profitable would it be to update your kitchen in such a depressed market? Remodeling a kitchen can be quite expensive and a certainly a major inconvenience for a home owner. The upside is that it can also be hugely rewarding accompanied with an excellent ROI on the homeowner’s investment. When you have significant competition from other, similar homes in your area and their kitchens have been upgraded with all of the bells and whistles, those homes are most likely going to sell quicker than yours. Generally, a remodeled kitchen will yield one of the highest returns usually in the range of 80 – 100% return on your investment.

If your situation rules out a major remodeling of your home then consider that there are minor remodels that can be just as effective. These small enhancements can enhance the best areas in your kitchen.

If you have solid countertops, think about adding a backslash.  If you have solid cabinets, maybe adding color can give them some richness. Remember, don’t forget about updating the cabinets with new hardware.

To save some money, you may be able to undertake one or several of these jobs that will ultimately increase the value of your home. Remember to begin by creating a flexible budget and have a clear picture what type of design and materials you want to work with.

Here is a remodel that was completed by adding all new materials and design. Believe it or not, this home languished on the market for 1 year. After completing the remodel it took just 31 days to sell, and at a price higher than the original asking price.  Obviously, some investments are worth the money.

The top 5 home improvements that Realtors advocate to home sellers based on cost and return on investment (from highest to lowest ROI) is:

1. Cleanup and un-cluttering ($200 cost / $1,700 cost increase / 872% ROI)

2. Home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 cost increase / 586% ROI)

3. Lightening and brightening ($230 cost / $1,300 cost increase / 572% ROI)

4. Landscaping ($320 cost / $1,500 cost increase / 473% ROI)

5. Repairing plumbing ($385 cost / $1,250 cost increase / 327% ROI)

Cleanup and un-cluttering continues to rate for the best advised home improvement (as the study was originally done in 2000), suggested by 98% of Realtors, costing lower than $200 and bringing back the value by almost $1,700 to the home’s sale cost, or an 872% roi.

Filling out the top 12, the list of affordable, do-it-yourself home improvements includes: updating electrical, replacing or shampooing carpets, painting interior walls, repairing damaged floors, updating kitchen, painting outside of home, and updating bathrooms.

The home improvement projects with the highest price increases to a home’s resale value are updating the kitchen ($1,200 cost / $2,850 cost increase), accompanied by painting the exterior of the home ($900 cost / $1,815 cost increase) and home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 cost increase).

Should I Stay in My Home or Should I Sell it?

It doesn’t matter whether you recently purchased a house or you have lived in yours for quite a while, the most immediate way to increase your home’s value is to begin by creating a well thought out what-to-do plan. You shouldn’t begin work on a project without having your resources in line and your specific household plan ready to go. When you do your pre-upgrade preparation at the start you’ll be much better off. Otherwise, if upgrades may be done on impulse and not as you have proposed. Home improvement undertakings typically cost 20 to 25 cents of each dollar spent. The remaining 75 to 80 cents spent go directly back into the home thereby increasing its value. There are large numbers of home owners remodeling their homes in today’s turbulent market as well as many new homeowners who want and need to make improvements and upgrades to those homes as well.

Before doing anything, reflect on what your end goal is. The next step is to estimate how long you plan to remain in your home before contemplating any upgrading. It’s best to start slowly and if your home is new, get acquainted with it. If you have already been there a while, still use care but because of the familiarity you can get started a little quicker. Try to make a list the things you desire to modify and the updates you would like to make. Don’t worry about organizing the list right now, just get it all written it all down.  When you finally decide to sell be sure to talk to your local realtor and develop a sales plan. You may also wish to work with a professional home staging company to get your house sales-ready. Read the rest of this entry