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The Lakefront Motor Lodge Thermal Spa - serene setting, riotous accommodation, where online reviews suggest guests are lunging for the door. Can the Hotels SOS team pull this motel back into shape? If you thought that John last week was hard work and had a few chips on his shoulder then wait until you meet Ken!
Well the first episode seemed to be a hit judging by the viewer stats, I think its great to have an NZ show on the screen as there probably isn't nearly enough local content
Go Tom!
How Refreshing and Fantastic for modern day business that Tom is the first Apprentice.
Tom seems to personify the new age of business where we don’t have shaft others to get what we want – new business is about relationship building and taking a long term approach to business decisions rather than a ‘Hit the target at all costs’ attitude which is so short term. As was said on the show NZ is a small place and you don’t want to act in way that will ruin your ethical reputation – New Zealand does business like a small market town and we ask our friends or work colleagues to recommend people – in many other larger counties, with much bigger populations, the criteria and process for choosing a company to do business with is much different. Don’t Forget New Zealand is about ‘Who Do you Know?
it doesn’t mean either that you have to be soft, so negotiate hard and build strong relationships and see who else you can help to build their businesses – join a BNI group or some other networking group for the industry you are in and go with the attitude of ‘How can I help others to build their business’ and you will watch your own profits soar!
It was great for homestaging companies to read the most recent press release from QV Valuations this week because it contained some information that we have know for many years and that is……..
Glenda Whitehead of QV Valuations said “The properties that are selling well are those that are well presented and appropriately priced” “Buyers are generally being thorough in their research, and offers are often full of conditions.”
“The property market is now quite different to what we saw in the second half of 2009. Not only have values remained relatively flat for the past few months, but the urgency amongst buyers has all but gone”.
So if you are a vendor and you want to stand out in the market place and create some urgency around your property then be realistic on price and make sure the property is presented well. Homebase can assist for as little as $350. Many people spend more than that on getting a car ready for sale, because they realise the importance of first impressions - its no different with a house.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Apprentice contestants have a lot to learn from the experts
Posted by Simon - DirectorWell I won’t be rushing to offer any of The Apprentice contestants an apprenticeship at homebase after last nights efforts on the show.
In fact I have not laughed as much in ages watching the guys attempt to paint and hang wall paper let alone put a colour scheme together. I reckon it was a bit of a calamity all round - great TV though.
Last nights show was right in our zone as an Interior Design and Homestaging Company and I think what the show most clearly demonstrated is that Interior Design and Homestaging are best left to the experts!!
If you get the homestaging right then you can truly maximum your sale price, at the moment there are many more listings than buyers so how are you going to stand out? Overseas research has been done that shows that homestaged properties sell for 10-15 per cent more money and up to twice as fast as houses that haven’t been staged.
So, if you take an average Auckland property at $500,000 and use the 10% increase that’s an additional $50,000 - so as you can see we are dealing with big numbers here.
Homebase has been playing a key ‘background’ role on The Apprentice, fitting out the reception area, boardroom and the contestants’ luxury penthouse apartments at the City Life Auckland hotel we have some photos on our website.
Cheers,
Simon
OK - Enough already of the sandwiches the ice creams the sausage sales off the barbie and the cultural tours, lets get down to business. Homebase features in the next show as The Apprentices have to renovate two identical apartments and guess what? TWO of them get fired! If you Don't Believe me then check out the TV2 promo video for the show http://tvnz.co.nz/the-apprentice-nz/apprentice-nz-promo-video-3348970 This episode is definitely going to shake things up.
Well its very interesting out there in housing ville.
The government announcement around taxing property seems to have caused a two tier split in the market. Looks like investors have become cautious around purchasing any more property until certainty is back, whereas home owners don't feel like they will be affected and so are carrying on as normal.
Some investors are also deciding to sell now, as they feel that owning property in the future will not be as lucrative as it used to be and are getting out now before the rush.
Any certainty returning for investors may not happen until May which is when i believe the Government have said they will officially announce the tax changes.
Will this uncertainty have the overall effect of slowing the market? is this what the government had planned all along to ensure that the housing market did not take off again - there's nothing like uncertainty to cause people to wait?
Another great show, a little bit of a step up from snags on the barbie - that's good.
Even a bit of conflict between the guys. Thought the boys did well with the challenge, lets face it female underwear is a bit tough on the guys so, combined with having to put on a fashion show, which would normally be considered to be more of a female bias, the boys did well!
Does this mean there will be more 'male orientated' challenges in the future?
homebase was pleased to see some great shots of the fantastic reception area that we put together, and more great shots of the art in the penthouses that was specially commissioned by homebase for The Apprentices staying at the City Life penthouses. We chose Christine Melchior as the artist, you can see her work at www.christinemelchior.com
Wow what a great show on TV Last night - Looks like those Apprentices will be able to hold their own against the worlds best, although I guess cooking a few snags on the barbie was a nice gentle start! homebase was proud to have created the penthouse apartments in City Life for The Apprentices. Our brief was to convert the rather traditional look and feel to a more inner city funky feel using accessories, cushions, art and additional pieces of furniture - from what I saw on TV we did our job. homebase also provided that funky looking reception furniture and all the chairs for the Boardroom. If you are currently using our home staging services to sell your home then the office chair that Terry Serepisos was sitting on could be in your home right now!
I cant believe how busy we are with requests for help to prepare homes for sale that will be hitting the market very soon - could this be the upturn in the housing market volumes that we have all been waiting for?
We still see that the majority of people selling are still living in their homes, as opposed to moving out first and fully staging it, so they need some help to re-arrange what they have got and to hire some new fresh items of furniture to replace their old or worn out pieces. Everybody is talking about the importance of great presentation to sell homes.
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