Home Owner Satisfaction Remains High
Nearly three out of every four home owners say they are satisfied with their purchase – and the No. 1 reason for their satisfaction is pride they feel about owning a home, according to HomeGain’s 2012 National Home Ownership Survey.
In addition to pride, home owners also said they enjoy the freedom and control they have to make improvement and upgrades to their home.
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Home Sweet Hazards
How serious a problem are home accidents?
Almost half of accidental deaths occur at home. The top causes are poison, falls, electric shocks, and fires. Home accidents are responsible for more than 3 million injuries, including about 55,000 fatal injuries, nationwide every year. That’s more fatalities than from workplace and automobile accidents combined. It’s really quite staggering.
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Top Priorities of First-time Home Buyers
First-time home buyers make up a big chunk of home buyers. So what are their top priorities when shopping for a home? Bankrate.com recently featured “must-haves” for first-time home buyers. Here are a few top priorities: Affordable price. "Unlike a trade-up buyer, they don't have any equity to roll into the purchase of their next home, so coming up with a down payment and the financial aspects of buying a home is the first concern," says Paul Bishop, vice president of research for the National Association of REALTORS®. Fortunately, home affordability is at one of its highest in years and a large inventory of homes on the market provides plenty of options, which is helping first-time buyers find a good home at a great price.
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10 Dos and Don’ts for Summer Open Houses
I often joke that I spent the first few years of my kids‟ lives just trying to keep them alive. While this is a (slight) exaggeration, the reality is that most of our parents do spend our formative years teaching us the do‟s and don‟ts of everyday life. Chances are, though, that this did not include a list of Open House faux pas; things that can get between you and your dream home, or your dream sale.
Tis the season for Open Houses, though, so we thought we‟d pick up where Mom and Dad left off, tipping you off to a list of pointers for both buyers and sellers about what to do – and what not to do – at this summer‟s Open Houses.
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4 Red Flags That Will Send Buyers Running
Red Flags That Send Buyers Running How you present a listing online and the words you choose to describe it may be turning off some buyers. Bankrate.com recently asked real estate professionals to weigh in on what listing red flags are turning off their buyers.
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6 Do-It-Yourself Updates
That Can Increase Home’s Value By More
Than $10,000
Simple, affordable do-it-yourself projects such as cleaning and decluttering and just adding lighting can help increase a home’s resale value, according to HomeGain’s annual home improvement and staging survey.
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Embellished Ceilings, Vintage Among Top Home Trends for 2011
So what does 2011 hold for home decor? Expect lots of 2011 forecasts in the coming weeks. Here are highlights from a recent article in which design experts chime in what they expect to see popular in home design in the New Year.
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Why Some Buyers Are Still Waiting…
Record-setting affordability isn't enough to get some buyers off the fence.
Amid all the news coverage about how the housing market is still in the tank, there’s one piece of news that seems to have escaped most commentators: Housing is at its most affordable level in decades.
Because of record-low mortgage rates (the average 30-year fixed rate was at 4.3 percent in early October), the monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home purchased with FHA-backed financing is $1,150, down from $1,658 in 2006, at the height of the boom.
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Homeownership 8 Quick Fixes to Increase Value
With buyers scarcer, sellers must up the ante to convince them that their property offers what many want most — top value for dollar expended. Here are eight fast fixes:
1. Buff up curb appeal.
You’ve heard it before, but it’s critical to get buyers to want to look on the inside. Be objective. View listings from the street. Check the condition of the landscaping, paint, roof, shutters, front door, knocker, windows, house number, and even how window treatments look from the outside. Add something special—such as big flower pots or an antique bench — to help viewers remember house A from B.
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Homeownership and Stable Communities Go Hand-in-Hand
“Homeownership is in investment in your future – home is where we make memories, build our lives and feel comfortable and secure,” said Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox Real Estate in Tucson, Ariz. “Owning a home has long-standing government support in this country because homeownership benefits individuals and families, strengthens our communities and is integral to our nation’s economy.”
NAR’s study identifies research from government, industry and academia that identified the relationship between homeownership and stable communities. Homeowners move far less frequently than renters, and therefore are embedded into the same neighborhood and community for longer. This allows for social cohesion, ultimately resulting in social benefits and stronger communities.
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Create the Illusion of More Space with Color and Light
There is nothing less inviting than a tiny, cramped, dark little room in the house or apartment. Obviously, the first thing that needs to be done to make the room more pleasant is to get rid of the clutter. If there is a lot of furniture such as a bed, a couple of night stands and dressers crammed into the space, have a yard sale and replace the furniture with two or three basic units that have hidden storage compartments. This will immediately transform the small room. Once there is some elbow room to move around, color and lighting will go a long way in creating the illusion of more space in a small room.
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Real Estate May 11, 2010 By Robbie Whelan
Home prices appear to be stabilizing as demand for higher-priced homes picks up and distressed properties, still a large part of the market, are no longer changing hands at the deeply discounted prices of a year ago.
Overall, home prices declined 0.7% in the first quarter of 2010 to an average of $166,100, the lowest first-quarter national median price since 2002, when the average was $158,600 according to a report by the National Association of Realtors. However, there was wide variation by region, with median prices up 9% in the Northeast and down 8% in West.
And the number of metropolitan areas where median prices are rising, instead of falling, grew for the fourth consecutive time. In the latest quarter, prices gained in 91 of the 152 metropolitan areas tracked by the Realtors compared to 67 in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 30 in the third quarter.
"The general theme here is that most markets are recovering," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the Realtors group. In markets where prices are falling, "the declines are less severe," he said.
There were surprising gains in median home prices in the Midwest, including places in Ohio that have been badly hurt by the economy. Brokers say in some of these markets, buyers have already scooped up much of the inventory of foreclosed homes and are now buying non-distressed real estate again. And even prices of distressed properties aren't selling for the rock-bottom prices of a year ago.
"In urban Akron, you had some house prices on foreclosed properties that are $5,000, $14,000, $20,000. When you have a lot of those sales versus the existing sales, it really drove the prices down," said Jim Camp, president of Cutler Real Estate of Akron, Ohio. "The first-time homebuyer [tax credit] had more impact on our market than it did elsewhere,'' he said, pointing out that the $8,000 credit, ended April 30, was a bigger incentive in Akron's cheaper real estate market than in places like New York or Chicago.
Thomas Lawler, a Virginia-based housing economist, said that the wild shifts in places like Akron and Cleveland indicated that the mix of homes for sale is changing. Median prices in Akron, where 11.6% of workers were unemployed in March, fell from $119,000 for 2007 to $50,100 in the first quarter of 2009, only to rise 90.2% to $95,000 for the most recent quarter.
"If you're in a market where traditional housing values just plunge, and the only sellers are motivated sellers, you can get huge swings in the median," Mr. Lawler said.
Sales of foreclosed properties and other distressed real estate remain a large part of the market
overall, however, accounting for 36% of sales in the first quarter of 2010, up from 32% in the
fourth quarter of last year and 30% in the third quarter.
Most of those distressed sales are in the weakest markets, where they continue to drag down
prices. Orlando saw the most precipitous drop, with median prices down 15%, followed by
Ocala, Fla., down 14.5%; Cumberland Md., down 14.4%; and Indianapolis, down 13.9%. Las
Vegas, the metro area that has led the nation in foreclosures for much of the last year, saw an
11.8% decline in median prices, from $155,300 to $137,000.
Meanwhile, sales and prices in the Northeast appear to be benefiting from growing demand for
more expensive homes, due in part to the availability of financing. "A year ago, the only
mortgage markets that were functioning were Fannie and Freddie-financed, or FHA-financed
loans," Mr. Lawler said. "Now we're beginning to see some action in the jumbo loan market," he
said, referring to loans of between $417,000 and $725,000, depending on the market, that comes
with slightly higher interest rates than smaller loans.
Another bright spot in the NAR numbers is California, which had some of the most battered
markets a year ago but has been mending for several months. A year ago, bank-owned
foreclosures constituted nearly half of the state's sales in 2009, up from 35.6% in 2008.
In Sacramento, the median price plunged from their 2007 level of $342,800 to $169,300 in the
first quarter of 2009, but has begun to creep back up again, adding 6% and bringing the median
price to $179,400.
Paul Kasriel, chief economist for Chicago's Northern Trust, said that going forward, the market
will continue to be burdened by foreclosure inventory, speculators, and empty-nester baby
boomers who want to sell their homes and downgrade to cheaper digs, but can't.
"We've made the turn, but it's going to be two steps forward and one step back, but a long time
before we see home prices rise at a sustained rate," he said.
Pending Home Sales Show Healthy Gain
Pending home sales rose in February, potentially signaling a second surge of home sales in response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 8.2 percent to 97.6 from a downwardly revised 90.2 in January, and remains 17.3 percent above February 2009 when it was 83.2. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the improvement is another hopeful sign. “The rise in buyer contact activity may signal the early stages of a second surge of home sales this spring. The healthy gain hints home prices are continuing to flatten,” he says. “We need a second surge to meaningfully draw down inventory and definitively stabilize home values.”
Pending home sales by region:
- Northeast: the index rose 9.0 percent to 77.7 in February and is 18.9 percent higher than February 2009.
- Midwest: jumped 21.8 percent to 97.9 and is 18.7 percent above a year ago.
- South: increased 9.2 percent to an index of 107.0, and the index is 17.5 percent higher than February 2009.
- West: the index fell 4.8 percent to 98.0 but is 14.6 percent above a year ago.
Source: NAR
Americans Still Prefer To Own Than Rent
Despite the challenges facing the housing market, 65 percent of Americans would still prefer to own a home rather than rent, according to a Fannie Mae national housing survey.
In addition, 43 percent of respondents cite safety as a key reason to buy, while 33 percent are motivated to buy because they perceive schools to be better in neighborhoods where most homes are owned by their residents.
The survey results released Tuesday show that both buyers and renters are more cautious than they used to be. About 23 percent of renters say they will buy a home, but later than they once hoped.
A full 70 percent said they believe buying a home continues to be one of the safest investments available. This compares to 74 percent who think putting money into a bank account is safe. Only 17 percent believe buying stocks is a safe investment.
Also, 60 percent believe that it will be harder for them to get a mortgage to purchase a home than it was for their parents.
Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey (04/06/2010)
7 Things You Should Know About SKYPE
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Six Landscaping Trends That Wow Buyers
From induction cooking to relaxation retreats, these home-furnishings trends are catching fire.
By Barbara Ballinger | February 2010 Realtor Magazine
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6 Landscaping Tricks That Wow Buyers
In today’s market, sellers have to work harder to persuade buyers that their property is worth the bite.
Landscape designer Michael Glassman has cooked up a recipe for guaranteed curb appeal.
1. Add splashes of color. With every changing season, a landscape should provide a new display of colors, textures, and fragrances. “It’s best to use one or two and repeat them,” Glassman says. Example: white iceberg roses that bloom in spring, summer, and fall as a backdrop; in front, a contrasting punch of purple salvia or lavender that will flower at the same time; and as an accent, a crape myrtle tree that provides changing leaf colors in fall and interesting branches come winter.
2. Size trees and shrubs to scale. These should be planted in the right scale for the house so that they don’t block windows, doors, and other architectural features on the home’s facade. A large two-story house can handle a redwood, Chinese pistache, sycamore, or scarlet oak, but a one-story cottage is better paired with a flowering cherry, crabapple, or eastern redbud. Too many trees cast too much shadow and cause potential buyers to worry about maintenance and costs.
3. Maintain a perfect lawn. A velvety green lawn demonstrates tender loving care, so be sure sellers’ homes don’t have brown spots. Some rocks, pebbles, boulders, drought-tolerant plants, and ornamental grasses will generate more kudos, especially in drought areas.
4. Light up the outside. Good illumination allows buyers to see a home at night and adds drama. Sellers should use low-voltage lamps to highlight branches of specimen trees, a front door, walk, and corners of the house. But less is better. The yard shouldn’t resemble an airport runway.
5. Let them hear the water. The sound of water appeals to buyers, and you shouldn’t just reserve this for your backyard. A small fountain accented with rocks provides a pleasant gurgling sound, blocks street noise, and is affordable.
6. Use decorative architectural elements. A new mailbox, planted window boxes, and a low fence wrapped in potato vines add cachet, particularly during winter months when fewer plants blossom. Colors should complement the landscape and home. Just don’t overdo it: Too much can seem like kitschy lawn ornaments.
Source: Michael Glassman, landscape designer, Michael Glassman and Associates, Sacramento, Calif.,
www.michaelglassman.com
Survey Finds Home Owners Favor Brick
From induction cooking to relaxation retreats, these home-furnishings trends are catching fire.
By Erica Christoffer | January 2010 Realtor magazine
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According to a recent survey conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Boral Bricks, 59 percent of all home owners with a siding preference would choose brick for their homes. The study was commissioned by Boral Bricks, Inc. to determine current consumer preferences for siding.
The survey, conducted in October, asked participants which type of siding they prefer on a home. Possible answers included brick, vinyl, stucco, fiber cement/composite and other; participants were allowed to choose more than one option. For the 1,144 home owners with a siding preference, brick was the leading choice with nearly two of every three respondents selecting it. Vinyl came in second (37 percent), followed by stucco (19 percent), fiber cement/composite (14 percent), and other (11 percent).
“This research shows brick is still the overwhelming choice for home owners who have a say in their exterior cladding,” said Bob Kepford, president, Boral Bricks, Inc. “Coming out of the recession, home owners will likely be in their homes longer than in recent years, and they should insist their builders use the most sustainable siding option to ensure it holds up to the elements. Brick has also proven to help homes increase in value, which is important with slower real estate appreciation expected in the future.”
According to U.S. Census data on siding for new homes, builders have increasingly opted for lap siding products over the last ten years. These products may provide more ease of installation; however, they don’t offer the consumer benefits home owners appreciate with brick including the fact that it is virtually maintenance free, extremely durable, locally sourced and sustainable.
Visit BoralBricks.com for the complete survey results.
Survey Methodology:
Harris Interactive fielded the Siding Preferences study on behalf of Boral Bricks from October 12-14, 2009 via its QuickQuery online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,073 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older of which 1,114 are home owners. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Brian Remsberg at brianr@imre.com.
About Boral Bricks:
Boral Bricks is the largest clay brick and paver manufacturer in the United States. Boral Bricks Inc. is the largest operating company of Boral USA, a holding company that owns Boralʼs U.S. operation. Boral Bricks Inc. is headquartered in Roswell, GA. For additional information, please visit www.boralbricks.com or call 800-5-BORAL-5.
12 Hot Home Ideas
From induction cooking to relaxation retreats, these home-furnishings trends are catching fire.
By Barbara Ballinger | February 2010 Realtor Magazine
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People today seek to personalize, economize, and make the most of their space—inside and out.
Today’s home owners seek style and comfort, but they’re ever mindful of the toll that our choices can take on the environment. These 12 home-furnishings trends reflect current priorities and aspirations. Some of these phenomena will inevitably fizzle, while others will become mainstays of the home, but for now they are attracting lots of industry and consumer buzz. Here’s a rundown:
#1 Induction cooking
Why trendworthy: Thirty percent more efficient than gas or electric.Cropping up in more and more homes, induction cooking uses a power coil to produce a high-frequency electromagnetic field that heats only the contents of a magnetic pan, leaving the surrounding surface cooler to the touch. By maintaining a precise temperature, it immediately stops heat generation when the cook element is turned off or cookware is removed, and it doesn’t produce an open flame that heats up a kitchen, says Malte Peters, product manager for cooking products at BSH Home Appliances, parent company of Bosch and Thermador. One downside: Special cookware must be used. Retail prices range from $1,500 to $4,399.
#2 Environmentally friendly cabinetry
Why trendworthy: Popular with green movement.With sustainable products continuing to draw fans, more kitchen and bathroom cabinets are expected to be fabricated from green materials, says John Troxell Jr., director of design at Wood-Mode Inc., a large manufacturer (www.wood-mode.com). But it’s not materials alone that make consumers pick one line over another, Troxell says. "Where materials come from, how cabinets are manufactured, and whether they’re finished without pollutants will be more important. While bamboo is renewable, it comes from halfway around the world, so is it environmentally friendly given transportation costs?" asks Troxell. He predicts greater interest in indigenous walnut and cherry, less in endangered mahogany and rosewood
#3 Energy-sipping refrigerators
Why trendworthy: Pares the electricity consumption of a standard guzzler.Future refrigerators will be better insulated to improve energy efficiency. The challenge is to add insulation without reducing interior space, says Matthew Kueny, senior manager of product development at Miele, which is working to provide a solution (www.miele.com). Also on the horizon: New interior lighting that’s more energy-efficient and that better illuminates dark corners without distorting the look of the food, which is common with the blue hue cast by LED lighting. Miele refrigerator-freezers start at almost $7,000, while simpler conventional models start at $600.
#4 Integrated stone composite sinks
Why trendworthy: They blend seamlessly into a countertop for a cleaner look, plus they’re more durable and easier to clean.Stainless steel sinks are still common, but stone composite designs built into a countertop are coming on strong, says Tim Maicher, director of marketing at Blanco (www.blancoamerica.com). The prime motivator is growing consumer demand for easier to clean, more durable surfaces that don’t scratch or stain. Blanco’s Silgranit II line offers another perk: multiple colors and textures. The designs will reflect demand for longer, deep models, yet not so deep that aging home owners have trouble setting down or removing pots and pans.
#5 White and beige color palettes, some grays and pinks, bold accents
Why trendworthy: Less intense colors to calm jittery nerves.Color seers may disagree about which palette will dominate, but they note that softer backdrops are everywhere—offering serenity to soothe frayed nerves as the economy remains turbulent. Mary Lawlor, color stylist with Kelly-Moore Paints (www.kellymoore.com), thinks whites and beiges will remain most popular and that bright colors will provide accents. Anne McGuire and Sue Kim, affiliated with Valspar Manufacturing Co. (www.valspar.com), see the most popular colors as water-inspired blues and greens, along with underwater corals. And Sylvia O’Brien, founder of Colour Theory (www.colourtheory.net), notes that earth tones provide tranquil reactions to the technical coldness in our midst and pink, especially with a pearlized finish, is popular as an accent because of its perceived healing power.
#6 Condo home offices
Why trendworthy: To help home owners maximize small spaces—and obtain a tax deduction.Owners of single-family homes have long been able to convert a bedroom, den, or basement to an office, but down the road more condo buyers and apartment renters will find homes with small, dedicated spaces for business use, says Robert Kaliner, president of the Ascend Group, developer of the luxury Georgica condominiums in New York, where each glass-wrapped unit will have a home office (www.georgicany.com). Steve Kliegerman, executive director at Halstead
Development, which is marketing units with home offices in another New York building, The Fitzgerald (www.thefitzgeraldcondos.com) in Harlem, sees a couple of factors behind the trend: Older, retrofitted office buildings tend to come with nooks that lend themselves to becoming small offices, and the home office tax deduction gives these spaces special appeal.
#7 Interior wall treatments besides paint
Why trendworthy: Easier to install; more personalized patterns, colors, textures. Less popular in recent years, wall treatments other than paint are making a comeback, says Atlanta-based interior designer Brian Patrick Flynn, who cites several reasons: new bolder graphic wallpaper patterns, some in shiny metallics and textured leathers, and easier and less costly application due to new primers. Wallpaper is cropping up on a single focal wall, which saves money. Flynn predicts more home owners will cover an entire wall with an enlarged photo printed in sections.
#8 Do-it-yourself projects
Why trendworthy: Less costly, more personal. The DIY trend keeps growing as home owners look to cut costs and return to basics. Instruction is readily available in classes, on the Web, and in books. Example: Designer Fu-Tung Cheng (www.chengdesign.com), who helped make concrete a chic, green material for interior surfaces, is now helping even nonhandy home owners construct concrete countertops with his book and DVD, Concrete Countertops Made Simple (Taunton Press, 2008). "The DIY movement represents a trend away from overly complex projects that require professional expertise. The simpler designs are also more timeless and individualistic and more likely to touch the heart," Cheng says.
#9 Outdoor curtains
Why trendworthy: Even backyard "rooms" require some privacy. As more people construct "rooms" in their backyards for purposes such as swimming, cooking and eating, and relaxing under a pergola, the need for curtains has arisen. New fabrics stand up better to outdoor conditions and visually soften hardscape surfaces. They also screen out nosy neighbors, says designer Flynn. Fabric runs $12 to $80 per square foot, plus installation.
#10 Dual-flush, environmentally efficient toilets, plus more healthful designs
Why trendworthy: Greater recognition that liquid and solid waste have different flush requirements. Though widely available abroad, dual-flush toilets—with separate mechanisms to handle liquid or solid waste—are gaining attention here, says Lenora Campos with Toto USA, a leading toilet manufacturer (www.totousa.com). The main challenge isn’t convincing home owners to buy the models, she says, but getting them to remember to use the right button. More companies may follow Toto’s lead to construct toilets with glazed concave rims and water nozzles that repel bacteria and wall-mounted models that make cleaning underneath easier. Toto’s Aquia II dual-flush models run from $457 to $686, while the company’s conventional single-flush models range from $350 to $525.
#11 3-D HDTV
Why trendworthy: Images are becoming more lifelike. HDTVs display a beautiful picture, but they can’t offer a 3-D presentation like your local IMAX movie theater does. The reason: True high-definition 3-D in the home currently lacks a standard and is still too expensive for most consumers. That should change, in part because electronics manufacturers are developing a standard format. When that happens, prices should drop, says Dave Pedigo, senior director of technology for CEDIA (the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association), a national trade association.
#12 Relaxation retreats
Why trendworthy: Increased need to unwind. Who cares about a home being a castle when most just want a place to unwind? Atlanta architect Johnna Barrett (www.barrettdesigninc.com) has designed several relaxation rooms, where creature comforts include natural materials, color kinetics, programmable LED lighting, candlelight, aromatherapy, a sound-blocking machine, flat-panel TV with DVD player, refrigerator with purified water, and a door. Depending on room size and amenities included, a retreat room could cost from $3,000 to $10,000.
HOW TO GET UNSTUCK
If you've got too much stuff cluttering your desk and your mind, organization guru Julie Morganstern offers ideas for making a fresh start.
By Barbara Ballinger | January 2010 Realtor Magazine
Why is it important to be organized?
It saves time and money—and reduces stress. If you can find what you need, when you need it, and feel comfortable in your space, then you're organized.
Yet, plenty of successful folks are surrounded by piles. Right?
Yes, many live or work in a physical mess, yet feel comfortable in this environment. But there's a difference between being successful and reaching our fullest potential. It's hard to do the latter when you're surrounded by piles. Eliminating clutter gives you room to think.
As businesses cut back on office space, real estate pros are working more from home. How can they get—and keep—their work organized?
If they don't devote physical space, they're probably not focusing sufficient time on their business. They may be trying to fit work in around their lives rather than giving it the proper attention. The solution is to dedicate a location to work.
When people work from home, how can they avoid interruptions?
Let family and friends know your hours by posting them and saying nicely, "During those times, I'm uninterruptible, except for an emergency." Explain what constitutes an emergency.
You say that organizing isn't simply about decluttering but identifying what's important.
That's right. It's not just about throwing out, but deciding what's important and designing a system that works for you so you're free to grow.
For many brokers and salespeople, their cars are secondary offices. How do they keep these organized?
The key is a portable file box that lives in their car when they're not toting it to their office. It should be big enough to hold client files, sales literature, business cards, and maps in file folders. Some file boxes come with a lid to use as a writing surface.
Isn't staying organized hard to do over a long period?
It takes mindfulness, especially in the beginning. I do the same tasks at the same time daily such as opening mail and calling back prospects. Your brain adapts to the routine so you focus on the execution. We spend too much time thinking about what we should do rather than doing it.
How do you get unstuck when making big changes such as starting a new business, which you delve into in SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life (Simon & Schuster, 2008)?
Realize your identity is separate from your stuff. Declutter your life by letting go of mess in your physical space and schedule, which allows you to discover what's stopping you from achieving your goals.
Why do people so often fall back after getting organized?
They fail to put stuff back neatly because they never set up a system that worked for them. Papers have to be filed so the user recalls them for retrieval, perhaps labeled by the name of a condo building rather than by a client's name.
You've found that most of us regress by about 30 percent after we reach our goal. How do we get back on the horse?
Start over, which takes courage. Think of firsts you tackled—college, job interview, solo travel. You had only yourself to depend on, and you succeeded!
What other essentials do these pros need to be productive?
A desk to place a laptop, printer, and fax, maybe a scanner and shredder, at least one or two file drawers with folders and tabs, a drawer for supplies such as pens, and a wastebasket.
What if two work from home?
Each person needs a personal work space since we all have our own way of organizing stuff, working, and tolerating quiet or noise.
Is time the No. 1 reason people find it hard to get organized?
It's people's perception of time. They can see and measure space, but time is hard to grasp. You can make it more tangible by estimating how long tasks will take. Schedule when you'll do what and don't overstuff days. My WADE formula encourages overcoming what seems like chaos by Writing everything down you need to do; Adding up how long you think all may take; Deleting, Delegating, or Diminishing what you've got to do; then Executing.
How does your "time map" help maintain personal time, particularly when work-at-home hours run beyond the typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.?
Carve out blocks for personal/family time. If you don't, you won't schedule and commit. The more roles you juggle, the more important it is to protect that schedule.
