How to Find a Home for Joyful Living
Design Psychology Tips

One of Your Most Important Life Decisions: Where and How to Live

Business owners need a stable, comfortable, organized, and emotionally supportive home environment. One of my pet peeves is a high-flying, snobby entrepreneur who lives in the back of a car and tries to tell me how to run my business. You must prove to yourself that you are worthy of big business before you can invite the world into your space.

On the other hand, you don’t want to over extend yourself and put extra stress on your lifestyle and home relationships. You need a good home, not an expensive mansion. I happen to live in a beautiful home I found durning the recession. It was not finished and I lived with no heating and air-conditioning.

I finished my home over time and built up a lot of equity. I’m so fortunate that my late husband and I flipped houses for years. I still make most of my money in real estate.

7 Top Home Buying Tips for Joyful Living

1. Location
First, choose your community. It’s been proven that people who live near family are happier. Major considerations: Safety, schools (even if you have none or your children are grown) for resale ease, convenience to shopping, and good neighbors. When you’re considering a house, talk to the neighbors and ask if they like living on the street. They will tell you if there are nuisance neighbors.

2. Light
Look for a home with a lot of natural light and windows. Lighting, the number one design element according to Design Psychology, can be supplemented with sky lights, my favorite sky tubes, and sunshine mimicking lightbulbs. But nothing comes close to a room full of windows!

Sky tubes have reflectors and light up at night as well.

3. View
Look for a home with some kind of view, if only a private garden you can turn into a serene oasis.

4. Size
The size of your home doesn’t matter that much. What matters is leaving the excess clutter out of your life. It’s easier to take care of a smaller home. Look for a home with a good size living space so you feel important in that space. Low ceilings and small rooms make you feel insignificant. For contrast, smaller bedrooms actually help you sleep better. And, fewer bedrooms mean less work. What I don’t like about my big house is everyone wants to stay and then they leave me to change the sheets. I’m going to build a two bedroom home next. My next home design has ten foot ceilings with lots of windows, a roof garden to watch Disney fireworks and the sunset, and koi pond or pool views from every room.

5. Price
Perhaps you qualify for an expensive home. Consider the extra costs of higher utility rates (you pay more for the top tiers of usage), insurance, and property taxes. Since the tax deductions changed, these costs are higher. Put your extra money in rental property so you get someone else to pay the mortgage.

6. Remodel
Take a look at homes that need updating, fixing, or just plain TLC. You make money when you buy low and sell high. Plus, you get to design a home just the way you want it!

Look for 3-D houses with three of the following conditions:

1. Distressed. The house is a mess.
2. Default. The mortgage is behind.
3. Divorce. The sellers are a mess.
4. Death. The heirs are anxious.

7. Offers
Try not to fall in love with one particular house. Whenever I think I’m in love with a house and then it sells for more, I declare there’s another better home for me. Finding a better deal has always happened! Put in three offers on three properties so you have the opportunity to get a bargain price. Remember, you make more money when you buy for less than market value. You must understand your selected real estate market, remodeling costs, and know your budget. Fixing a home always costs more and takes more time than estimated.

If you want a home in Southern California, call me and I will help you find the perfect home for joyful living and making money.  I give buyers a Personal Design Psychology Plan for Joyful Living. Home sellers benefit from a Design Psychology Home Staging Plan unlike all other home stagers.

Please call 9 AM to 5 PM Pacific Time Monday – Thursday. 714-213-0354

JOY to YOU!

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