Real estate agents often have to work with either barren rooms or sloppy, overstuffed spaces. But what’s truly attracting the most buyers right now is a deft balance of tidy austerity and a comfortable, lived-in feel.

Homeowners may need to consider a litany of codes, ordinances, and requirements both when they remodel and when they put their homes up for sale. Understanding these rules and knowing when to seek expert assistance can help you and your clients avoid surprises during an inspection or at the closing table.

Consider these simple yet elegant options for dividing a space that increase its functionality while scoring design points.

Freshly painted walls, gleaming wood floorboards, and tightly insulated attics are on many buyers’ wish lists. But some materials, processes, and finishes can make for toxic spaces. Help your buyers and sellers keep their homes healthy.

One client’s closet is another client’s playroom. Plant imaginative ideas in your staging and marketing copy demonstrating how outdated rooms and home features can better meet the needs of today’s buyers. 

Using faux stone can lead to real problems if installed improperly.  

Sparkling new quartz countertops, polished hardwood floors, stainless steel kitchen appliances. Aren’t your buyers lucky? But when sellers are flippers, a good buyer’s rep should help clients engage in some old-fashioned sleuthing.

Conventional real estate wisdom offers paint as an easy and inexpensive decorating tool to transform interior and exterior space. Help your clients find non-toxic options, the right colors, and appealing combinations to achieve their goals.

When buyers have trouble envisioning living in a property, an architect can help them see the possibilities.

With climate becoming less predictable, you can be a lifeline for clients by pointing them toward hardy, carefree landscaping choices.

The practice of demolishing a home to build another has changed significantly since the Great Recession. Help buyers understand when it’s smarter to demolish a fixer-upper, rather than remodel it, and learn why it may pay off for you to take on a more active role than the traditional buyer’s rep.