Behind the Renovation

If you’re in the process of selling your home or preparing your house to sell, this season of the Behind the Renovation podcast is perfect for you.  Over the next few weeks, I am interviewing industry professionals and related businesses for the Home Selling Success series to help you understand what home selling and buying look like in 2021 and how you can prepare yourself for the good, the bad and that elusive virtue called patience. 

In today’s episode, I am interviewing Mike Bui who is currently President & CEO of EQ1 Real Estate, a boutique real estate brokerage in San Jose, California. Under Mike's leadership, the firm has grown from a team of 6 Realtors in 2013 to a team of 30 Realtors. The company was awarded the prestigious Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the US in 2018 and 2019. The co holds the #9 spot on the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Top Real Estate Firms list and is ranked at #23 for Top San Jose Companies by Inc.com.

When not in the office, Mike enjoys spending time with his wife, 3 kids and their Labradoodle.

You can find Mike on Instagram @whoismikebui or visit him at eq1realestate.com

Welcome to the Home Selling Success series.  In today’s episode, I’m sharing an interview I did with my clients, Andrew and Patricia Galligan whom I’ve been working with for over 5 years. We were discussing the family home that they were in the process of selling and I also interviewed their Realtor about her expectations vs. reality on their property. I think you’ll find their responses very informative.

>>The Renovation Planner™

>>Free eBook to learn how to AVOID costly mistakes on your home renovation projects

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In today’s episode, I'm sharing my tips for creating a proper workspace for adults and learning space for kids to thrive while sheltering in place.

• Have a dedicated space to work and learn in 
• Have a proper desk to work on
• Have a comfortable chair to sit at
• Make sure to have proper lighting
• Make sure you have easy access to an electrical outlet 
• Have your supplies on hand - from a printer to writing utensils, etc.
• Incorporate some good habits for a more successful day every day

Following these tips and following good habits will make sheltering in place a little easier for everyone.

>>The Renovation Planner™ 

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>>Your Desk Space Survival Kit 

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In today’s episode, I will be walking you through The Renovation Planner™ and explain why I created this product and how to use this to design and manage your home renovation.

The Renovation Planner™ was inspired by my nearly 2 decades of experience in home renovation projects.  know that managing a renovation project can be daunting.  There are a lot of moving parts and lots of things that can easily fall through the cracks. That’s why, I took everything I know about renovating, basically everything I do for my clients every day and created a powerful resource so that whether you’re a homeowner refreshing your bathroom or a professional responsible for a major home remodel you won’t forget anything.  The Renovation Planner™ puts the power in your hands to get your remodel completed on time and on budget. It’s packed with useful tools and a simple, but effective calendar tracking system so that you will be well prepared to meet every need throughout the entire process and I’ll walk you through what that process is.  

>>The Renovation Planner™ 

>>The Renovation Planner™ Budget Templates

>>The Renovation Planner™ Digital Partner

>>The Renovation Planner™ Bundle

>>Ep 007:  Who's Who On the Home Renovation Team

>>Ep 004:  Common Renovation Mistakes Homeowners Make that Land them in Renovation Purgatory

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On today's episode, we have two very special guests who, as we say, renovated and lived to tell about it.

Megan Gillespie is a mama to an almost 2-year-old and a Real Estate Agent in the Olympia WA area.  She is a co-host of the Boss Ladies and Babies podcast with her bestie where they talk about breaking the motherhood mold and balancing it all.  She’s been married to her handy hubby for almost 5 years and they love to work on home projects together.  She designs and he does the work.  It sounds like a great partnership to me!

Our other guest is Mikki Flaherty who is a mama of 2, wife of almost a decade, and a small business owner.  She and her husband are renovating their fixer-upper, which is no small feat with 2 young children.  She’s the other co-host of the Boss ladies and babies podcast and today, the two BFFs are switching things up.  Instead of sharing their journey through motherhood and building their businesses, they’re sharing their home improvement stories with us.

>>The Renovation Planner™ 

>>Megan Gillespie @KeepingItRealEstate360

>>Mikki Flaherty @FixerupsandSippycups

>>@BossLadiesandBabies Podcast

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In light of current events, I was thinking about how race has played a part in my business.  In today's episode, I discuss how I used to get calls from Realtors requesting that I stage a house for a Chinese Buyer.  I know how to stage a house, but how do you stage a house specifically for a Chinese buyer?   There’s really no way to do that.  What you want to do is design to attract the right demographic of buyers, not ethnicity because if you’re designing for ethnicity, it’s really all based on stereotypes and that’s not right and won’t work.  Design for resale based on the type of property and the price point because the listing price will determine the level of finishes you should incorporate into the home.  Although you don't design for a specific ethnic background, there are practices that have been incorporated into real estate such as Feng Shui that should definitely be taken into consideration. 

Listen to today's episode to learn about why focusing on creating value and the aspirational lifestyle that we all want in a home is the goal rather than considering ethnicity in the design.

>>The Renovation Planner™ 

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In today's episode, I talk you through Who's Who on the Home Renovation Team.  You will be amazed by the number of different people that can and will be involved in your home renovation project. This is because no one person is skilled in all aspects of the project. Everyone in the construction industry has an area of expertise. Just like in medicine where there are many specialties such as oncology, pediatrics, or cardiology, the same is true in the construction industry. There are many “handy” folks who know a lot about various aspects of construction, but there are occasions when a true specialist would be advisable or required.

Listen to today's episode to find out who the Players are on Your Home Renovation Team. There are the usual suspects in a typical home renovation project such as a General Contractor, Electrician, or Plumber and there are many other specialty Trades that are used for very specific projects.

>>The Renovation Planner™ 

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>>Episode 4: 6 Common Renovation Mistakes Homeowners Make that Land them in Renovation Purgatory

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We are into the 9th week of shelter in place here in California.  The State of California just lifted the ban on construction last week, so the City offices have reopened and inspections are back on the calendars. But, everything is not back to business as usual just yet.

The biggest challenge, beyond getting inspections to move forward with renovation projects, is getting materials. Choices are limited as many businesses were closed for many weeks.  All retail stores were closed. Some are starting to reopen and some are available on an appointment-only basis. Many were and still are only available on a delivery basis to limit interaction at their establishment.

So, in today's episode, I'm sharing my top resources for shopping for your home renovation during this coronavirus pandemic.  Listen to this episode to learn more.

>>The Renovation Planner™ 

>>Shop for Your Home

>>Sign Up for Rakuten (formerly eBates)

>>How to Save Money Online Shopping Video

>>Honey

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>>Overstock.com

>>LampsPlus.com

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In today’s episode, I'm talking you through 10 Easy Ways to Update Your Home for Resale.  I am currently in the midst of renovating a condo for resale and it's been 8 weeks since my initial inspections were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic taking over the world. Lucky for me, California just lifted the ban on construction so I was finally able to schedule the rough inspections (yay!). It's timely that I share my top tips to Update Your Home for Resale, especially since the real estate market is so tentative at this time.  

Listen to this episode to learn about these top updates and upgrades to help you sell your property quickly and for top dollar.  

1. Paint 
2. Update Lighting
3. Replace appliances 
4. Replace old tile countertop with solid surface countertop
5. Replace bathroom faucets and shower fixtures 
6. Replace kitchen faucet
7. Replace light switches, outlets and covers
8. Replace flooring and keep number of flooring changes to a minimum
9. Clean, clean, clean
10. Home Staging

>>The Renovation Planner™ 

>>Episode 2 - How to Compile a Preliminary Home Renovation Budget 

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In today’s episode, I'm talking you through 6 Common Renovation Mistakes Homeowners Make that Land them in Renovation Purgatory.  Renovation purgatory is that "temporary" timeframe when your renovation is stalled for weeks, months, sometimes years. Trust me, it's not the place to be.  Listen to this episode to learn how to avoid the following mistakes:

Mistake #1 - Not Making Decisions

Mistake # 2 - Not Having a Plan

Mistake #3 - Not having materials on site

Mistake #4 - Not having a dedicated Project Manager overseeing the Renovation

Mistake #5 - Expecting to complete the renovation without regular communications with your Construction Team/Trades

Mistake #6 - Not Hiring the Right Team

Today’s episode is brought to you by The Renovation Planner™, a physical planner with an amazing framework created to guide you through the home renovation process from start to finish. If you want to learn MORE about how you can plan and manage your home renovation project successfully, click here! 

>>The Renovation Planner™ 

>>Episode 2 - How to Compile a Preliminary Home Renovation Budget 

>>Episode 3 - Home Renovation from Two Perspectives - Homeowner and Top Producing Realtor with Michelle Kim

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