Feng Shui Your Rental Properties for Good Luck
While some may believe that Feng Shui is only superstition, an increasing percentage of the population consider it essential for good luck and will only consider homes that have good Feng Shui elements.
What Is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art and science that explains how energy, or Chi, flows throughout our surroundings. In one application, Feng Shui is then used to direct Chi in ways that are most harmonious to the occupants of homes in terms of wealth, health, relationships, etc.
Practical Feng Shui Applications
Moreover, Feng Shui has practical applications. It is likely that even if you don’t believe in Feng Shui or Chi, you will be more naturally attracted to homes that are the beneficiaries of Feng Shui applications… and so will more potential tenants.
How Feng Shui in Rental Properties Affect You
Further, your rental properties are an extension of you. Not only will bad Feng Shui in a rental unit impact your tenants, but it will also impact you. More specifically, if money problems impact your renter, it impacts you.
I have found that if I use the principles of Feng Shui and increase the curb appeal, I can charge more for my units and generally get higher-quality applicants.
So, here are five Feng Shui (and practical) tips for keeping your properties rented and the money flowing in.
If It’s Broke, Fix It!
Do you have any broken items in the property (leaky faucet, stovetop burner, electrical outlet)? Don’t delay in fixing them, as they can cost you much more in time and money down the road. Implore your tenants to contact you at the first sign of a problem.
In terms of Feng Shui, water and stoves are symbols of money. A leaking faucet, for instance, means that money is slipping away.
Landscaping
Whether your tenant is responsible or you are responsible as the landlord, make sure that the yard is properly kept.
Not only can overgrown grass, dead bushes and dog feces be unsightly to tenants (whether it’s their fault or not), they will deteriorate the value of the neighborhood, and therefore, your property.
Front Door
Be sure that all of your properties’ doors, particularly the front doors, open easily without creaking or rubbing.
As this is the tenant’s first experience in the property when they step in, it can set the mood for their entire time in the unit.
For Feng Shui, the front door is one of the most important areas of a property. The front door is the gateway for the flow of Chi.
For the sake of the Career, Wisdom, Family, Wealth, Fame, Love, Children, Helpful People and Health areas of the property, keep that energy coming in!
Junk
Make sure that your lease agreements require that junk is not allowed to accumulate anywhere on the property.
Non-operable cars, a pile of building materials, and even a gathering of children’s toys is not only unsightly, but also hazardous.
Fires, pests and injuries are more likely to occur where there is junk. In terms of Feng Shui, junk also prevents the flow of Chi.
Knowing when junk has accumulated outside is one thing, but how do you know if it accumulates inside? I have a clause in all of my lease agreements where my property managers inspect fire alarms and plumbing twice per year. If they happen to notice a junk issue during a visit, it needs to be cleaned up, per the contract.
Paint
When was the last time you repainted the property? If it has been more than a couple of years, consider a new coat. In between, spray down the outside on a warm day to get rid of cobwebs and dust.
When a home gets run down, its energy begins to fade. This is exactly why major hotel chains and department stores constantly upgrade their properties. They understand the need to keep the energy of their multi-million dollar properties alive and flowing.
Make your rental properties (and even your own home and office) inviting. Even if a property is currently occupied, do you think someone would want to move in if it suddenly became vacant? If not, make it so! Vacancies aren’t fun. I know.
Next Steps
For more help, contact me right now to inquire about a Feng Shui Space Clearing or a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation because you can’t afford negative cashflow.
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
(Jessie Kim is a certified Feng Shui consultant and experienced real estate investor. Through her firm, Ms. Feng Shui (https://www.MsFengShui.com), Kim provides personalized, professional, in-person and virtual Feng Shui consultations and seminars. Kim specializes in working with real estate, primarily working with homebuilders on new residential development projects.)
Home Builders Attract Foreign Buyers with Feng Shui
Foreign buyers acquire over six percent of all home sales in the United States.
Foreign Investors
The reasons for these purchases are varied. First, the wealthy around the world are looking for investment opportunities. Second, they want their children to attend school in the United States. Third, they are looking to immediately or eventually immigrate here. The EB-5 visa requires foreigners to invest money into commercial enterprises in the U.S. in addition to having a U.S. home.
Key Markets for Foreign Investment
Of the six percent of overall home sales, certain cities see a much higher percentage of sales to foreign buyers. According to Jed Kolko, Chief Economist for the real estate site Trulia.com, “There are some parts of the United States that see very strong foreign demand and that helps keep prices high in lots of areas. The places where we see this impact the most is in parts of Los Angeles, Miami and New York.”
Chinese Investors
A growing percentage of foreign buyers are from China, as the Chinese recently saw prosperity in their economic cycle.
More than 50% of all Chinese buyers purchase homes in California. The weather and the already high population of Chinese in parts of California are major factors to this attraction.
Feng Shui in Home Construction
As such, attracting foreign buyers may be one of the many reasons why several home builders are integrating Feng Shui into their new developments.
What Is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art and science that explains how energy, or Chi, flows throughout our surroundings. In one application, Feng Shui is then used to direct Chi in ways that are most harmonious to the occupants of homes in terms of wealth, health, relationships, etc.
While some may believe that Feng Shui is only superstition, especially many Chinese consider it essential for good luck and will only consider homes that have good Feng Shui elements.
Ms. Feng Shui
Jessie Kim, a renowned Feng Shui consultant called Ms. Feng Shui, has provided Feng Shui consulting for several home builders, including Olson Homes, City Ventures, KB Home, Warmington Residential and Beazer Homes.
Placement and layout of the kitchen is an important element for buyers in new home design.
Home builders are looking for Feng Shui consulting on the full range of project development from initial planning to marketing.
“The earlier I am involved, the better,” Ms. Kim says, “because it’s easier than trying to change things that have already been set. And it’s better to do that before a project is approved by the city and everything has been set in stone.”
Feng Shui in Development Stages
Ms. Feng Shui consults on land acquisition, street numbering & naming, staging and sales team training. She also works closely with planners and architects to ensure the projects’ site designs, home designs and landscaping designs include beneficial elements important to those with knowledge of Feng Shui. She even provides Feng Shui seminars for prospective buyers.
Because Chinese nationals are often cash buyers and look to hold onto the properties long-term, many home builders are looking to ensure that the homes they build meet the Feng Shui needs of these important buyers.
(Jessie Kim is a certified Feng Shui consultant and experienced real estate investor. Through her firm, Ms. Feng Shui (https://www.MsFengShui.com), Kim provides personalized, professional, in-person and virtual Feng Shui consultations and seminars. Kim specializes in working with real estate, primarily working with homebuilders on new residential development projects.)
Home builders: contact me right now for a free proposal because Chinese investors are looking for harmony and balance in your properties.
For individualized help, contact me to inquire about Virtual Feng Shui Consultation.
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
Feng Shui to Lose Weight
So how many of us gained few extra pounds from our holiday feasts?
I know I may have gained a pound or more… I’m afraid to check.
Feng Shui can help you lose those unwanted pounds. Seriously.
Of course, exercise and especially good eating habits are the most important actions you can take to lose weight and to prevent obesity.
But, how can we change our behavior to help us eat better? Here are a few Feng Shui tips to help you get started in trimming the fat:
Throw Out Those TV Trays
Start by using your dining room for all of your meals.
If you eat in front of a TV, stop. As you roboticly shovel food into your mouth while lost in a TV show, you don’t pay attention to how much you are eating. Before you realize it, your entire meal will be gone.
If you are sitting as a family in your dining room, talking and engaging with your family, you tend to eat slower. And this is a good thing.
Did you know that your stomach doesn’t feel full until about 20 mins after you’ve stopped eating?
Your stomach can hold up to a gallon of food and liquids. But the feeling of feeling full after eating is not caused by your stomach actually being full.
Rather, feeling full is caused by your brain responding to chemicals released when you put food or liquids in your tummy.
And it takes about 10 to 30 minutes for the levels of these chemicals to reach the point for your brain to register them.
In fact, you may want to start your meal with a smaller portion, allowing your chemicals and brain more time to give you that feeling of being full before hitting the platter for seconds.
If you don’t feel full directly following your first portion of a meal, just wait. As the level of chemicals increases, your hunger should go away.
Stop Gawking!
Having a full view of the kitchen from the living room or den may not be a good thing if you are trying to lose those extra pounds.
More specifically, you want to make sure that you cannot see your refrigerator or any unhealthy food items from your couch.
Seeing your refrigerator will make you feel the need to check its contents every time you see an ice cream commercial. Seeing an open chip bag or that leftover bag of Halloween candy will only make you want to finish it.
If this explains your home layout, you may want to rearrange your living room so you won’t see straight into the kitchen. Alternatively, you may want to put up a door or other divider to obstruct the view of these items.
Surround Yourself with Health
If you can’t avoid seeing the kitchen from your living area, get rid of the junk food. Make sure only healthy snacks like fruits and vegetables and bottles of water are within sight.
Now, make sure to place bright, energetic and vibrant pictures, paintings and objects that remind you of healthy living in the appropriate places (learn about placement using the Feng Shui Bagua).
These items will help you guilt your way to eating healthy.
Avoid Clutter
I can’t stress this enough. If your pantry, closets and other areas of your home are overflowing, it will be difficult for you to break the eating habit.
Make sure that Chi energy can flow through your home, and positive energy will soon circulate through you.
Space Clearing
If you have had trouble with losing weight or sticking with other New Years resolutions in the past, a professional space-clearing or personalized Feng Shui consultation may be needed to get Chi moving again.
Have fun Feng Shui’ing your way to losing those unwanted pounds!
Next Steps
Contact me right now to inquire about a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation because I want to help you get 2014 off to a slimming start!
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
Olson Believes In Feng Shui Design
By Jessie Kim
Feng Shui Consultant
You might not be familiar with the principles of feng shui, or the Chinese practice of arranging the environment to create harmonious surroundings.
But, even if you aren’t, you’ll notice something different about a place designed along these principles. There’s a sense of quiet, a certain ease, a comfort that makes a house feel like a home.
That is why The Olson Company works with Jessie Kim, a renowned feng shui consultant, for many of its projects. Kim advises the company from the outset of a new project, helping orient buildings, laying out streets, and even selecting the artwork that hangs from the halls of the model homes. Once Olson became aware of her work, the company has consulted with her on a regular basis: “Olson saw the need for it and it has snowballed since,” she says.
The idea is simple: Day-to-day living involves movement and the flow of energy. Feng shui recognizes movement and the flow of energy and how it impacts the way that people live and relate to each other and their surroundings. And having recognized these principles, Kim offers advice on how to arrange the surroundings to make the flow of energy, the interpersonal interactions, the movement of day-to-day life better.
“It’s important because it creates harmony for the people who are living in a community or a home, and it brings a sense of well-being into the community,” Kim says. “When it comes to overall harmony for health, relationships, it helps make everything well.”
In her role as a consultant to The Olson Company, Kim typically is involved from the beginning. Given a particular site, she advises on the big picture – where the homes are located, where the streets flow, which way the homes are oriented.
“The earlier I am involved, the better,” Kim says, “because it’s easier than trying to change things that have already been set. And it’s better to do that before a project is approved by the city and everything has been set in stone.”
Kim’s input is apparent to homebuyers when they first visit the model homes. Kim advises on elements like colors, furniture, landscaping and the placement of objects within the model home.
“Even little simple things like artwork can affect the energy of the home and the energy of the buyer who’s walking through the house,” Kim says.
What is less visually identifiable but no less important is the floor plan of a home.
Placement and layout of the kitchen is an important element for buyers in new home design.
“Generally, you want to have good positioning of the kitchen,” Kim points out. “I try to make sure that the master bedrooms and the kitchen are in a good position, and that there are no stairs or a back door lining up to the front door. Some of it just seems like common sense and good design – and it is.”
The idea is not for people to walk in and academically analyze a home on its adherence to feng shui principles. It’s more about the experience that people have when they are in the home, Kim says. “It’s about how people feel walking through the house,” Kim explains. “It makes the families feel more at home if you have a well feng shui’d house. If the front door and back door are lined up, people don’t want to interact, but they tend to walk through and out of the house.
“In a well feng shui’d home, you feel this is a home where you want to sit down, relax and stay for a while. It makes you feel at home. If it is your home, you’ll feel more rested, and your family feels more in harmony. Things just go smoothly.”
Ultimately, while Kim’s work is on the design of a community and its buildings, the focus is on people and the way they live.
“The home is for the people living in it,” Kim says. “With feng shui, you’re trying to create a space where people are harmonized and well balanced together.”
(Hyun Jung “Jessie” Kim is a certified Feng Shui consultant and experienced real estate investor. Through her firm, Ms. Feng Shui, Kim provides personalized, professional, in-person and virtual Feng Shui consultations and seminars. Kim specializes in working with real estate, primarily working with homebuilders on new residential development projects.)
Reprinted with permission from The Olson Company. Originally printed in Vol. 5 / Issue 1 / Page 25 of In Town Living.
Home builders: Contact me right now for a free proposal on how I can add harmony and balance to your properties.
For individualized help, contact me to inquire about Virtual Feng Shui Consultation.
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
