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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.)
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.
New Year Feng Shui for 2014
Happy New Year!
I hope your Christmas was memorable and bright.
I also hope that you’ve kept up with my post-Halloween thankfulness challenge. If so, consider it a good habit!
2014 is going to bring in good luck for more people. Money will flow in more easily for most, but you’ll have to work for it.
Here are six easy tips for bringing positive Yang energy into your home for the New Year.
Clean Under Rugs & Carpets
Clean under your rugs and carpets. Dust accumulates and energy stagnates in these places.
Vacuum Under the Beds
Vacuum out the area under your beds (except for beds where a pregnant woman is sleeping). Not only will you get rid of allergens, but you’ll also get energy flowing.
If It’s Broke, Fix It!
Do you have any broken items in the house (stairway railing, table, stovetop burner, electrical outlet)? Don’t delay in fixing them, as they can cost you much more in time and money down the road.
Bring Brightness In
Open up your home. If you are in a warm area right now, open the windows and doors occasionally. If not, at least open up the blinds during the day. Invite the sun’s bright energy in.
Fix Those Doors
Be sure that all of your doors, particularly your front door, open easily without creaking or rubbing. Joint problems are common with those who have creaky doors.
Chi flows in from your front door, so for the sake of your Career, Wisdom, Family, Wealth, Fame, Love, Children, Helpful People and Health areas, keep that energy coming in!
Make It Appealing
When was the last time you repainted your home? If it has been more than a couple of years, consider a new coat. If you are a renter, spray down the outside on your next warm day to get rid of cobwebs and dust.
When your 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 own home inviting. If you had to do it all over again, would you want to move in? If not, make it so!
Make 2014 a great year!
Next Steps
If things don’t start out quite right for you, a professional space-clearing or personalized Feng Shui consultation may be needed to get the energy moving again.
Contact me right now to inquire about a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation because I want to help you get 2014 off to a great start!
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
Post-Halloween Chi Roundup
I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween.
Which part of Halloween do you like better: the cobwebs and spooky decor or pumpkins and sweet candies?
If you answered cobwebs and spooky decor, that’s a Yin energy. If your answer is pumpkins and sweet candies, that’s a Yang energy.
Yin and Yang
Our life is filled with Yin and Yang. There has to be dark to have light.
Typically at Halloween, there’s more Yin energy than Yang energy. So now that Halloween is over, let’s clean out those cobwebs – fake ones as well as real ones. We’re now going to welcome the Yang energy into our homes for the holiday season.
Fall Cleaning
Let’s call this a Fall Cleaning. We’re going to chase away the excess Yin energy by cleaning up the cobwebs, sweeping away the dead leaves and cleaning the windows and door handles.
Be Thankful
While we are busy cleaning, let’s start bringing in the Yang energy by thinking about the things we are thankful for. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, after all.
Here are some examples:
- I am thankful for this cool weather.
- I am thankful for a place I can call home.
- I am thankful for a warm cup of coffee in the cool Fall morning.
Let’s try to be thankful for at least one thing a day and continue thanking until at least Thanksgiving to see what kind of Yang energy we can call into our homes.
If we can keep this up until Christmas and New Years, maybe our thankfulness will be a habit. Then I can show you how to start being thankful to attract a great career, wonderful people, wealth, good health and positive relationships into your life.
I am thankful for my blog followers!
Next Steps
Leave a comment telling me how you plan to clean out the Yin and thank in the Yang.
Learn more about the Chi of Feng Shui.
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
Want to REALLY improve your situation? Contact me right now to inquire about a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation or Feng Shui Space Clearing so I can help you fast-track the start of something new.
De-Clutter Your Friends
friend (noun) \ˈfrend\
1: a person connected to another by a mutual bond of affection or esteem
2: a person that is not hostile
In this day of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+, take a look at how many “friends” you have in your social networks.
Be honest – are they truly your friends? How many of them do you actually enjoy spending time with vs. how many are simply acquaintances?
Eliminate Negativity
Now take a look at your updates or news feeds. Do any of your “friends” post consistently negative comments? Would you avoid them if you saw them in a public place?
You will always hear me talking about eliminating the clutter in your space. Now get rid of the clutter on MySpace (or Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else you spend your time).
That’s right. Unsubscribe from the feeds or even un-friend those that do not provide you with positive energy.
Why let others fill your thoughts with negative complaints and anger? This only weighs you down emotionally!
Add Positivity
And don’t think that I’m suggesting you only do this on social networks. Find friends online and in real life that are truly friends – people who will lift you up and with whom you will have a mutual bond of affection or esteem.
Haven’t met any yet? Subscribe to the feeds of others with truly inspiring messages filled with positive energy.
For example, you may want to subscribe to the news feeds of Tony Robbins, Nick Vujicic, Oprah Winfrey or the Dalai Lama. And be sure to subscribe to mine, while you’re at it!
I can assure you that if you surround yourself with only uplifting people, you will have positive energy and you will only be attracted to more uplifting people in the future.
Public Service Announcement
If you are the person that likes to share every bad thing that happened in your day or you complain about everything to everyone: STOP!
You are reading my blog because you want to improve your life. Perhaps you have already cleaned out your house to welcome in good energy. Now you need to BE that good energy as well.
Oprah once said, “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”
I would like to add, “Be that person who will lift others around you.”
Next Steps
Leave a comment to publicly announce how you will surround yourself with positive people and be sure to read about the Helpful People & Relationships corners of your home.
Want to REALLY improve your situation? For more help, contact me right now to inquire about a Feng Shui Space Clearing or a 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.
Clearing Out the Bed Feng Shui
Someone forwarded me a hilarious Craigslist ad of a woman selling her mattress because she no longer wanted to sleep on the bed that she and her cheating ex-boyfriend used to share.
At first I simply enjoyed the ad because of the humor in the write-up.
Then I realized how, intentional-or-not, the person who posted the ad was practicing Feng Shui.
Feng Shui Space Clearing
By disposing of the old mattress, she was cleaning out bad relationship energy.
The seller was clearing a road for new a relationship to come into her life (hopefully someone more caring and faithful then her ex).
I’m not saying that everyone getting out of a relationship should dispose of their old mattress every time they break up with someone. The sheets, yes. Mattress? Probably not.
Advertise Availability
If you are ready to move on from a relationship, you need to make it known to the energy around you that you have cleared the space for someone new.
If you find yourself in this situation, let me ask you something: Do you still have a shoe box full of items from your previous relationships? Perhaps pictures, ticket stubs, dried out roses, love notes…?
Move On
These things are holding you back emotionally from moving forward to meet that special someone who is right for you. When you hold onto them, they remind you of the past.
Instead, you should be looking forward to a new and better relationship to come.
This goes for everything in our lives, but especially for finding that special someone.
When you are ready to move on and ready to welcome someone special in your life, create some space for them… in your home and in your heart.
Just make sure you have a bed to sleep in after you’ve created the space!
I wish you and the Craigslist seller the best of luck in releasing yourselves from past experiences and moving toward brighter futures.
Next Steps
Leave a comment below with your plan to use Feng Shui to meet someone new.
Also, be sure to get more Feng Shui tips on finding Love and Marriage here.
For more help, contact me right now to inquire about a Feng Shui Space Clearing or a 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.
