As we move into 2023 and the commercial real estate market continues to grow and evolve, those who have invested in commercial real estate are looking closer at ways to maximize their investment in commercial buildings, spaces, and properties. While the initial cost of commercial real estate can be lofty, the real bottom line comes down to the return on investment (ROI) that owners see on those commercial properties over time. 

As with any investment, the ultimate goal is to make the most of the money spent, so how can you as a commercial real estate property owner leverage your investment to maximize your return on investment? In this blog, we’re looking at five considerations:  

1. Location, Location, Location: 

One of the most important factors in maximizing ROI is choosing the right location for your commercial property. After all, if your property is located somewhere that businesses don’t want to operate, there will be little to no demand for your space. In a situation like that, your best option may be to sell the property rather than to shoulder the responsibilities and expenses of property management potentially at a loss. 

Generally, you’ll want to look for areas with high foot traffic, easy access to major transportation, and a growing population. This will increase the chances of finding high-quality tenants and achieving a high rental income.

2. Conduct Market Research:

As should be the case before making any investment, it is essential to conduct in-depth market research. This process will help you identify the current trends and future prospects in the commercial real estate market, and make informed decisions about where and how to invest.

This can mean understanding the latest trends in technology and equipping your property accordingly, keeping a finger on the pulse of what people are looking for in commercial spaces, looking toward the potential future needs of your customers, and more! When you can meet and exceed the expectations of your target market, you can justify a higher price point and therefore increase your ROI. 

3. Invest in Improvements: 

When investing in commercial property, it’s important to consider the potential for property improvements and renovations. This can include things like remodeling, adding new features, and making the space more energy-efficient. These improvements can increase the value of the property and make it more attractive to potential tenants.

By strategically investing in updates, upgrades, and renovations, your property can go from being a cheaper option on the market to fetching a high price on the commercial real estate market simply by planning and implementing high-value improvements. 

4. Consider Multiple Tenants: 

Another way to maximize ROI is to consider properties that have the potential to attract multiple tenants. This can include multi-tenant buildings, retail centers, and office buildings. When you have more spaces or parts of your commercial space that are available for rent, you immediately increase the income potential on that property. Increased income potential over the same operational costs results in an instantaneous jump in the ROI for your listing.  

5. Diversify Your Portfolio: 

Diversifying your portfolio can reduce risk and increase the chances of achieving a high ROI. Consider investing in different types of commercial properties, such as apartments, office buildings, and retail centers. This will help to distribute the risk associated with property ownership and increase the chances of finding tenants for your property.

Make the Most of Your Investment

Overall, the key to maximizing your ROI when investing in commercial real estate is staying informed. When you understand the market, you are able to make informed decisions based on thorough research and careful consideration rather than guessing what might pay off in the long term. By following these five strategies, you can increase the chances of finding high-quality tenants, improving your commercial properties, and ultimately making the most of your investment into commercial real estate.

As we enter a new year, it’s natural to want to start fresh with new habits and goals. Whether you’re on the hunt for a new home and are getting ready to sell or are settling into your space, we all have home-oriented goals.

But are those habits and resolutions that you set on January 1st sticking around? Either way, we’ve got you covered with some of the best tips and tricks to keep up with everything from decluttering to decorating your home. 

Make a Plan

No matter what your goal is, if there is no plan backing it up, it’s just an idea. In order to make a goal actionable and realistic in your home, make sure you’re really looking at the things you want to accomplish and break them down into the steps that will need to be taken. Ultimately, if there are smaller tasks that can be completed to get you to your home goals, they’re much more likely to happen and help you reach those larger goals. 

For example, if you can break down the task of decluttering into specific 5-minute projects (ie. going through the medicine cabinet, shoe collection, or desk drawer), you could tackle one every day. Over the course of a few weeks, months, or even years, those seemingly small tasks will have a significant impact on the overall clutter in your home.

If your goal is to DECLUTTER: 

Start small and select one room or area of your home and focus on that. This can be larger areas such as an open kitchen/living/dining space like we see in open-concept homes, or it can be as simple as one drawer in your bathroom. Whatever you have the time or focus for is a great place to start. Some progress is better than none! 

Go through each item at a time. Ask yourself if you really need each item and if it is something that still brings you joy. If not, consider donating, selling, or recycling it. Once you have finished with one area, move on to the next. Again, these can be as small of chunks as you want. Don’t overwhelm yourself – decluttering can be particularly emotional and sentimental, so it’s essential to not rush the process if you’re feeling overloaded. 

If your goal is to CLEAN: 

Create a schedule for yourself to help stay on track. Break down your tasks into manageable chunks, again considering the time you have available to you and the time each task will take. Then, assign each task to a specific day of the week. This will help you stay on top of your cleaning and make it easier to stay consistent. 

Another great way to motivate yourself to tackle those cleaning tasks is to associate them with something you enjoy. Call up a friend, listen to a podcast, or put on a favorite movie in the background while you work, and cleaning can become more than a chore – it can become almost enjoyable. 

If your goal is to DECORATE: 

Maybe you’re prepping your home to sell and looking to decorate with the intention of having great listing photos, or maybe you’re just wanting to have a home that better reflects your style. Either way, this is a great goal to have but can feel limited by your available time, budget, and skill. 

Begin by focusing on one room or area at a time, and create a general schedule of when you’d like to have each room “done.” Decorating is an ongoing process, so there’s no pressure to be completely finished, but a schedule will help prioritize each area of the home and encourage you to take the time to get it done. 

Then, create a vision for what you want the space to look like. If you’re planning to sell your home, that might mean focusing on the home’s features – like placing furniture to accent a beautiful fireplace. Or, maybe that means that you need to understand how the room will function and where you can add some personal touches of style. Consult Pinterest or similar websites to gather inspiration, and then schedule time for yourself to search secondhand stores, home decor websites, and local boutiques to curate the look you want at any budget. 

Where: Jerks of the Caribbean, Fredericksburg, VA

Add a bit of spice to your palate and your plate when dining at Jerks of the Caribbean. This family-owned and operated restaurant serves up delicious Carribean-influenced dishes right here in Fredericksburg, Virginia!

Jerk’s menu is perfect for those who like to create their own flavor combos, and the portion sizes are generous for the starting price point of $9.99 for chicken entrees. Whether you order your chicken Jerk (Spicy), Island (Mild), or Curry style, these rotisserie-cooked entrees won’t disappoint. If chicken isn’t your thing, don’t fret, they also serve up Caribbean-style shrimp, salmon, pork, and ribs, and on weekends, their signature stewed oxtails! All of their meats are marinated with imported spices and slow roasted to peak flavor.

Entree-wise, their jerk sauce is a fan favorite, however, be sure to have a drink handy to help handle the heat as it packs quite the punch. To drink, you can’t go wrong with their Jamaican soft drinks or Island lemonade.

To complete your meal, they have various savory and sweet sides to choose from including Ma Marie’s potato salad, coleslaw, fried plantains, sweet potatoes, cabbage, mac n’ cheese, and more! If you’re feeling a bit extra and want to add even more flavor to your meal, their ‘Extras’ offerings include coco bread, beef, chicken and veggie patties, and extra rotisserie chicken and ribs.

Whether you’re a local or just passing through, you won’t want to miss stopping at this conveniently located restaurant at 3631 Plank Rd. Although they call themselves the Jerks of the Caribbean, their staff are the opposite, serving great food and excellent customer service 6 days a week. Jerks of the Caribbean offers dine-in, take-out, and delivery. Tuesdays to Saturdays from noon to 8:00 pm and Sundays from 1:00 pm-6:00 pm.

While the housing market is certainly cooling off from the sky-high prices of the past few years, rising interest rates may be keeping the market in a tricky position for the coming year. 

Is a new home on the horizon for your family in 2023? Despite the ever-changing climate of home-buying, we’re here to help you navigate the coming twists and turns you may face along the way. 

A Sellers Market

The first thing to understand, whether this is your first time in the home-buying process or your tenth, is that we’re currently still experiencing a seller’s market. A seller’s market is a real estate market in which there are more buyers than there are homes available, resulting in higher prices and increased competition among buyers. While we’re experiencing a cooling off of the intensity, homes will stay on the market for shorter periods of time and buyers may need to make more concessions – whether in the budget, location, etc. 

Tips & Advice for Homebuying in 2023

If you are considering finding your dream home in 2023, here are some of our best tips for staying sane through the process: 

1. Get Pre-approved First. 

Before you start looking at homes, it is important to get pre-approved for a mortgage. This will give you a clear idea of your budget and will make you a more competitive buyer. 

This critical first step also ensures that you’re ready to put an offer on a property as soon as you decide you’d like to purchase it, rather than having to go through the process of getting approved after finding an interesting house. 

This step can ultimately make or break your ability to have a competitive offer on “the one”, so don’t skip out on this simply because you don’t think you’re ready to put an offer down. If you get pre-approved in advance, you can usually have your lender extend your pre-approval with no penalty to you as the borrower. This leaves you ready at a moment’s notice if you should find your dream house unexpectedly. 

2. Work With a Real Estate Agent.

Put simply, there is no reason to not use a real estate agent. They’re low-cost or free to use as a home buyer (depending on the agent you work with), and home buying and selling are what they do for a living. Don’t stress yourself out about negotiating with the seller’s agent or researching every aspect of the purchase contract. Work with a seasoned professional and let them do what they do best. 

When you work with a real estate agent that you trust, you’re able to not only stress less through the entire process but also gain insight into elements such as similar sales and the concessions that were made to benefit the buyers in those instances. As an outsider, those are things you simply may not be aware of on your own. 

3. Be Flexible. 

The current market is a challenging one, especially for those looking to purchase a home for the first time. The best thing you can do as a buyer aside from financial preparation is to be more flexible with your expectations and necessities. Many borrowers are paying nearly double what they would have in 2021 due to rising interest rates, and inevitably that is leading to less value for money overall. 

You can absolutely maintain a deal-breaker list, but we urge you to consider areas, properties, and perhaps even types of homes that you may not have considered in an ideal situation. Boil your must-haves to the absolute essentials and broaden your search as much as possible. That’s not to say that you can’t find a home that ticks every box, but by expanding your search you’ll be more likely to find a home that meets your needs and is within your set budget. 

Whatever the year brings, it’s important to be as prepared as you possibly can. A challenging housing market may be an inconvenience to finding and moving into your dream home, but with preparation and a solid real estate team, your dream home can become a reality for your family’s next chapter. 

Looking for the best place to start? Check out our buyer’s guide to begin your search. 

Whether you begin your post-holiday home “reset” the day after Christmas or later into 2023, going through your home with a critical eye as we enter into a new year is a great way to prepare yourself and your home for the year ahead.

Today we’re diving into five tasks that you can do around your home to simplify and reset after the holiday season. 

1. Declutter

Start by going through each room of your home and getting rid of any clutter or items that you no longer need or use. Start by doing a sweep of your home, keeping an eye out for expired products (such as beauty products or medications), excess of the same kinds of items, things that you haven’t used or use less than once a year, etc. 

An easy way to make faster decisions when you’re decluttering is to make four piles of items. – trash, donations, give-away (to friends or family), and keep. Then once you’re done, you know exactly what to do with each category! 

When you reduce the overall number of items in your home, you not only reduce the stress that can come along with too much clutter, but you also make it much simpler to clean your home on a daily basis. 

2. Deep Clean

Speaking of cleaning, be sure to give your home a thorough cleaning at the beginning of the year. We’re talking baseboards, dusty corners, scrubbing toilets, wiping down cabinets, etc. Leave no surface untouched! 

By doing a deep clean, your home will feel fresh for the new year, but also will be much easier to maintain a clean-feeling home with regular vacuuming, wiping counters, etc. 

3. Transition Decor

New year, new home decor! After the holidays, there is something refreshing about taking down the seasonal decor and replacing it with either your year-round decorations or a more general winter theme. Regardless of what kind of decorations you choose to put up in place of holiday trimmings, use this time to evaluate where you may want to change or update your home’s decor. This could include adding new throw pillows, curtains, or artwork, or repainting a room in a fresh, new color.

4. Take Stock

After traveling, or hosting for the holidays is the perfect time to take stock in your home. This means taking a look at your linens – for example – to assess your towels and sheets. Do you have enough? Is it time to replace anything? 

If you take the time to make these decisions before you’re in a towel or sheet emergency, you’ll be prepared for anything in your home over the next twelve months. 

5. Set Goals

A new year isn’t just about resolutions for yourself personally or professionally. It’s also a great opportunity to set goals and make plans for your home as well. Are you wanting to make any renovations to your home? Maybe you want to add a deck or redo your kitchen. Whether big ticket changes or budget-friendly DIY projects, the start of a new year is a good time to plan for these.

As you’re making plans, don’t forget to start thinking about budgeting for your home projects as well. When you consider your budget in advance, those projects can feel more intentional and fun rather than stressful. 

No matter what the new year brings for you and your family, make sure your home is ready for it all! Your home is the stage for your daily life, so by taking care of it and making it a space you love, you’re setting yourself up for a wonderful 2023. 

The holiday season is upon us, and whether you’re shopping for your friends and family or looking to add to your own holiday wishlist, smart home devices make excellent gifts! 

Particularly for those harder-to-shop-for people on your list, tech gifts are a great way to show that you’re thinking of them and also incorporate some utility. They’re incredibly useful, but are also a fun item to unwrap on any holiday occasion!

1. Video Doorbell

Whether it be during the holiday season or any other time of the year, if you live in a home or apartment complex, you’re very likely to have people knocking on your door. Sometimes it’s a welcome visitor, sometimes a friendly (or not so friendly) neighbor, and occasionally a solicitor vying for your attention. Regardless of who comes knocking, there is incredible peace of mind when you are able to see who is outside of your home before opening the door. This is where a smart video doorbell will be your new best friend. 

2. Smart Lock

If you’re looking to increase the security of your home or simply make life easier, a smart lock might be something to consider as you’re putting together your holiday wishlists this year. 

These gadgets allow you, as well as whomever else you choose, to use a digital key right from your smartphone to unlock your front door. This technology is excellent for day-to-day uses like entering, exiting, and securing your home on a daily basis, but also for a situation where you may need to grant someone else access to your door remotely. Think – babysitter, dog walker, etc. With a smart lock, you have complete control of your front door locks at all times! 

3. Smart Plugs

One of our personal favorites, smart plugs can change the whole environment of your home. How? Well, smart plugs can turn any appliance or electrical device into a connected device that can be controlled from your phone. For example, you can use them to turn on all of your living room lights with the push of a button. If you have a smart home device such as an Amazon Alexa or a Google Home, your smart plugs can even be voice controlled to turn your devices on and off. 

Smart plugs are typically very reasonably priced, so whether you’re putting them on your wish list yourself or considering them as a gift Idea for a loved one, you may find that one, two, three, or more will make for an affordable “wow” gift for just about anyone who is at least a little bit tech-savvy. 

Home (Tech) For the Holidays

The holidays can be stressful, but finding gifts for others and figuring out what to add to your own wishlist don’t have to add to your stress level! When you give or receive smart home devices, your home or the home of your loved ones is instantly leveled up and equipped to make your life safer and easier. 

Are you interested in all things home? Follow along with the Coldwell Banker Elite blog to stay updated on how we’re helping our clients make the most of their home, sell their house, or find their dream home! 

No matter what holidays you celebrate this time of year, it’s a wonderful season of lights and love around the world. Our favorite way to savor the season is to make home a cozy sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Here are a few of our best tips to make your space one that you love to be in during this time of year 

1. Clean and Declutter 

We get it – cleaning and decluttering are not the most fun or glamorous part of getting ready for the holiday season. But hear us out – this step will absolutely improve your overall experience for this festive time of year. 

First, you’ll want to go through your home – or even just the most highly trafficked spaces in your house – and get rid of trash, unused items, and things you simply don’t need around anymore. When you do this, you open up more space to store and organize the things that you love and use. Additionally, you’re able to better clean your home after decluttering.

Next, you’ll be ready to do a more thorough cleaning. We’re talking about dusting, vacuuming, wiping down surfaces, etc. This step is significantly easier once you’ve done the decluttering, and it leaves your home fresh and ready for Christmas decorations as well as any holiday hosting you plan to do. 

2. Lighting and Candles

There is simply nothing more festive during the holiday season than candles and cozy lighting. Even if you were to add no other decorations, these elements will make your home feel like an inviting retreat from the cold. 

This can be achieved by putting up traditional Christmas lights, candles of any kind, lit snowglobes, and so many other festive lighting options which will dramatically improve the ambiance of your home during the holidays. 

Whether you choose to pick up real candles, battery-operated candles, fairy lights, or additional lamps, adding secondary lighting to your home will enhance the cozy holiday spirit with the flick of a switch – literally! 

3. Festive Aromas

No one wants their house to smell less than fabulous – hence the deep cleaning of your home is tip number one – but adding fragrances to your home during the holiday season can be the icing on top of creating a festive vibe this time of year. 

Seasonal candles are a great easy option, but also consider choosing a real Christmas tree, a cinnamon broom, or a festive simmer pot to incorporate cozy aromas into the home. 

4. All Things Cozy

Even if you still decide to go all out with holiday decorations, the best place to start is by swapping out your pillows and blankets with festive versions. Some people choose to use completely different decorative pillows, but another great space-saving option is to have themed pillow covers to swap out on your throw pillows rather than having to change out and store an entire extra set of pillows for your couches and beds. 

This can mean fun prints or designs for each holiday, or even just a change of colors to transition from normal life to a season of holiday celebration. Whatever this change means for you and your family, it’s a great first swap to make as you usher in the festive season! 

Prepare for the Season

However you choose to set up your home for the season, we highly recommend doing whatever makes your home feel like a cozy and comfortable place to relax and unwind. 

This time of year can be overwhelming, and your home should serve as a place to get you in the mood for the season and be the backdrop for your family’s memories!