Ep 008 – Get Your Home Organized – Susie Hayman from NAPO

SHOW NOTES:
January is Get Organized Month. With that one of the best places to start is by taking a home inventory or organizing other areas around the home. In today’s episode, Beth is talking with the past president of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers), Susie Hayman to discuss organization and what we can do to be better organized. We will cover how Get Organized Month came to be, how HomeZada can help you become better organized around your home. We will discuss physical and digital organization. We will discuss the benefits of being organized and how NAPO members help homeowners. We will discuss the value of organizing all year round. If homeowners need help organizing, we will also discuss how to find the help you need. Getting organized can start with simple steps and can also be done by yourself or with help.


IN THIS EPISODE:
● [02:20] More about Susie
● [05:58] NAPO’s Get Organized Month
● [12:41] Benefits of being more organized
● [20:15] How to stay organized throughout the year
● [25:25] How NAPO can help you get more organized

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
● January is Get Organized Month! NAPO helps people improve their lives by helping them create environments that support productivity, general health and wellbeing in all areas of their home (physical and digital).
● Being organized saves you time and money. If you know where things are, whether it’s something physical or whether it’s something digital, you’re not going to buy it again and you will be able to find it easily. When you are organized you have more time to do those things you want to do.
● Organization helps restore a sense of order and control. Thus, you reduce your level of stress. You get rid of that horrible feeling of overwhelm and you’re more efficient and productive in everything you do.
● In order to get and stay organized, take small steps. You don’t (and can’t) organize everything in one day, one week, or even one month. Just take one step at a time, one small portion at a time. See those little wins and then keep on going.

LINKS MENTIONED:
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiehayman/
www.inyourbizness.com

www.homezada.com

NAPO
www.napo.net
https://www.napo.net/page/GOMonth2022?&hhsearchterms=%22organized+and+month+and+2022%22

BIO:
Susie Hayman, as the founder and owner of In Your Business, helps small business owners, entrepreneurs and nonprofits be more productive by giving them the tools to efficiently manage their people, processes, time and stuff. She works with business owners, managers and employees to develop the systems and processes they need to be successful. In addition to working one on one with clients, Susie shares her expertise with prospective and new professional organizers and productivity consultants.
With 19 years of experience in the organizing and productivity profession, Susie has increased employee productivity and organizational efficiency for small businesses, retailers, nonprofit organizations and home offices. Her workplace organizing and productivity classes and workshops are presented to businesses, organizations and community groups throughout the Richmond area.


Susie has been featured as an expert on CBS “Virginia This Morning,” the WRVA radio morning show, and “Girlfriend We GottaTalk!” radio show. She has written numerous articles for professional and lifestyle publications, and co-authored “Organize Your Small Business,” 70 tips from a collection of experts.
A graduate of the University of Georgia, Susie currently serves as Past President of NAPO (National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals), a 3,300 member association. She is the recipient of the 2017 NAPO’s Founders’ Award, a 15-year Golden Circle member, and holds a NAPO Specialist Certificate in Workplace Productivity.
[email protected]
www.inyourbizness.com
804.360.8337
NAPO
www.napo.net
856.380.6828


Elizabeth Dodson is a focused technology entrepreneur with successful skills in business development, sales, marketing and finance with over 20 years of successful management of revenue producing partners. With great organizational skills balancing multiple roles and responsibilities as an entrepreneur and the drive to increase company revenues and user growth for a consumer technology solution with a partner solution to support the homeowner market.


John Bodrozic has start-up entrepreneur experience beginning with boot strapping, profitable growth, securing venture and corporate venture funding, acquisitions of technology companies, and selling a business to a publicly traded company.

Ep 007 – Stay on Top of Home Finances

SHOW NOTES:
In today’s episode, John and Beth talk about home finances. Which includes more than just the aspects of buying or selling a home. We discuss the financial nuances of home buying, but we also talk about the importance of tracking and managing ongoing finances as a homeowner. We break down common homeowner’s expenses, how to prepare for them and save money, why you should keep track of the value of your home, and ultimately, how to make smarter financial decisions related to your home.


IN THIS EPISODE:
● [02:06] Home finances related to buying a home
● [03:25] Closing costs and down payments
● [04:10] Understanding and tracking your investment
● [11:23] Home equity assets
● [12:49] Home inventory assets
● [14:35] Regular ongoing home expenses
● [18:59] How do you budget for ongoing home expenses?
● [23:23] Maintenance/repair expense
● [25:33] Hiring people for infrequent maintenance
● [28:40] How do you budget for these expenses
● [30:06] Home improvement expenses

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
● Your mortgage amount, down payment, and closing costs are all things to keep in mind when buying a home.
● Having title insurance is important because you want to protect the property that you’re buying, and title insurance does do that. It helps identify the long history of where the property was once purchased.
● Action Step: After you buy your home and move in, track how your estimated value of your home is increasing.
● Calculating your home equity is a simple equation. It’s the estimated value of your home minus the remaining balance on your mortgage. That’s the percentage that you own.
● The two most important ways that you can increase your equity is you live in a hot neighborhood and the value is going up and you’re paying off your mortgage.
● Regular home expenses include mortgage and insurance, utilities, service providers, lawn care, maintenance contractors, property taxes.
● It’s important to track what the market thinks your home is worth and what your county thinks your home is worth, which is how your property taxes are assessed based on.
● Action Step: Commit to creating a budget for home expenses (regular, annual, and irregular), track the actuals and then use that to make better smarter decisions in the future.
● Your home maintenance may be 1 to 4% of the total purchase price of your home. 1% if your house is less than five years old but once your house gets between five and 15 years old, that percentage increases to 2%.

LINKS MENTIONED:

www.beasmarterhomeowner.com

www.homezada.com

Ep 006 – Managing Home Improvement Projects

SHOW NOTES:


In today’s episode, John and Beth talk about how to manage home improvements. We talk about the culture’s obsession with home improvements and discuss some of the most common problems that homeowners face with home improvement projects. John and Beth talk about budgets, hiring contractors, and how to make a plan for your home projects. At the end of the episode, we share several easy and important action items that will help be more successful with home improvement projects.


IN THIS EPISODE:
● [01:27] Why do people love home improvement projects?
● [6:24] New home builders
● [07:19] Projects that add value to the home
● [09:23] Home improvement problems
● [14:67] DIY vs hiring a contractor
● [18:54] How to hire a contractor and manage your budget
● [22:09] Action Step: Make a plan
● [24:08] Action Step: Create your budget
● [27:05] Action Step: How to hire a contractor
● [28:31] Action Step: Track costs during the project
● [22:50] Close out Phase

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
● Home improvement can pertain to lifestyle aspects to fit a family’s needs or structural aspects like new windows, roof, plumbing, etc.
● Bathroom and kitchen remodels are “money rooms.” They do add value to your home, but they also are very expensive.
● There are small projects that cost little but add value to your home. Like a new front door, painting your front door, making small modifications to your front porch etc.
● When choosing between DIY or hiring a contract it boils down to safety, skills, and time.
● Home improvements add value to your home, but you have to consider your neighborhood and surrounding homes. You don’t want to add so much value that you price yourself out of the market which could make it harder for your home to sell.
● Your contractor does not own your budget. You own your budget.
● Before starting a project, plan for what home improvements you want to do and prioritize them.
● Before hiring a contractor, get multiple quotes from multiple contractors. Don’t forget to check references and licenses.
● Track budget and costs during the project to maintain your budget and the project scope. Also take before and after photos to keep track of the changes.
● The closeout phase includes filing new warranties, checking with your accountant to see how new improvements impact your taxes, and lastly, updating your home insurance.

LINKS MENTIONED:

www.beasmarterhomeowner.com

www.homezada.com

Ep 005 – Are You Tracking Your Home Documents?

SHOW NOTES:

In today’s episode, John and Beth talk about how to manage the ever growing accumulation of homeowning documents. From mortgage contracts, appraisals, and home warranties to important receipts and owners manuals – the stack usually grows faster than we can manage. While the bulk of home documents may still be in paper format, there is an appealing draw to convert to a more digital strategy. In this episode John and Beth share tips on how best to organize your documents, the pros and cons of digital vs paper storage and how to take the leap into using digital storage, one small step at a time.

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • [01:57] The types of documents for homeowners
  • [8:38] How to store homeowner documents
  • [11:00] Paper vs digital document storage
  • [16:15] How to scan documents
  • [20:28] Using a mobile phone to take photos of documents
  • [22:04] Digitizing multi-page documents
  • [23:18] Where to store digital documents
  • [26:00] Protecting your digital storage
  • [28:40] The value of going digital
  • [30:38] Value of sharing documents easily
  • [32:43] Action items: developing a digital strategy

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • There’s no right or wrong way to store home documents. Do what you most feel comfortable with and what makes the most sense to you.
  • There is value in storing items digitally, like the ability to search your documents and sharing capabilities.
  • There are multiple ways to convert items to digital – by photo, documentation apps, or by scanner.
  • There are multiple ways to convert items to digital – by photo, documentation apps, or by scanner.You don’t have to convert to digital storage all at once. It’s an incremental process. Get a strategy and take as much time as you need to convert documents and fine the best way to store them whether in cloud storage, hard-drive, etc.

LINKS MENTIONED:

www.beasmarterhomeowner.com

www.homezada.com

Ep 004 – The Value of Maintaining Your Home

SHOW NOTES:


John and Beth are here to share with you their tips and suggestions, as well as interviews with industry experts, with the goal of helping you become a smarter homeowner. Once we buy a home, we now ask ourselves the question… Now what? Today’s episode focuses on the value of maintaining your home, including home maintenance and all the different things that we as homeowners need to do to maintain our home. Tune in for advice on everything from preventative maintenance to standard maintenance, what we can save, and how to improve the value of your home!

IN THIS EPISODE:


● [02:00] Standard care of the house.
● [05:00] Health and safety, including smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
● [10:00] Maintenance and the value of your home.
● [13:00] Increasing your replacement costs if you neglect small 30 minute tasks.
● [17:00] How to be reminded of tasks which need completing.
● [22:00] Should you be doing these tasks yourself or hire a contractor?
● [29:00] Start with the basics to figure out the typical maintenance things you need to do from a preventative standpoint.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:


● Keeping track of home maintenance will add value and save time.
● The difference between doing the tasks yourself or hiring a contractor.
● How to keep track of home tasks which need completing.

LINKS MENTIONED:

www.beasmarterhomeowner.com

www.homezada.com