To all our cherished friends, neighbors, family and clients
– we are so proud to have been able to work with you and be a part of your
lives! As we end this year and turn to the exciting time and events that 2013
holds, we just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all that you bring to
our lives.
We have some really great plans in the coming year to bring
more success to all your real estate endeavors. And with each transaction that
makes it to the closing table in the coming months and years ahead – we know
that there will continue to be new and exciting things to follow for all of us.
On behalf of the entire group – Happy Holidays, Season’s
Greetings, Peace and Joy!
Many sellers are unsure whether or not to wait until next spring before listing their home. The confusion comes with a combination of age-old schools of thought that predict the spring season as being almost the only season for homes to sell successfully. Not true.
A lot of homeowners are under the impression that homes are not selling at all, whereas in our own experience, time and again we continue to see complete opposite results. So much so, that we are defying the myths of never ending days on market statistics with many properties going under contract in approximately two weeks. Here’s why.
There are so many buyers in the marketplace right now that are eager to lock in the phenomenal interest rates and market conditions that continue to allow a very significant amount of buying power. The interesting thing is that while it is a strong buyers’ market in that sense, sellers are still enjoying an edge with the lower inventory that comes with it being this time of year.
Regardless of which side of the fence you are on, either way you look at it the market is strong. People are out there buying. If there are fewer homes available on the market, then that only means that there is less selling competition. This of course translates to top dollar and incredibly quick, hassle-free transactions in which everyone comes out a smiling winner.
So to answer one of the most frequently asked questions I am getting these days, it IS a great time to sell your home. Sure, you could wait till spring. But keep in mind that so will countless other sellers and by the time springtime blooms are back out, so will equally as many more “for sale” signs, competing with you.
By listing your home now, you can harness the power of the buyers that are striving to find that perfect property before the holidays kick in.
Contact us today if you’d like a custom, home valuation report detailing exactly what we expect your home will sell for in today’s marketplace. Our team looks forward to hearing from you and helping your real estate goals come to fruition.
If you have made the decision to sell your home and will be listing it
soon, especially as we continue to experience this challenged market
lately, you want your home to sell as quickly as possible and at a price
closest to your asking price. By following these tips, you are sure to
be successful in your home-selling endeavor, and most likely with an
edge over other sellers who may not have taken the time to prepare their
property for sale.
Get Your Home Ready So It Shows Its Very Best
Curb appeal is a very important aspect of attracting serious buyers.
Beginning with what they see as they drive up, to what their experience
is walking up to the front door – as a seller, your greatest opportunity
to grab their interest lies in those very first moments. Make sure
there are no dirty corners, cobwebs, mildew, stains or other
unattractive visible signs of neglect that will catch prospective
buyers’ eyes.
Tip: Pressure-wash the area, clean up weeds, add shine to pavement
blocks with some sealant, make sure the storm door is in good shape and
that the door bell operates.
Clean, Mark-Free Walls and Windows Are Essential
Regardless of whether you are still living in the space or the house is
vacant, it’s important to have the house cleaned and devoid of all marks
and blemishes. Windows and glass should be clean and smudge-free.
Walls should be without any scuffmarks, moving dents or other signs of
wear and tear.
Tip: Hire a cleaner to clean the house, the bathrooms, fixtures,
kitchen, appliances, floors, walls and windows -- patch up dents in the
wall and apply a fresh coat of paint throughout the home.
Address Aged Aspects of the Home
If you have some areas with older appliances, tiles with loose grout or
any other things that need some updating, try to do so before putting up
the house for sale. Without taking on too large an expense, do make an
effort to make the home presentable.
Tip: Clean grout on older tiles, have loose tiles re-grouted, and freshen up shower stalls and bathtubs with new caulking.
Don’t Ignore Hard-To-Reach Areas
Pool cages are often ignored within a home because homeowners cannot
easily access the insides where mold and mildew can accumulate.
Cleaning the pool cage will make all the difference when a buyer walks
through the home and imagines their family using the space.
Tip: Pressure-wash the inside of pool cages for a quick, bright spruce up.
The Home Should Be Warm and Inviting
Depending on where you are located, keep the temperate of the home at a
comfortable level. If it is too hot or cold, buyers will leave too
quickly without getting ample time to walk through, see all the features
and visualize themselves in the home. If the home is still occupied,
cook a pot of apples and cinnamon on the stove a few hours before the
showing, so there is an inviting aroma throughout the house.
Tip: In the summers, keep the air conditioning on at a comfortable 68
to 70 degrees. In winters, leave the heating on at about 73 or 74
degrees.
Exterior Aesthetics Are Also Important
Pay attention to overgrown shrubs, trees, flowerbeds and hedges. When
the outside of a home looks unkempt it can give off a false impression
of the rest of the home too. You want your prospective buyers to see
the home and fall in love at first sight – and that begins from the
exterior.
Tip: Make sure grass is watered, fresh and green. Clean up your lawn
and driveway area. Trim overgrown trees and vegetation, add some mulch
or decorative rocks and flower pots for some color. Decks should be
stained.
Get a Second Opinion
Since you are used to the environment in the house, you may have turned a
blind eye to some aspects of the home without even realizing it. If
you can ask someone to walk through the home and make a note of any
issues that may be visible then before the showing you can get an
additional perspective on how the house presents. Heed that person’s
advice as much as possible and repair or address the issues that are
brought up.
Tip: Request a close friend, family member or your listing agent to
walk through the home once you have prepared it for showing and provide a
list of any issues or concerns that need addressing.
Moving into a new home can be an extremely exciting time in a person’s life. However, it can also be incredibly hectic. There are some things that can be placed on the back burner during the move in process. With these five easy tips on moving into a new home, you can be sure to back your house as safe and cost efficient as possible.
Change the Locks
At closing time, the seller of a house turns over the keys to the new owners. Many times, though, the previous owner will have given a spare key to a friend or neighbor in case of emergency. Enlist a locksmith to come to the house and change all of the locks and get new keys made. This final transition from one owner to the next will give the new homeowner peace of mind.
Reprogram Your Garage Door Remote
Along with changing the locks of your home, reprograming your garage door remote will ensure the safety of your house. Depending on the brand of remote, steps in reprograming it may differ, but the process is simple for nearly all brands. Most remotes have a “Learn” button, which you must hold until the indicator light blinks. While the indicator light blinks, press the button on your remote. This should reprogram your garage door opener remote. If this does not work, contact your remote manufacturer or local hardware store for assistance.
Change Your Home’s Air Filters
Most air filter manufacturers recommend that you change the HVAC air filters once every month. Due to the increased amount of activity of moving furniture in and out of the house, a larger concentration of dust will collect in the ventilation system. In order to improve the air quality in your home and increase heating and cooling efficiency, make sure you change your air filters right when you move in.
Install New Batteries in Smoke Alarms
When a person is selling their home, there are many different procedures they must do to ensure that it is ready for sale. Often times, during the stress of the home selling process, the smoke alarms are forgot about. Ensure the safety of your home and family by changing the batteries in the smoke detectors when you move into a new house. This cheap and quick home improvement has the potential to save your family’s life.
Change your toilet seat covers
We probably don't need to go into specific details, but most people insist on swapping out toilet seats.
By following these five easy steps, a person who has just moved into a new home can make their house as safe and cost efficient as possible.
This is the time of year when homeowners across America are receiving notices from their County Tax Assessor’s office informing them of their home’s value on which they will be taxed. Sounds simple enough – until and unless you find that the value they are using seems too high. Of course, higher assessed value translates to more out of pocket property taxes so the last thing you want to be doing is paying more when you do not need to.
How To Determine Whether You Are Overpaying Property Taxes
There are two ways to find out whether your property taxes are higher than they should be. First, you can go the traditional route, which is to investigate sale prices of homes in the area that are similar to yours. The sales you are looking for should be completed in the 2011 calendar year (since property values are assessed based on the previous year’s sales).
You can also contact your Realtor to get an idea of whether you should pursue a property tax appeal. For a quick view and an instant reply you can visit this website, input your address and the site will come back instantly with a reply. If there are unusual circumstances to the property (for instance if it was sold recently) then you may be asked for your email address to get a reply later.
The Tax Appeal Process
Depending on which county you reside in, the process will vary slightly but for the most part it is a matter of presenting supporting documentation to a board of review, demonstrating your values have gone down. With the supporting data you can then request that your taxable value be reassessed prior to the next property tax payment due date.
Some counties provide only one window of opportunity for homeowners to appeal their property tax values while others offer two times during the year. To confirm the policy in your area visit your county treasurer’s office or website for more information. Similarly, the process of appealing your taxes will also vary from county to county. There are companies and also attorneys that can assist you through the process but an important part of the process is to gather data supporting your claim for lower tax values.
Comparing Area Values
While you can investigate the sale prices of recently sold properties in your area a challenge might arise when it comes to finding near identical properties to yours or at least very similar ones. In terms of amenities, square footage, style and structure – homes used to compare values must be like kind in order to be usable data. The best way to manage this aspect of your tax appeal process is to engage your Realtor and utilize their resources in finding good comparables. No one knows the area and its homes better than your Realtor. They will compile a list of several properties that have sold for less than your home’s current assessed value and through that documentation be able to prove the need to reduce your taxes.
Other Ways to Save on Property Taxes
Aside from lowering your tax dues on the home you may also be eligible for certain exemptions depending on your situation. Contact your local county tax assessor’s office to learn of the exemptions offered in your state. Some examples include exemptions for military personnel and veterans, owners of farm property or daycare facilities and non-profit student housing.
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To find out if savings amounting to hundreds of dollars seems possible for you, find out now and beat the deadline!
As you embark upon what will be one of the most important transactions of your life – whether buying or selling a home – you should be absolutely certain that you are happy with the real estate agent you have hired to help you manage it.
To help you with this all-important hiring process, here are ten important questions to ask an agent before you decide on whether or not to hire them:
Question #1
How Close Do You Get in Sale Price Related to Asking Price?
It is important to ask for this information as it relates to the past 60 days. Given that many agents are not that active in the market, you would be best served to obtain the most recent information possible. As a seller, your agent’s ability to come close to the asking price is a strong attribute and can mean a difference of thousands of dollars in your transaction.
Question #2
How Many Days on Average Does It Take You To Sell a Home?
What’s the average number of days on the marketfor properties listed by your prospective agent? Since this statistic can reach as high as six to nine months and in some cases and as much as a year, it is important to ask how your prospective agent ranks on the scale.
Question #3
What is the Rate of Homes Sold on a Monthly Basis?
Knowing the absorption rateof homes similar to yours that are on the market allows valuable insight as to how the market is performing for your particular needs. Not only does it give sellers a glimpse into the system and how it would translate to their own sale but it also presents a broader view of the entire market in general.
Question #4
What Do You Do Differently To Get Homes Sold?
Especially with the current trying economic times, many agents have been faced with adversities trying to sell the homes on their list. One of the best ways to learn whether your agent is a self-starter is to find out what they have done in the past when they were unable to successfully sell homes. Ask why the agent feels the home(s) did not sell and then find out what they are doing differently to get them sold.
Question #5
What Percentage of Deals Do You Represent the Buyer Versus Seller?
Some agents work primarily with sellers while others work mostly with buyers and still others are experienced with dual-agency deals. Depending on your needs, you will benefit from an agent that specializes in one of the two. It is important to ask which side of the fence your prospective agent tends to represent.
Questions #6
How Many Homes Did You Sell Last Year?
Nothing speaks louder than numbers. A very important statistic, ask what the total number of homes sold last year was and if possible try to get a more long-term picture of the agent’s performance in this regard. You can also ask for a month-to-month breakdown to see if there are certain stronger months.
Questions #7
Can You Provide a List of the Ten Most Current Clients You Have Worked With?
Rather than rely on the given list of referrals that many agents have handpicked, it’s a good idea to obtain a list of clients that are currently working with this Realtor. It will provide a much-needed glimpse into the agent’s performance on various stages of real estate transactions.
Question #8
How Much of Your Work Day Do You Dedicate to the Real Estate Industry?
You want an agent that is 100% committed to their job and if they are focusing more on a day job with real estate being a secondary thing, you run the risk of inaccessibility, lack of knowledge and experience plus lackluster motivation. Find out how they feel about the real estate industry and whether they are passionate about their work.
Question #9
What is Your Style of Marketing – Proactive or Reactive?
What is your potential agent’s style of working? Does he or she speak to a large number of people each day? Are they proactive or reactive in nature when it comes tomarketing? See how this lines up with your real estate needs. Are you in a hurry to buy or sell? Does a laid back agent hinder your efforts? Or does slow and steady work better for you?
Question #10
What Does Your Daily Schedule Look Like?
The typical schedule of a real estate professional can be very telling. By asking for a copy or general idea of how they conduct their day in terms of their work, you can get a good idea of how much time is devoted to the profession and what kind of business they are running.
