Archive for the 'Home Selling Advice' Category
Furnished Or Empty - Selling An Unoccupied House
February 13th, 2008 categories: Home Selling Advice, Real Estate News
If you have to sell a home that is unoccupied, due to death of owners, divorce, a move, whatever, one of the big questions is should you sell it with the furniture still in the house or move the furniture out? Long ago, before I got into real estate, I had agents tell me to get everything out so potential buyers could see themselves and their furniture in the house. Bad idea. After I got in the business I realized what a big mistake that was! You want the house to be furnished. If it is empty, people see an empty house. If it is well furnished, they see a home. Big difference. It is also amazing how ALL the little scratches, chips and dirt are MUCH more evident in an empty house.
A big advantage of selling an empty house is that you have the opportunity to really stage the house. A staged home can look beautiful, but it can be a pain to live in. So grab the chance and get rid of all clutter, clean like a demon, and arrange the furniture to maximize space and views. Get rid of big clunky, furniture. Set the table as if for a feast. There are lots of things to do since no-one is living in the house. Make that potential buyer see the possibilities in your home!
And don’t think you can set it and forget it. Every few days you need to go in and make sure the house still smells OK. A vacant home can get that “vacant smell”. Hard to describe, but you know it when you smell it. So open windows, change the air filters, walk around a bit and take the time to see if anything needs to be adjusted. You will be glad you did.
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Real Estate Takes A Beating?
January 29th, 2008 categories: Home Selling Advice, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
You likely have seen it all over the news over the past few weeks. How new home sales have fallen by a record amount, or existing homes are not appreciating in value, etc. It is enough to depress anyone. However, things are never as bad as they first seem. Sure the housing market is taking a hit right now, but that doesn’t mean you give up. Houses ARE still selling! People move for tons of reasons, so there is always a supply of buyers, particularly in the Chapel Hill area.
We are lucky in that part of the local population is very “fluid”. That is, they are only here for a few years and then move on. Examples are grad students, interns, professors, that come and go. Many of them want to buy a house for the years they are here, so we get a supply of ready and willing buyers. Plus, there is a net influx of people to our area. They realize what a great place Chapel Hill/Orange County is and move here. This also helps keep our area from suffering the huge peaks and valleys of other areas of the country.
If you’re looking to buy, now is the time! Give me a call.
If your looking to sell, get your house in order and let me show you how to maximize your return in this market.
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Winter Delights & Home Care
January 21st, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice
One of the joys of living in North Carolina is the occasional light snowfall. Just enough to get your camera out and prove to your relatives in northern cimes that, yes, it does snow here! It is a great time to get some wood and put that fireplace to work. And even though those gas fireplaces look wonderful, there is nothing like a real wood fire to make those lazy Sunday afternoons drift by.
However, those dancing flames in the fireplace should remind you about fireplace maintenance. When was the last time you had the chimney sweep out to clean out your chimney. Personally, I have no idea on my own house. We only moved in to it last year, so I don’t know the last time it was cleaned. Maybe never! Shame on me. I plan on having it done soon. This is also something I have no intention of “Doing-it-myself”. Let the pro do it!
If you are planning on marketing your house soon, that is all the more reason to have a thorough cleaning of the chimney flue done. The inspector WILL check it out. It is quick, doesn’t cost a lot and will help your house look, and smell, cleaner.
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Clean Up Your Act
January 18th, 2008 categories: Home Selling Advice
When it comes time to put your house on the market you have to learn a new level of clean! And I’m not talking just making sure everything is picked up and tidy. I mean it has to be cleaner than you thought possible. When serious buyers comes into your house they are not just browsing. They are inspecting. Floors, walls, closets, inside cabinets - everything is fair game. Anything that is unpleasant or detracts from their experience lessens the chance they will pick your house.
If they are taking the time to actually visit your house, it means they are favorably inclined to it. You DON’T want anything to turn them off from your house now that they are in it. By the way, this also includes the outside of your house, and your yard. From the moment they approach your house in their car you are “on stage”. All sights, sounds and SMELLS are important.
Whether you hire a cleaning service, or do it yourself, you must clean areas you probably have never cleaned before, to a level you might think is ridiculous. Is it worth it? Absolutely! You get tremendous bang for your buck when cleaning.
When you are ready to sell, give me a call. I’ll help you get ready.
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Screwed Or Glued
January 14th, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice
The title shows two words that should be in your mind when buying OR selling a house. They refer to “fixtures“. When you are the buyer, you want to keep in mind that not everything you see stays with the house. On the other side of the sale, the seller needs to make CLEAR what is NOT staying. I guarantee that if a buyer sees your favorite chandelier in the dining room they think it is staying, even if you put a yellow stickie on it that says “Does not convey”. You want to make sure the contract shows what does not stay.
Basically, if something is glued or screwed onto the wall, ceiling, etc., it is probably required to stay. So, if you plan on talking that chandelier with you, get it down before you put the house on the market. Go to the store and get a decent replacement for it and put it up. Another example is a mirror on the wall. If the mirror is attached with screwed in brackets, it stays. If you can lift it off the wall like a picture, it can go with the seller.
The safest way for both buyer and seller to avoid potential problems is to make sure the contract is specific in the area of fixtures. Do not just speed over that paragraph. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t take the time to go over it carefully.
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The Cheapest Way To Improve Your Chapel Hill Home For Sale
January 3rd, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice
In a word - paint. At $20 a gallon it is an incredibly cheap way to spruce up your house and prepare it for market. By all means, let your kids paint their room whatever color they want while you live there. BUT, when it comes time to sell, buyers may not like the flat black or bright pink walls. This is one project that is easy to do yourself. Some very simple tools, prep work, and a few hours can add thousands of dollars to your selling price and reduce time on the market.
Even if you hire someone to paint, it is still worthwhile! Just think back to when you were house hunting. Dirty walls, chipped trim paint. I’m sure that did not make you feel good about the house.
So, invest some time and money in paint when it comes time to sell. You will not regret it!
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The Number One Way To Protect Your Chapel Hill House
January 3rd, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice
Having been to my share of Chapel Hill home inspections, there is a common item that I have heard from just about every inspector. The best way to protect your house is to clean your gutters! No rocket science here.
A clogged gutter leads to water seeping up under your roof and causing a whole lot of trouble, possibly VERY expensive trouble. The same for a clogged downspout.
Go on out and check your own gutters. Would you pass inspection? Now that all the leaves are down, it is a great time to clean those gutters. Then you’ll be set for months! If you live in a single level house, like I do, consider yourself lucky. About 30 minutes on the ladder and you’re done. It’s messy, but rewarding. If you have a two or three level house, it might be worth the cost to have someone else do it. The important thing is to not ignore it! It won’t go away.
For the taller houses, you may want to investigate the gutter covers. Never had one, so I can’t recommend any. I know they can be expensive, but you may not need them everywhere. Just where it isn’t safe or convenient to clean your gutters yourself.
So, when you’re planning on home improvement projects, put the gutter at the top of the list.
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