Ugh, their house looks like a gift shop! You can't imagine how many times I have heard that observation from home buyers in a hushed tone so that the home sellers couldn't hear. Hey, that comment really needs to be taken to heart by anyone planning to sell their home anytime in the future. The reality is that your stuff is a turn-off, is Continue Reading
Home Seller Tips
Take a few minutes and scroll through this collection of tips for home seller. Just so you know, I like to write about experiences that clients have because you may be dealing with a similar issue, and it might shed a little helpful insight.
The Summer Shift – Real Estate
The Northern Virginia real estate statistics showed an interesting "early" downshift starting in the June chart. The low interest rates motivated most home buyers to take action in the early spring expecting them to flatten out by now. But rates have remained on a down slope which has eliminated the intense sense of urgency. Contrary to these Continue Reading
How to Market a House
It is time to tell you that there is one essential ingredient when it comes to marketing a house. Back when they first sent me to real estate agent boot camp in the days of telephone cold-calling, the sales gurus talked about condition, location, motivation and pricing before we were shown the Criss-Cross directory and told to make 50 calls. Continue Reading
The Real Estate Brochure, too basic?
Recently, when a client was interested in putting together an offer on a particular house we had seen, he asked me if I had picked up a brochure. "No I didn't. Did you?" Since neither of us had one I decided to contact the listing agent to ask her to email one over to me so I could note any updates or recent improvements to the house. It Continue Reading
The Clock Strikes 2012
For many folks, as the clock strikes 2012, careful plans to sell their home or to buy one go into action. Setting new goals is an important way of improving your life and making each new year more meaningful than the last. Our lives are short and knowing that you are personally responsible for the life you lead right now (this instant) can be an Continue Reading
Is Your Rambler Obsolete?
When I walked into a neighbor's Vienna Virginia rambler recently to give her an idea of what needed to be done, I had to be brutally honest about a strategy for selling it. Since she and her husband bought it way back in 1957 when it was a brand new home (she is one of the last original owners in the neighborhood), my dose of reality wasn't too Continue Reading
So your Vienna home still hasn’t sold…
After 60 days on the market you may start to panic... or take it personally. Been there, seen it before. It is hard to be rejected by 25 people. At REALTOR training school, the instructors tell us it must be "x" and we need to do our best to make a case to help you understand the facts. Of course they don't point out that we (REALTORS) should Continue Reading
Home Sellers: You gotta paint!
Ever had a moment when you realized, "Hey, I'm one of those people!"? That happened to me when I was showing "newer" homes to a client and kept pointing out how the homes would show much better properly painted. After 3 to 5 years they were still "builder's white" and looked dirty. As I walked into my own house at the end of the day, I Continue Reading
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