listing agent: Life--and real estate--transitions
- 05/29/18 06:29 AM
Through the years, it has become evident that I attract a certain type of client. So often, my clients are undergoing a major transition. When I say 'major,' I mean they may be relocating to another country, selling a home that has been left behind as they have begun living full time in another state or maybe they are looking for a wholesale change of location or property type. What makes this type of sale exciting, and unique, is that besides selling their home, the contents of the home must often be disposed of, too. This makes the process a bit more … (1 comments)
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listing agent: 5 Tips for Selling a Detached Home Quickly
- 04/26/18 07:46 AM
I recently wrote a post, 5 Tips for Selling a Townhouse Quickly and For The Most $. It was well received, so I thought I would delve into some things that buyers look at a little differently in single family homes.
For the most part, buyers who are purchasing a detached home, are at least 2nd time home owners (there is an exception to every rule, but this is often the norm in Northern Virginia). They are a more well-versed on the expenses associated with owning a home. They are usually more in tune with what their lives are going to look … (0 comments)
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listing agent: 5 Ways Deferred Maintenance Can Affect Your Sale
- 07/26/17 07:51 AM
When I am called in to discuss a potential listing, I often hear my seller's saying things like, "We are just getting tired of maintaining this house," or "Taking care of this house is becoming too much for me." As a Realtor, that often means to me that there are some big ticket items that the seller knows they need to tackle and they just don't want to take them on. If you find yourself in this boat, this is what you might expect. Buyers will notice the deferred maintenance and it will be reflected in the price. If they don't … (2 comments)
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listing agent: 5 Inexpensive Ways to add Value to Your Home
- 03/02/17 02:27 PM
We all want something for nothing, don't we? Well, when it comes to improving your house, most improvements cost money, but here are some things you can do to inexpensively add value when you go to sell.
1. Clean up and clean out your landscape. Obviously, you want to remove dead leaves and tired flowers, but take it a step further and remove old bushes that you have been diligently trimming back. You will be surprised at how much this opens up your home and improves the curb appeal (and first impression!). You may need to put in some replacements, but the work … (3 comments)
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listing agent: Would You Like to Know the Market Value of Your Home?
- 02/06/17 05:12 AM
'Would You Like to Know the Market Value of Your Home?' You have probably been asked this by a Realtor®, or seen it in Realtor® advertising. I imagine you thought 'why do I need that? There are so many valuation tools available on line?' But before you check on-line to decide what your home is worth, let me tell you why that information from a Realtor® will be infinitely more accurate. Automated estimation tools are based on a pre-determined formula. They take into account tax information and title recordings (usually the result of a sale or refinance) and other pieces of publicly available data. As … (0 comments)
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listing agent: How to Help Me, Help You with Your Real Estate Transaction
- 01/31/17 08:19 AM
This morning I was thinking about the fact that I had not heard back from someone that I had left a message for yesterday afternoon. It occurred to me that there are people who are still able to work business hours and respond to calls during those hours. It has been over 20 years since I had that kind of job; Real Estate is certainly not a 9-5 job. If we are working together to buy or sell a house, you should plan to make yourself available. Here in Virginia, we have a paragraph called "Time is of the essence." It says that … (2 comments)
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listing agent: Home Seller Advice: Don't neglect to Prep Your House!
- 11/04/16 12:33 AM
By the time you are ready to sell your home, you are sick of pumping money into repairs and maintenance. Chances are you are ready to move on--preferably to a house that isn't so 'needy.' Before you paint a couple of rooms, change some fixtures and prepare to list your home, consider why making some of the 'less sexy' repairs is so important. You will get all types of people through your home when it is listed. Some of those folks will only care about your light fixtures and paint choices, but there will also be those who care about maintenance and … (0 comments)
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listing agent: Selling Your Vacant Home in Northern Virginia
- 10/14/14 12:24 AM
It is time to sell your property, but you don't live in the home. How do you choose the right Realtor® to help you get the job done?
Over the years, I have carved out a niche for myself assisting Sellers, who do not live in their home, to get their property sold. There are many reasons why a home could be vacant before going on the market. A seller may have moved to a new or second home, there may have been a death in the family, the family may have intentionally moved out to make showing … (0 comments)
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listing agent: Real Estate Rule #1: Check your photos!
- 09/23/14 11:13 PM
Being a good Realtor requires so many skills. We are (not literally, and not legally, of course) a therapist, a marketing expert, a photographer, a life-skills coach and more.
If you are a listing agent, your job is to market your listing, negotiate acceptable terms, and get the transaction to closing.
Sometimes homes sell themselves; it is often true that at a certain price, anything will sell.
Does that mean that when you have a competitively priced listing (say, a foreclosure) that what you do as the listing agent doesn't matter? It matters a lot! Besides your fiduciary duty to … (2 comments)
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listing agent: 5 Questions to Ask Your Listing Agent
- 08/10/14 10:24 PM
I have been listing homes for a long time. I think that my clients would tell you that I am extremely meticulous in what I recommend that they do to prepare the home for sale and I am very methodical (while still being creative) in how I market their homes. Even with my experience and background, I am always surprised that, for the most part, the only real question that my clients ask of me is about my listing commission. I hope that my reputation precedes me and that they KNOW what I will do for them, but I … (7 comments)
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listing agent: Selling your house: Paint, paper and presentation
- 03/03/14 04:16 AM
If you are going to put your house on the market, you have probably been thinking about the things you need to do to get it ready.
If you have lived in the house for any period of time, you have probably made it your own. For many folks, this means painting or hanging wall paper. Preparing your home for sale is the opposite of customizing it. Your objective is to make your house as appealing to as many people as possible. Paint your home in neutral colors and strip the wall paper. It really does help!
Wall paper is the hardest thing … (0 comments)
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listing agent: Selling your own home: getting the best price
- 12/17/13 09:56 PM
You live in a great house in a wonderful neighborhood in a convenient Fairfax County location. There is no reason, that you can see, to list your house with a Realtor. Or is there?
In 2012 (most recent published statistics), 9% of homes sold were sold without being listed with a Real Estate Brokerage (ie. For Sale By Owner or FSBO). According to the NAR website: The typical FSBO home sold for $174,900 compared to $215,000 for agent-assisted home sales. This means that the average FSBO sold for 19% less than than the average listed home. If you are … (6 comments)
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listing agent: Do you need a Mega Agent?
- 11/18/13 12:10 AM
When selecting an Agent, should you go for a Mega Agent? That depends on the Agent. Period. Numbers don't always equal service--don't get me wrong, they can. But just as there are great Mega agents, and not so great Mega Agents, there are great agents with lower transaction numbers, and not so great agents who don't do a lot of business for a reason. The ability to sell your home quickly and effectively has far more to do with planning, marketing, pricing and process than volume or quantity. So do you want a Mega Agent or do really just want … (2 comments)
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listing agent: What to expect if I list your house
- 11/12/13 03:55 AM
You have had with the lack of space/lack of garage/size of your house/long commute. Whatever the reason is, you have decided to list your home. If you call me, what can you expect?
A packet of information about selling your home will be dropped off for you to review A meeting to review the listing process and to sign the listing agreement Once the agreement is signed, we will create a custom plan to get your home sold quickly and for the most money We will manage to the plan and get your house ready to sell! A 'coming soon' sign will … (0 comments)
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listing agent: There will be no sign on my property!
- 09/13/13 06:42 AM
When I list a home, there are many tools at my disposal to get it sold. Some of these tools include:
MLS: Obviously, the biggest and most important tool Marketing materials: website ads, print media, social media, brochures Word of Mouth and Networking: Including distribution of the information at office, association events, networking events and neighbors and friends of the sellers talking about the listing The Sign Now I know that it gets confusing for sellers because that sign is also good advertising for the listing agent. But the truth is, unless you live in a very rura,l or out-of--the-way, location letting your … (4 comments)
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listing agent: What to do if your home isn't sellling...
- 08/10/13 08:07 AM
August in the DC area is often a fairly quiet time in the real estate market. This is a town that vacations! That said, if you have your house on the market, there are people looking. What can you do to help the odds that they will decide to buy your home? When you first listed your home, you probably met with one, or more, Realtors. They likely walked around your home and pointed out things that you should have considered taking care of before you listed. Think back to that conversation. Did you do the necessary work? If … (5 comments)
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listing agent: It's a house, not your baby!
- 07/17/13 06:49 AM
We are often blind when it comes to our children. They are earlier to walk, to speak, to smile than other children. They are cuter and more precocious than anyone else can detect. Because we spend so much time with them, we fall in love and we fall in love hard! It is fair to say that a parent can easily lose their objectivity. Our houses can be a little bit like children. Who hasn't puffed with pride when a neighbor admires your new paint job or your very green grass? This pride, however, has no place in pricing your home. … (43 comments)
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listing agent: 10 Ways to Sabotage Your Sale
- 01/09/13 01:18 AM
If you are thinking of selling your house, no doubt, you are preparing to have people in to view your most personal space. You are likely cleaning out closets, touching up paint and cleaning carpets. Despite all your work, you may be unknowingly sabotaging your own sale by doing, or not doing, some simple things. While, granted, some of these things might seem petty, it doesn't take much to leave a buyer with a sour view of your home. Here is a list of 10 things that I have seen leave a bad impression with my buyers: Too … (2 comments)
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listing agent: How important are the photos, anyway? VERY!
- 04/12/11 08:18 AM
I was reminded of the importance of listing photos yesterday by two buyers who came through my open house. It was pretty sparsely attended since we had gone under contract earlier in the weekend, but I had done some advertising, so I held it open anyway.This gave me more of a chance to talk one-on-one to the potential buyers (or neighbors,as we like to call them). Both of them complimented me on the quality and quantity of photos available on my listing. I know there are agents that don't take this aspect of listing as seriously as I do. Maybe their … (9 comments)
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listing agent: Want to Buy This House? Get Serious!
- 02/19/11 12:46 AM
I was sitting down to write this post when I read Karen Fiddler's Blog, Do Your Buyer A Favor ....Ask Them To Write An Offer. Like Karen, I believe in the power of the offer. Instead, this is what I am seeing. On one of my listings, I have had the following inquiries: 1) Will you folks consider our Rent-to-own offer? We haven't seen the house, but we like the pictures. 2) Will your folks take at least $75,000 under asking? We haven't see the house, but that is all we can pay. 3) My client is moving from overseas and … (8 comments)
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