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Home Selling Advice

Staging Your Home: The Psychology of Color

Submitted by Joseph Pettinella on March 6, 2017 - 4:00pm

Potential buyers' memories and emotions about your house are affected, in part, by the colors of your walls, floors and furnishings.  Color plays a big role in our emotions. Some colors make us feel happy or relaxed, and some colors may make us feel nervous or anxious.  

If you're getting your home ready to sell, choose the colors you paint your rooms wisely.

Here is some helpful advice on how colors affect people and how you can use this knowledge to help get your home sold.

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Time Challenged? 4 Must-Dos to Prepare Your Home to Sell

Submitted by Joseph Pettinella on January 31, 2017 - 5:29pm

There is a lot of good advice on the internet on how to get your home ready to sell, and it's all good.  But taking all the advice can be very time consuming and can put a pretty good dent in your pocketbook.  We've found that many of our clients just don't have the time and/or the money to do all the things they would like to do to make their house the best it can be.

If you're one of those people who is seriously time-challenged, then here are four things you can accomplish that will have a major impact on getting your home sold in the least amount of time for the most money.

1.  Go through every room with some boxes, and pack away anything that you won't need again until you are in your new home.  This includes personal items, family photos, knick-knacks, clothes and shoes that you won't need until next season . . . anything that would be considered 'clutter'.  Think empty . . . the emptier your closets the better.  'Less is more' applies to every room and every closet in your home. 

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Getting Ready to Sell Your Home? Do This First

Submitted by Joseph Pettinella on December 26, 2016 - 3:43pm

Do this one important thing that will help you create your pre-marketing checklist . . . put yourself in a buyer's shoes and walk through/evaluate every area of your home, inside and out.

Make a list of items that need to be repaired or replaced, and items that will make your home more appealing.

For example, start in the entryway and make a list:

  • How is the front door?  Could it use a coat of paint?  Does the doorbell work?  Does the lock work, and do you have keys?  
  • How about the flooring?  Does it need repaired, or can you apply a product to restore the finish?
  • Look at the walls and trim.  Do they need a good cleaning, or should you repaint.  Any dings in the walls, doors or trim belong on the MUST list.  
  • Cleaning out the front entry closet is also a MUST.  Store away all out-of-season items, and donate all of those old coats you haven't worn for a couple of years.
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My Listing Expired . . . & My House Didn't Sell . . . Now What?

Submitted by Joseph Pettinella on November 30, 2016 - 11:10am

Did your listing expire without selling? If you're serious about selling, then you're probably pretty frustrated by now. It's time to take a fresh approach.

Let's take a look at the most common reasons a house doesn't sell within the initial listing period as well as actions you can take to affect the outcome. 

1. Perhaps your house didn't sell because It is not priced properly for the current market. Pricing your home at or near the actual market value is the best strategy for getting your home sold at the best price within the established time frame. The actual market value is determined by comparing your home to similar homes that are currently on the market (your competition), and similar homes that sold recently (usually within the past 6 months). Adjustments are made for condition, location, and features among the comparable sold homes. This is an oversimplification of the process of determining the market value and the best listing price, but these are the most important determining factors. For a more detailed look at how a professional prices your property, see our Pricing Your Property Right page.

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Planning to Sell Your Home Soon?

Submitted by Joseph Pettinella on March 15, 2016 - 11:47am

If you are planning to sell your home this Spring, then you should have already started preparing your home to sell for the best possible price and terms.

You may have watched or read reports about the real estate market being 'hot' and homes selling very quickly at increasing prices.  This is accurate information in many of our local neighborhoods, but not so much in other communities. There is a shortage of homes for sale that meet today's buyer expectations, and this factor is driving up prices in the more desirable communities and neighborhoods.

So what are 'buyer expectations'?  What are buyers looking for?  It's simple.  Buyers are looking for clean, well-maintained, clutter-free homes that show pride-of-ownership, and that are priced at or near actual market value.  

Use our Home Seller Pre-Marketing Checklist to help you get your home ready to meet, and exceed, buyer expectations.  It's also a good idea to call your REALTOR® before you are ready to sell, invite them over, and get their opinion on things that should be done to neutralize your home and make it as attractive as possible to potential buyers.

Planning to Sell Your Home Soon? Do This First!

Submitted by Joseph Pettinella on January 28, 2016 - 4:58pm

Put yourself in a buyer's shoes and walk through each room of your house, and evaluate every area of your home, inside and out.  Be honest with yourself.  If you were looking to buy in your neighborhood, what would you think about your own house?

Make a list of items that need to be repaired or replaced, and things you can do to make your home more appealing.

For example, start in the entryway and make a list:

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