6 Home Staging Tips to Get Your Home Market-Ready

In order to sell your home for top dollar in this market, it needs to be in tip-top shape. Today I’ll share six tips for making sure your home is market-ready and sells at the best price.

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Selling your Bucks County home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Staging your home properly is a must in order to sell successfully in this market. Homebuyers want homes in tip-top shape if they’re going to pay top dollar, and I have six staging tips that will ensure your home attracts a great price.

1. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Make sure the first impression the buyers have is warm and welcoming. The entry should be bright and the exterior should be clean. 

2. Be show ready. You never know when a buyer will want to schedule an appointment, so you need to be ready at all times. 

3. Kitchens and bathrooms help sell houses. Small repairs, a little bit of paint, and changing hardware can really help spruce up those popular spaces. Updates to kitchens and bathrooms will add value to your home without a significant cost to you.
 

You never know when a buyer will want to schedule an appointment, so you need to be ready at all times.

4. Take the “home” out of the house. As much as we love our family photos and mementos, having those things around won’t help the buyer see themselves living in the house. Clear out your closets as well so buyers can see what sort of storage the house offers.
 
5. Remove any traces of animals from the house. I’m a dog person, and I know how much we all love our pets. However, most buyers don’t want to see pet accessories when they walk through the house, so try to get those stored away before showings.
 
6. Hire a good agent—like me! Doing so will ensure your home gets priced right and you have a quick, lucrative sale.

If you have any questions or if you’d like a copy of my booklet which contains 450 ideas to help sell your home quickly, give me a call or send me an email. I’m always happy to help!

4 Compelling Reasons to List Your Home This Winter

Selling during the winter isn’t a bad idea. On the contrary, it might even make more sense than selling in the spring.

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Selling your Bucks County home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Conventional wisdom says waiting until the spring to list your home is the smart move. However, there are some great benefits you will get as a seller by listing now. Here are four of them:

1. Less competition. Real estate is essentially a function of supply and demand. Right now, demand is lower than what it was in the summer, but the supply is way down as well. According to national statistics, homes listed in the winter are 9% more likely to sell and they are also likely to sell a week faster than homes listed in other times of the year.

2. Motivated buyers. Especially if they are being relocated to the area, home buyers in this market are anxious to get a deal done. A lot of them want to get all settled in by the time they start work at the beginning of the year.

3. Buyers have exhausted inventory. The buyers who have been searching for a home for months now have exhausted all the inventory available to them. This means that they are going to jump at any new homes on the market that meet their criteria. Your home could be one of those.

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A lot of buyers want to get settled in the next month.

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4. Interest rates have gone up. Buyers are much more motivated now than they have been in the past due to the impending rise in mortgage interest rates. Buyers are more likely to make a quicker decision to purchase now when they realize if they wait until March or May, those rates might be much higher.

These are just four of the reasons to list your home now. If you’re thinking about selling, the first thing you should do is give me a call. I’d be happy to come out and let you know what kind of price you could get for your home based on market conditions.

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

5 Ways to Ruin Your Bucks County Home Sale

There are many reasons that a home will fail to sell. Price and competition are only two of the factors.

Buying a Bucks County area home?  Perform a full home search

Selling your Bucks County home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

It’s hard to believe October is nearly over. If your home is currently on the market but hasn’t been getting many offers, that is a problem. When I list homes, my goal is to get them sold as quickly as possible and for the most money possible. However, there are many reasons a home can fail to sell on the market. Here are five issues that might affect your ability to sell your house:

1. Condition. The house needs to be in as good of condition as it can be. Curb appeal is critically important as well. A clean home shows better and gives you a better chance at standing out from the competition.

2. Marketing. You need social media marketing for your home, as well as HD video and photography. Your home needs to look as fantastic as it can online so more buyers will want to see it in person.

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Price is the number one cause.

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3. Showability. Is your home easy to show? You should try and be as flexible as you can when it comes to making your home available for last-minute showings. Each buyer you turn away is a potential offer you can accept.

4. Competition. In Bucks County, higher-end homes are harder to sell and generally stay on the market longer due to a lack of buyers for them. In every price point, you should be looking at your competition and see how your home stacks up against them in terms of size, location, and more.

5. Price. This is the number one thing that causes homes to sit on the market. If you get 10 to 13 showings with positive feedback but no offers, that is a reflection of the market’s reaction to your price. There is certainly nothing wrong with a price adjustment if it means getting your home sold quickly.

If you have any questions or if your home has been on the market for a long time without selling, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to help out in any way I can.

Don't Skip Out on Professional Photos When Selling

I recently had a seller approach me to sell their home after the listing expired under their previous agent. When I looked online at the dark photos of the house, I wasn't surprised.

Buying a Bucks County area home?  Perform a full home search

Selling your Bucks County home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

I had an interesting conversation recently with a client who listed with another agent and asked me to take the listing over when it expired.

Before my appointment, I looked online to see what the Internet status of the house was, and I was utterly shocked. The house was really beautiful, but the pictures were dark, and you couldn't even tell what some of the rooms were. I thought it was an obvious point, but I wanted to take a minute to show how important the quality of photos is to your online presence.

For all of our listings, for example, we use a professional photographer and videographer so that the lighting and other conditions are right. Virtually everyone who buys a house in today's market will make their first search online. Every day I see buyers reach out to me having made decisions about what they want to see and not see. The critical point here is how the house looks in the pictures.

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Photos from your agent's iPhone won't cut it in today's environment.

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I can't tell you how many times I've met with homeowners who hired an agent that took pictures with an iPhone. In today's environment, it will reduce the impact that you have when selling. We always use professional photos and videos, and we even have 3D Matterport technology that shows 3D views of the house.

If you have any questions about showing your home online and the importance of high-quality photos, give me a call, send me an email, or shoot me a text. I'd love to help you out.
 

Get an Inspection Before Listing in Bucks County

Buying a Bucks County area homes?  Perform a full home search

Selling your Bucks County home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

We all know that it's a good idea for a buyer to get a home inspection before they close on a property. Today, I wanted to talk about why a seller should get a home inspection before they even list the property. Here's why.

1. Avoid renegotiation after the offer has been accepted. Once the inspection is over, buyers generally present you with a laundry list of items they want you to repair. Doing the inspection before listing allows you to address those repairs. If you are unable to make those repairs, you can at least disclose that information to buyers and avoid renegotiating later. 
2. You get better offers. You can share the inspection with prospective buyers. This makes buyers more comfortable and confident that you have maintained the home well.
3. You can avoid disclosure issues. Throughout most of Pennsylvania, a seller's disclosure is required. If you fail to disclose something and the buyer suffers harm, you can be held liable even after closing on the home. If you do an inspection prior to listing, it's more difficult for the buyer to say you weren't forthright about disclosing issues with the house.
4. Getting the inspection makes the transaction less stressful. There's a lot of stress involved in real estate transactions. Knowing the condition of your house helps ease that stress.

It's beneficial to get an inspection before listing your home. Take care of it ahead of time to save yourself any headaches or frustrations down the line. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Why Isn't Your Home Selling?

There are many great Bucks County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 519-1399 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Recently, I've talked to a lot of people who are in the process of getting their home ready for the market. As we get closer to the spring selling season, I thought it would be a good time to share 5 secrets to getting your home sold quickly in today's market. 

1. Price it right: Putting the right value on your home is the best possible marketing plan. I virtually do everything that can be done to get your home maximum exposure, but even the best marketing won't convince a buyer to pay more than what they perceive to be the fair market value.  
2. Declutter and depersonalize: An organized house will make a great impression on potential buyers. Cleaning out closets and clearing surfaces will go a long way. 
3. Maximize light: Buyers are really drawn to homes that are as bright as they possibly can be. Clean the windows and consider increasing the wattage of your light bulbs. 
4. Organize: Clean out closets and make sure to draw attention to available storage in the home, as it's an important element in getting your home sold. Make sure buyers can visualize as much storage as possible.
5. Accommodate showings: There's nothing more frustrating for a buyer than the inability to get into a house. There's enough inventory out there that agents representing buyers will simply overlook homes that aren't available for showings.
6. {BONUS} Make a really good first impression: Make sure your entryways are clean, flowerbeds are mulched and weeded, and that the front door is painted.

If you have any questions about how you can get the most out of your home sale, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I would be pleased to discuss how you can get top dollar in today's market. I hope to hear from you soon!

12 tips to keep your home in good shape this winter

There are many great Bucks County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 519-1399 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

It's hard to believe it's already October and the cold weather will be here soon in Bucks County. The few chilly nights we've had recently got us thinking about the best ways to prepare your home for the winter. To answer that, we put together a handy 12-point checklist.

1. Clean those gutters: Now is the time to inspect your gutters and downspouts. Make sure they're clear for the winter so you don't have any leakage once the ice and snow thaws in the springtime.
2. Seal up the cracks and gaps: Make sure there aren't any cracks or gaps around your windows and doors. Use weather stripping and caulk to help save on energy bills.
3. Take care of your roof: Make sure there aren't any major problems with your roof while the weather is still nice. 
4. Repair your walkways and driveways: If there is damage to the concrete around your home, repair it now. Ice and snow will only make the problem worse.
5. Drain and winterize your outdoor faucets: Many people forget to do this and have to pay for it when the spring rolls around. Don't let it happen to you.
6. Replace furnace filters: You don't want to wait until it's freezing cold to realize your heating system isn't working at maximum efficiency.
7. Get furnace serviced: Make sure your heating system is working before the cold sets in. Repair companies get swamped once the weather gets bad, so beat the rush.
8. Clean out the fireplace: Clean and sweep the fireplace, since you'll be using it soon.
9. Make sure the humidifier is working properly.
10. Get your gas fire heater serviced now: Again, don't wait until it gets cold.
11. Check wood stoves: Ensure all your heating devices are in working order.
12. Test safety items: Make sure your fire alarms, extinguishers, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly, so your family is safe this winter.

If you need help getting any of these tasks taken care of, don't hesitate to give us a call. We work with plenty of great vendors we'd love to refer to you. Thanks, and keep warm this winter!

What Benefits Does Staging have to Offer?

There are many great Bucks County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 519-1399 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Staging is a process through which a professional helps you do various things to make your home more appealing to a broad audience. Adding furniture, decluttering, and creating an emotional appeal are all part of the professional stager's repertoire to get your home sold. Homeowners often love everything they've done with their home - but this makes them less willing to make changes when it comes time to sell. Stagers are nice because they take an unbiased, objective look at the seller's home and determine what things can be done to broaden its appeal.

3 benefits of having your home professionally staged are:

1. Homes sell for more money.
2. Homes sell faster.
3. Increases the likelihood of receiving multiple offers.

Recently, we picked up an expired listing - it was a vacant house in a town home community. The seller had never heard of staging before we brought in a professional we frequently work with. We did a little painting and arranged furniture in appropriate places to build a strong emotional draw. The work the stager had done was not extensive or expensive, but the home sold within 5 days! Needless to say, the seller was ecstatic.

Staging is well worth the investment because of the time it saves you and the money it could make you. If you have further questions on the topic or are ready to make a move, give us a call or shoot us an email. We'd love to hear from you!