Staging Your Home for Sale

When placing your home on the market, presentation is key!  First impressions are of extreme importance when selling your home.  There are a number of simple and inexpensive things you can do to sell you home quicker.

Clean and De-clutter
First things first!  No one wants to see or smell a dirty home.  Clean blinds, ceiling fans, baseboards and under furniture.  Pack away knickknacks and de-clutter counter tops.  Steam carpets to remove dirt and pet odors and organize closets to utilize available space.

De-Personalize

When prospective buyers are looking at your home, they want to envision their family, not yours.  Remove all personal photographs, keepsakes and mementos. Paint your home neutral colors so that buyers can imagine their furniture and belongings in your home.


Curb Appeal
Don't neglect the outside of your home.  Trim bushes, power wash siding and sidewalks and wash windows.  Add a fresh coat of paint on your front door and purchase a new doormat.


Use Space Effectively

Rearrange furniture to maximize space and enhance your home's features.

Let There Be Light!

No one likes a dark, dreary home.  Open blinds to allow the sunlight to pour in. 

Entice Buyers' Sense of Smell

Bake cookies, bread or simmer spices prior to a showing.

Set the Temperature

You want prospective buyers to be comfortable and stay awhile in your home, right?  Now is not the time to worry about a utility bill.  Turn up the heat if it's cold enough to wear a sweater in your home.  Likewise, turn down the temperature if it is uncomfortably hot.










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Moving On: Tips for a Stress-Free Move

Moving can be challenging and stressful, at best.  It can be difficult to remember everything that you need to do during this life-changing event.  Here are some useful tips to help you during the process!

Preparation

Write down the names and numbers of utility companies and make the transfers.  Give yourself at least a week, as many utility companies can't transfer service the next day. Change your address with the postal service at least a week in advance.

Finding Packing Supplies 

Boxes can be expensive.  Check with your local retailers, ABC stores and furniture stores.  When you're finished unpacking, advertise the free boxes on Craigslist so you won't have to dispose of them.

Packing

• Consider your move as a time to organize.  Designate areas for items to donate and items to sell at a garage sale.
• Pack the items you use the least first.  
• Dust items as you pack so that you won't have to dust when you unpack.
• Wrap small fragile items in brightly colored tissue paper so they won't accidentally be thrown away.
• Avoid mixing items from different rooms in the same box.
• Color-code boxes by designating a color for each room.  Place a colored sticker on each box.  Be sure to mark boxes that are fragile.
• Use suitcases, baskets, hampers and clothes baskets in place of boxes.  Pack small kitchen items such as spices in large pots.
• Stack plates vertically to save room.  Plates are also less likely to break if stacked vertically.
• Use newspapers, towels and/or clothes instead of bubble wrap for fragile items to save money.
•  When disassembling furniture, place screws and parts in a Ziploc bag and tape to the base of the furniture so that it is easily accessible when time to reassemble.

The First Night

Pack one overnight bag or box with the bare necessities you'll need for the first night.  Chances are that you'll be too tired to search for these items after the big move.

Do you have any moving tips to share?  Please let us know in the comments below.

Benefits of a Home Inspection

 Think you don't need a home inspection?  Think again!

Whether you're a homeowner preparing to sell or have found your dream home and are ready to begin the sales process, a home inspection can save you unwanted grief.  A home inspection is beneficial to both buyers and sellers because it eliminates any nasty surprises for sellers and relieves potential doubts for buyers.

For buyers, home inspections may pay for themselves in savings.  A home inspector typically checks for issues with structural integrity, major defects, safety hazards and that major appliances are in working order. A home inspection enables a buyer to make an informed decision and feel more confident about their purchase.  Keep in mind there are certain things a home inspector cannot see, like the inside of walls or underneath floors. 

Sellers benefit from home inspections in that having a home inspection can eliminate last-minute negotiations.  Why wait for a buyer's home inspector to uncover unknown problems after you've already accepted an offer? 

Home inspections are a benefit to both buyers and sellers:  they remove unknown factors to help make the transaction as worry-free as possible.

Sales Agents: Implement Your 2015 Marketing Plan!

Successful real estate agents utilize marketing strategies.  Have you created and implemented a marketing plan for 2015?  Click here for a free marketing planning packet.

Here are some helpful tips to help you get started:

• Keep a weekly activity log of follow-ups, mailing sent, warm/cold calls and open houses.
• Communicate 4 ways:  email, phone, print/mail and social media.
• Plan a marketing budget.
• Tour local listings.
• Become more active in association activities and/or run for office.
• Attend office meetings.
• Develop a monthly newsletter.
• Conduct a buyer/seller seminar.
• Take classes:  Luxury Portfolio is available for all agents.  The next webinar sessions are March 12th and May 19th at 4pm.  Topics to be covered are:
• Luxury portfolio facts and statistics
• Customer communication tools
• Marketing materials and listing presentation resources
• Opportunities for additional media exposure
• A brief tour of LuxeXchange

 Click here to register for the March webinar and here to register for the May webinar. 

Are You Considering Contesting Your 2015 Tax Reassessment?

Carteret County recently mailed a letter to property owners with an updated tax value after reassessment.  State law requires that real property be assessed or revalued at least once every 8 years.  Carteret County has elected to reassess after 4 years.

According to the tax office, some property values will increase and some will decrease, but most will remain the same.

If you decide to contest your new assessment, the Board of Equalization will convene between the last week of April and the first week of May 2015.  The steps to make an appeal are included with the notification of your new property value.  Only data through January 2015 will be considered until the next reevaluation in 2019. 

Finding Your Match

Choosing an agent that works well with you and your home search or sell is an important task. You will be spending a lot of time with your real estate agent and there are things you need to know before committing to a long-term relationship.  Click the image below to watch a quick 2 minute video on what you need to know about your perfect agent hunt.

What to ask:

1. Read the agent biography. Do they have similar interest to you? Are their skills in line with your buying or selling goals? Are their accolades in line with what you will be looking for in a home or the kind of property you will be selling
2. Are they familiar with the area you are buying or selling in? 
3. Is your preferred form of communication text, phone calls or emails? Make sure your chosen agent is comfortable communicating in a way that is convenient to you!
4. Do you feel like he or she is a good listener? Do you feel that your goals, needs and desires will be heard? Will they keep what you desire in the fore front when assisting?
5. Don't be afraid to interview multiple agents. You are essentially hiring them

What to have Ready:

1. Have your top 5 priorities at hand to discuss with your potential agent
2. Make sure you have set a buying/selling timeline
3. Know how much you are willing to spend

Are you Viewing a Haunted House?

Over half of home buyers are willing to purchase a presumably haunted house. As surveyed by Realtor.com. Are you one of those special few who are brave enough to live among the "not so alive" crowd.

Here are a few tips to watch out for if you don't intend to.

Cemetery on the Property
Over 100 Years Old
Quick Transition of Owners
Close Proximity to an Old Battlefield or Indian Burial Ground
Un-explainably LOW asking price


But there are savings at "stake" here you say.
Well yes, some spooky houses can sell for significantly less than comparable abodes.
Actually, 34% of the surveyed would purchase Amityville horror if it were listed at 1-30%
under market value.

But wait, what would scare you out of such a great deal?
75% claimed levitating objects would be enough to make their knees knock
63% say moving objects would make them high tail
63% responded unexpected visitors make for a quick hasta la vista

Have you ever lived in a haunted house?

Feel free to share your story in our comments below. We would love to hear your chilling tale.

Not ready for a ghouling night yet. Here is a link to our "Last Minute Halloween" board on Pinterest to help you out.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!