Post Cord-Cutting

Remember when I told you I got Roku?  Well I never even look at that now.  It’s all antenna TV, Netflix and Amazon…and Netflix is close to the chopping block.  We really are like a bunch of mules on the cart path you know.  Somewhere along the line, cable companies convinced us that we NEEDED their TV services so they could gouge us financially.  Well I’m here to tell you, the weaning process works.  There are a lot of other, better things to do than watch cable TV…which equals COMMERCIALS!

I’ll tell you wha’t I’m enjoying on Netflix and Amazon:  British tv.  I’m getting to know some of the wonderful actors and even have some favorites that I hate waiting for the next season to post.  Check it out.  If you like Idris Alba, I found him a long time ago on Brit TV and fell in love with him as Luther.

Life without cable TV?  EXCELLENT still.

State of the Housing Market in the Triangle

Hi everyone!  I thought I’d touch base and talk a little bit about the housing market in the Raleigh NC area.  We are experiencing a hot market here, and also a housing shortage.  Anyone who lived through the crash as a realtor or builder, predicted this situation, because so many builders went out of business and because so many “cheap” homes were bought as either rentals or primary residences as the market righted itself.  NOW, however, we are experiencing the slinky effect.  There simply are not enough houses to satisfy demand here.

We lost a lot of builders and developers in the crash, and I assume many never came back, although many did.  I see many of the same names pounding out spec homes and custom builds, but they can’t keep up with demand. Interest rates have been at historic lows, fueling the feeding frenzy, and now, there are not enough existing homes either.  Baby Boomers are asking for one-level living, and requests for senior living communities are raging.  This situation could also have been predicted, although you wouldn’t think so by the scramble to supply this need.

I drove around some of the older communities and knocked on doors, encouraging people who owned older ranch-style homes to list with me, because not only could I sell their house in the blink of an eye, but also,they could buy a home at a very low interest rate.  Problem is, now there AREN’T any homes for them to move to if they do sell their ranch style home if they want to be under 200 thousand.

So we’re in a bit of a pickle.  Trying to find a home under 200 thousand that’s within a reasonable commute distance is next to impossible, although there are some town homes coming on line under 160 thousand that will not force a huge commute to work. Problem is: Townhouse are two story. Baby boomers want one story.

So.  We talk money.  Because of the supply/demand discord, prices are jumping.  It’s easy for me to list at the top of the price range indicated by a market analysis, and often get at or above list price offers!  This is great for sellers, and kind of a balancing of the universe; because these folks took a beating in the crash.  Senior communities are popping up all around, just getting off the ground really, but they are priced so high that many of my clients who might want that kind of home laugh and go another direction.  People moving to a fixed income  lifestyle often can’t easily afford a starting price in the 400’s.  I do hear that DR Horton is starting an over 55 community in this area priced under 200.  Now we’re talking.

So it’s as hot, crazy market.  If you are thinking of selling, call me.  We should start by talking about what you want to go TO, and makes sure we can find it for you.  Because if we list your home, chances are it’ll fly off the market faster than you may want it to!  But it’ll fly at a higher price than you might think too!

 

Statistics on Home Sales

Articles on home sales fill the internet lately, and most people cite those statistics without doing a deeper dive, or having the background information to interpret the data.  But it is imperative that you know where the numbers come from that influence your decisions related to buying a home, or selling your existing home, or both.  And it is important that you understand your market well enough to truly understand what the data is telling you, or whether it even applies.

I just read a article that said existing home sales are down 2.6%.  For many, that would be the end of the story.  But in my market, if existing home sales are down at all, it is definitely not due to the economy; it is because there is a shortage of listings.  In other words, MANY realtors have clients standing in line to buy existing homes, but there just aren’t any available to buy in their price point.  IMPORTANT: If you are thinking of selling YOUR existing home, this is GREAT news for you!  Supply is low and demand is VERY high.  This means many thousands more dollars in your pocket!  So in this case a 2.6% drop is not bad news. In fact, it’s a reason to celebrate.  And that is in the Raleigh/Triangle market, not in Chattanooga.

Something else to consider is seasonal effect on data.  Most folks don’t want to have their home on the market for sale during November and December, because of the holidays.  And during summer vacation time, it’s not unusual to see a slow down in buying activity.  It doesn’t predict gloom and doom for the market; rather, data predict typical human habits and traditions.  I always have homes closing over both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so some folks clearly take advantage of the lower supply of homes and they list, or they take advantage of the holiday slowdown to take advantage of buying at potentially a lower price.  See how this works?  Make the data work in your favor by understanding it.

The other thing you need to dig out of these articles is the source of the data.  I just looked at a chart showing lowest time on the market for existing homes.  I know our time on the market here is much lower, on average, than what the chart showed.  So I found the small print and saw that the data came from San Francisco CA, Billings MT, Chattanooga TN.  This data had NOTHING to do with our local market.  So be sure you know where these “stats” come from.  In fact, in some neighborhoods, I can almost predict when a home will go under contract, based on that community’s time on the market.  In the last case I examined, time on the market was about 40 days, lower than that chart indicated from these other areas.

The bottom line is this, and you’ve heard it a thousand times: Real estate is local.  Now that sounds a bit ridiculous, right?  But the saying is packed with truth.  What happens in San Francisco has nothing to do with us, here in the Raleigh/Triangle market.  Each day we have 60+ people moving here, needing homes.  EACH DAY.  So our market is always healthy, or healthier, than markets anywhere else in the US.  This means if the economy crashes, we will slow down, but not as much as most other markets in the whole country.  So don’t be afraid to buy, and I will beg:  Please list your existing home.  I can sell it!  I probably have a buyer waiting.

The Amazing Antenna

Every once in a while I amuse myself.  You guys know I cut the cord a while back, and that I’ve been learning to juggle the Roku box I got instead.  Now I like Roku just fine and I can set it up to scroll through past news segments, but getting real-time news was a head scratcher.  I found that I missed being able to watch live, local news on TV and I missed weather reports, particularly when we had a storm system bearing down on us.

So I got Sling TV.  Not really impressed.  I find that it’s not well organized for my taste, too cumbersom to navigate through, to me.  I’m just not in love with it. I aim high.  I’m not going to keep Sling TV  because I got this great gadget called an antenna!  It’s called SLIVR and it comes with a booster, which I am sure you need.  Easy to hook up, good for receiving signals from within a 55 mile radius.  RADIUS.  That’s a long way.  And, there’s an app (oh big surprise) for finding all of the broadcast towers WITHIN that 55 mile radius, so you know which way to aim the antenna.  Well why not.  And you can effect the channels you receive by which way you aim the antenna.  Only one direction picks up QVC so guess which way I turn it.

Installation instructions looked too easy, which immediately made me suspicious because I didn’t need an allen wrench or washers or pegs, like most self-builds do. But it really was that easy.  Boom!  Local TV.  Clear as a bell.  AND…there’s a channel that broadcasts a TON of the really old shows, like Lariat, Wagon Train, Bewitched, F-Troop, a channel that’s all crime shows. Heaven, really.  OH, and also weather and news, which was the whole point to begin with.  I got mine hooked up just in time for “the great blizzard of 2017” (one inch ice/one inch snow).  I know.

Now the ‘amusing’ part.  I was telling someone how great this antenna is, and it’s FREE to watch these channels.  I’m not even sure how many there are but it’s more than three.  You get where I’m going with this.  While I was talking about how I LOVE my antenna, I had to stop and laugh.  Yeah, antenna, like EVERYONE used before the advent of cable, those wretched grinches.  So yeah, antenna use is nothing new; it’s just coming around again.  And of course I HIGHLY recommend it.  Amusing, isn’t it, that we completely forgot about antennae, that there were free broadcasts out there?  I feel like a mule on the cart path, really. I’ve been duped!

But now, I get to watch commercials again (nothing is perfect) and above all I get the Bosley Hair Replacement commercials. How did I live without THEM?  If I hear “This is MY hair, I can wash this hair” one more time I’m going to scream.  You guys know:  I scream at my TV all the time.  But NOW I scream at NO CHARGE.  Life is good.

So I think the best combo is just Netflix, Amazon (apps on smart TVs) and an antenna.  Boom.  Drop the remote.

Interest Rates on the Rise, BUT…

It should come as no surprise that interest rates are on the rise.  This means that a house payment you could afford six months ago might be out of your range now.  It’s still a great time to buy a home, though, because rates are still at record lows.  I’ve had some conversations lately that made me remember that the interest rate when I bought my first home was around 17%.  I know.

My professional advice is to visit your preferred lender IN PERSON, and have a conversation about the different kinds of loans out there, and get several estimates, based on increasing rates.  Understand that there are MANY different types of loans, including, yes, adjustable rate ones.  My first mortgage was an adjustable rate loan, but my rate was frozen for four years, and could only adjust upward one percent per adjustment period afterward.  Good.  At that time rates were SURE to go down anyway, but before the adjustment, I refinanced to a conventional loan with a fixed rate.  And just so you know, there were a plethora of adjustable rate choices at that time.  I’ve used a balloon loan too.  Low fixed rate up front for a period, after which the entire amount comes due.  But you just FINANCE that amount, and the risk, of course, is what the rates will be at that time.  In my cases, they always went down, which was a calculate risk on my part.

If you’re not comfortable with risk, then these adjustable rates or balloon loans are not for you.  But the point is that there are other ways to calculate your payment than just a straight, 30 year, conventional loan.  So take a couple of hours and visit a loan officer.  You’ll be amazed at what’s out there.

Adjustable rate mortgages got a bad reputation in the aftermath of the real estate market crash…which should be called the Wall Street Greed crash…because lenders were writing loans that never should have seen the light of day and would land somebody in jail today.  Note that they did that, often, at the behest of Wall Street brokers who needed sub-prime loans to fill tranches blah blah blah.   HOWEVER…not all adjustables are bad.  If you are responsible and do your homework, an adjustable rate mortgage can be a way to beat the rising rates for the short term.  But you will need to be in a good financial position to refinance when the time comes.

Bottom line is this:  In our market here in the Triangle, every seller expects a loan approval letter (some a pre qualification letter) to accompany your offer to purchase, otherwise your offer might be rejected immediately.  So you’ve had to have at least one conversation with a lender in order to get that.  Make it a meaningful conversation, a deep dive into your options…all of them…so that you get the most bang for your hard earned bucks.  In other words, don’t let rising rates put you out your dream of buying a home.  There are GOOD ways for responsible buyers to nab a low rate.

Cutting the Cord, tee hee hee

News is hitting the investment platforms, finally, admitting that cable is hemorrhaging customers and the stock is starting to roll down the hill.  By this time next year they can post a counter.  And I have to say I’m glad about it.  I don’t own the stock, and wouldn’t on principle.

Some radio show hosts call cell phone customer service providers “customere no service”, but that really should apply to cable companies.  Think about it.  If you are brave enough or unfortunate enough to go TO the brick and mortar shop, you get to take a number and wait an hour, while six to eight employees take turns offering three service providers to the crowd.  It would be nice if all eight of them would get it in gear, but until NOW, they haven’t had to.  You and I know they are slow dancing in a burning room, but they still saunter around and enjoy building a frustrated backlog of trapped customers.  This tells me the ‘customer servants’ can’t see the writing on the wall, or can’t read it, not sure which.

I felt SO GOOD the day I canceled my cable service, and while I was at it I fired their internet service too.  Icing on the cake.  Why?  Oh.  Glad you asked.

Once about 8 months ago I called to cancel cable because they were raping me on the cost AND they were charging that ridiculous amount to show me COMMERCIALS.  When I called  to fire them they asked, “So, why do you want to cancel your cable?”

I replied, “Because I am not going to pay to watch commercials.”

Now, I had some time and I knew they would do the shuffle to reel me back in, and I was curious how that would go.  So, smiling, I went along for the ride.  By the time she was finished, she had RAISED my already unacceptable bill by THIRTY DOLLARS.  So I said, “Hmmm.  Does that actually work with people who are calling to fire you?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

I said, “People want to cancel because the bill is too high, so you RAISE the cost and they actually agree? Does that really WORK?”

She got very quiet.  Until she started typing again to try to make me happy watching commercials for a lower price.  Well she gave me some free movie channels and lowered my bill, so I stayed a while.  But when the free stuff ran out?  The bill was AMAZINGLY high.  In other words, they made up for free stuff in a big way…or thought they would.  I am not stupid and neither, as it turns out, are more and more customers.

So I fired them.

Here’s the deal.  Cable companies have raped their clients for years and they got away with that AND horrible customer service because they could.  Then when Hulu, Netflix and Youtube came on the scene they thought they could stick it to us again by hiring FRIENDLY people to rape us.  Once upon a time, that would have worked.  But NOW…we have other options.  Lots of them.

So cable is one market segment, the demise of which I plan to watch while I kick back, prop up my feet, pour a glass of red wine and celebrate.  I’ll be smiling, thinking about the jerks sweating bullets and scrambling to make it…you know, like we CUSTOMERS have done for years.  Only, I could turn in my cable equipment; they can’t turn in their mansions.

Good riddance cable.  Won’t miss you at all.  Oh and you other guys?  The replacements?  Learn something.  Because some of us have gotten used to no TV at ALL much of the time.  Tick tock.

Wanted: Experienced Realtors…

Just like other areas of life, there was a recent push to replace experienced real estate agents with “millennials”.  The thinking was that millions of home buyers would be people in this age cohort, that they would be THE buyers and that they would want to work with agents who were their peers.  Well that wasn’t on target, to put it mildly.  Many of the younger buyers are renting and paying off college loans, or even staying at home with Mom and Dad…not buying.  Real estate planners shouldn’t feel bad; retail made that mistake too.  Many of the millennials are educated, savvy, street smart and skeptical about anybody wanting their sparse cash.  They want details, they want to know their agent has a solid knowledge of the market and is well capable of walking them through the jungle of tasks associated with buying and selling a home.  In other words, millennials expect to be leaders and as such, their real estate agent had better be qualified to take that lead.

Millennials who do buy are not usually in the higher end market; rather, they are usually in the first time buyer and first time move-up buyer price range.  They, and other who ARE buying in the high end market do not want a “millennial” guiding the transaction.  Well, I’m a 10,000 foot view person.  I saw this stumble coming a mile and a half away.  Don’t get me wrong; I love young people.  The ones I get to meet and work with are very smart, very motivated and very sensible about buying.  They give  me hope for the future.  But young real estate agents are not well rounded, confident and knowledgable about the market just yet.  They deserve to grow and build a skill base, yes; but that doesn’t negate the value of experience.

So some of the same companies who were nudging the older agents aside are now actively recruiting experience.  It’s a shame that experienced agents are often overlooked by the ‘planners’ of the future of area market movement, and that that experienced agents are re-noticed only when the cavalry is needed.  But that’s how it goes.

My advice to you is this: Realize that you are making one of the largest transactions of your life, and that you should put that transaction in the hands of experience and knowledge.  That doesn’t mean someone who made a high score on the test, although that’s important.  It means someone who understands the nuances of the market beyond what the publications say.  It means someone who understands that prices in neighboring communities can be very different and why.  It means someone who has experience with inspectors and builders.  It means someone who knows how to spot hidden potential issues.  It means someone who knows what’s worth worrying about and what is not.  It means knowing the importance of pricing and how it impacts the overall market.  It means knowing how to put the most cash in your pocket at the end of the day.

I decided to write about this subject today because I have been working on a market analysis for the last several days, in a new growth-spurt area, where prices have jumped significantly in the last year.  I want to push my list price as high as I can…and be able to have it appraise at that value when the time comes.  This of course prompted a deep dive into that area and into that community, and a subsequent spreadsheet…mine, not a canned product.

One of the values I use, LOOSELY, I might add, is price per square foot.  And while this is the WRONG WRONG WRONG value to use in pricing a home, it does give you a nice snapshot of market activity at-a-glance, and it can be quite eye opening.  It was for me.  In my area of interest there were 3 of 14 homes I studied, which had VERY much lower sold price-per-square-foot.  This prompted me to look at the listing agency AND agent, and each case, the agent was inexperienced.  This costed the home owners/sellers a lot of money they could have made on their transactions and it hurt the overall market.  These low-ball prices will be put into the “comp” pot, and will be used by appraisers in pricing other homes for mortgages.  And this tells me nobody’s guiding these agents appropriately and nobody has told them the value of strong pricing.  Nobody has shared with them that listing with strong prices raises the entire market, which is actually our job…to protect the market.

So, while other home sold in the 118.00 price per square foot, these homes sold at around 108.  That adds up.  To loss for the sellers.  The moral of the story is this: If you hire inexperience, it will cost you.  You may never know it…which would be the best scenario.  If you do know it, you have to wonder where else you got short-changed.

I need to also say that sometimes it pays to price low if a quick sale is needed…for the SELLER, not the agent.  And that’s all I will say about that.

Bottom line: Be sure your agent is experienced enough to be a strong, successful advocate for you.  That’s what you are paying for.  This isn’t an opportunity to be trendy; this is your money at stake.  Experienced agents will understand that.

 

Real Estate and Millennials

I just read an article that says it’s hard to get ‘Millennials’ into the DIY stores these days, but hope springs eternal as the older ones in the cohort are reaching the median age for home buying.  That’s a mouthful.  It’s true that they are aging like the rest of us, and it gives me something else to watch swirl around the drain as the marketing folks miss the mark again.

Millennials are buying new homes much of the time, not old homes that need work, and their DIY days are way ahead of them.  I’ve watched business after business change their paradigm to cater to Millennials and fail miserably at it.  Why?  They don’t have a clue.  They read the articles that say Millennials are at shopping age OMG!  Well heads up people.  Millennials don’t shop.  They save, they pay student loan debt and they are not baby boomers who live beyond their means.

The impending focus by the big box DIY stores toward Millennials is just another example of how people get on the cart path, so to speak, trying to change things to satisfy the media hype, rather than paying attention to their clientele.  Look around you in the DIY stores.  There are no DJs or Wifi boutique areas.  It’s a big old tool and garden shop.  It smells like plywood and there’s always an aisle full of guys on their knees searching through the bin for that perfect screw or bolt.  Which still makes me go hmmmm.  And I don’t see any Millennials! Not one!  Could you envision one of them being interested in the LEAST about that perfect bolt?  Not unless you hide a cell phone in the bin as a prize.

It would benefit these businesses to look at JC Penney, for example, who tried to change everything to cater to the young people.  Look at their stock price real quickly.  I’ll wait.  See?  Disaster.  When JC Penney shut out their foundation clientele you could hear the toilet flushing their income stream.  It’s the older generation who are the bread and butter, the ones who made these stores ‘big box’ to start with.  They can change things around to be ready for Millennials to arrive, and they can listen to crickets chirping…you know like JC Penney did.

For DIY stores, it’s a bad idea to negate the needs of the foundational clientele, because they are older folks (and I mean over thirty) who have kids who need a nice yard in which to play, kids who make you need to paint, grandkids who break things and flush things that shouldn’t be flushed.  And Millennials don’t have kids or are just getting started and they don’t need yards.  But all of that aside, the Millennials are not shoppers. Not yet.  Electronics?  Yes.  But that’s about it for now.

They are not ready for big box DIY.  They couldn’t care less about planting a flower bed and if they do, chances are it will be neglected and die because…they have other things to do!  Fun things! They go to their friends’ weddings, or their wedding.  They go clubbing, they go biking and hiking, they date.  Or they get ready to date, or they start a family.  It’s that time of their lives.  DIY and flower beds are way out there on the radar, if at all.

Some of my all time favorite clients are Millennials.  They exhibit true partnership in choosing a home and defining a price range.  They never want to max out their purchase power; rather, they stay conservative and realize that they also want to continue to play, or think about starting a family.  They don’t need a palace to start with.  Don’t get me wrong, they want a nice home, but they are smart about it.  They plan to HIRE people to fix things because they are on their computers and iPads and iPhones…or Samsung Galaxies.   Millennials budget in repair people! They do not plan to be one.

Oh I know they WILL be one, but they don’t know that yet.

Millennials are tech savvy, not circular saw savvy.  They are VERY okay with electronic interaction, including documentation…which is my absolute preference…and they are fun.  They also have a true partnership.  They think about things together, each has input, and I swear, one person NEVER makes the decision without looking at the other and saying, “What do you think?”  And…you might find a Millennial doing some DIY but it’s usually because his father is helping him and Dad is the one shopping for plywood.  Young son has researched the issue online so he knows what’s going on, but it’s DAD who is doing the work.  Trust me.

On the flip side: There are some Millennials who buy fixer-uppers, but its to save money.  And when something breaks, they freak out.  They don’t run to the DIY center; they call Dad or somebody they know “who does this stuff”…usually NOT a Millennial.  True! Usually a parent or older friend with kids and a big truck and lots of bills who does this work to make extra money…not a Millennial paradigm at all.

And another thing: Better to start catering to women in these places because the Millennial women are strong and smart and engaged.  They will be one half of all buying decisions about those nuts and bolts when the time comes. That’s the cohort behavior.  A great idea would be to look at how many women are already shopping there and cater to them.  Right now.  The Millennials will be there in 15 years but if you look around, you will see a lot of  women in these places right now…but you won’t see them at the bolt bin. To us a bolt is a bolt.

I know, men think all casserole dishes are the same too.

 

 

 

TIME TO SELL!

I can’t tell you how many times I search and search and search for ranch style homes under 300 thousand and ANY homes under 180 thousand in Raleigh…to no avail!  These homes just don’t exist in the more sought-after areas and in good shape.  In fact, I can’t even find fixer-uppers anymore.  They are being nabbed by house flippers!  I doubt we will see this strength on the seller side again in our lifetime.

This an opportunity for potential sellers to top-out on selling price…in some cases the homes will NEVER be worth more than they are RIGHT NOW!  Interest rates have dropped, people are ready to buy, everyone understands that they need to be pre-qualified and are doing it ahead of time…WHERE ARE THE LISTINGS??

I need listings, yes, but the bigger issue is that sellers FINALLY have the pendulum swung to their advantage and they’re not capitalizing on it!  Remember when you had to hand over your firstborn child in order to get a buyer for your home?  Well it’s the other way around now, just like I said it would be.  If you have any inclination to sell your home, this is the time to make the most dollars.

If you want to sell, contact me and I will do a market analysis for you.  You will be surprised.  Happens every time.

 

MARKET STRATEGY FOR THE TRIANGLE

If I said it’s a crazy market would you think I’m repeating myself?  Well, it’s a crazy market.  There’s a housing shortage folks, which makes it the strongest seller market I have experienced.  For the first time in my experience, all of my buyer clients (and one seller) are BUILDING their next home.  That’s because…duh…there’s as housing shortage, and people can’t find a home they want to buy!  If they find one, there are five offers on the table already! ALERT!  TIME TO LIST IF YOU ARE THINKING OF SELLING!!  I’ve said that so much I’m out of breath.  Again, you can make the MOST on the sale of your home now, while there are people clamoring for a great home to buy and who don’t want to wait six months to build!

Remember when I said I couldn’t wait until the pendulum swung back to center?  When I was tired of my sellers getting the pants beaten off of them?  Well, I’m glad alright.  Sellers are now in control.  Like I said, the universe WILL balance.  Never fails.

But like always, there’s a “but”.

I find that many real estate agents negate the power of supply-and-demand when pricing homes to list.  For example…one-level living is the hottest thing going right now, except for senior living communities…which are also one-level living.  So if you have a ranch style home, you are in the proverbial cat-bird seat.  Now that only applies if you home is marketable.  I’ll explain later.

Back to pricing:  Yes, look at the price range of homes in your zip code and focus on your comps.  Then search for ranch style homes in the MLS AREA, and see how many ranches are out there.  If you find ONE or NONE?  Instant benefit to you, Seller.  You may now price at the high end of the range and expect to get it.  I recently had an agent lambast me in her feedback telling me that my listing was priced TWENTY THOUSAND too high. Well, we sold that house for the price I set.  Booyah!  Pricing is my strong suit folks.  I get it done.  If she had listed the house, well, not a happy face on that one.  And it would have hurt the market for the community too.

When you meet with me, I will ask you this, “What is your selling goal?”  Now that might sound stupid, but bear with me.  If your goal is to get rid of the house FAST, that initiates a different STRATEGY for pricing your home.  In other words, we might aim a bit lower in price, or come up with some enticing concessions.  But if your goal is to get every last penny the market will allow for your property, well that’s another STRATEGY, and its my favorite.  That means we price you at the high end of your range, but we expect to MAYBE take a bit longer to sell.  I don’t know about you, but I’d wait two or three more weeks to net 5 grand.  If you are not in a rush, relax and focus on your bottom line getting BETTER.

If your agent doesn’t talk strategy with you…ask why! There is more to pricing your home than pulling up some comps and taking an average!  Supply and demand MUST be considered!  If you have the only ranch style home with an acre or more lot in the whole area?  You just hit the jackpot on pricing; I don’t care what the other homes went for.

Understand that pricing your home is a many-faceted operation that takes time, it takes knowledge of the greater market, your LOCAL market…which sometimes means your exact community…and it takes an understanding of what you, the seller, want to achieve.

My goal in any listing situation is to get you, the seller, every penny I can get for you on pricing.  But if you just need to move on, we can change that strategy.  It’s a team effort and your agent MUST know your needs, not just how to average the sale price of three properties sold in the last three months.

Now, back to having your home “marketable”…People sometimes hate to hear this, but here is the cold, hard truth.  If you want TOP DOLLAR for your home, it MUST be in top dollar CONDITION.  That means you have to roll up your sleeves and do some cleaning and re-arrange or maybe even remove some pieces of furniture.  Remember we look at houses ALL THE TIME.  We know what sells and what doesn’t.  You HAVE TO DECLUTTER.

Buyers are buying space, not your decor.  Don’t fault the professional real estate agent when she tells you what you have to do to get top dollar.  Is your decor worth ten thousand dollars to your bottom line?  I’ve seen people say yes to that time after time!  Amazing!   I don’t have that kind of money to spare, how about you?  If you do, don’t worry about making your home “marketable”.

So…remember that if you want top dollar, the house must be WORTHY of it. If you are not willing to put in the sweat equity to get top dollar, do NOT blame your real estate agent! Instead, look in the mirror.  Remember that selling your home is a team effort and you…let me repeat…YOU are one half of the team.  So get involved, know your strategy, and get that home spiffed up to garner the best price!  If I’m your agent, I’m going to work very closely with you to get you that price.

Let me just add one more thing: Don’t start getting antsy.  If you have chosen a savvy real estate agent who has clearly understood your needs and laid out a great pricing strategy, listen to her and settle down.  Selling a home is nerve wracking I know, but you will shorten your life by pacing around being nervous.  Relax and let the strategy work.  You can count your money and your blessings later, trust me. And if you can’t trust your agent, you’ve got the wrong agent.  Just sayin’.