Flat Fee MLS Blog

Home Sellers need to carefully plan how to enjoy Thanksgiving, while making their property attractive to buyers.   Keep in mind that while you may have fewer showings during the Thanksgiving season, the people that are actively shopping for a home during the holidays are the most serious buyer’s.  You certainly want them to remember your home, not your blowup, gobbling lawn turkey.

Consider our tips for decorating and enjoying the season, without overwhelming prospective home shoppers.

Tips for Staging at Thanksgiving

• When decorating your entrance, think simple.  Add a pumpkin, gourds or a few strands of lights, but this is not the time you want to bring out the full display.  Keep the decor seasonal, but allow the character of your house to come through.

• Update worn out holiday accessories.   Accessorize at Thanksgiving with throw pillows, candles, tablecloths and place settings that bring peaceful, fall colors indoors.

• Use natural items to decorate your home.  Pumpkins, gourds, flowers and fruit make an attractive centerpiece, as long as they are not overdone.   Try to avoid plastic, sparkling or childish appearing decorations.  

• Never hide important architectural details, that may be a selling point to your buyer, behind contruction paper turkeys.

• Instead of entertaining at your house this year, consider going to the home of a friend or relative.  Restaurants also provide a great dining experience without the mess of cooking at home.

• If you do your Christmas shopping early, keep wrapped gifts neatly stacked in one closet or provide a special place to store them that is out of sight.

• Light a fire in your fireplace, or stage it to look good, even if it isn’t burning.  Try adding decorative logs or pillar candles to an unused fireplace.

• Although clutter busting is always extremely important when marketing a home, holiday decorations make anti-clutter a greater battle to overcome.   This year may be a good time to skip decorations, entirely.

It is possible to enjoy the holidays and successfully show your home.  Just remember that less is more, and if you add seasonal touches, do it sparingly.  

Thank you for visiting Why6percent.com, your flat fee MLS listing company.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Given the slowdown in home sales, it often takes more than 130 days or 4 months to sell a property.   If your home has been on the market, as the season’s have changed, now is time to update your marketing material.  Good news is it is free, quick and easy to do.

First, if you are using photo’s of your home that were taken during spring or summer, you should immediately replace them with a current picture.   As we are all aware, little compares to the marketing power of a picture to attract or turn off a home shopper.  And, nothing screams STALE listing like an old photo taken out of season.

You can leave the summer photograph of a swimming pool, flower beds or other feature’s about your home that show off the beauty or quality of life in other seasons.   But, change the captions to reflect the fact that the pictures remain to fully illustrate all ammenities your home offers.  For a swimming pool caption example, consider changing your caption to read something like “Summer fun and Poolside entertaining 2009″.

Changing photographs in your InfoTube.net home listing is quick and easy.  Just log in to the homepage with your user name and password.  Edit your ad and upload the new photo’s.  Then, Save and you are done.

To update your MLS listing photo’s, send the new pictures, along with your request, in an email to your listing broker.  They will handle the changes for you.

Don’t sell yourself short with an old photo that sticks out like a sore thumb.  Out of season photo’s simply mean that your house has been on the market for months and you don’t care who knows.

Update those photograph’s today and make your listing look brand new. 

Listing a home with obvious, even if small, problems are one of the biggest mistakes sellers make. Buyers prefer problem-free houses and as a seller, your top priority must be to overcome any obstacles between you and the sale. Fixing stuff that’s broken and selling a home that appears to have been well maintained will often overcome any real or imagined problems a buyer will have. Conversely, not fixing problems sends a loud message that you don’t care enough about your home. And, don’t forget, the home inspector will not miss problems, even if the buyer didn’t see them.In today’s slow housing market, seller’s should fix anything that a home buyer would expect to be working on the day of the sale, including:

1. Odors and Smells: Obviously, a big turn off for buyer’s in any market, and often poses health concerns. Stinky houses don’t sell. Find the source of of your problem and remove it.

 2. Appliances: All appliances advertised as a part of the sale should be clean and in working order, before your first showing.

3. Plumbing: If it leaks, drips or runs, fix it or replace it.

4. Windows/Doors: Repair or replace cracked panes or fogging windows.  If windows are painted shut, fix them. Put WD 40 on any squeaks and creaks. Replace torn or missing screens.

5. Cabinets:  Doors should open and close smoothly and quietly. Buy some sitck on pads at the hardward store to make your cabinets sound more solid, when the door is closed.  Knobs or pulls should be tightened or replaced with updated hardware.  Remember that Buyers will be opening every drawer, make sure they glide smoothly. Wipe all surfaces clean.  Remove and replace old, dirty shelf paper and liners.

6. Paint:  Is the biggest improvement you can make for the money.  If paint is dingy, chipped or cracked, repaint.  If your rooms or hallways look dark or uninviting, repaint in white or off white.

7. Wallpaper: If it’s peeling up in places along the seams or corners, use wallpaper glue and press it to the wall. Be sure to remove all bubbles. If your wallpaper is old, dated or unappealing, remove it and paint the walls white or off white.

8. Carpet:  If the carpet is in good condition, clean it.  If it is pulled up in places, tack it back down.  If it is old, dated, or worse, it stinks, replace it with a nice neutral color.   If replacing the carpet, also replace the padding. Use a thick padding to make the carpet feel more luxurious.  If pet smells or odors are on the tack strips, replace those at the same time.  If you have hardword floors covered by old carpeting, remove the carpet and show off those floors.

9. Lighting: Replace all burned-out light bulbs with the brightest wattage the fixture allows.   If your fixtures are dated or don’t work properly, replace them.

10. Exterior:  Clean and touch up the front entry and sidewalk.   Add a splash of color with some inexpensive plants or a pumpkin at this time of year.  Remove or trim over grown tree’s and shrubs, especially those that block the front of the house or sidewalk.   Weed landscape beds, mow and edge the lawn.   Repair missing or damaged fencing. Replace missing shingles. Clean out gutters and downspouts. If puddles or a wet basement is a problem, correct the drainage.

As you walk around your home, remember that savvy buyers will check every nook and cranny.  How well things work and look says a lot about how you’ve taken care of the property.   Make a good impression and it will go a long way toward getting your home sold quickly —and for more money.

Thank you for visiting Why 6 Percent.  Please feel free to submit any questions or comments in the space below.

                                                                     Let the light of day brighten up your night! Powered by a built-in photocell, solar night-lights require no wiring and no electricity, and they turn on automatically at night. Now you can harness the sun to illuminate your driveway, paths, steps and decks with easy to install solar lights that recharge (for free) during the day. Your curb appeal is also enhanced for night time viewing by potential home buyers while you are marketing your home.

Designed to look great whether you like traditional or modern, these energy-savers are available both in-store and online. There is a vast array of holiday night lights available online, including Christmas and Halloween. They are becoming increasingly popular, particularly since they are so much easier to install than traditional wired systems. If you decide you don’t like where you put them, or simply want to expand or mix things up, they are also much easier to move than wired units.

By harnessing the sun for your night time lighting projects, you are saving money, saving energy, and enhancing your home’s curb appeal-this is an easy way to go green.

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                                                                                                         If you put your pooch’s waste in a plastic bag, it takes up to 100 years to decompose. So, when it comes time to pick up after your beloved doggy, choose a biodegradable bag instead of regular plastic. Otherwise, you are wrapping one of nature’s quickest degrading substances in something that takes decades to break down, according to expert Brian Howard.

The typical dog produces 274 pounds of waste each year, according to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. For sanitary reasons, most towns require owners to pick up after their pets, but what to do with it?

Use biodegradable bags that several companies offer. For example, BioBags-the corn based product -are certified to break down in a matter of days. They work very well in communities that have aerobic landfills that are churned up. Biodegradable products don’t work near as well in closed anaerobic landfills, but they certainly won’t hurt.

This is one easy thing that you can do in your own backyard. Adding curb appeal to your property doesn’t hurt either, whether you’re marketing your home to buyers or just going green.

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         The simple act of planting trees can decrease the energy you need to cool your space…as well as provide a place to hang a   tire swing!

According to research by the Department of Energy and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, shade trees can reduce the need for air conditioning by 7% to 40%. Shaded walls are 9 to 36 degrees F cooler at peak temperatures.

Trees raise property values and provide many other benefits, according to the U. S. Forest Service. A 1985 study estimated the values of an average 50-year old shade tree as:

1. Air conditioning worth $73.

2. Soil erosion and stormwater management worth $75.

3. Wildlife shelter worth $75.

4. Air pollution control worth $50. 

5. This totalled $273.

In 1989, a total value of $57,151 was estimated for the life of a typical tree.

You can get the best results by planting trees to the west and southwest of buildings. Deciduous plants work well in temperate zones, because they block sunlight in summer but let it in during chilly months. Spring and fall are the best times to plant them.

Check with your local garden center to find the best plants and trees for your zone.  Shady spaces are some of the best joys of summer and the swing is fun, too!

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                     The “bursting of the real estate bubble” appears to have become a soft landing for the real estate market.  In most     markets around the country, prices are dropping but they’re not plummeting. Homeowners with years’ worth    of equity will still hold onto much of that equity and buyers are finding that they have a chance to buy a home again. In the business, we call this a “correction.” It’s normal and even desirable.

However,  a cooling market demands some different strategies for both buyers and sellers. Sellers have to avoid the pricing “hangover” from the boom market, when they could throw a  For Sale sign in the yard, slap any outrageous price they liked on their house and get twenty offers in as many hours. And buyers must lose their desperation, understand that they are more in control and realize that the current market is one of shopping for a deal, not throwing money in panic to avoid “losing the house.”

Here are some tips for sellers in a cooling market:

1. If you must sell, focus your money and effort into creating curb appeal. Curb appeal alone can sell a house. The number one feature of a home in terms of cost versus effect on salability is front yard landscaping. Lay down sod, plant flowers, paint and put in a flagstone path.

2. Be realistic with your goals for price and timeline to sell. Houses in much of the country are NOT selling at asking price and are staying on the market longer than in recent years. Many sellers have not yet come to grips with this new reality.

3. Don’t set yourself up to fail, set your price aggressively compared to your competition and come up with creative incentives to attract a buyer, such as sharing some closing costs or including some high-quality furnishings in the sale.

In general, the common sense rules apply whether you’re buying or selling and whether the market is hot or cool: Educate yourself about the market, have specific goals in mind, understand what  your financial resources are,  and don’t make any deal for the short term. In the long term, real estate is always the best investment around.

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      Let’s face it, not all plants can stand up to dogs, bouncing balls, kids and all around foot traffic. But there are some plants made for the feet-whether two or four.

These creeping perennials are very low growing ground covers that, when stepped on, bounce right back, and they come in a wide variety of color. Some favorites include blue star creeper, stonecrop and creeping wire vine. Miniature rush resembles grass but holds up to foot traffic. The choices are endless.

Before you rush out to buy your creeping perennials, you need to make an assessment of where you’ll plant them. For sunny locations, select something like thyme or stonecrop. If the soil is wet, choose plants like viola and Lysimachia. And also, how much foot traffic will the plants really get? The rule of thumb is this: The more delicate the leaf structure, the less traffic they’ll be able to withstand.

If your pathway is stone, soften the look of the edges by choosing plants that will give it some old world charm and make it look like it has been there forever. If the area is in full sun and drains well, Potentilla, an aggressive speader, will fill in the cracks quickly.

Space between stepping stones and pavers will vary on type of path. Plant a full plant in wider spaces for faster “fill-in”. In small spaces, use a utility knife to cut your plant into quarters. If the space is very tight, try slicing long slender pieces to tuck in. If your existing path needs more space, chisel out some of the original path to creat more of a gap for your plants.

A good place to visit these plants that are “Good For Your Sole” is www.STEPABLES.com.

The true test comes with help from the dog. If the plants can  withstand him, they can withstand anything.

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Your property’s photos “pix appeal” or attractiveness in photos posted in online listings is as equally important as “curb appeal” is from the street. Over eighty percent of home buyers used the Internet last year to search for a home, and nearly 25% reported that they first found the property they purchased on the Internet, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.

Without pictures buyers are much less likely to go see a house. In most cases-85% of the time-online photos are the first  view of a home. Photographs are powerful bait. Good ones can lure buyers; poor ones can turn them away.

Follow these tips to create flattering photos of your property:

1. Lighten up-shoot exterior shots in the middle of the day when the sun is shining and the sky is blue is your best bet. Interior shots are best with all the lights on and using a flash. The flash adds color correction and eliminates the shadows, making the room look brighter.

2. More is better-Buyers want to see more than just the front of the house. They want to see all the rooms and the backyard. Include your home’s best features, such as a home theatre/media room or an exercise room. For condos include shots of your unit’s interior, as well as photos of amenities such as a pool, tennis court or gym. If you have spectacular views, by all means, include them.

3. Get clear shots-remove clutter before photographing it. Remove all distractions, fridge magnets, children’s toys, dirty dishes and clear all counters. Spend some time moving things around. Outside shots-remove garbage cans and take the car out of the driveway. Try not to include utility poles, wires and other homes in the scene.

4.Go Pro- If you are selling without a real estate agent or aren’t handy with a camera, hiring a professional photographer may be the way to go. Examine samples of their photos before you make your choice. You can use Microsoft Live Search Maps at no cost to show buyers a bird’s eye view of your community.

5. Give it your best shot-Quality counts when taking photos, a camera with wide angle lens is ideal, but point and shoot digital cameras can also do the job.

For a clear photo, place digital cameras on a tripod or something solid so the camera doesn’t shake when the shutter goes off. Set the camera on its highest resolution. Never use less than 72 dots per inch for online photos.

6. Edit-If you didn’t get a good shot, you can fix it with basic photo editing software. Crop out ceilings or unnecessary background and adjust the brightness and contrast or edit in a sunny day.

There are a number of free Web sites that can make editing a snap. Some to try are www.Snipshot.com, www.picnik.com and www.Pixenate.com.

Remember, clear out the clutter and then snap the shutter!

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