Folks, be aware of a Facebook SCAM that tries to get you to open a zip file, that claims to contain a new Password for your Facebook account. It’s a virus.

I make no secret about the fact that I solicit people who are trying to sell their homes privately. And often I’m pleasantly surprised by how receptive most people are when I contact them. I think it’s because most people realize I’m not trying to sell them something. I’m really trying to help them, as much as they are helping me.

I realize that really the only reason someone would try and sell a home without a real estate company is because they want to save some money, and that’s fair enough. In fact Property Guys advertise “Sell Your House.
Pay Yourself”.  They don’t advertise  ”Sell Your House, Save the Buyer some money”

So sellers, if you are going to properly market your home, you have to look at this from the buyers perspective for just a moment.  Generally private homes for sale are more expensive, not less. And buyers know this.

Buying a home is a serious thing, and most wouldn’t risk making such a major purchase without the advice of an experienced Realtor. That’s why it’s so important to market your home to not only potential buyers, but also to Realtors. If you want to know who the most serious buyers are, look no further than www.realtor.ca  Almost all the people selling houses –  are also BUYING houses. And they ALL have agents.

Another very common thing I hear from private sellers is “if you have a buyer, we will happily pay you”. That’s fair enough too. But I’m only one agent, and there are about 1150 agents on the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Board. If you are not marketing to all of them, you are missing out – big time.

 At the end of the day, it’s not the top line that matters, it’s the bottom line.

 Contact me today to let me show you how I can sell your home faster and for more money.

peterhendershot@remax.net
519.500.4696

Click photo to watch video

This is one in a series of videos in which a home staging expert is given $250 and 2 hours to make a typical room look more attractive to prospective buyers.

In this video, staging expert Mark Jak is asked to do a Master Bedroom Makeover. The original bedroom is crowded and has no “flow”. Mark moves some pieces of furniture right out of the room, and rearranges the main items to divide the space and make it look much larger.

One of the main problems with the room is that the color selection features very bright colors – in particular a bright yellow on the walls, and contrasting reds in many of the other items in the room. The lamp shades, the bedding, the rug and the window treatments all have bright colors which serve to emphasize the overly-bright yellow in the walls.

Mark tones down the brightness of the colors by removing a number of the colorful accessories and replacing them with much more subdued, neutral colors.

The result is a room that looks much larger, more organized, and more open. The colors are also less jarring and less likely to give a negative impression to potential buyers.

When you’re thinking of selling your Waterloo Region home there are some fairly simple things you can do to make it more attractive to prospective buyers. Most people who list their homes are interested in selling quickly – which often translates into a higher price too. That means there are some important advantages to improving the impression your home makes.

Major renovation projects just for the sake of selling your Kitchener-Waterloo home are usually not the sort of thing you should get involved in. Typically you will spend more on the project than you will get back when you sell the home.

It is much smarter to focus on cosmetic changes that will have a big impact. It is more important to concentrate on decorating and cosmetic changes that make your home look better. These include such things as painting, floor refinishing, window cleaning and generally just making things look neater around the house. These things do not usually cost a lot of money.

Having a neat, well kept and attractive exterior is the best way to get prospective buyers inside your home. So pay special attention to your landscaping and flower beds. Check for broken windows, loose siding, eavestroughing that isn’t quite right, broken pavement, shed doors that don’t close properly.

You may even want to hire a painter to repaint your home’s exterior. It will probably be worth cleaning your vinyl siding or trim with a power washer too. The front of your house and its main entrance are the areas of your home that most prospective buyers will see, so it is especially important to make them look as neat, attractive and inviting as possible.

If you have more furniture than you need to show the inside of your home in its best light you should consider moving some of it out to storage. The important thing with the interior is to show off the spaciousness and tidiness of the rooms.

With excess clutter out of the way making things clean is the most important thing you can do. Be sure to clean the windows too. Make sure walls are painted in up-to-date colors. Relatively small things like this will give your home a new lease on life.

Pay special attention to your kitchen and bathrooms. Get rid of extra clutter and in these rooms and make sure they are not messy. The people coming through your house do not want to see your wet towels and dirty underwear.

If the colors in your bathroom are outdated consider changing the paint, shower curtains and towels. If your bathrooms are badly in need of remodeling ask your real estate agent if he thinks it would be a smart investment to make some more significant changes. Many times a half-hearted remodeling effort will be a waste of time and money because the new owners will not be happy with it anyway.

There’s no question that a little bit of time and money can go a long way to improving the overall impression your Kitchener-Waterloo home makes. But don’t get carried away with trying to fix all the things you see as limitations of the home because changing those will usually not be worth the effort and expenditure.

Copyright AgentMapIt Homeowner Tips

Click picture to see video

This video discusses how much of your pre-retirement income you will need post-retirement. It is from the PBS series “Getting Your Finances Ready for Retirement”.

Calculating how much income you will need for retirement is a tricky business. It starts with the type of lifestyle you want in retirement. The number the experts usually use is a percentage of your pre-investment income.

Arriving at this percentage is important because it will predetermine how much you think you will need for retirement. Not all experts agree on how to calculate this number. Some say you should count on as much as 110% of your pre-retirement income. Others say 70% or even 65% (two-thirds) is much more realistic.

Obviously the ratio depends on what type of retirement lifestyle you want. If you want to do a lot of expensive traveling or buy a pricey boat, then obviously you will need more.

While financial advisors may disagree on the amount you should shoot for, they don’t disagree on the necessity to plan ahead and start early. Everybody agrees on that.

Turn on music.  Turning on soft instrumental music in the background creates ambiance and a warm and cozy atmosphere during a showing.

Eliminate unpleasant scents. Opening the windows and freshening the home with potpourri or an air freshener will remove odours from cooking, smoking or the family pet.

Lighting. Lighting helps to showcase your home. Take advantage of natural light and open curtains and blinds during the day. Wiping down windows and blinds, cleaning lamps and built-in fixtures will help convince buyers that the home is well maintained.

Decorating during the holiday season. The festive season is a great time to add spark to your home, but be careful not to overdue it. It will mask the everyday appearance of your home. Add tasteful decorations inside your home and simple lighting on your property. Decorate the front of the home by hanging up a seasonal wreath on your door and placing a nice welcome mat outside. Hodge does not recommend holiday lawn ornaments, as it can make your landscape look fussy. “Keep it simple, but tasteful.”  Remember, after the holiday season displaying decorations is unfavourable.

Make home warm and cozy.  Turning on your gas fireplace will create a welcoming ambiance. Ensure the temperature in your home is set at a comfortable level. Clean air ducts for better air circulation in the home and seal window cracks to prevent drafts. Thomas urges sellers to look for condensation on windows, as this could be an indication of humidity and insulation problems.

Following these tips can ease the anxiety of selling your home when the housing market slows down and buyers are scarce. Turn a traditionally difficult time for home selling into a positive experience.

…taken from Essentials, by Michelle Malcolm-Francis.