A Few Ways to Increase Your Home's Value

When it comes to adding value to your home, there are a few tried-and-true tips I recommend.

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If you want to add value to your property, there are two main areas where you should focus your improvements: kitchens and bathrooms. They say that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, and that is absolutely true.

People spend a lot of time in these two rooms, which means any improvements you make will add a great deal of value.

On the other hand, there are some improvements you may want to avoid. For example, you should steer clear of making major changes to the landscaping or changes to the property that are based on personal preferences.

They say that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, and that is absolutely true.

Changing the finishing on a floor from carpet to hardwood might help the home sell faster, but it won’t necessarily add value.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How to Master the Psychology of Home Showings

Mastering the psychology of a home showing involves applying a few key tasks here and there.

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Here are a few tips to help you master the psychology of your home showing.

First, depersonalize and declutter. You’ve probably heard these terms before on HGTV, and for good reason.

By “depersonalize,” I mean take down things like personal pictures. You want the buyer focused on the details of your home, not the details of your personal life.

When decluttering something like a closet, take out things you’re not using at the moment. If you have a showing during the summertime, for example, take out all of your winter clothes so the closet appears bigger.

Instead of consciously thinking about the closet not being filled up, the buyer will subconsciously think that you’ve lived there for a while but still haven’t filled up the closet. Linen closets and master bedroom closets are the primary closets to pay attention to in this regard.  

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You want the buyer focused on looking at your home, not on your personal life.

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Lastly, focus on smells and music. It’s definitely a good idea to have some nice, quiet, soft music playing during your showings. Also, try baking some cookies or banana bread or cooking something in your crock pot to create smells that will appeal to a buyer’s senses and make them want to make your home theirs.

If you have any more questions about the psychology of showing your home or you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to call me or shoot me an email. I’d love to help you.  

Did You Know That Overpricing Can Reduce Your Home's Value?

Overpricing your home comes with a few different pitfalls. Today, I’ll be talking about three, specifically.

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Sellers, listen up: Don’t overprice your homes.

Doing so can carry a few pitfalls. If you overprice, you won’t receive multiple offers or be as competitive in today’s market. In fact, overpricing your home will eventually reduce its value.

Also, you aren’t going to get as much feedback. This is because fewer buyers will come through the door and check out the home if they see that it’s overpriced.

Overpricing your home will eventually reduce its value.

You don’t want your home to become a stale listing. Buyers have access to a lot of information and technology today, so they know better than to fall for an overpriced home.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Should You Use Zillow to Estimate Your Home’s Worth?

If you want to get an accurate valuation of your home, have a real estate professional walk through it instead of using Zillow.

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Should you get a home valuation from Zillow?

You can. It’s one way to get a home valuation, but I don’t think it’s the best way.

The best way is to have a real estate professional like myself meet you at your property and walk through it with you so you can get an accurate idea of what its value is.

Zillow won’t take into consideration what upgrades you have. I, on the other hand, can come to your house and look at the upgrades and improvements you’ve made that have added value to it. I can also evaluate its condition compared to the rest of the properties in the area.

Zillow is one way to get a home valuation, but it’s not the best way.

Another thing Zillow won’t take into consideration is the inventory in your area, whereas I can look specifically at how many houses are out there and what’s available in your neighborhood.

Take a look at Zillow if you like, but having a real estate professional walk through your property with you is a much better way to get an accurate valuation of it.

If you have any questions or would like me to come out to your home to figure out what it’s worth, don’t hesitate to call me or shoot me an email. I’d love to help you.

Are Pre-Listing Inspections Worth It?

Sellers often ask me whether or not a pre-listing inspection is worth it. The simple answer is yes. But why is that the case?

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Sellers ask me all the time whether or not pre-listing inspections are important. The answer is, undoubtedly, yes.

While you aren’t required to do them, they can be very helpful to the transaction.

By doing a pre-listing inspection and making any recommended repairs ahead of time, you are put in a better position as a seller.

Additionally, it will make buyers feel more calm in general about purchasing your property.

As another way of helping your listing, we can actually market it using our certified pre-owned program, which can earn you top dollar.

Pre-listing inspections make buyers feel more calm about purchasing your property.

A pre-listing inspection will also allow you to spread out the costs of repairs.

Instead of a one-time lump sum, you will have more freedom to disperse costs across a period of time prior to listing. This way, you won’t be in the bind of being under contract while scrambling to make necessary repairs.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

We Offer Services for Unrepresented Sellers

If you are listing your home as “For Sale By Owner,” we have a few unique services to help your home sale succeed.

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If you are listing your home as “For Sale By Owner,” then we have some unique services to offer that will help you succeed.

First, we can send you a copy of my book, 25 Ways of Buying and Selling Without Going Crazy. It’s a good resource that you can use as a guide to help you sell your own property.

We can also create a video for your home and use technology to make sure that it comes up first on Google. That way you still get great advertising even if you aren’t on the multiple listing service.

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Avoid legal problems by asking us for the right documentation.

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Finally, if you reach out to us, we will make sure that you have all the documentation you need to complete the transaction. There are over 600,000 real estate lawsuits a year, and we want to make sure that you have the tools and documents necessary to avoid any legal pitfalls.

So, if you are selling your home on your own or if you have any other questions about real estate, just give us a call. We would be happy to help you!

What Kind of Mistakes Can Sink a Home Sale?

Avoid botching your home sale by being mindful of these common mistakes home sellers make.

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When you sell your house, there are a few major mistakes you should try to avoid.

The first is overpricing your home at the start. You have to make sure that you don’t take this process too personally. Take the information you get from a real estate professional and listen to their objective opinion on the price. I know you think fondly of your home, but overpricing it can be very detrimental to you in the long run.

 

Once you price your home, no matter what price point you’re at, the market will dictate where you need to price it moving forward. If you need to adjust to the market, make sure that you do so. Many sellers fall into the trap of not adjusting quickly enough based on the number of showings they have or the feedback they get.

 

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Listen to the market, react to it quickly, and absorb all buyer
feedback objectively.

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Speaking of feedback, don’t take any buyer’s opinion personally. That opinion will help you in how you market your home.

If you have any questions about this topic or you’re considering buying or selling a home, feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email. We’d be happy to help.

Are the Holidays a Good Time to Sell?

Contrary to what you may have heard, the holiday season is actually a fantastic time to sell a home. There are a few simple, compelling reasons why that I wanted to share.

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The holiday season is nearly here, so I wanted to let you in on some secrets as to why now is a great time to sell your home.

First is that if you wait until spring to list your home like so many other sellers, you'll have to compete against many more houses on the market. Since we're experiencing a 27-year low in inventory, you can reduce your competition even further by putting your home in front of buyers who couldn't find a home this summer with all the competition out there.

By listing now, you'll increase your buyer pool.

Secondly, remember that buyers out looking for homes at this time of the year are dead serious about getting a deal done. Think about it–they're not going to go out after work in the dark and cold to look at homes just for fun like so many people do in the summer.

Buyers out looking for homes at this time of the year are dead serious about getting a deal done.

If you have people telling you you'd be crazy to try and sell your home during the holiday season, remember to talk to a real estate professional first. We'd be happy to be those professionals who can talk you through it in more detail.

If that's a conversation you'd like to have or you have any other questions about buying or selling a home in the Colorado Springs market, give me a call or send me an email. I hope to hear from you soon!

What's Happening with Colorado Springs Real Estate?

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Today I wanted to provide you with a brief real estate market update for our local market. We're in the middle of the busy season right now, so it's going to be short and sweet.

• Home prices have increased by 9.8% since this time last year
• Inventory in Colorado Springs has decreased by 30% since this time last year, and a lot of homes under $250K are getting multiple offers
• Sellers have been receiving 99.6% of their asking price, which is great if you're looking to sell your home
• Interest rates are extremely low right now, with most rates sitting in the high 3's or low 4's
• There are also many zero down loans available, including the El Paso County Turnkey Program
• It's often more affordable to buy a home than it is to pay rent monthly

With all this being said, it is a very good time to be buying or selling a home right now. Please contact us if you need assistance with your real estate transaction in El Paso County.

We're always willing to help!

How Should You Handle Multiple Offers?

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The real estate market is heating up here in Colorado Springs. With this being said, we're seeing a lot of multiple offer situations. In today's video I'll be telling you how to handle them as a buyer and also as a seller. 

Conventional wisdom would tell you that as a buyer, the best way to secure a home in a multiple offer would be to offer the highest price. While this usually helps, there are other ways to win homes.

Sometimes the trick is to have the best terms and conditions with your offer. You can close in less time or you can agree to pay more of the closing costs. There are many ways to have your offer stand out with terms and conditions. 

Another helpful thing we can do is write a personal letter to the seller explaining how important this home is to you and why you are so desperate to purchase it. 

Overall, if you're a buyer trying to win a home, you will need to satisfy the needs of the seller. That's really all they want. This is why communication is so important.

As a seller, a multiple offer situation is much less stressful. However, you have to be careful about which offer you choose. One thing you will really want to look for is a very short closing period, because anything can happen in that time frame. 

You shouldn't feel badly if you accept an offer with a little less cash if the terms are also good. I also don't recommend waiting for lots of offers. Your home will sit longer and this will gradually decrease your sale price. 

If you need any help buying or selling a home in Colorado Springs, please don't hesitate to contact me!