Let's Talk Real Estate

In last week’s post, I listed my top 10 tips for prepping your home to sell . In the coming weeks, I’ll give some more in-depth insights into each of those 10 tips. In today’s edition, let’s take a closer look at how to choose a listing agent.  3 Basic Criteria My three fundamental criteria for selecting a listing agent are simple: full-time, local, experienced.   Full-Time I strongly recommend going with a full-time agent. You want someone who’s able to focus on and respond to you throughout any given day; not someone who’s sharing his or her time with a day job. Local You’ll also want someone who specializes in your area. You don’t necessarily need—or even want—someone who specializes in a single neighborhood , as their scope can be limited and narrow. But you do want someone who’s well-versed in the market and trends in your surrounding area and county. Experience You want someone who’s been doing this long enough to know what works, the potential pitfalls...

Thinking about putting your house on the market? Then you probably already know that it takes work. A lot of work, if we're being honest. People will offer varying opinions when it comes to prepping your home to sell. Among the bold statements I've personally heard: "Curb appeal is everything. Buyers decide before they walk in the door if they'll buy." "All anyone cares about is the kitchen and master bedroom." "People just look past clutter." The truth is that there's no silver bullet when it comes to selling your home. Everyone walking through will have a different set of priorities and preferences. But being in the business of buying and selling homes since 2005, I've observed strategies that do make a difference. In this blog, I'll share my top 10. Note: These are listed (very roughly) by timeline, not priority. In the coming weeks, I'll explore each of these strategies with more in-depth blog posts. Talk t...