Atlanta Condos For Sale

Do You Follow Your Real Estate Agent’s Advice?

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Now that might seem like a silly question to you, but just stop and think for a moment. When have you been to the doctor or dentist and they tell you to do something…and you do…for the first few days or weeks, and then you start to slack off. I can relate to this after a recent dentist appointment and a new dental hygiene “process” I was given. I’m still trying to adjust.

Why You Hire A Professional to Help you Sell Your Home 

Following your Agent AdviceThere is a lot involved in the sale of a home. But, there are things you need to do even before that listing agreement is signed, and the sign goes in the yard (or on social media in the case of a condo!)

When I meet with a potential seller, I’m there to help you sell your home. And I’m going to be pretty direct about what you need to do (on your side) to make it happen. And, you can’t take it personal. Yes, I know it’s your HOME…but you need to remember, it is now a house that we need to sell. You can pack up your memories and take them to the NEW home. But we have to sell this one first. 

Neutral Paint

“But I love my red accent wall.” “The colors match my furniture. It will make the place show much better.” Ah, no, and no. Neutral paint will make your place show much better. Painting can be a tricky thing with a Buyer. Think like a buyer for a moment. You have red walls and now you know the first thing you have to do is paint before you move in. Or hire someone. Oh, well, I need money for that, so I need to ask for more Seller paid closing costs, or get some more off the list price so I’ve got the money to paint. 

See what you just did to YOUR bottom line sales price by not wanting to paint? 

I’m going to give you professional advice to help you maximize your profit. Listen to my suggestions, and let’s work together to show your house/condo in the best possible light for the best possible price. 

10 Ways to Make Your House More Salable

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Tips to Sell Your HomeSelling a single family home and a condominium do have differences. And when it comes to preparing your home to put it on the market, a home owner will have a few other areas to pay attention to that a condo owner will not have.  Let’s look at 10 Ways to Make Your House More Salable. 

  1. Get Rid of Clutter. Throw out or file stacks of newspapers and magazines. Pack away most of your small decorative items. Store out-of-season clothing to make your closets look larger (if they are smaller) Clean out the garage!  You know how much stuff you can hide in here! 
  2. Wash your Windows! Inside and out! And if you have a two-story home, this maybe better left to a professional company if you have to get on a ladder! Also, clean the screens at the same time. 
  3. Keep everything extra clean.  If you haven’t, a deep, deep clean of your home before you put it on the market is a great idea. Just look at walls around a light switch, or a spot on a cabinet where you may grab instead of using the handle….all of these things you may overlook, but a potential Buyer standing in your kitchen for 10-15 minutes may quickly notice. Clean the stove (oven too!!) and the refrigerator…and KEEP them clean. Buyer’s WILL open and look at these things! Mop and wax floors. A clean house makes a better first impression and convinces buyers that the home has been well cared for. 
  4. Get Rid of Smells! Clean drapes and carpeting. If drape cleaning may be expensive,  consider removing them. Open windows when cooking to eliminate odors, smoke or pet smells. You can use fresheners, but be careful as to how much. Some buyers can be sensitive to those smells too. 
  5. Higher wattage bulbs. If a room has a tendency to be a bit dark, use higher wattage bulbs to help the room seem brighter. This is especially true of basements and other dark rooms. Of course, replace any and all burnt out bulbs!
  6. Make repairs or Pre-Inspect. Consider having a home inspection done on your home, just like you would if you were buying it. You can identify minor (or even major) things you may not have been aware of. And fix them. This will again make the home look well cared for, and avoid any of those inspection “land mines” you may have heard about. Or, if you discover something you are not in a position to repair or replace, at least you are prepared when the Buyer asks for a price concession because of the item. 
  7. tips for home sellersCurb Appeal. Yes, it matters…big time! I’m not saying install a whole new yard, but keep it tidy. If you have a lawn that leans more towards weeds than actual grass, keeping it mowed, and mowed short will make it look much better! Trim shrubs and edge walkways and the curb. Potential buyers will be standing at your front door for a few moments while the agent is getting the keys from the lockbox…consider some potted plants or flowers to brighten up the entrance way. If you have a busy schedule, or if you move and leave your home vacant, hire a lawn maintenance company for the duration until your home is sold. An unkept yard has kept many a buyer from ever even getting out of the car and looking on the inside. 
  8. Clean your Driveway. Pressure wash your driveway and sidewalks. You will be amazed at the difference…and so will a potential buyer. If you have holes or cracks, try to repair and patch them. 
  9. Clean your gutters. That’s all I have to say about that!
  10. Paint your front door. You want the entire home to look good, and a full paint job may be needed before you list your home. But certainly pay attention to the front door. Again, that buyer may be standing there for a few minutes, and we want what they see to shine. 

As part of our marketing strategy to sell your home, when we meet with you, we walk through your entire home and discuss changes and things you can do to make your home look better and sell quicker. 

Let’s sit down, look at the market, and put your plan together to sell your home!!

We’ve written some other articles with tips about Selling Your Home HERE.

Sending

 

 

How Will You Market My Home For Sale?

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Maybe the better question is how we will NOT market your home for sale!!!

As a real estate broker, I’m constantly looking at listings. Multiple times a day. So I see how YOUR home or condominium is being marketed. Because first, and foremost, is the marketing that we place in the Multiple Listing Service. Because from this ONE location….your listing goes almost everywhere….like this…

Websites to Market Your Home For Sale

 And very most likely…the FIRST place anyone is going to see your home IS on a real estate website from the list above. Calls to mind the saying, “First Impressions…..” So, just imagine you have listed your home or condominium For Sale. You’ve most likely hired your real estate professional based on a referral from a friend or family member, or you have have searched online and found them. Hopefully you saw their marketing as part of a listing presentation. And you were given some examples of how they would be marketing your home. Right?

What Does the Description in the MLS have to do with Marketing my home?

Well…kinda, sort of….everything! What we as agents enter into the Public remarks field is what will show up to not only other real estate agents but to anyone and everyone searching online. When they find your listing, be it here at MyMidtownMojo, or on any other brokerage site, or even Zillow or Trulia…what they see will be a result of what the real estate agent put in the Public Remarks field. 

So imagine this is YOUR home or condominium and this is what I (or anyone else) sees about your home:

How does real estate agent market a home

Yep. See those public remarks. Or lack thereof? That is how this particular home is being marketed…and it has BEEN on the MLS like this for almost THREE WEEKS!!! 

How Would You Like YOUR Home Marketing to Look?

Imagine the same part of the MLS description above looking like this?

How will the MLS Description look for my home

Notice here there is a complete description of the condo! The location, features, amenities what’s unique about it. A special mention about what the HOA fee includes. And further, there is “private” remarks that only agents can see in the MLS that may can have further details or showing instructions. (NOTE: we are limited on how much we can put in the Public Remarks, and may pass on other details in Private remarks to help “sell” an agent on showing your home. 

Which description do you think will better help sell this condo?

Marketing and The Internet

I tell my clients that your home may be shown multiple times during the listing period, but it will be SEEN thousands of times on hundreds, or thousands of websites. And on those websites, will appear those Public Remarks. 

In fact, we consider this part of marketing your home SO important, that we have the description ready, along with the photos so that all of these parts of your listing are completed at the same time….and when your listing goes “live” in the MLS, there are photos, and a description and all the necessary information that should be there. Not this, “oh we’ll get it in the MLS and upload the photos on Monday when we get them.” No way! 

Your marketing should be First Class…and it will start that way with a complete listing appearing in the MLS. 

After all, how would you want YOUR home marketing to look?

Marketing Your Home on the MLS

Home Renovations for the Golden Years

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Home Renovations for Golden YearsWe never like to think about it…but face it….we all are and will get older. It’s a fact of life we can’t deny, or stop! 

If you live in a home and you are at the stage in life that you think this is your “forever home” then as you remodel, you may want to think about how that home will work “forever” for you if you have health issues in the future. 

Instead of just thinking about granite choices, or paint colors, think long term about choices that could help you stay in your home longer. Everything from grab bars to open kitchens to stairs are certainly a factor. A walk-in shower as well as a tub…with a wide ledge to sit on….and then get into the tub…all things to consider NOW as you make renovations. 

Access in the kitchen might include a movable island for when there may be a need for wheelchair access. 

And if this is not your stage in life, you might have to be assisting a parent with these choices…so some good information to help you help them. 

Here is a great article in the New York Times, titled Home Renovations for The Golden Years that goes into more detail about this subject. 

Home Prices: Where Will They Be in 5 Years?

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Home Prices: Where Will They Be in 5 Years?

We all would like to have a crystal ball on our dresser, right? You could just gaze into it and know what the future holds. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Well, the real estate industry and market are not much different. I’m always asked, “How’s the real estate market?” Of course, that question really means, “How is the real estate market for ME?” Because, YOU usually want to know how it will affect you in the buying of a new home or condo, as well as maybe selling your current home. 

I wanted to share with you an article that appears on another web blog that I have. Just click on the photo to read the article, Home Prices: Where Will They Be in 5 Years?

Where Will Home Prices be in 5 Years

If you have questions about YOUR home or condo value, just contact us! We’d be happy to meet with you and give you a market analysis of your home! You may have more equity than you think, and this may be the time for you to consider a move up, or maybe it’s time to downsize from that large home to an urban condo! 

Sending

Coming Soon! 2017 Georgia Real Estate Contracts

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Coming Soon! 2017 Georgia Real Estate Contracts

Georgia Real Estate ContractToday, I was looking at some of my past blog posts and pages here at MyMidtownMojo.com. I’m always working to put out NEW content, but it’s well worth my while to go back and look at some of my old content. 

I’m getting ready to launch a new website that is more encompassing of the Atlanta real estate markets I serve. (Never fear, MyMidtownMojo is not going anywhere!!!!) So I’m looking at content here that I can share on the new site. Afterall, I’ve spent many an hour creating everything that you read and find here! 

But as I looked over some of the older posts, I realized that one subject I had not looked at in a few years is the various forms we use in buying and selling real estate in Georgia. In fact, many of my posts are dated from 2011!! Shreek…that is FIVE years ago! Our Georgia Association of REALTORS (GAR) contract and forms have certainly undergone some changes since then. 

So, the new contracts and forms will be released in the coming days. And with that, I’ve got a whole heaping lot of writing and reviewing to do with you and help you be a more informed real estate consumer. 

So, stay tuned! We will start the series, probably during the holiday week, but there will always be links to find any posts that you may have missed as well as where you can find the information here on the site. 

Coming Soon! 2017 Georgia Real Estate Contracts

Thom Abbott

Associate Broker, REALTOR(R)
905 Juniper Street, NE Suite 110
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
770.713.1505 Direct
404.876.4901 Office

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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