Published: September 12, 2022

Why do you need a Realtor?  I was thinking about this topic when I was deciding how to steer my discussion at a future Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Seminar.  This Seminar is for first time homebuyers, so their need for guidance is pretty clear, but really; Isn’t good real estate guidance necessary for everyone?  Would I diagnose and treat my own major illness?  Would I handle a tumultuous legal issue or set up my estate for my children and grandchildren?  heck no!!  Would you?  If not, then when making one; if not the most important financial decision in your life, wouldn’t you want an expert in your corner?  Someone to navigate all the documents, inspections, utilities, repairs etc and then sit next to you at the closing table and see the result of all your hard work come to a happy ending: you walking away with the keys to your new home!!  It’s an important investment!! No Realtor takes that lightly, especially not me!!

Guiding you through acquiring the pre approval and seeing how much you can afford, to figuring out what you want to be in the house…,  what time frame do you need to be in by,  where must the house be to fit your work or school distances, all this and more.

There’s no two words better suited than Welcome and Home!! Your Realtor can make that happen for you!  I have been lucky enough to sit at many a proud Buyers settlement table and nothing gives me more satisfaction than to see those joyful faces; sometimes even smiling thru happy tears, and knowing I have prepared them for a good journey of home ownership.

Published: August 26, 2022

Whether you are looking to buy or sell a home right now, it is a very good time to be jumping into the real estate market. So many people ask me if the interest rates have slowed us down and I quickly tell them “Heck No” cuz I am so busy showing Buyers homes and listing some great new properties! LOL Yes, the interest rates have made Buyers look at what they want to pay in a monthly payment and slightly adjust their max sales price potentially, but they are still excellent interest rates!!! And they can still get into an awesome home that they can own rather than paying the very high rental rates!! They can get what and where they want and make it their own!! Never has home ownership been more important than now when people are spending more time at home! Covid taught us some good lessons ( yes, it really did lol ) in that we now know that our home IS our castle and we live, love and thrive there!! So buying now is a good thing!

And as for Sellers…. if you still want to get a very good price for your home, now is a great time to sell!! I see properties go pending all the time that the values are better than a year ago and that was better than a year before that! So go for it!! Get those closets, attics and garages cleaned out and get ready to get great activity!! We are getting into the season where there are pumpkins on the porches and the yards are spiffed up with potted mums etc… Houses look cozy in the Fall and it’s traditionally a busy real estate selling season!!

So if you are thinking of Buying or Selling, as is with most things, don’t listen to the news!!!! LOL listen to those of us in the trenches so to speak!!! I live this everyday and I am happy to say, I am very busy with good Buyers and good Sellers!! Thanks to all for allowing me to help them in any way!! I truly appreciate YOU!!

Published: July 21, 2022

When we say it’s a Seller’s Market right now; we mean it!! Even though the interest rates have doubled in the past few months, they are still only in the 6% range and that is excellent! When I purchased my first home in 1990, I paid 8 & 1/8 and that was with me paying a point and the Seller paying a point!! So 6% is still a fabulous rate for Buyers!!

But that doesn’t mean that a Seller doesn’t want to optimize their selling potential! Preparing your home for market will reap you benefits and is well worth the time and expense in the long run. When I do a market analysis, I go in the first time with my yellow legal pad ( yes, I’m old school. I write things down lol ); and I take notes about the house and its’ attractive and not so attractive features. I start at the curb and I end in the backyard. Anything from yard cleanup, bushes trimmed, power washing, roof repair/replacement, exterior painting etc. on the outside, to deep cleaning, painting, flooring, furniture movement, de-cluttering, or staging on the inside…. ( If you check on my Resources tab and click on “Staged to Sell” ; it will give you an idea of the specific areas that may be my concern room by room ).

I like the Sellers to be with me for that first meeting. We bat some ideas back and forth that I think will give them a good bang for their buck so to speak 🙂 And I also give them names and numbers of certain tried and true contractors I’ve used that I feel are reliable, clean, and reasonable so that they don’t have to waste time searching. Many times they don’t have service people for those categories that need the sprucing up but I almost always have one or two names to try.

The Sellers share with me what type of budget they may have to do these things, so if we can’t do them all; we do the things that Buyers seem to be looking the most when they are previewing homes to purchase. We want to do the right things… I heard a saying once that a ladder propped up against the wrong wall just gets you where you don’t want to be faster…lol

The information I gather at that 1st meeting helps me greatly to determine the list price for the property. The more a Seller tells me they can do, the higher the amount typically is, but we want to also have the work done before we go live on the market…. You may notice that often my listings go on first under the category of “Coming Soon”? That is because I am giving the Sellers time to get their house spiffy before a Buyer walks thru the door! I try to get the front of the outside done and then I take a few quick pics so it can go in the mls as coming soon, and give Buyers Agents advance notice. As they are calling their Buyers and emailing them the listing and preparing them for the start date, the Sellers are finishing up their “to do” lists. I love this relatively new category!

So for all you potential Sellers out there: whether it be finding out there may be a few small things needing to be done like furniture placement and de-cluttering, or big things like roofs, new carpet and paint etc… the initial meeting of my FREE market analysis, is critical and a service I enjoy. It not only gets me familiar with the house, but also You and I value the relationships I have with all my Sellers!!

In my next blog, I will talk about Buyers and preparing offers in this hot market!