You view a property on the market and you’re appalled by what you see. The garage is packed to the roof with boxes, bikes and other items. The basement is dark and gloomy. And if that isn’t enough to dissuade you from buying, the carpeting in the family room is old, stained and musty.
Not a pretty picture.
Yet, if you can look past all that, the property might just well be a diamond in the ro ...
Ideally, the first property you see when shopping for a new home will be the one you fall in love with and buy. But let’s face it. You’ll probably end up seeing several homes before reaching the decision to make an offer on one.
When you’re viewing homes, you want to make sure that the experience is enjoyable (rather than stressful) and that you get all the information you need to make the ri ...
Say you’re a homeowner wanting to sell your two-storey, detached home. You sit down and make a list of things that need to get done to make your property as attractive as possible to buyers.
You consider the backyard. “Hmm,” you think. “Doesn’t our deck need a new finish and our flowerbed need new edging stones?”
Then you think about the basement. “The carpeting. It’s old. We really should ...
There’s no doubt about it. A completely renovated room – especially a kitchen or bathroom – will really impress home buyers. That room will probably look brand new and very stylish.
But you don’t have to do a full “tear-down- the-walls” type of renovation to upgrade the look of a room. In fact, just a few minor improvements can make a big difference.
For example, upgrading wall plates is an ...
When most people shop for a new home, they think about the kind of house they want: three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a tree in the backyard.
But it also makes sense to shop for the right neighborhood.
Think about it. In what type of area would you most like to live? What neighborhood features do you want most? For example, you may want your next neighborhood to have a good high school, a nearby ...
Do you sometimes review the real estate ads in your local paper? Do you drive by an open house sign and feel the urge to stop and check it out? Those are common indications that, at least on some level, you’re thinking about the possibility of making a move.
But how do you decide if you should actually move?
The first step is to consider whether there are any practical reasons to consider buy ...
“The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.”
Abraham Lincoln
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
Michael Althsuler
“Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating.”
Denis Waitley
You’ve probably heard about home staging. It involves decorating your home so that it looks attractive to potential buyers.
“Staging” can be as simple as cleaning and decluttering, or as elaborate as making each room look like it’s part of a high-end model home.
There’s no doubt that staging can help sell your home faster, and for a better price. The question is whether you need a profess ...
If you were going to sell your car, what would you do? Well, you would probably check the classifieds section of your newspaper to find out how similar vehicles to yours are priced. Then you would set your advertised price within that range.
What you would be doing, perhaps without knowing it, is determining the “market value” of your car.
Market value is simply what buyers today are willing ...
Family pictures on the fireplace mantle. A friendly dog lying on a mat in the foyer. Dinner cooking on the stove. Kid’s toys scattered in the hallway. Closets stuffed with clothes.
Those are the unmistakable signs that a family is living in the house.
But does that “lived in” look appeal to home buyers?
In most cases, no.
Home buyers know, of course, that a family still lives in the h ...