http://smarthomesaletips.com Cutting Right Through All the B.S. and Showing You What REALLY Sells Homes! Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:14:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Prime selling season is upon us and if you want to get your home sold then you BETTER learn all the tricks that smart home sellers know. I am always amazed at how people go into things without doing the first bit of homework. I mean, it's common sense that ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=53 You know, I'm often asked how I sell so many homes while other agents are dying on the vine. Most think it's just the "marketing". Yeah, there's power in being an expert marketer but to be really successful selling homes you also have to add a little ingenuity and common ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=50 O.K. sometimes I really wonder what exactly qualifies someone as an "expert"-especially in home marketing. Too loose of a term, undeserved and too commonly touted by people who couldn't sell water in the desert. Every day I hear the woes and whining from people who are having a hard time ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=47 Wow! sometimes I walk up to a house and they have done such a fantastic job that I want to buy it myself. I'm just going to let the video speak for itself. If you are thinking about selling your home you should watch this video and learn from these ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=42 I'm always advising clients to "stop by and look at your home through the eyes of a completely unbiased buyer" when you are getting ready to sell. I mean "stop by" quite literally. When you are preparing your home to sell you should get in your car, drive around the ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=41 O.K. get a pen. Write this down. You'll never need to ask again. Y-E-S you MUST replace worn carpeting 100% of the time. If you even had to ask the question then you already know the answer. Sellers ask agents this question ALL the time and get mixed answers but ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=38 The master bath is one of the top three areas that a buyer will inspect closely when considering your home. Many times the tiny things that we take for granted when we live in a home can be a deal breaker for the new buyer. You have to keep in ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=44 There is nothing like walking in to a home for sale that has been freshly painted and carpeted. I've said it to you many times before that if you are thinking about selling and you have ANY thought that your carpeting and paint need to be redone then don't ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=43 Sometimes I spot a house that just makes me drool as a real estate agent. If all of my listings looked like this one I'd go ahead and book a 9 month cruise. ;-) This home immediately caught my eye from a distance as I was driving through a ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=18 Having a great home on a wonderful lot is NOT enough to get a home sold today. Because foot traffic is a little slower than in years past many sellers get complacent and frankly just plain lazy about selling their homes. What they don't realize is that slow foot traffic ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=17 I'm often asked if it is "worth it" to replace worn linoleum in a kitchen or bath when putting a home up for sale. Depending on the situation I offer different advice. First of all it is NOT always necessary to upgrade linoleum to tile or hardwood flooring unless your ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=36 Drainage problems are a very big thing to consider when you are selling your home. A little insider secret you should know right off the bat is that "Drainage" is one of the check mark items on the clipboard of most home inspectors. Whether you "think" you have a drainage ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=40 It's very easy to be arrogant when you are trying to sell your home however your own cockiness can really get in the way of your home selling plans. I recently sold my own home and I had these two very large tall bushes on either side of my front ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=21 The great room is obviously a focal point of almost any home so it's critical that yours looks as wide open and yet as "comfy" as possible. This also means that it should not look "lived in" so to speak-coffee table polished and organized, magazines and TV remotes hidden from ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=34 Kitchens should always be light bright and cheery-NO EXCEPTIONS! The effect you should be going for when trying to sell your home is to show off a ton of cabinet and counter space and to create a feel of a nice sunny area for the family to start their day. ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=33 If you want showings to count then the buyer must feel emotionally attached and COMFORTABLE in your home. SO GET OUT! Never ever ever think that you are doing anyone (yourself included) a favor by hanging around to point out "special" features or "answer questions". If the darn features are ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=25 Garages are now known to be one of the biggest hot buttons for home buyers. Although it is always a good idea to uncluttered the inside of your house DON'T turn your garage into a dump! Rent a storage bin for $49-$99/mo. and take all items that are not 100% ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=26 Having a fabulous looking master bath is key when selling your home. You don't necessarily need granite counters but it sure better be clean-TOOTHBRUSH clean! Real estate agents will always use the term "de-clutter" when telling you how to sell your home but do you REALLY understand what it means? ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=27 WHAT do you do when your neighbor is a PIG?! Well you can't REALLY slaughter them but you can call the home owner's association or the local county officials. You need to get past the fear of making your neighbors angry. Heck , it's YOU who should be PISSED that ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=22 Well I'm sure you know by now EXACTLY what I'm going to tell you-go out and buy a good old fashioned leash. Yep, living in a house and trying to sell a house are two entirely different things. As painful as it may be you're actually going to put down ... http://smarthomesaletips.com/?p=35