The " No Bull " Realty Guy

Know EVERYTHING – A Home Selling Challenge!

CostiganRE — Sat, 03 May 2008 15:43:46 +0000

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 if you want to learn to fly a plane then you do a little RESEARCH first right? You go out and find the best instructor and then you LISTEN….yes LISTEN to what they tell you to do. Pretty brainless huh? Well, if things are so obvious then explain why I hear the same b.s. every month from hundreds of people who call me when their home sales crash and burn with another agent at the controls. I ask them all the same question: “why did your home not sell?” Inevitably, it’s the same lame, take no-responsibility answer-”my agent didn’t do anything”. To which I respond “what did YOU do”…dead silence. This isn’t a market where you can be lazy or make excuses-financial or otherwise. If your agent offers tools or special programs to help put you ahead of the game then USE them. Not just one or two of them. Use ALL of them. Stop being a passenger along for the ride. Be the co-pilot and help bring your sale in for a smooth, profitable landing. Watch this video and take me up on my Spring home selling challenge for you.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

STILL Using Old School “stuff”?-C’mon!

CostiganRE — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:39:56 +0000

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 sense. Think about this: If you definitively KNEW that using tool “A” vs. tool “B” would give you more than 3 times the chance at selling your home then you would opt for tool “A” every time right? Of course you would-any fool can do THAT math! But how do you KNOW which tool outperforms the other? Simple-you TEST. It never ceases to amaze me how agents just seem to take the lazy “follow the leader right off the cliff” route rather than testing and learning on their own. I guess it’s “simpler” but who the heck wouldn’t want to do everything EXACTLY right-especially when a challenging market really commands it. I guess it’s no wonder why agents are dropping like flies all around me. Watch this video and see an example of not “testing” and what to do about it…

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

REALLY Fired Up About STUPID Pricing!

CostiganRE — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:10:33 +0000

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 selling their homes and then I look at their pricing and I wonder how they even dress themselves in the morning. Listen-I’m not trying to be harsh but there is something to be said for learning all that you can possibly know about something before diving in and trying it-that goes for selling homes. And SMART pricing is a very basic piece of knowledge that you better grasp REAL quick before you end up being the laughing stock of the neighborhood when your home doesn’t sell because you relied on so-called “expert” advice. O.K. enough with the rant. Just watch the video and you’ll get it. (If you don’t…please don’t call me. Frankly, we’re not a good fit.)

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

If you can make your Entryway look like THIS then you can sell in ANY market!

CostiganRE — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:28:47 +0000

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 home sellers.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Start at the Front Door

CostiganRE — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:28:23 +0000

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 neighborhood and look at other homes for sale then return to your home as if you are a buyer seeing it for the first time. Look for ways that your home is visually more or less appealing than the homes you saw and take notes. Then get out of the car and approach the front door and notice how you immediately form an impression of the home you are about to enter. There is a phenomenon that causes buyers to form instant opinions of homes within the first second of first seeing the home. I can’t explain it but I know with absolute certainty that it exists. You can actually FEEL it if you are very honest with yourself when you approach your own door. It goes without saying then that the appeal of your entryway is a very important thing to consider. Unless you have recently painted (less than 1 year) the trim and front door of your home you should ALWAYS do so immediately before listing. Be careful to notice any rotten trim, damaged kick plates and other unsightly defects that may be in view and take care to repair those issues. Picture a buyer who is waiting for the agent to mess with the lockbox and get the keys out, put them in the lock and open the door. There’s a lot of time to look around and notice things. Don’t cut corners on dressing up your front entryway. This is where making the perfect impression is critical.

Click the video below to see how a half-hearted effort can actually make the entryway look worse than if you had done nothing at all.

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Home Selling 101 – To Re-Carpet or not to Re-Carpet

CostiganRE — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:15:08 +0000

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 only because most real estate agents are too darn scared of telling the seller what they don’t want to hear. But I ASSURE you that the minute that house is not selling the agent is saying to himself “I wish that idiot would change that damn carpet”-yet they STILL won’t have the guts to tell you. Here’s what you need to know when interviewing an agent-If they will not give you every little bit of advice and every tip that has helped even ONE seller to sell their home then you should NOT hire them. Let’s be very real here. If you were sensible enough to be able to buy a house then you certainly are sensible enough to know when it’s time to re-carpet. If you don’t have those kind of marbles between your ears then you’ve got a lot more to worry about then selling a home. I’ve seen $2,000 worth of carpeting net a seller an extra $10,000 or more on a home sale many many many times. Stop asking and just DO it. Watch this video to see how being a REAL cheapskate with a single bedroom can KILL a sale.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

An often overlooked Shower issue and a Simple $5 Fix that can help sell your home

CostiganRE — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 03:13:20 +0000

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 mind that living in a home and keeping it ready for sale are two different things and you have to take extra care to address the not so obvious issues. There are very few homes that I have listed personally that my wife or I would even consider showering in without first dousing it with a good coat of bleach. Why? Because most sellers seem to think that it is O.K. to ignore the constant cleaning that a shower commands when their home is on the market. It is USED every day and it should be CLEANED every day! . Honestly, most of the showers I see in homes for sale are just plain of gross. If you knew how many homes I have visited with buyers where the sellers have done MAJOR upgrades ($10-$50K) to get them ready for sale only to have the buyer walk right past the new stainless kitchen and look in the master bath and go “yuck…I just can’t shower in there” then you’d rush right out and get a tube of caulk. The video below was shot in a home that was otherwise PERFECT. They had invested serious time and effort in making this home look and feel new but they missed one small detail and I spotted it in about 2 minutes. Yeah it only made this perfect “10″ drop to about a “9.9″ but really in this market anything that makes your home look less than perfect should be taken care of. Watch the video for a quick tip on how to make your shower look fresh and new.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

How fresh Paint and Carpet can make a home sell for MORE MONEY!

CostiganRE — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 03:13:05 +0000

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 give it a second thought-just DO it! You may think “well it’s easy for this guy to say that but it’s a lot of work and expense” but I am here to tell you that when you’ve sold thousands of homes like I have you KNOW with absolute certainty that this is the right advice. Congruent and light colors can change the entire look and flow of any house and many times the look cancels the need to do other things. For example, before I visited the home below I saw that it had laminate counters and I thought “there’s a big negative” but when I saw how perfectly spotless this home truly was everything in the kitchen just seemed to work-INCLUDING those counters. This agent should be commended for the fine job of coaching her clients.

Take a look at the video below to see how incredibly appealing a house can look with a little new carpet and fresh paint.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Ahhh…If you can do these simple things then your house can sell as FAST as this “Dollhouse” did.

CostiganRE — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:13:52 +0000

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 cute little neighborhood this weekend. I knew I spotted a winner. The grass was trimmed, the landscaping looked manicured, the paint was light and bright and fresh and the driveway was so white and clean that I wouldn’t have dared to park on it. These are the simple but critical things that you need to do to the exterior of your home to get buyers inside. Did you know that a recent report revealed 98.3% of home buyers do their shopping on line? Makes sense that the OUTSIDE of your home better look PERFECT or they’ll eliminate you quickly and “click” right on to a home that DOES look great. Oh yeah……when I got a little closer to this home I spotted the “Under Contract” sign in the yard. Coincidence? I doubt it.

Watch the video below to see how these smart sellers sold their house fast in a so-called “tough” market…ha!

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Avoid these TWO DEADLY PITFALLS that can KILL a home sale – even for a GREAT home!

CostiganRE — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 04:59:46 +0000

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 does not mean that they aren’t getting “lookers”. In fact, today MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER ARE “LOOKING” AT HOMES. They are just looking at them in a different manner. You’d be a fool not to realize that technology has changed our world forever. People no longer see agents as the gatekeepers of information and they just don’t call us first when they want to know more about a house. They simply dial it up on their computer from the privacy of their own home, they look at the pictures and they call us when they want to know more. But imagine what happens when buyers DO drive by your house and cars are parked in the driveway. They drive by quickly hoping to avoid running into an anxious seller who attacks them with questions and insists that they “come have a look”. Bluntly, it scares them to know you’re home. And think about the picture it paints in their minds when they see toys in the driveway or in the yard that aren’t put away neatly-hhhmmmmmm…..”If they didn’t bother to pick up the outside then I can only imagine what the INSIDE must look like.” Look, if you really are serious about selling your home then you need to understand that it’s the silly details that make or break a home sale. Selling a home isn’t brain surgery but it isn’t easy if you’re a slacker either. Get off your butt and pay a little attention to the small things. Check out this video of a home for sale that would actually have a fighting chance of selling if they would just pick up the trike, move that truck (well at least it’s hiding more toys that you can’t see) and put those trash cans out of sight.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Linoleum – Is “clean” good enough?

CostiganRE — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:12:47 +0000

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 home falls into a price range where these upgrades are expected as “standards” by the home buyer. If you have the ability to clean linoleum SPOTLESSLY and it appears as “new” with no cuts or loose or shrinking edges around the baseboard molding then normally it is more than acceptable to have it remain. Keep in mind however, that replacing linoleum is one of the cheapest upgrades that you can do in a house. If you have dated or otherwise “out of style” patterns or colors then absolutely replace it 100% of the time. Watch the video below to see a house I visited recently. The sellers had spent thousands of dollars on upgrades including a brand new kitchen but they missed a very critical and inexpensive fix that shattered their chance at a favorable first impression.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

How NOT to correct Drainage Issues (and simple and cheap things you SHOULD do)

CostiganRE — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 03:12:23 +0000

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 issue or not here are two things you should do right now if you are thinking about selling that will save you a headache during your inspection.

1. Put splash blocks under ALL gutters.

2. If you have an area that gives ANY indication that the “grade” of your lot just might hold the tiniest bit of water up against your home then go to Home Depot or Lowe’s and buy some black flexible drain tubing and attach it to your gutters and roll it out to a point where the water will safely runoff away from your foundation. This stuff comes in a big roll and costs less than $50. Believe me it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the recommended “fix” that the inspector will suggest to the seller which very well may be to “re-grade” your lot. Don’t fool yourself. This really DOES happen. Ignoring this advice could blow a deal or cost you thousands of dollars to keep one together. I recently closed a deal for a builder where an overzealous inspector recommended tearing out an entire portion of a sidewalk when all that was necessary was a little drain tubing. We ended up having to hire a structural engineer to prove the inspector wrong. Buyers ALWAYS believe what their inspector tells them and are skeptical of your biased response. A little care up front is well worth your time and money.

Just when I think I’ve seen it all I come across something that literally gives me a good laugh. Check out this crazy home seller did to learn what you should NOT do to fix a drainage problem.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

How REMOVING landscaping helped to sell my own house for $53K more!

CostiganRE — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:27:14 +0000

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 door (I’m no horticulture expert so I don’t know their official name but they were very nice and they looked exactly like the ones in the video below) and a gorgeous mature pear tree in the front yard. I LOVED that pear tree. It was a gorgeous red color, had beautiful blossoms and it always attracted little birds chirping. BUT because of where it sat it made it nearly impossible for buyers to see my house from the street. My wife INSISTED that we cut it down but I kept whining about the “poor little birdies” and besides, I was PROUD of my awesome tree, so I wanted it to stay. But I’m happy to say that it only took my wife reminding me of how frustrated I always got with sellers who refused to do EXACTLY the right things to sell their homes and then whined at me for months when they could have sold and been on their way had they just put in a little bit of effort on their part. Long story short-chainsaw wins, bushes and tree lose and I sell my house for $53K more than I expected to the 1st buyer who looked at it. Guess what? He “loved how the house looked on the lot”-go figure. Don’t be a hard head. You can’t take a bush with you and the birds won’t even remember you. Do the RIGHT things and smile all the way to the bank!

Click the video below to see an example of how eliminating some landscaping can actually make the house show better from the INSIDE also.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Now THIS is a “GREAT” Room!

CostiganRE — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:12:11 +0000

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 sight, no pillows and blankets laying around or just tossed on the couch. In other words, we don’t want the buyer to feel like they’re invading on your “plop down” spot where the cushions are molded in the perfect outline of your butt! Clean and ORGANIZE your great room or family room as if you had a hot date coming over that you’re looking to impress! Nothing is less responsible than not taking the time to clean and organize a house EVERY DAY when you are trying to sell. You are either SERIOUS about selling or you’re serious about NOT selling. Your success is entirely up to you.

Check out this video of a house that has done it perfectly! Although it is vacant now, the owners have taken meticulous care in making sure that it shows to sell!

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

It’s SMART to Paint Your Kitchen…But NOT PURPLE!

CostiganRE — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 03:11:54 +0000

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. Also if you haven’t peeked your head inside a new home in a while then you may not have noticed that kitchens are BIG. When you are competing with as many new construction homes as we are in today’s market you MUST be fierce competition for them if you are serious about selling. This means that YOUR kitchen better be top notch. Paint is a great place to start but keep in mind that dark colors make rooms appear much smaller while light colors have the opposite effect of making rooms appear much larger. Take a look at the video below to see how this seller has invested in loads of upgrades but really missed the mark with color.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Get OUT of the house during showings :-)

CostiganRE — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:10:41 +0000

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 so special then they should be able to notice them anyway right? (And if they are not so noticeable then you should STILL get out of the house). Imagine how you would feel when you walked comfortably through 9 houses alone with your agent being able to freely talk and express honest opinions and THEN you show up at house #10 and there’s the “salesman” of a seller waiting for you at the door and breathing down your neck hoping you’ll make an offer. It’s frankly very uncomfortable for the buyer and he’ll do his very best to hustle through your house, lie to you about how he loves it and then run to the car and step on the gas to escape while he can. If you want to sell your home in this market not only do you have to do the right things for your house but you also need to ACT appropriately. So if this kind of blunt kicking you out of your house offends you then so be it. It’s for your own good and I would be remiss if I let you keep hanging around and screwing it up!…….whew! That one’s a hot button for me.

p.s. If you’re thinking “well I won’t breathe down his neck. I’ll just wait downstairs or outside” then still GET OUT! Same effect. Buyer runs away & you lose. You can test me on this but call me to place your bet first-I’ll take your money 100% of the time. It’s like knowing the winning horses before they line ‘em up in the starting gates.

Watch the video as I sneak up on some clients of mine who turn a showing into an opportunity to take the family out to lunch. It CAN be fun if you’ll just let it. My bet is that you’re probably cooped up in that house too much anyway!

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

If your garage looks like THIS you’ll be PARKED in that same old house for a long time!

CostiganRE — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:45:47 +0000

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% necessary for daily life and store them there. If you have kids you’ll probably need the toys. Just be sure they’re arranged neatly in a small area or better yet stored away in cabinets. NEVER leave toys, bikes, etc. out in the yard or driveway for buyers to see. While you think they are “cute” buyers will not.

Watch this video to see exactly what your garage should NOT look like. The house is VERY nice but the garage-yikes!

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Now THIS is what your bathroom should look like when you are selling!

CostiganRE — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 05:00:54 +0000

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? Most home sellers don’t. And when home buyers see counters covered in personal effects like toothbrushes, razors and curling irons they immediately eliminate your home and move on to the next-often subconsciously. Yes, there is a “science” to home selling and if you want to sell your home then you better learn how to leave the right cues for buyers that automatically engage their interest and make them feel as if your home is their own. Watch the video below to see a perfect example of a truly sparkling bath and discover how you can prepare your home in a manner so that it WILL sell for the highest price. These home sellers know EXACTLY how to do it…

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

Kill the Neighbor (not really)

CostiganRE — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:51:21 +0000

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 they don’t have an ounce of respect for you. Get on ‘em like a hungry dog and insist on some repair and cleanup. Heed these words-You will LOSE MONEY when you try to sell your home if you live down wind from a chicken coop! Buyers will surely know WHY you are selling!

Watch the video below to see how these uncaring neighbors are lowering the value of the home for sale next door.

P.S. Remember I said I was KIDDING. You CANNOT and should not actually kill your neighbor! Maybe just slap him around a little bit.

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!

What to Do About “Doggie Doors” when you sell.

CostiganRE — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:09:34 +0000

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 that TV remote and the potato chips, get off your butt and stand out in the freezing cold rain while Rover lifts his leg on a tree. The cold hard fact is that while some people like you and I (I have two pain in the butt dogs but I wouldn’t trade old Eddie and Clarence) love animals-there are en equal amount of folks who don’t. The last thing you want to do is clue ‘em right in that you have a dog or cat in the house by leaving the doggie door in place. It may be silly but we get clients all the time who will walk around the house scratching and saying “I think there’s fleas” even in the most spotless of homes. Just make home selling into a time to shed a few pounds and get out there walking your loyal old friend again. Watch this video and see how a doggie door can tune a buyer into something they otherwise may not have noticed.

Visit www.SmarterHomeSale.com to learn more or Click Here to list your home with Mike now and…Start Packing!