Overcome your home selling fears

Remember when you learned how to use the jungle gym rings in grade school? If you wanted to get anywhere, you had to build up enough courage, motion, and strength to let go… and trust you would be able to grab onto the next ring, getting you one move closer to your goal!  

Buying and selling a home can be a lot like learning how to get across the jungle gym. You might miss your next ring, but you won’t get better if you don’t try again. You might dangle for a bit, until you have the right help come along and give you a nudge in the right direction. You might, however, get it the first time and ‘nail the landing’!  

The Repair Dilemma:

Sellers have never been more fearful to try their luck at the real estate ‘jungle gym’, and here are three major reasons why: 

We understand that putting your homes best ‘foot forward’ is to ensure it is looking its absolute best when a potential buyers walk through! Also, people don’t want to put a lot of money into fixing up their home just to turn around and sell it again… Especially knowing what kind-of a market their walking into! Let’s review a couple of different approaches that could be taken. 

  • Sell as is: If you are at peace with selling your home as is, then do it! Fix the basic items (replace lightbulbs, repair screens that may be ripped, tighten hinges on cupboard doors, etc.) and make sure your home looks cared for. Potential buyers will still see the love you have given your home even though you might not want to splurge to have that big deck put on for someone else to enjoy. Also, if you’re looking for a few affordable and fun projects, check out 5 easy ways to upgrade your home.  
  • Pick your investment: While you might not be interested in fixing every little item, you might want to invest in the most important ones. If you have spoken with a real estate agent…, they know what to look for. They will be able to advise you on what will have the biggest impact on your home’s sale price. The greatest agents will have terrific advice that will not break the bank but will get your house ready for the market! 

The Market:

In the housing market, the seller and the buyer are, in many cases, the same person – the existing homeowner. To buy a new home, you must sell the home you already own, and then find a home you like better. With the market being as tight as it is in today’s housing market, the risk of selling, if others do not, prevents many existing homeowners from selling. The result? Prices are further bid up by competition for the increasingly short supply. 

Sellers also think their home might not be worth as much as what they need in order to buy a home in a market like this. This is the ‘nudge part’ of the jungle gym analogy. The hesitation is understandable, but that is why relying on a great support system, for example, the agents at ERA Team VP Real Estate will give you the nudge in the right direction. With a free CMA [Comparative Market Analysis], these professional and knowledgeable agents can help capture the value of your home, which in this market will likely sell for more than you would expect! For a free valuation of your home, contact one of these qualified agents in your area. 

The complexity of the process is overwhelming:

There is no doubt that this process is complex….and at times overwhelming! From the beginning of packing up your house, going through the emotions of excitement and sadness to the elatedness of finding your dream home and looking forward to moving in… it is a lot to process, a lot to do, and a lot to keep organized! The right Real Estate Agent is key to eliminating stress and complexity while providing peace of mind throughout the entire process. Finding an agent who recognizes the value of your home, who communicates well and genuinely cares for your needs is crucial in making an overwhelming process a walk in the park. 

Winter is Coming… Is Your Home Ready?

It is a beautiful fall day here in Western New York… hard to imagine that before we know it, we’ll be buried in snow!

Fall is coming to a close – this is the perfect time to prepare your home for the winter with preventative maintenance!  Whether you’ve just moved into a new home, you are a first time home-owner, or you’ve lived in your home for years, it is a smart idea to take care of some simple preparations in order to avoid the risk of expensive repairs down the road.  Here are 10 quick, inexpensive tips for preparing your home:

1.  Check and seal your windows and exterior doors.  Test for drafts on the inside of your windows.  (Hold a lit candle close to the window seems, if it flickers you may have to repair the exterior seal).  Check the caulk on the outside of the window frames (look for gaps & cracks).  If repairs need to be made it is easiest and most efficient to remove the old caulk with a caulk softener so that you may re-seal the window.  The new caulk will stick and seal best to a clean surface.  Check your local home supply store for materials.  How about Chautauqua Brick!

2.  Replace your window screens with storm windows.  Consider covering window wells in your basement with plastic shields.

3.  Have a HVAC professional inspect your furnace.  It is a good idea to clean the ducts and replace the filter to help it work more efficiently through the winter months.

4.  Consider installing a programmable thermostat.  This will allow you to automatically create a heating schedule for your home.  For example, I have programmed my thermostat to raise the temperature slightly around 6:00 AM when I wake up, decrease slightly at 8:00 AM when I leave for work, increase again at 5:00 PM when I return home from work and decrease again at 10:00 PM when I go to sleep at the end of the day.  This way, my thermostat is not being overused when I am not home or do not need the extra warmth.

5.  Have your chimney cleaned and inspected to avoid unwanted fires or fumes entering your home.  Chop and store firewood in a dry area.

6.  Inspect your downspouts and gutters.  Clean the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear out the debris.  This will allow melting snow and ice to melt and drain properly.

7.  Replace any worn, loose or missing shingles.  It’s better to fix them now and prevent the potential damage caused by the weight of the snow!

8.  Install smoke & carbon monoxide detectors and test them to make sure they are working properly.  Replace any fire extinguishers that are 10+ years old.

9.  Clean and store your porch/patio furniture.  It will be much easier to take care of this without battling the snow!

10.  Bring any of your weather sensitive potted plants indoors.  Clear plant debris away from your house to allow proper air circulation and avoid pooling of water against your house when the snow and ice start to melt.

I hope these tips will be useful to you!  Taking advantage of some of these ideas will help you maintain your home’s value!  Spend a little money in prevention and avoid spending much more $$$ in repairs if winter damage were to occur.

Did we miss anything?  What are your creative ways of preparing for the winter season?