What to do! – Page 3

Home Buyer: How Much Home Do You Need?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Home Buyer: How much home do you need? It’s a question that you have to ask yourself when you decide that you want to buy a new home. If you are selling and buying a new one, do you need to upsize or downsize? If you’re a first time home buyer, it will determine what you are looking for. It’s one of the first questions that your Realtor will ask you. So, how do you decide?

So how do you decide how much home you need? Ask yourself some questions. First, what size is your family? Are you a couple first starting out? Do you plan on having a child or more children? Do you want each child to have their own bedroom or will they share?

Next question: what is your budget? That will certainly determine the type and size of home you can look at. Regardless of family size, if you have a small budget, you can’t afford a huge house in great shape.

What square footage will it take to fit your lifestyle? Do you need a lot of storage? Do you have hobbies that will require a lot of square footage? So how much home do you need?

One thing to keep in mind is the difference between what you want and what you need. Asking yourself these questions can help you determine the difference. Of course we all want the biggest and best, but budgets can make that difficult or even impossible. However, there are ways to get what you need and make it into what you want. Discussing all these things with your Realtor will help him or her narrow the search down to exactly what you need, can afford and make it into your dream home.

So home buyer, how much home do you need? Only you can answer that but with a Realtor’s help you can make a good decision.

Lucky Charms – Why burying a St. Joseph’s Medal in Your Back Yard Works!

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

So are there really lucky charms? Can you use something like a St. Joseph’s medal to hurry the real estate selling process along? Well, it certainly can’t hurt, so let’s look at some of the more well-known lucky charms of real estate. Selling your home takes a lot of things. It takes good strategy. It takes a lot of patience. It takes finding a great Realtor who has a consistent track record. It also takes luck!

St. Joseph is known as the patron saint of real estate. Not a bad place to start! There are many who believe that burying a statue or medal of St. Joseph in the yard will help sell their home. Does this lucky charm work? Well, some homeowners and Realtors swear by it. As soon as the “for sale” sign goes in the yard, St. Joseph goes in the ground. Believers know of incidents where homes don’t sell and then someone buries St. Joseph on the property and the offers flood in. What can it hurt?

Not a big believer in the power of saints? Well, what about numbers? An even bigger real estate superstition is about numbers. So which numbers? That depends. Some are general some are culturally specific. There is a general superstition about these numbers: 13, 3 and 7. Some people actually fear the number 13. The scientific terms is “triskaidekaphobia.” It is a common phobia, worldwide. From Christianity (Jesus and the 12 Apostles added to 13) to other faiths or just generally, people will avoid 13. Friday the 13th anyone? To avoid issues many builders will number floors of buildings every number except 13. At the very least, many people believe that the number 13 is unlucky. Now the numbers 3 or 7 are another story. For various reasons these two numbers are considered lucky charms not just in real estate but other areas of life as well.

In other cultures other numbers are lucky or unlucky. For the Chinese, 8 is lucky because it is pronounced very similarly to the same word for wealth and prosperity, but 4 is unlucky, because it sounds like the Chinese word for death. The Chinese have other superstitions for real estate as well. Door color, which way the home faces and other things inside that relate to Feng Sui.
So, be smart, but try some lucky charms too! Who knows, it could work!

Home Sales Tips – Selling to Snowbirds

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Home sales tips for Florida means selling to snowbirds. Snowbirds are people who come from a northern snowy climate for the sunny weather of Florida in the winter.

The snowbirds are coming! The snowbirds are coming! And they are looking for a home to buy. So selling yours makes sense. Home sales in the fall, selling in the “off selling season” makes a lot of sense just because of snowbirds.

No, snowbirds aren’t actually birds. The term was coined as a play on the idea of migratory birds who head south when the weather farther north turns cold. That’s exactly what “snowbirds” are: people who head south for the winter. They are typically retirees or business owners who have a second home in a warmer location. If they own a business it may be a seasonal one in the colder climate; think business on the boardwalk on the Jersey Shore, or whose business can be easily moved from place to place; think direct sales or something similar.

While some RV it for the winter, most rent or buy a second home in the warmer place. While snowbirds used to be more wealthy people, today because of taxes, they sometimes move and make their “permanent” residence in the state with the most beneficial tax code. For whatever reason, there are a lot of them! If they don’t already have a home, they will be looking for one.

This is where the benefit of a snowbird comes in for you, the seller. If you are considering upsizing, keep in mind many snowbirds are downsizing. They want smaller, less work so they can be more relaxed over the winter. That is the biggest thing for you, the seller, to keep in mind. They generally want a project free home. So, fix things, update and sell it!

A home sales tip for you means that NOW, before and during Thanksgiving and Christmas, is the time to list. Many stay “home” with family for the holidays and then head south. Having your home available as they arrive can be the difference between selling and waiting until next year.

Tips to Make Your Open House a Success | Tips For Sellers

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Make your open house a success by being smart home seller! Make your house shine inside and out and you will have a successful open house and sell quickly.

You’ve listed your home and scheduled an open house. A great first step. Now get busy on making your home look great.

Start with the outside of your home. Make sure the lawn and landscaping are mowed, neat, weeded and watered. Freshen up the front door. You don’t want to turn buyers off before they even step in the door.

Once buyers get inside your home, appeal to their every sense. Start with smell. If your home smells stuffy or like pets, kiss their interest good bye. Obviously, if you live with them day in and day out, you won’t notice them. So how can you be sure? Baking! Nothing says “you’re home” like the smell of freshly baked cookies or muffins. Of course another way to make your home smell fresh is to make sure it’s clean from top to bottom. The smell of “fresh baked” will only cover so much.

Make your home light and bright. If it’s warm out open the windows to let in fresh air and sunlight. If it’s cold, open blinds and curtains to get the same effect. This is especially important in smaller rooms. If a room doesn’t get enough natural light, light lamps. Light gives the illusion of space and cleanliness.

Next, play music. Why? Music can greatly affect mood. No hard rock, or elevator music, but jazz or classical are good choices. Play it softly, in the background.

Have a fact sheet about your home. Buyers looking will have many of the same questions, such as when it was built, how old the roof and heating system is, schools, etc. Unless you want to be answering the same ones all day, a fact sheet is very handy. Also helpful if your property is family friendly, have a small area set aside for children with coloring books, crayons and small toys. That way mom and dad can look while the kids are occupied.

Stage your home. Set the table, set out flowers, light fireplaces, light candles. Rearrange furniture to make rooms look larger and less cluttered. Make sure the temperature is comfortable, and then if you live in a seasonal area, set out pictures of what your home looks like in different seasons.

The Deb Ward Team