Have you ever tried to paint the outside of your home in the winter? Not a good idea! All too often, I visit with folks ready to make their move and put the home on the market. They are excited about the apartment or condo they just found, and now it is time to sell their home. However, it is February, and the home needs inside and outside improvements. Downsizing of personal property has not been started, and the interior needs several upgrades before showing the home. Improvements have been avoided because moving seemed so far off until they stumbled into this perfect new home which they don’t want to lose. The excitement has now turned into panic and all the seeds for high stress have been planted by their inaction to prepare their home for sale.

Today’s buyer wants a property that is in great condition both exterior and interior. If you’ve read my past articles, I have stressed to make sure your property does not compete with foreclosures if at all possible. Foreclosures often are homes that have been neglected due to lack of funds, and are selling at up to 70% off the top market value! Therefore, your home must be far superior to the foreclosure competing in your neighborhood. If you know you will be selling sometime in the next 5 years, begin downsizing today! As Realtors, we can begin your process of preparing your home for market by offering the services of a stager. A stager is a professional trained in not only decorating, but placing furniture and artwork to compliment new flooring and carpeting as well as choosing the right colors which are attractive to today’s buyers. There are companies that will assist you in downsizing by packing, sorting, and coordinating estate sales as well as donations.

If your home needs exterior work, do it right now, while it is still warm outside. Don’t procrastinate on exterior work, as you never know when you are going to want to move. If the work on the outside is done now, you can always do the interior improvements in any season. If paint is needed, a stager can help you pick out (more…)

Many of you had a job that involved sales in various aspects of your career. In so many cases there were “winners” and “losers”. You won an award for selling more than your co-worker. If you didn’t measure up to your employer’s expectations or goals that were set for you, a new job may have been your next destination!

We carry this scenario throughout our lives. In sports, who remembers the “losers” in the Super Bowl? Number one is the goal of so many athletes as finishing second is just not acceptable. One of my friends told me that his daughter won second place in a sales contest. Their were 7,000 sales people across the world in her company. He called to congratulate her, and her response was, “dad, (more…)

We have an insurance plan, we have a financial plan, but how many of us have a housing plan? Yes, a housing plan! At my seminars, I’ve asked this question to hundreds of senior home owners, and invariably the response is a blank stare. We leave one of the most important aspects of our lives to chance. We wait for circumstances to dictate when we will make our next move. Unfortunately, circumstances can change quickly in the form of health changes or financial loss. It would be a blessing if we could predict the precise moment when and if these changes would occur.

Since most of us do not have the gift of viewing the future , we must plan accordingly. We should take an honest look at our current and future needs by taking inventory of what our needs are both physically and mentally. Many of us are in a two story home, with the laundry in the basement. Yes, exercise is a good thing, but if our knees are feeling the pressure of stairs, and we begin to dread the ‘journey’ to the second floor or basement, it may be time to think of a change. If it is getting harder to navigate when taking a shower or bath it may be time to think of a change. If driving at night is becoming an odyssey, and your favorite restaurants and stores are no longer in your neighborhood, it may be time to think of a change. If the home is too large, and many rooms are being used for storage facilities, it may be time to think of a change. If you feel like a prisoner in your own home, and you are not interacting with others and you are feeling isolated, it may be time to think of a change.

These are just some of the symptoms you may be experiencing. If you sense that your home is (more…)