Archive for the 'One Minute Realtor' Category
What's In YOUR Closet? Annapolis Home Buyers DO Care About What Goes on Behind Your Closed Doors
November 13th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, One Minute Realtor, Sellers
Enough Already About the Economy, Falling Home Prices in the Annapolis Area, and the Election – Let’s Talk About What’s Really on Your Mind: Closets!
They say the eyes are the window to the soul. I say closets are the window to a homeowner’s soul. Show me a home full of chaotic closets and I’ll show you a buyer that sees red flags. Orderly closets – things arranged nicely and lined up with near military precision - sends a message that the owner is disciplined, a good steward of their home. Buyers like that.
Sellers sometimes need a little help hatching a pre-sale closet strategy. Some need more than a little. A former client had a special closet where he tossed all of his shirts onto the floor at day’s end. The pile came up to your waist. He’d pull one from the bottom of the pile each morning. It was like a giant shirt compost heap that kept getting turned every few weeks. We explained that while this arrangement might make perfect sense to his bachelor peers, it might prove a little off-putting to those with less rugged sensibilities. He eventually got it.
Your Doors Are a Good Place to Start
They should not squeak, fall off the hinges or tracks when you open them, or have dangling knobs - all of which are more common than you’d imagine. Please fix them.
Next, thin, throw away, and donate – whatever. Embrace the reality that hoarding clothes several sizes too small won’t alone make you skinny again. Be ruthless: if your closets are bursting at the seams, buyers will automatically assume they’ll never hold all THEIR stuff. Go crazy with organizers and storage boxes. Patch and paint closet walls.
Treat kitchen cabinets and pantries as if you were expecting Martha Stewart AND the health inspector to stop by at any moment. Ditto your medicine cabinets. Stash all prescription drugs in a safe place: the public has an uncommon curiosity about your ailments. In short, give your closets as much attention as you would your living areas.
Bottom line: great closets won’t sell an overpriced home. But they’ll create a very positive impression that could sway a potential buyer your way in a close contest.
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Deal vs Steal: Why Shopping For Only The Lowest Priced Homes in the Annapolis Area Will Make You Crazy
October 28th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, One Minute Realtor
Talk to Annapolis area homebuyers these days and you’ll often hear this: I don’t want just a deal. I want a steal! Realtors expect this sort of brash talk from seasoned investors, but more and more we’re hearing it from young couples, first time homebuyers, grandmothers and other nice people who often trip over the words, like they’re reciting a script that’s at odds with their deeper desires.
This inner conflict is understandable: after all, isn’t the nightly news a regular smorgasbord of home sale nightmare stories? Aren’t there steals now in every town in America?
Maybe – but that’s not the point. Shopping only for steals – and overlooking the otherwise good deals – tends to create inner conflict, distort priorties and become a single-minded exercise in the absurd. I know agents who have shown 40, 50 or more homes to steal shoppers who simply can’t pull the trigger on a home purchase because there might be a better deal hiding around the next bend. Buyers are now getting buyers’ remorse just thinking about buying. It’s driving both the buyers and their agents bonkers.
Better Judgement is Often The First Casualty of Steal Home Shopping
It reminds me of a young man I knew who used to be too frugal for his own good. He bought only the lowest priced shirts off the clearance rack – not because they were stylish, comfortable, fit well or otherwise served his needs, but because they were cheap. Consequently he ended up with a closet full of shirts that were so hideous they embarrased even my young children when I wore one to the dinner table, let alone in public. (The last of them went to Goodwill about 20 years ago – the shirts, not my kids.)
Homebuyers Risk Much When They Leave Better Judgement at the Front Door. A Home Should Be Many Things, and Well-Priced is Just One of Them
A home should be comfortable, pleasing to the eye, and well lit. It should have reliable mechanical systems, be convenient to work and play, if possible, and in an area where the new owner can easily imagine the next chapter of her life. It should have trees and bushes you love, enough lawn for that puppy you’ve wanted, a place to work on your ATVs and other toys, a picket fence or winding flagstone path, a great elevator, coffee shops within striking distance. In short, it should be what you want it to be.
Know what you want in a home and go find it. A good agent will make sure you get a great deal. Be willing to make some tradeoffs; most homebuyers will. But don’t sell your homebuyer’s soul for the sake of a steal: those few bucks you save on your monthly mortgage will be little recompense for your unrealized home dreams.
Trust me: if you’re looking for a great deal in the Annapolis real estate market, we have plenty. Just email me at kenhaedrich@kw.com and tell me what you’re looking for. I’ll send you a list of everything that meets your needs, and we’ll go from there.
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Uniqueness Sells: A Fundamental Truth About Home Prices in the Annapolis Real Estate Market
October 8th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, One Minute Realtor, Sellers
Buyers Are Still Willing to Pay More, and Faster, for Something They Perceive to be Special. A Story…
This past summer we listed a home that was very nice indeed. Price: $1,200,000. It went under contract in 19 days, and sold a few weeks later for a price that the owners found quite acceptable.
Aside from our usual aggressive marketing, how can we account for such a good offer and fast sale? After all, the home did have a few quirks…some dated features…and wallpaper I wasn’t crazy about.
But sell it did, and here’s why: the home’s uniqueness – its overriding special features. In addition to a very private and nicely landscaped yard, the property had its own tennis court, large in-ground pool, and deep water dock just 5 minutes by boat to the Severn River.
There were other highlights, but the point is this: because the home was a unique package, it could compete in the market on its unique features – features that the buyers knew, or rightly assumed, they’d have difficulty finding in another property. Whether you’re selling real estate, art, or antique cast iron mechanical banks, uniqueness motivates buyers to act more quickly for fear of potential loss.
Contrast That With a Home Located in an Annapolis Subdivision…
…say 50 or 100 homes, perhaps 4 or 5 models to choose from, your usual upgrades. Ten or 12 percent of the subdivision is for sale. How will those homes compete with one another? On price. Absent starkly contrasting features or amenities, similar homes – in a market like the one we’re in - will almost always compete on price. Fear of potential loss diminishes when buyers perceive that supply is more predictable.
Buyers for such homes are being very patient in this market, watching competing homes leapfrog one another into the best price position before snapping them up. (Word of caution to buyers: if you do fall in love, don’t wait to make your play. There’s a good chance someone else has fallen in love with it too.)
And if you’re a subdivision seller? Your best hedge is to do everything you can to make your property stand out as unique among equals: be the cleanest, most freshly painted, best landscaped, least cluttered, and most inviting. And If you want to hear how we make all of our listings stand out as unique, email me at kenhaedrich@hotmail.com and I’ll email back.
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Less You, More Them: Why Removing Buyer Distractions Makes Home-Selling Sense
March 13th, 2008 Categories: One Minute Realtor, Sellers
A Cautionary Tale, In Which We Begin at a Bungalow For Sale on the South River in Annapolis
So there we were, previewing a home for a client who wants to buy somewhere on the water in Annapolis. Walking in the front door, my attention was instantly seized by a Presidential citation on the fireplace mantle – one of many citations.
Clearly, the person who lived there was proud of the fact that his tenure in the Secret Service had been officially recognized by the Oval Office.
I was smitten, too! Had the owner flown with the Prez on Air Force One? What sort of heat did he pack when he was on duty? Did he wear those cool shades and earpieces like they do in the movies? It was fascinating to consider.
And a complete waste of my time, with respect to why we were there: to see if this home was a good match for our Annapolis waterfront buyer.
The point? If You Want to Sell Your Home, Then Depersonalize It
You want buyers looking at your house, not a museum of personal photos, collectibles, family history, stuffed animal trophies and other distracting items.
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Annapolis Area Home Sellers: Are You Chasing the Cheese When You Should Be Catching a Wave?
March 10th, 2008 Categories: One Minute Realtor, Sellers
Two of our listings, in two very different prices ranges, have gone under contract in the last few weeks, one in 29 days, the other in 39. Aside from beating the average days on market handsomely, they had a couple of things in common: they were in great condition and showed beautifully.
And they were priced right on the money, where the market told us they should be.
Finding the perfect price for a home is part science, part intuition based on experience. To be sure, nobody in this business gets it right all the time.
Agents know, however, that even if we miss the bulls-eye, the market will soon tell us: by the number of showings, by feedback from other agents and their clients, by the number of days on market, and by recent sold comparables.
Sometimes The Market Speaks and The Seller Doesn’t Listen
For example: after 3 months on the market, Sally Realtor is convinced that her client’s home should be priced at $495,000 if the client really wants to sell. She tells
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The Springtime Real Estate Market in Annapolis Starts Now: 5 Things Considered
February 26th, 2008 Categories: One Minute Realtor, Sellers
You probably think that springtime is one of the best seasons to sell a home in the Annapolis area. And you would be correct. Here’s why you need to get in gear now, even before you put your snow shovel away.
1. At the first hint of warm weather, home shoppers come out of the woodwork. If you wait until it warms up to start preparing, you’ll miss the first surge of shoppers. Like a punctual friend of mine likes to say, unless you’re 5 minutes early, you’re late. Don’t be late.
2. Buyers are looking, earlier than ever, for the homes they want to move into this summer. Homebuyers with school age children are making offers in March and April on homes they want to move into in June, after school gets out. This gives the kids plenty of time to settle in and make friends before the new school year begins. If you list your home in May, you’ll arrive late to this party.
3. Our friend and colleague, Linda Donnelly – who works with our clients staging their homes in preparation for a sale – likes to say that there’s a big difference between the way we live in a home, and the way we stage it for sale. That transition can easily eat up a couple of weeks. Plan on enough time to do it right.
4. It’s no secret that homes are taking longer to sell these days. You have to factor that into your moving plans. One of our pricier listings just went under contract in 29 days, but the average days on market for that price range is closer to 200 days. Do the math and see if your plan adds up.
5. In another month, everyone you may need – carpenters, landscapers, carpet layers, movers, lenders, etc - is going to be twice as busy as they are now. When will you be in a better position to negotiate price? There’s no time like the present.
Shameless Plug: Of course, no matter the season, we’re never too busy to meet with you to discuss the sale of your home. Or help you buy one. Our clients tell us we’re pretty darn good at both.
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Postcard from the Edge
February 20th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, From Our Mail Bag, One Minute Realtor, Sellers
If there were any doubts that some Annapolis area homeowners have gotten a little edgy about the real estate market of late, they were laid to rest upon the arrival of a real treasure. It was one of our “Just Sold” postcards, returned to us in a plain envelope, with this thoughtful inscription scrawled all over it: Any Idiot Could Have Sold a Home in this Neighborhood For That Price!
We knew the neighborhood of origin. But the recipient’s mailing label had, understandably, been carefully peeled off, thus ruining any hope of retaliation other than a broad scale air strike, which I ruled out only after sleeping on it.
Truth be known, our correspondent was way off the mark: not only was the sale price right in line with others in the neighborhood. But the home sold relatively quickly.
A Little Knowledge Can be a Dangerous Thing
Aside from a measure of restraint, what our indignant writer lacked was knowledge of or access to the sort of information that would demonstrate the soundness of the sale. Read the rest of this entry »
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“Oh, We’ve Got a Friend in the Business”
February 12th, 2008 Categories: One Minute Realtor, Sellers
So You’ve Got a Home to Sell in Annapolis (Edgewater, Crownsville, Severna Park, etc): Should You Hire a Real Estate Friend or Relative?
Ouch, this gets very tricky. We run into this situation frequently – just yesterday, in fact, when we met with a For Sale By Owner in Annapolis. The seller had the good sense to know, intuitively, that hiring a friend ”in the business” to sell his million dollar home could be like opening the proverbial can of worms.
Based on personal experience and dozens of stories we’ve heard from clients and other agents, he’s onto something. Hire a friend or relative and you run the risk they’ll let down their professional guard. Client-friends – in order to keep the peace and the relationship intact – may not speak up if promises and expectations are not being met. Resentment builds. Stuff happens.
Like Trump Says: It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business
It’s understandable that anyone would want to hire a friend or relative in the real estate business. Understandable, yes. Advisable? Maybe not. Take a step back and consider a few things first.
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"Oh, We've Got a Friend in the Business"
February 12th, 2008 Categories: One Minute Realtor, Sellers
So You’ve Got a Home to Sell in Annapolis (Edgewater, Crownsville, Severna Park, etc): Should You Hire a Real Estate Friend or Relative?
Ouch, this gets very tricky. We run into this situation frequently – just yesterday, in fact, when we met with a For Sale By Owner in Annapolis. The seller had the good sense to know, intuitively, that hiring a friend ”in the business” to sell his million dollar home could be like opening the proverbial can of worms.
Based on personal experience and dozens of stories we’ve heard from clients and other agents, he’s onto something. Hire a friend or relative and you run the risk they’ll let down their professional guard. Client-friends – in order to keep the peace and the relationship intact – may not speak up if promises and expectations are not being met. Resentment builds. Stuff happens.
Like Trump Says: It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business
It’s understandable that anyone would want to hire a friend or relative in the real estate business. Understandable, yes. Advisable? Maybe not. Take a step back and consider a few things first.
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8 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Those Real Estate Directional Signs
February 7th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, One Minute Realtor, Sellers
1. By law, agents can display directional signs in Anne Arundel County between the hours of 3:00 PM Friday afternoon and 9:00 AM Monday morning.
2. If signs are put up anytime before or after the prescribed times, teams of trained attack chipmunks, lying in wait, will take them down for you. You will not see those signs again. Or you will see them in several pieces.
3. Even if they are displayed during the correct times, the attack chipmunks sometimes get confused and take them down for you.
4. They work, Part I. The majority of people who come into our open houses are there because they saw a directional sign. We know because we ask.
5. They work, Part II. We recently sold a million dollar home as the direct result of a directional sign. This, after spending thousands to market the home using traditional forms of advertising. One of those good news, bad news things.
6. The wire posts these signs attach to are flimsy. They don’t like frozen earth and we have a pile of mangled, broken posts to prove it.
7. Some individuals’ idea of a practical joke (see #2 and #3) is to reposition the signs so they’re pointing in the wrong direction. These chipmunks need to find more fulfilling careers.
8. For Sale By Owners take note: I paid a friendly visit to a For Sale By Owner in my neighborhood who was not aware of #1. I drew her attention to #2 and #3. The very next day, I found one of her signs in our community dumpster. I returned it to the owner. To this day, I still wonder if she thinks I put it there.
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