Secret to Selling Your Home? Get a geranium

March 30th, 2010 categories: Featured Properties

OK maybe it’s not quite that simple ~ but I am big believer in simple solutions for complex problems. It’s tough out there ~ I bet as a team we have 100 people who want to, are itching to move to Charlotte ~ but they can’t sell their homes! Sound familiar?

I think you’ll be interested in the “Cinderella Story” of little ole’ 1622 Geneva Court in the heart of Myers Park. This is one of Blake’s favorite listings, nestled on a secret cul de sac the lovely brick ranch is but a stones throw (literally) from the Freedom Park Lake. Look at the before and after pictures below and you’ll see that all this charmer needed was a gallon of black paint, some pine straw, elbow grease and maybe one nudge from the fairy Godmother!

People ask us all the time why should I list my home with RE/MAX, with the TalkCharlotte team? Well a cliche is only a cliche if it’s not true ~ it’s true we do go the extra mile. Blake made some simple suggestions (dramatic results) the homeowners jumped on it ~ IT WORKED! It’s not always this clear or simple but we find a way to add value to listing your home. We are testing out personalized blog posts about our listings – asking our homeowners to tell the story, what they love about the home they’re selling ~  they’re connecting wth prospective buyers ~ IT”S WORKING! Click We Don’t Want to Sell and then Queens Beans for the stories.

So back to Geneva Court…

BEFORE

AFTER  Taadaaa!

So there she is Cinderella..to be fair the after picture is Charlotte in full bloom…but here’s what we did for about $300!

1. Black paint on shutters, handrail and awning $50
2. Dozen shrubs in the front $120
3. Cut down scraggly magnolias front door $ elbow grease
4. Pulled up the overgrown money grass $elbow grease
5. Pressure wash the (beautiful) brick garden wall $ borrow a washer, elbow grease
6. Geranium in clay pot front steps $15
7. New Mulch or if you prefer pine straw $150

You can do this! If you or a friend who is thinking of selling a home in this challenging market – drop us a note click right here we might just be able to help you paint a prettier picture and tell the story of your home! Stories Sell and that will make all the difference!

Authored by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: 5 Comments »

Charlotte Homes for Sale – How to Stand out from the Crowd!

February 25th, 2010 categories: Selling your home

Let’s face it.  There’s a lot of competition on the market right now for Charlotte homes for sale, and you need to stand out from the crowd to capture a buyer.  But not to worry!  Here are a few of our tried and true methods to make your Charlotte Home shine.  We’ll show you 3 big time strategies to get a buyer touring your home and falling in love when they arrive.

1.  Great Photography

90% of today’s buyers rely on the internet to find Charlotte homes for sale.  More often than not, they are looking at three inch pictures and spend an average of seven seconds viewing each listing.  That means that pictures of your house must not only grab the buyer’s attention, but must also tell the complete story of your house in just a few seconds.  Having great pictures of your home can mean the difference between a potential buyer browsing over your house or compelling the buyer to schedule a showing.  And buyers must experience the house in person before they can make an offer.  We make sure every one of our listings has great photos to captivate buyers.

2.  Smart Marketing

Marketing is everything in today’s real estate environment.  The era of buyers driving through neighborhoods searching for Charlotte homes for sale has been more or less replaced by the internet.  Good internet marketing will not only ensure your home is visible to all buyers of Charlotte homes for sale, but will also reel-in buyers by the bucket-full.  Our sellers get the full benefit of having an internet-savvy professional marketing their Charlotte homes for sale.

3.  Stage Your Home

There is nothing more important than producing a “wow” factor when potential buyers walk in your front door.  Have you ever noticed how brand new model homes look unrealistically amazing?  You walk in the home and think “this is luxury.”  What if your home could show like a model?  It can make a big difference in the amount a buyer will offer — $3000, $5000, $10,000 or more!  After personally touring 100’s of Charlotte homes for sale, we tell our clients exactly what changes can make the most impact for the least amount of time and money.  This one service alone ensures our clients get top dollar for their home.

And remember, you’re not alone in selling your house.  If you want to make your home stands out in the crowd of Charlotte homes for sale, Contact Us and we will ensure your home is the shining star of Charlotte, selling fast and for Top Dollar.

Authored by Donna Johnston | Discussion: 4 Comments »

Some Charlotte Homes selling at or ABOVE 2008 Values!

October 1st, 2009 categories: Selling your home

Why isn’t this baby smiling? The S&P Case-Shiller Index told him Charlotte home values are down (on average) 9% from a year ago. Ah…I see.

No wonder the baby is sad – but wait isn’t the S&P Case Shiller Index based on some sort of average? (If I’m wrong here a big Emily Litella nevermind)

Doesn’t that mean that some (maybe half?) of Charlotte homes were down less than the 9% and some actually sold at or above their 2008 value? I’m not a math wiz and I’m sure the Case Shiller people have this all figured out weighted averages and all but common sense says that every home was not down 9%.

I’d like to know the percentage of Charlotte homes that sold at something better than down 9% — wouldn’t you, curious? If say 20% of Charlotte homes sold at or above 2008 levels – wouldn’t that be something to know? Wouldn’t those legit statistics put a different spin on the market – maybe stoke some optimism – couldn’t hurt – might help. The way these stats are reported the sound bite, quick-blush is everyone is down at least 9%.

Back to Case Shiller report consider this; out of the top 20 urban markets tracked by the (real-estate bible) S&P Case-Shiller Index Charlotte ranks 5th in maintaining home value pretty good compared to most:

• Atlanta                        14.9%
• Minneapolis              17.3%
• Tampa                        18.4%
• Miami                         21.2%
• Detroit                        24.6%
• Phoenix                      28.5%
• Las Vegas                   31.4%

If you’d like to read more here’s link to the Charlotte Observer article: Area home prices rise a bit in July and if you’d like to learn more about how to market your home and not settle for AVERAGE email the TalkCharlotte team.

Authored by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: Your Comments Please »

Apples, Oranges? Appraisals Are Becoming Rotten Fruit

September 28th, 2009 categories: Selling your home

I share my friend, Miami Realtor Ines Hegedus-Garcia’s appraisal that whether you’re in Miami or Charlotte nobody is happy with the current state of residential real estate appraisals.

Home appraisals used to be, more or less a check off (not a good thing), a part of the process to ensure that someone did not buy a home that was wildly over or under priced (as Martha would say that’s a good thing). Nevertheless the exact and only true value of a house is the price that a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept, today – kinda like a share of stock – yes the free market is funny (and works great) that way! Sarcasm aside appraisals are important and (when done right**) they do provide an invaluable measure for homeowners and lenders alike. Here’s the rub there is no right way to do an appraisal and the most professional appraisers will tell you even the best appraisals are subjective and as much art as science.

The problem started about 15 years ago when Americans stumbled on a treasure chest literally under their feet - the home equity line – the mother lode first for home improvements (good), then boats (worse) and ultimately even bottles of three buck chuck (bad) at Trader Joes (now in Charlotte). We went crazy using our newfound “home-wealth” to bankroll (most of) our American dreams. There was only one pesky hitch to get into the chest (your own chest) you had to have a key which was held by the bank – and to get to the key you had to go through a gatekeeper, the appraiser! Long story short – equity lines flowed like mountain springs as many appraisers checked off on treasure chests bigger than the house – not a problem since American home values would increase forever and ever (we’ve always been an optimistic lot). Well in 2007/2008 the party ended – the treasure chests slammed shut, fingers and dreams were crushed.

Past is always prologue and all that treasure hunting inflated home values beyond belief. As we know banks (and regular Joes) got their heads and foreclosure notices handed to them as home values and loans unraveled.

What now? Well the lenders have predictably overdosed on reality and the appraisal process is feeling the brunt of this fervent – albeit understandable fiscal conservatism. The home valuation pendulum has now swung as far right as it was left and we are left with the scarily governmental HVCC Home Valuation Code of Conduct which in part “…attempts to curb inflated appraisals by refusing reports from people selected, retained or compensated by mortgage brokers and real estate agents.” Appraisers are selected by “round robin” – many are not familiar with the neighborhoods they appraise and the unintended consequence of this abject objectivity is the process has become a black hole where …

A new code of conduct, that sounds great, right?  Well as @Ines so deftly describes in her MIAMISM blog post Appraisals Kill Deals ~ in practice that code of conduct seems more like a cloak of Teflon – no over-values are gonna stick to me says Mr. or Ms. Appraiser – undervalue is de rigueur. Result? Inconsistent, uniformed appraisals are killing reasonable real estate transactions (indiscriminately and unnecessarily). What should you do — now more than ever make sure you’ve got the right agent – look for the most smart, the most informed, the most candid agent you can find and for now anyway, pray for a return to common sense!

Authored by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: Your Comments Please »

Can Teddy Roosevelt Help Your Sell Your Home? WYCWYAWYH

May 14th, 2009 categories: Selling your home

OK, Teddy was not a Charlotte  Realtor-

but he did profess a legacy of self reliance and fortitude that comes in pretty handy in today’s real estate market. And one of his best quotes serves as timely advice for today’s home seller….

Do
What You Can,
Where You Are (with)
What You Have.

OK you’re thinking Mike’s finally jumped the shark (do click)…how is a Teddy Roosevelt quote going to help me sell my home? In this market (really any market) the key to selling a home is differentiation. How do I make my home stand out? How do I get more showings? How do I connect with home buyers? How does this home become the home!

At TalkCharlotte we are putting a new spin on helping you selling your home

~ actually we’re taking a step back, going back to the basics. We’re helping people share their HomeStory! Did you know, most people decide if they will buy a home BEFORE they step through the front door. Curb Appeal is (still) King! I should clarify that is not to say people buy a home without considering the inside, they absolutely do but most often the inside is but a validation (enjoy!) of the opinion they developed as they walked up to the front door. It’s why so often the decision to buy  seems to be confirmed right there in the foyer! Love often works that way too ~ right Rhonda….honey?

So let’s backtrack ~ what is a Charlotte  home seller to do? Ya’ know you never get a second chance to make a first impression ~ so you gotta make the front of your home dazzle! We suggest a WYCWYAWYH Makeover. Since acronyms are all the rage so we came up with our own WYCWYAWYH it means ~ Do what you can, where you are (with) what you have ~ for your home.

By all means do the big things, get your home pre-inspected, paint the inside and out, replace the roof but also do the little things. Little things like the following:

• Spread fresh, quality pine straw (no pine bark nuggets)
• Spray paint hand rails, wrought iron
• Cut/remove and /or trim selected trees and shrubs
• Plant flowers or add clay pots with flowers
• Powerwash walls, sidewalks and driveways
• Replace/ add front door hardware, address numbers
• Paint front door and shutters

These are little things that you can do, right where you are, with what you (mostly) already have or can buy for under a couple hundred dollars….or less! Little things that will make a huge difference. Sandy Phillips our colleague and friend does a really nice job with her First Impression Staging if you need a little coaching/prodding (704-277-5141)

Check out the WYCWYAWYH Makeover we did recently for one of our Myers Park listings Secret to Selling Your Home? Get a geranium and then just yesterday talk about small I spent two hours and $40 bucks* on  this 1760 Forest Side Lane makeover on behalf of Rhonda’s “out of town” seller (*we lent the decorative garden fencing). I think you’ll agree the result is an inviting, warm look that stands out (from the three other similar townhomes for sale) and will have buyers ready to buy before they open the front door!

Before…

After…

Do what you can, where you are, with what you have ~ good advice for selling your home and living your life!
Thanks Teddy!

Authored by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: 1 Comment »