Can you believe that autumn is already here? Autumn is not only a great time to enjoy some cooler weather, but it is also a perfect time to sell a home. If you want to sell your house this autumn, these home staging tips will have buyers pounding down your door.

Improve Your Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is easily the most important factor when it comes to selling a home, and it is even more important in the autumn. Maintaining great curb appeal can be difficult in autumn because of all the falling leaves.

Raking the leaves and planting some autumn flowers will make your home inviting to buyers. You can even add some pumpkins around the porch, if you desire.

Brighten Up The House

The shorter days of autumn make lighting more important when staging a home, because nobody wants to walk into a dark and depressing house. The best way to brighten up any house is by opening the blinds and turning on every light.

While it may not be great for the electric bill, the extra lighting will help the home sell quicker. You can even place some spotlights on the floor behind furniture to brighten up the darker rooms.

Make It Feel Comfortable

There is something about the cooling weather of autumn that makes people want to stay inside. Showing off how comfortable your home is will definitely pique buyers’ interest. A great way to make your home more cozy during a showing is by playing seasonal music and handing out some fresh baked cookies – it adds a personal touch and a subtle sense of coziness.

Accent The Home With Autumn Colors

While it is impossible to change the color scheme of your home to fit the season, you can add some accent colors throughout the house. If you have a neutral colored couch, then you can easily throw some red or orange pillows on it to make it really stand out. Adding some autumn decorations to each room is also a great way to accent your home with autumn colors.

Autumn is an extremely popular time to buy or sell a house, and for good reason. Taking advantage of autumn’s vibrant colors when you stage your home will give your house an irresistible appeal. For more information about how to sell your home in the autumn, or if you’d like to list your home for sale, contact an experienced real estate professional today.

Filed under: Home Selling Tips by Julie Woodward
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Homeowners who want to increase the appeal of their residence before putting it up for sale can, within a few hours and with a little elbow grease, perform some do-it-yourself (DIY) kitchen upgrades that are sure to pique the interest of would-be buyers.

Many people either have or are in the process of listing their home, so it makes sense to do as much as possible to attract the interest of prospective purchasers.

It need not cost a proverbial arm and a leg to boost the selling price of a home. Here are three DIY kitchen upgrades that will help homeowners gain a competitive advantage in the real estate market and get attractive offers for their residence.

On-The-Cheap Cabinet Upgrades

For a DIY upgrade project that won’t cost much money and won’t take much time, homeowners should consider revamping their cabinetry, as long as the cabinets are structurally sound. After cleaning them and, if necessary, sanding down any rough spots, homeowners can apply a coat or two of paint and, after the paint dries, install new knobs or handles to finish off the project.

The end result will be a totally transformed kitchen that likely won’t require more than a can of paint, sandpaper, some cleaner and some knobs or handles.

Upgrade Your Countertops

It’s amazing how much of a difference an upgraded countertop can make to the overall look of a kitchen. Homeowners who believe that a new countertop would definitely transform their kitchen have a number of options at their disposal such as buying a new one, tiling over the existing one or repainting the existing one.

Often the easiest of the three options is repainting, since this simply involves sanding the surface, priming it, applying the paint and then applying numerous coats of polyurethane to safeguard the finish.

Transform Your Kitchen Backsplash

While a nice-looking kitchen backsplash can be a plus for would-be home buyers, the fact of the matter is that an ugly backsplash will definitely turn off prospective purchasers.

A cheap and relatively quick way to give a backsplash a new lease on life is to use so-called tile decals that, because of the adhesive they contain, can be pasted over top of existing backsplash tiles. There many different options in terms of styles, colors and concepts, so homeowners will be able to find the perfect option to make their backsplash look as good as new.

Preparing to list a home and get acceptable offers involves ensuring that your home will stack up nicely compared to other homes up for sale in the area. As it turns out, doing some quick and relatively simple kitchen upgrades will help to attract prospective buyers. Tips for performing any of these DIY upgrades can be found either at neighborhood big-box stores or online.

For more information on the real estate market or to get more information on any related topics, call your trusted real estate professional today for a no-obligation consultation.

Filed under: Home Selling Tips by Julie Woodward
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When you sell your home, you want it look as good as possible. To do this, your real estate agent will help you stage your home or, if needed, help you find a professional to stage your home.

This means de-cluttering your home, re-arranging furniture, and de-personalizing each room.

A staged home is more appealing to buyers and helps to highlight your home’s positive features. However, staging is not meant to cover major flaws in your home. Some things just have to be repaired.

Roof Problems

It doesn’t matter how pretty your home is, your buyer is going to expect you to fix roof problems or adjust your price to cover them. Your roof is one of the most important parts of your home.

Cracked Tile

Of course, you can use throw rugs to cover cracks in your tile, but chances are your buyers are going to look under them. Then they may think you are trying to hide a serious problem like a shifting foundation. Save yourself the headache and have your floors fixed.

Broken Windows

You have to expect your buyers to walk around your home checking out the views from the windows. They’re going to notice any cracks. If you have the budget, consider upgrading your windows and making your home more marketable. At the very least, you should have the glass replaced.

Torn Screens

If you have torn screens, your buyers may think you don’t take care of your property. Yet, screens are fairly easy to fix on your own. With the right supplies from your local hardware store, you can have new, sleek screens in less than a day.

As your agent, I will make sure your home is ready to sell fast. Call your trusted real estate professional today.

Filed under: Home Selling Tips by Julie Woodward
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Pantone is a universal language of color that you can use to select beautiful colors to paint the home. Interestingly, each year, Pantone selects a color of the year that embodies what’s happening in society. 

In 2021, the Pantone color of the year was awarded to two colors, Illuminating 13-0647 and Ultimate Gray 17-5104. These two colors highlight how two different elements can come together and support each other. This is the thought behind selecting them based on what has occurred over the last year. 

The bold yellow and deeper gray capture feelings of promise, friendliness, and thoughtfulness, which may be a great reason to add those colors to a home. Should homeowners repaint their home in these colors, though, before they sell?

When Psychology Matters, Remember Pantone’s Color of the Year

Pantone’s color of the year is normally the start, or continuation, of a yearly color trend. That can make it an excellent color to incorporate into your home, especially if you are selecting the color based on its meaning. 

However, most people don’t use Pantone colors to completely repaint before selling their homes. Instead, they use the Pantone color of the year to add pops of color or a touch of the modern color palette before putting the home on the market. 

How Can You Incorporate the Pantone Color of the Year?

For example, if a home is already based on a neutral color scheme in grays or blues, adding a pop of the color Illuminating draws the eye. Using yellow as an accent color is a great way to draw attention to impressive parts of the home.

For brighter spaces, toning down the room with a cooler, relaxed gray is a good way to make the space welcoming to those who love color as well as to those who have a more traditional approach to home decorating.

Repainting an entire home in the Pantone color of the year is an option if homeowners need to repaint anyway, but if they don’t, then it could be an expensive option. To reach the most buyers, the better bet is to choose a neutral palette that potential buyers can envision in their own preferred color scheme. 

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Home inspections are a tense time for everyone. Sellers are passionately hoping that nothing major is wrong with their home that could hold up the transaction.

Buyers are eager to hear that their new house is in prime condition. Whatever the wishes, one thing is for sure; any news from an inspector is usually bad news.

Home inspectors have a tough job. They have to be trained to spot hundreds of potential issues with a home and be knowledgeable of local codes, community restrictions and residential permit parameters.

Stay one step ahead of your home inspector by reading the list of common home inspection issues below. Then hopefully your inspection won’t reveal any unwelcome surprises.

Electrical Wiring

This is a common bubble-busting issue, especially in older homes. Wiring might have been up to code when the home was built, but it now violates code and is a fire hazard.

Look for ungrounded outlets, shoddy wiring or a mass of confusing connections in the electrical panel. Replacing an entire electrical system can be expensive, but it’s worth it not to risk a fire.

Plumbing

Look for signs of water damage in the ceilings. This could be a sign that something above, like a bathtub or sink is leaking into the floor or walls. Look around toilets and inside kitchen cabinets for traces of wet flooring or wood.

While external leaks are easy enough to fix, interior pipes might require you to rip up flooring.

Foundation And Framing

Examine the foundation and framing of your home for any structural issues. You’ll want to keep an eye out for cracking in the foundation due to water runoff or settling. Also, look for signs of wood rot or termite damage.

These issues affect the framing of your home and could cause scary structural problems if left unattended.

Roofing

While it’s probably too difficult for you to inspect the roof yourself, just stand back in the yard and see if you can notice any bare spots. Also, check for water damage around the roofline from rain leaking in. Don’t get too discouraged about roof issues. It might not call for a complete replacement, but just a repair on one section.

These common home inspection issues affect both sellers and buyers. As a buyer, you’ll want to keep a eye out for these problems so that you know what you’d be getting for your hard-earned money.

As a seller, it’s good to stay one step ahead of the home inspector so that whatever price is agreed upon goes through.

Filed under: Home Selling Tips by Julie Woodward
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After all of the excitement of the holidays, the sparkle of the lights and the overstimulation of decorations, the rest of winter can seem lackluster. Don’t let your home add to the dreariness of the season.

Spruce up your curb appeal with the tips below and inspire your neighbors to create well-groomed street that will make driver’s passing through smile.

Tend The Plants

If you’re currently located in a winter wonderland, then dig up any dead plants that won’t grow back. Replace them with cold-loving flowers, such as snowberry or lambs ear.

In warmer climates, this is the time for any landscaping changes you’d like to make. It will give your plants a chance to flourish by spring and have solid roots before the harsh heat of summer.

Light The Way

With daylight hours dwindling, well-placed outdoor lighting will help highlight your home’s best features in the evening.

Not only do they make your home look warm and cozy, but they also provide much-needed walkway lighting so that your guests arrive safely.

For a festive New Year’s sparkle, wrap white lights around the porch and in the trees.

Create A Custom Mailbox

Reclaim a vintage mailbox or get creative with paint to let the neighborhood know your family’s favorite sports team. A personalized letterbox says a lot about your household, so make it something special that doesn’t look like every other box on the street.

Also, visitors trying to find your home always appreciate large, easy-to-read address numbers visible from both directions.

Place Pots Strategically

Create focal points with terra cotta or colorful pots. Place them around your door to make a cozy entrance. Use evergreens and holly to give the curb appeal of your home a wintry feeling or brighten up a dark doorstep with cheerful pansies.

Paint Your Front Door

Perk up your curb appeal when the weather is dreary by painting your front door in a color that packs a punch. Try a vibrant red, bright blue or sage green. These colors will make your home feel warm and cheerful. However, don’t apply paint if the weather is below 40 degrees, because it will dry brittle and crack.

Filed under: Home Selling Tips by Julie Woodward
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In some cases, it really pays off to list your Port Aransas condo for sale during the winter months.
Why?
People who look for new homes during the winter, particularly in a great spot like North Padre Island or Port Aransas, may be a bit more serious about buying than those who come “kick the tires” during spring and summer.

Selling Your Port Aransas Condo During Winter

Sure, lots of homebuyers go into hibernation during the winter. Your condo may drum up less interest during December, January, February, and March than it would during warmer months… but the interest that it does generate may be from more qualified buyers.
It’s not necessarily the number of people who come through your condo that matters; it’s the number of qualified buyers who are ready to make a purchase that matters.
If you’re thinking about selling your condo, grab a free local market report. We’ll tell you about Port Aransas home values and North Padre Island home values so you know exactly what you’re getting into.
We’ll even be happy to perform a free comparative market analysis to show you how much you could get if you put your condo on the market today. Your CMA will include:

• Similar properties that have sold and closed within the past 6 months
• Similar properties that are on the market right now
• Similar properties that are in a “pending” status (they’ve sold, but they haven’t closed yet)
• Similar properties that have expired (they didn’t sell during their listing period)
• A detailed report on your condo and how much it’s worth based on today’s market

Let Us Help You Sell Your Port Aransas Condo

We can help you sell your Port Aransas condo quickly and at the right price. Call us at 361-563-7788 today to learn how we’ll market your condo and get it in front of all the right buyers — even during the winter.

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Selling your home is a complex process and there are a lot of factors that you will need to consider. Your goal will be to sell your home in a timely manner, while getting the highest price you can.

However, many properties sell at a discount because the buyer is able to negotiate a lower price on the property.

Although it is impossible to guarantee that you will receive your full asking price when you sell your home, there are things that you can do to increase the likelihood of this happening. You will need to have a strategy that attracts highly motivated buyers and improves competition.

Here Are Some Tips To Keep In Mind That Will Help You To Get The Full Asking Price When You Are Selling Your Home:

• First of all, make sure that you have a reasonable asking price to start with. Research your local real estate market and find out what other buyers paid for homes comparable to yours.

• Hire a home inspector to perform a full inspection of your home, so that you can fix any problems. If you can show the buyer the repair receipts and inspection report, you will be in a better position to ask for full price.

• First impressions are very important and can improve a buyer’s perception of your home’s value. Make sure that your property has plenty of curb appeal and feels welcoming.

• De-clutter and clean your home – this makes it appear more spacious and luxurious and will make a buyer willing to pay more.

• Ask your real estate agent to create a flyer that compares your home’s price to other similar listings in the area – showing that your home is a great deal. This will convince buyers that your asking price is already discounted.

• Schedule your property tours as close together as possible. This can mean that you get multiple offers at around the same time, which will encourage the buyer who is eager to seal the deal to pay full price.

• If you have any rooms with bright colours that might not appeal to the average buyer, give them a quick makeover with neutral tones. These are safe colours that will increase the odds that your home will sell.

• If you have the budget to renovate one of the rooms in your home, it should be the kitchen or the bathroom. Studies have shown that renovations and upgrades in those two rooms have the most impact on the potential selling price of the home.

With these tips, you should be more likely to achieve the full asking price when you are selling your home. For more tips, contact your trusted real estate professional.

Filed under: Home Selling Tips by Julie Woodward
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Let’s face it, selling your home can be an emotionally difficult process – especially if you have lived there for a long time. When you make a house your home, it holds many of your memories and it becomes a part of your identity.

How can you sell the house in which your child took their first steps, where you held many dinner parties and where your family celebrated so many birthdays and holidays together?

You will go through a period of transition when moving house, which can be mentally and emotionally tiring.

It might be hard to sell your home, but time marches on and eventually it is time to move to a different location or simply downsize or up-size to suit your changing family situation.

The problem with being too emotionally attached to your home is that it makes it difficult to sell. When you have a sentimental attachment to your home you will estimate its value as higher than it really is and you will have trouble accepting counter offers.

Which could mean that your home is on the market for a long time when it could possibly have been sold for a reasonable price.

Here are some tips for emotionally detaching from your home so that it is easier to sell:

Remove Your Personal Items

Taking any of your personal items out of the house will make it a lot easier to sell, because the buyer will be able to imagine a blank slate filled with their items instead. Also, it will make the process easier on you if you can remove your family photos, keepsakes and personal items – because it will make the house feel less like yours.

Think About Your New Home

Whether or not you have already bought your next property, it’s time to start thinking about it as your new home. It will take some time, but you can transfer that emotional connection to the new place where you will live.

Start to focus on all of the things that you are looking forward to about living in your new home.

Preserve A Record Of Your Old Home

Take photos and even make a video tour of your old home before you move – so that you can always remember where you used to live.

Get An Outside Opinion

Ask your real estate agent or a professional home stager to take a look at your home with unbiased eyes to let you know what you should change to help it sell faster.

They might tell you to eliminate the jungle wallpaper in your son’s bedroom that you love – but they are probably correct in a way that you can’t see because your emotions cloud your judgement.

With these tips, you should be able to emotionally detach from your old home, so that it is easier to sell. For more information contact your real estate professional.

Filed under: Home Selling Tips by Julie Woodward
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Oh, the dreaded/happy DOM question: “How long has this house been up for sale?” If it’s your home for sale we’re talking about, you’re probably wondering about the split “dreaded/happy” bit. For that matter, whether you’re a buyer or a seller, you’re probably asking, “what the heck is ‘DOM’?”

Days On Market

“DOM” is the shortened industry term for Days On Market, used by the multiple listing services. It’s exactly what it sounds like: the number of days your home for sale has been on the market. This metric covers the time it actually goes on sale to the time the deal is closed.

Why Is DOM Important?

Remember the “dreaded/happy” part at the beginning of this article? As a buyer’s agent, I might gleefully answer, “Fifty days.” I say “gleefully,” because a house that has sat on the market for a long time is a good thing for my client.

The seller is probably more eager to sell than a month before, and is most likely willing to work a deal. An eager seller makes a happy buyer in most cases.

On the other hand, as a seller’s agent, I might not be so happy about it, and for the same reason. My seller is now an eager seller. I want to get the best deal for my client, but I know the buyer has the upper hand. It is then up to me to help my client get the home sold without giving away the barn, the pool, the tool shed and the tools.

Already, you may be beginning to understand how the DOM metric can affect the sale of your home.

The problem with the DOM metric is that it causes buyers and agents to build false assumptions. If a home has been on the market for an above-average length of time, we start to wonder, “what’s the matter with that listing?” Even though I know there are other reasons for a home to go static and not sell, many people automatically think there’s something wrong.

Reasons For An Extended DOM Metric:

• The Home May Be Overpriced – Nothing is wrong with the property itself; it’s just priced too high.

• Testing The Market – Although it’s a big mistake and agents will tell you so, some sellers test the market by throwing a high price on a home they don’t care if they sell – just to see if somebody is foolish enough to take it.

• Sticking To Your Guns – Often, sellers get fixed on a price and won’t budge, come hell or high water. They figure they can wait around until the market can meet their price, not the other way around.

• Renovations – Sometimes, a home will go on the market in the middle of renovations. The sellers aren’t ready to let the home be seen, so it just sits there.

• Availability – A growing problem is the lack of access to a home for sale. Sadly, agents and FSBOs alike seem to be unavailable when a buyer wants to view the home. Obviously, no viewing means no sale.

Don’t let your DOM get high because of simple mistakes. If you’re serious about selling your home, remember the five reasons above and make sure you aren’t doing them.

If you’re ready to sell your home with a professional who understands how to keep the DOM to a minimum, contact your real estate professional today.

Filed under: Home Selling Tips by Julie Woodward
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