Newsflash – now that the weather is finally back to normal it’s time to start having “Open Houses” again. I know it’s a pain to leave every Sunday but try it for an extended period of time just to get the house exposed. The closer you are to the “water” the more “lookers”.
I had an interesting visit to a bank owned property in Solana Beach yesterday. It was an original Countrywide loan and we have been trying to get more information on the home. without much luck Check my U-tube Homes N Cooking for a look at how banks are letting properties deteriorate before they get around to “putting them on the market”. I know that bank staffing has been cut but just on the interest rate that they ARE NOT paying on CD’s alone they should have enough funds for their real estate departments to keep these homes from literally “falling apart”! If they would get the right real estate agents – put in even a couple of thousand dollars to do some repairs and clean up the yards it would keep the house AND the neighborhood happy! Aaaaarg – can you feel my angst!
On a funnier note I love the signs that are going to be installed around the beaches regarding the tsusamis warnings… “Walk Away From The Ocean”…. seriously? I would think we’d all be GRABBING our surf boards! Gotta love where our tax dollars go:) Surfs Up!
It’s interesting to note that when I get clients from other areas they all think that San Diego is on the beach! Wishful thiking on their part however the good news is that no matter where you live the “beach” is not that far away. Even our neighbors in Fallbrook can jump on the 76 and zip to the ocean! Don’t worry – no matter where you buy in San Diego all your relatives will visit from the east coast!
Many times its easy to add a room. Do you have a den that is not being used? Adding a door and closet and you have an extra room. Are you lucky enough to have a “large” room that can be split in half. If it leads out to the hallway it’s simply to cut and frame a door and increase your home room size thus increasing your home value. Contractors are eager to work and its the perfect time for remodeling! Wish we had basements – but hey instead we have great weather (well most of the time).
Hi Everyone…it’s been a while since my last posting —I’ve been trying to get Ron over his back surgery—which has almost put ME in the hospital! This nursing stuff is time consuming!
Interesting news from Realtor Magazine. Short version of article is “concentrate on staging”. Much more than in the past, staging can make the difference between your listing selling before the competition down the street. With your agent go “room by room” in order to evaluate the house in the best light possible. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money – just paint the room and rearrange the furniture to make it less personal. Add a new front door hardware, maybe stain the front door. I have lots of other ideas up my sleeve- not to mention half a garage full of staging accessories so we”re ready on this end! Sometimes just some blooming flowers in pots outside the front and back doors is all it takes to add life to the patios. I’m great at re arranging furniture! The best thing a seller can do is not take anything personal and let me “go for it”! I had great success last year in selling three homes that not staged would have been much less appealing! Happy Monday!
Well we’ve all made it through the first week of 2010 and it does have a nice sound to it! The word on the street is that another wave of foreclosures are coming! I sure wish I knew these asset managers because they need some lessons on how to “get houses ready for sale” as well as how to deal with buyers. I have had the worst experiences trying to put in offers for clients on these foreclosure properties. The agents working for the banks are as bad as the banks. Comments are :”E MAIL OFFER” they don’t have the time, interest or courtesy to actually TALK to the agents who are representing buyers who are making offers in good faith!
WHEN did this cease to be a SERVICE business and not a bunch of” “money grubbing number crunchers?” Do you hear my fraustration! Well if you want to work with someone who actually WANTS to be a human and not a robot give a call! O.K. enough screetching… it’s a beautiful day in San Diego!
Also a great tip…IF you are thinking of putting your home on the market and have the room in the back or front of your house to add a deck – for a few thousand dollars you can actually “expand” the size of your home at least visually! You’ll get back the money spend two fold! I love home tips—and have tons! More to come! Happy New Year again….
Well 2009 ended with somewhat of a “bang” as Ron’s back went out and it’s been two weeks of watching him in pain “on the floor”…getting cat-scan now and all will be better in 2010! Who said this morning “do it again in 2010″….I want to never do 2009 again…trust me! Working on the “Home Cooking” idea for U-tube and the web site- reviewing “homes and kitchens and eding with cooking tip”… why not have fun with real estate!!!