Home
November 20, 2009 at 10:46 AM · Posted under Pat Tasker
At this time of year, many people think it would be a waste of time to list your home for sale. “Homes don’t sell this time of year” many people will say to me. Contrary to that popular thinking, homes sell ALL YEAR LONG.
While it may be true that LESS homes may sell between Thanksgiving and New Years, HOMES STILL SELL!! One year, during the week of Christmas, I sold a 6 homes! If those sellers had not been ON THE MARKET, they certainly would not have sold!
Some facts that show it is a good time to list your home:
Your home looks the best when decorated for the Holidays….it is clean, it is festive, it is inviting! What great conditions for a buyer to see and more importantly FEEL.
Holiday decorating creates that emotional tug on the buyers heartstrings. They will feel at home and have a warm fuzzy feeling…they will want to live there!
The house smells good! Cookies are baking…leave some out for the buyers to snack on, they will hang around just a little longer, “trying on the house”!
While there may be less traffic than other months or seasons, the buyers who do come through, will be pretty serious buyers. Looky-lous are not out kicking tires this time of year…they are holiday shopping!
Out of towners may be visiting relatives for the holidays, and available to look for homes. Transferees will take advantage of school breaks for househunting trips.
If you get a request to show your home, and you are entertaining friends that day, don’t turn down the showing! Instead, ask them to come right before the company comes…the house will be ready and look great! How perfect for buyers to see that!
If you wait until spring to get on the market, you will be joined by hundreds of others who thought buyers don’t buy during the holidays. If you get on the market NOW, you could be in your new home by spring!
Santa’s Elves aren’t the only ones working this time of year! For information on selling your home and taking advantage of the Holiday Magic, call Pat Tasker at 262-437-5853 for a no obligation marketing consultation!
Posted by:
Pat Tasker
Comments Off
·
Share With a Friend
">
November 16, 2009 at 04:35 PM · Posted under Colleen Kuchta
As we go about our holiday shopping, all too often we forget that there are people right here where we live that don’t have enough food to eat, let alone buy a bunch of presents. This year has been very tough financially for many families. While you are out shopping for your weekly groceries, remember those in need. Grab a few items to donate to your local food pantry. Many grocery stores have a large barrel at the entrance for you to drop your donation. The items you donate don’t necessarily need to be food, either. Many food pantries are in need of toiletries and paper products, as well.
In Menomonee Falls, the Community Chamber Office is collecting food during the annual Christmas Parade on Sunday, November 29th, at 4:30 pm.
They will have people walking along the parade route collecting food items. The Greater Menomonee Falls Foundation has provided a Challenge Grant for this Food Drive. They will donate $1 to the food pantry for every 1 food item donated by the Chamber up to $1,000!
So let’s get out there and help a neighbor in need! Need more ideas on ways you can help? Contact The Kuchta’s - Kelly & Colleen at 262-894-6512 or drop us an email at ckuchta@shorewest.com
Posted by:
Colleen Kuchta
Comments Off
·
Share With a Friend
">
November 16, 2009 at 09:54 AM · Posted under Lisa Rossetto-Glowacki
As a Realtor®, every year I receive this question from countless homeowners. Should I move or improve my house? What is my house worth? Is this a good time to sell my house and buy another? Gaze at your crystal ball of real estate and tell me what I should do! (Well, they don’t always come out and say this, but some do!)
If I could accurately predict the future of real estate, I’d be wealthy, as I could probably also predict the future of the stock market! Let’s consider a few important facts:
The government extended AND expanded the first-time home buyer’s tax credit. If you have not owned a house in 3 years, you could qualify for $8,000. If you have owned a home at least 5 of the last 8 years, you could qualify for $6,500. Income limits are $125,000/individual and $225,000/joint. The max purchase price is $800,000. The offer must be accepted by end of April, 2010 and must close within 60 days after that.
Interest rates are at historic lows! 5% or lower in many cases. They have been artificially held low due to the government purchasing bank mortgages and taking the risk from them. The government has indicated that they will not continue to purchase these mortgages after March, 2010. All indications are that after that, interest rates will rise sharply and dramatically over the 6% level.
Real estate inventories are plentiful and, in many cases, are priced at levels of 3-5 years ago. Many are in beautiful, move-in condition. Can you say bargains galore?
If you have a house to sell, as a seller, you can take advantage of buyers coming out of the woodwork to take advantage of this tax credit. There will be many more buyers this year than next year.
Put all of this together, and I think you’re looking right into a crystal ball that says, buy, buy, buy real estate now, now now!
Posted by:
Lisa Rossetto
Comments Off
·
Share With a Friend
">
November 03, 2009 at 02:53 PM · Posted under Lisa Rossetto-Glowacki
Sometimes, the unexpected happens in life. The job opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to move back somewhere closer to family, perhaps job loss. Whatever the reason, you can have your house always ready to list by doing a small few items now. Here’s the list:
- Make sure that mechanicals in the house are properly working: furnace, air conditioning, water softener, reverse osmosis water systems, garage door openers, alarm systems, intercom systems, plumbing systems and the like.
- Make a ‘to do’ list of cleaning and develop a ‘pretend’ time-line, saying, “I will do the following in the next week”. Pick one or two only so it’s not so over-whelming.
- Clean: Doors and woodwork, baseboards, windows, those grungy patio door tracks! Also, behind refrigerator, washer and dryer. Vacuum draperies.
- Closets: Do they need to be painted? De-cluttered?
- Organize: Bookshelves; stack neatly and add a bit of decoration. Cabinets; clean out, organize, re-line shelves.
- Walls: Take a look at all the walls and see where there are drywall nicks and patch and paint those. The really ‘ugly’ wallpaper that’s still up? Take it down and paint neutral. You can always go back and decorate later.
- Basement: Start emptying the basement of clutter, box up unused items neatly, give away to charities little-used items. Do the same with the garage.
- Worn-out ‘stuff’: How are the exterior lights by the garage door? All rusted? It won’t cost much to replace them. Check other ‘old’ items as well like faucets, knobs on all cabinets, switch plates and heating vent covers. If they’re rusted, banged, ‘gross’ or older than father time, change them!
- Exterior: Take care of any building repairs. Trim landscaping. Spruce up the mailbox and the house numbers.
Don’t be scared! Stay prepared!
Posted by:Lisa Rossetto
Comments Off
·
Share With a Friend
">
November 02, 2009 at 03:13 PM · Posted under Colleen Kuchta
Wisconsin winters can leave many of us wondering when it is going to end. The snow and ice are even more of a problem when you are trying to sell your home. You certainly don’t want anyone to slip and fall while trying to get inside. For buyers, driving up to a property that is covered in a sea of white snow can make every house look the same.
Here are a few ways to make your house stand out:
- Give the front door a fresh coat of paint.
- Update the lighting at your front door, newer fixtures can frame the entrance to a home.
- Replace that old worn-out door mat.
- Consider placing colorful urns or planters on either side of the front door. Planting an evergreen, holly or poinsettia in the urn will draw the buyer’s eye in as well.
- Make sure your address is able to be seen when driving by. Replace small numbers with larger ones.
- Make sure that your driveway and all walkways are cleaned, edged and properly illuminated.
- Lastly, make sure prospective buyers can picture themselves living in your house. This means not going overboard with holiday decorations. You want the décor to be tasteful and not to overpower the home itself. Give the buyer a chance to envision your home in its everyday condition.
One more thing to remember, it is getting dark pretty early these days. It is a good idea to leave the outside light on. It makes it easier to get inside, and can help prevent a buyer from slipping, too.
The Kuchta’s - Kelly & Colleen thekuchtas.shorewest.com
Posted by:Colleen Kuchta
Comments Off
·
Share With a Friend
">
