Posts with tag 'Homeowner Tips'

Need to sell your home as quickly as possible? Make sure that you take the time to stage your rooms and various spaces so that they better appeal to potential buyers.

After all, research indicates that staged homes sell 73 percent faster than properties that aren't staged.

To get the maximum benefits from your home staging, it's essential to know what pitfalls to avoid while preparing your home. Here are a few staging mistakes we've seen and how to avoid them. 

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Home improvement projects can make your home more attractive and livable while also increasing its value when you're ready to sell. 

Our real estate agents have helped many families sell their homes in the Livingston County area and know the value of a good home improvement project. The following home improvement projects can increase your home's value and increase your chances of appealing to buyers in a tough market. 

1. Deck addition 
   Adding a deck to the exterior of your home increases your outdoor living space, which has become an increasingly popular home attribute. The right size depends on the size of your house and yard, and you can add as many or as few bells and whistles as you like. The price tag for a new deck can vary widely, with extras like built-in seating and multiple stairs raising the cost.
   
   

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It's time to sell your home! How do you best showcase the space your unfinished basement has to offer? 

Sorting out your basement and giving it a facelift seems overwhelming. Your goal as a seller is to show buyers how a space could be used. Our REALTORS® can help you freshen up your basement, claim back more square footage, and charm buyers with its many uses. Here are five ways to better use your basement space to appeal to buyers.

1. Add or Brighten Up a Play Space
   What better way to divvy up your basement's square footage than to add an exciting, energetic play area or freshen up the one you have? Get this set up by doing the following. 
   
   • • Define the area with an interlocking foam mat.
     • Use brightly-colored organizers to use up vertical space and keep toys within reach.
     • Hang bold wall art to contrast off-white walls.
     • Add lounge chairs, arcade games, and a T.V. for preteens/teens.
       
       

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Listing your house in the winter involves a slightly different approach than attempting to sell in the warmer months. With the holidays and weather conditions impacting the way you present your home, you need to proactively take steps to ensure every showing is a success. Here are a few tips our real estate agents encourage homeowners to follow when selling your home during the winter months.

1. Consider Inspections in the Fall
   If you're hoping to list in the winter, we encourage you to get your home inspected in the autumn. Focus on inspections that cover these areas: the roof, HVAC systems, gutters, fireplaces/chimneys, air sealing windows/doors, pests/rodents, and mold/mildew. Fixing these problems ahead of your listing helps ensure that inspection issues won't disrupt the negotiations.
   
   
2. Prioritize the Exterior
   Curb appeal is important all year long, which is why you can't neglect your landscaping. Remove dead tree limbs or debris around the property and consider planting perennials to spruce up the space. You also want to remove hazards around the home like icicles or patches of ice and slush to ensure a safe space for your potential buyers. Make sure you keep the entranceways of the home clean as well.
   
   
3. Keep Holiday Decorations to a Minimum
   We recommend that sellers refrain from decorating their homes for the holidays. However, we also understand that many homeowners want to enjoy one last holiday season in their house. If you must decorate, we encourage you to choose lights and decorations representing the winter season and doesn't cater to one specific set of beliefs or traditions.
   
   

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Are you moving to Brighton? Perhaps you have just bought a home in our area, or maybe you're still looking through Brighton homes for sale to find the right house to make into your new home. Whichever the case may be, you will be moving into a new neighborhood, and becoming part of your new community will mean getting to know your new neighbors. Taking that first step can be rather uncomfortable, but to help you break the ice, here are six ways to meet your new neighbors.

1. Spend time outdoors – Make it easy to meet you by spending time out in the yard, sitting on the porch or walking around your neighborhood. Be sure to wave at people or say hello when you pass so that they know you are friendly and interested in getting to know people in your new community. Chances are good that your new neighbors are just as curious about you as you are about them, and an open, friendly demeanor will encourage them to act on that curiosity and introduce themselves.

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