First Impressions Count!

I may have a few past clients read this and think, "you never told me that." Quite possibly your home was already show ready. But for many of you, a little help wouldn't hurt for preparing your home for the Open House. 

Open houses can be useful in getting buyers to see your home without having to arrange a showing at a set time with an agent. Sure, some buyers are preofessional open house stalkers (no offense intended to those of you who fall into this category), while others are neighbors seeing how your home may compare to theirs when they go to sell. No matter the reason someone comes into your home, you want to count it as the most significant viewing of your home to date. After all, it only takes one buyer in the door to make the sale.

Here are a few tips in making your home inviting to the open house guest:

1. Curb appeal-In the fall, sweep the pine straw off the driveway and porch of your home. In the winter, scrape the snow from the drive. And just as important, in the summer, keep your grass and flower beds well manicured and watered.

2. Put a friendly, but neutral welcome mat on the porch for visitors to be greeted at your front door.

3. Open all blinds in your home and turn on all over head lights. Not everyone is a "natural light person," but most buyers seek this out in your home.

4. Put down the toilet seats and lids. In fact, clean the guest toilet!

5. Put away dirty towels, underwear and other clothing left out by the kids.

6. Clean out the toothpaste remains in the sink and wipe down counters and mirrors. Don't forget to dust!

7. Don't overpower your guests with loud music playing. If you want to turn on soft, gentle music, that is just fine.

8. Light a candle with a soft, neutral scent. Some people are allergic to strong scents, and you don't want to send a buyer away with a migraine.

9. Bake chocolate chip cookies to leave out for your guests. Yes, I once watched cookies win over an interested buyer by making them feel cozy in the home.

10. Have flyers ready with your home's personal Web site to view the virtual tour, floor plan, school information and other important facts the buyer may want to know.

Use these tips and more to make that Sunday afternoon window shopper the buyer for your home. And remember, it only takes one.

P.S. Don't forget to leave out your home's love letter for the buyer to read. Advice on how to write a compelling love letter will appear in my next blog post.

Buying a Home is a Lot Like Having a Baby! Really???

5 ways buying a home is a lot like having a baby!

No one ever said having a baby was easy. But after giving birth to two of my own children, I can tell you there are many things people conveniently forget to mention who have been through the birthing or parenting process before.

You see, while buying a home doesn't have to be stressful (and I strive hard to take the stress out of the process for you), there are a lot of things that people who have gone before you never told you. I assure you it wasn't intentional. It's just that... well... you just never know what lies ahead!

So here are my top 5 little "unknowns" that I wish to share with anyone considering purchasing a home. 

1. No matter how much planning you do, the unexpected can happen. 

I have had the pleasure of working with many different personalities among clients and I can assure you, there are many people out there who have their acts together and have all their details in place. However, the unexpected can happen and often does. It's best to set reasonable expectations and be flexible. Some examples of the "unexpected" are: closings get delayed because of last minute financing documentation requests, final walkthroughs reveal missing appliances from the home, sellers forget to mention that they are in the process of applying for a short sale to their agent, attorney or buyers. You see, things can happen. I don't mean to scare you or sound negative. I am simply showing you the need to be prepared for things that you just can't prepare for. The good news is that once buyers settle into their new homes, they forget the "unexpected" hurdles they had to jump to get there.

2. It will require upfront money.

When you have a baby there are hospital costs, doctors fees, baby supplies, diapers and the list goes on and on. When you purchase a home, although there are some 100% financing programs available to buyers, a lot of financing programs require some downpayment in order to purchase the home. In addition to that, there are closing costs along with earnest money deposits (on average 1% of purchase price) and certain inspection and appraisal fees paid before closing out of pocket. No child is free and neither is the cost of buying a home. The great part is that your agent can help you negotiate the seller to pay some of the required costs for you at closing making the burden lighter.

3. Everyone wants to take control of the selection process but ultimately it is your home!

Ever try to chose a baby name and make the mistake of announcing some of your possibilities and receive some unsolicited advice? Well purchasing a home can bring out all the distant relatives and friends you didn't know you had. Well not quite. But everyone is so excited for you and they want to give you their opinions of why you shouldn't buy this house or why that house can't quite be worth what you are wanting to offer for it. BE BOLD. BE BRAVE. It is YOUR home! Use your gut instinct. Perhaps this home meets all of your carefully selected criteria and you know you will be happy there. This is all that matters. Perhaps the neighborhood you are looking in has homes disappearing off the market left and right before you can make an offer on them. Don't lose out on a home you love because you are afraid of overpaying for it. The bank's appraisal will assure you don't pay too much for the home.

4. It's not about winning. It's all about winning!

Pregnant mothers often get teased by society for pregnancy related hormones that often make them seem, well "crazy." They often take the small things and make them into bigger things than they need to be. Husbands, colleagues and friends may look them funny, ignore or dismiss them. Also, some people will simply take the heat because they know the moms actually care for them. After all, they are just under a lot of hormone-induced stress. Yep, you guessed it, buying a home is a lot like this gestational period. You may want to just win in an attempt to come out on top. It will get stressful. Really, anything in life worth having is stressful. People will piss you off. They will seem like they are trying to take advantage of you. But buying a home is not a game. It's not about who has the most score at the end of the day. Yes, it's about getting the best deal. But that doesn't mean there won't be some compromise along the way. At the end of the day, when you are settled into your new home you will look around and be happy. And that is winning!

5. Picking a lender, attorney and home inspector is a lot like picking a name. Well kinda.

The name selection process can be involved (see mention of it above). When you pick a name for your child, that child is likely stuck with the name for life. But more importantly, you want to select a name for your child that will perhaps mold his/her personality. In a way, you are expecting your child to "live up" to the perfect name you choose. The time will come in the home hunting process where you'll have to select important people to use along the way. The lender you choose will affect your interest rate, closing costs due at closing and your general ability to close on the home on time. Choose wisely. Take recommendations from your agents or friends. Then seek a home inspector who an agent or friend recommends is thorough. The longer the average inspection time takes the better. Ask how long the report will take to come in as you will want the report within a few days of inspection completion. A great inspector will cycle all appliances, look at the roof and climb in your crawlspace and attic. On a final note, choosing a closing attorney that will be your best advocate,should any bumps in the road happen, will be well worth the money spent. Again, ask your agent who they like to work with. Choosing an attorney who doesn't liked to be reached on the phone or who doesn't like to be "bothered" in general will not bode well for you in the long term.

Shake It Up Durham: 5 is the magic number!

5 is the magic number!

So let's celebrate!!

Many of you know my oldest child, Owen, turned 5 this month. It's hard to believe. I began my real estate career 4 years before he was born. A lot of my clients worked with me before kids and are often shocked when they run into me with 2 kiddos.

In honor of celebrating the life of my smart, charming, witty and loving little guy, I'm writing 5 blog posts containing 5 points or tips each. I'm hoping you'll read them, (I mean early May was the last time I posted on this blog) and I hope you'll gain humor or possible pointers to help you in home ownership.

Cheers to many more years of fun with Owen Henry! And cheers to home ownership!

So How Do You Get There From Here?

Did you realize that only 3% of all people have written goals? And 98% of the most successful people carved out time to set written goals.

I learned this eyebrow-raising statistic today at a real estate seminar. And as I sit in my hotel room in Richmond overlooking the beautiful city skyline at night, I began to think my clients and friends may want to know a little more about goal-setting.

Joe Niego, Buffini and Company presenter, broke the process down today into four well thought out steps:

1. What do you truly want? What are your Gotta have it goals?
2. Mind Dumping: When you write down any idea, thought, question or concern that comes to mind when you think about that goal.
3. Stepping Stones or Action steps: What specific actions will you do to move you closer to your goal.
4. Put together a Persuader Statement: List the benefits for reaching your goal and what consequences you will face if you do not achieve your goal.

Joe reminded us that everyone has the ability to succeed in life and follow their dreams. We just need to dream a little and then spell out how to get there. And finally.... Take action!

I would love to hear your "Gotta Have It Goals." Comment on this post if you would. I would like to support you in achieving those goals. Goodnight Richmond!

Adults and Kids Both Catch The Wind!

Durham's Museum of Life and Science.... Did Someone Say Radio-Controlled Sailboats?

I visited Durham's Museum of Life and Science last week with my boys and our friends. Every time I visit, which is by far not often enough, I am amazed at just how much fun we have in our Durham back yard.

After riding the Museum's train, our friends guided us over to flap giant wings to learn how insects fly by moving their wings forward and backward, not up and down. (taken from Catch The Wind, source lifeandscience.org). 

Catch The Wind, a current outside exhibit inspired this blog post as I watched my little guys steer sailboats around a 5,000-square -foot elliptical sailboat pond (source lifeandscience.org). I sat back and watched as my own friends, too, enjoyed the sailboat pond with their son.

After peeling all the boys away from the boats, we continued our exercise by strolling over to watch the Lemurs play. We then ended our Museum visit for the day at Take Off!, a bungee trampoline that boosts participants 20 feet above the ground. Boys and bungee trampolines? Yes, they indeed had fun.

Many Museum visitors take advantage of Museum memberships for deep discounts on admission. Also every Wednesday is Durham Donation Day where admission is waived for Durham County residents from 1-5 p.m.

From Their Hearts

Did you know?

One thing I knew about Go Realty before joining the company is that the company matches contributions from each closing to the charitable organization of the agent's choice. I'm not sure why I never stopped to think about this area of the company.

It's always special when an individual or company gives to another, but rarely do you hear of individuals getting to choose where the money goes.

At a recent "Go Huddle" (AKA sales meeting) checks were announced to be given to different organizations including the Symphony, Urban Ministries, Children's Craniofacial Association and more. Having rebounded from a slower time in my business, I hadn't prioritized giving to others as much as I would have wanted. But at this meeting, I became excited again about the idea of helping others even if in a small way.

I'm still trying to decide which organization I would like to give a small portion of each closing check to. But knowing that Go Realty will match my gift from each closing means my company stands behind supporting those who need it most. And this, my friends, is what life is all about. It takes a village!