Question: “Should I offer a “paint and carpet” allowance instead of actually doing the work?”
JA: Homesellers- I feel for ya. When you’re getting your home ready for market, the to-do list seems endless, doesn’t it? The last thing you want to do is to relocate your furniture to refinish the floors or take down all your artwork to paint the walls.
It would be much easier to just offer an allow ...
The article below was contributed by Geri Bigum of Staging Denver. Staging Denver is ONLY the very best homestaging company in Denver, and, in my opinion, anywhere in the world. Okay, okay, maybe I’m biased because I had a hand in creating the company back in the 90’s, but seriously - these gals are good. While I’m not involved in the company any more, I enthusiastically recommend their servi ...
Many real estate agents market themselves as “listing specialists” - that is - they focus mainly on marketing houses for sale instead of working with buyers. Many “listing specialists” hire buyer agents to work for them, to handle the calls they receive from their many For Sale signs.
On the surface, this sounds logical; after all, don’t we all want a “specialist” to represent us when we’re l ...
"What's the average Days on Market in Denver? That is, how long will it take my house to sell?"
In real estate-speak, "days on market," (abbreviated DOM) means how many days it takes from the day a house goes on the market until the day it goes "under contract" (that is, when a buyer and seller agree on a purchase contract). Of course, after a home goes under contract, there are still a few p ...
Back in 1997, one of my first seller clients asked me the question: "Jennifer, I assume our house will sell quickly because it's so cute (it was), but if it doesn't sell right away, what will you do?"
Hmmmmmmmm. Hell, I dunno. I was a green bean agent; I'd only had one other listing in my career and didn't have a clue. I came up with something that probably sounded like this: "I'll do a broke ...
Last Thursday, I put a wonderful little 1925 Bungalow on the market. Sunday 
evening, I presented multiple offers to my seller. We’re now under contract about $7k higher than asking price, and inquiries are still coming in.
But, wait a minute! I thought we were in a miserable housing market… what the heck happened?
Pretty simple, actually. My sellers did everything I asked them to do to prepar ...
An open letter to homesellers everywhere... from the heart.
My Dear Seller,
Last night you asked me what you should fix before we go on the market next week. You may have noticed that I was a little uncomfortable answering the question. Why? Because I hate to spend your money and I know how much you already have on your plate. Believe me, I feel your pain... but...
I have a house in Alabama t ...
(Real estate commissions are negotiable and not set by law. Any commission percentages quoted below are illustrative only).
Double-End the Sale: To handle both the buying and listing side of a transaction - that is, to sell your own listing.
Savvy sellers almost always ask if I will reduce my commission if this happens. I always say no. They always seem surprised. But here's why I won't do it ...
Anyone selling a home needs to understand one Very Important Thing. The seller must leave the home for showings. No exceptions.
As a real estate agent, it's my job to ensure that my sellers know how important this is. It's reasonable that a seller wants to help the sale of his home any way he can, and he figures he's the most qualified to point out all the special features to buyers and to ...
In late 2007, I wrote an ebook with the tongue-in-cheek title of "70+ Ways to Sell Your Listings in Today's Sucky Market" which was a detailed instruction guide to SELLING listings as opposed to just GETTING listings. But there's one topic I didn't address in the book and should have. 
The question I didn't answer was: "If my agent does each and every one of your 70+ thingees to sell my list ...