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 allowance, right? Besides, the buyer probably would prefer to pick out his own carpet or paint color, wouldn’t he?

Unfortunately, no. The problem with offering a paint or carpet allowance in lieu of actually painting or carpeting is that these two items are strong emotional triggers for buyers. When a buyer walks into a home, he forms an impression right away that’s hard to overcome after the fact. If the buyer’s impression is that the home has bad carpet or grungy walls, no allowance will change that initial reaction.

But don’t fret! It’s the first impression that is most important, so if you’re on a limited budget (and who isn’t?), just ensure that the flooring in every room the buyer can see from the front door is in the best condition it can be. Same with the paint. A buyer will be more likely to “forgive” bad carpet or not-so-fresh paint in secondary rooms that don’t contribute to the critical first impression.

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 services to my clients and use ‘em myself whenever I sell a home I personally own.

What’s the big deal about family pictures?

We’ve often noticed homes on the market with a ton of family pictures on walls and tables. Since we are in your sellers’ homes constantly, we know the resistance you get when you ask them to pack up the pictures. Some people don’t see the importance of removing them and don’t have the conversation with their sellers in the beginning. Others may not be sure how to broach the subject. After all, little Johnny and Susie are adorable and if their pictures come down, what goes up in it’s place? Others may not think that it’s the family pictures that are keeping the house from selling.

Don’t believe everything you think.
 
Getting started in the staging industry, I worked with a Realtor (side note - that would be ME!) who allowed me to take her buyers out for those first looks at houses. It taught me invaluable lessons regarding the things that are important to buyers. The first thing women and I wanted to do was look at the seller’s pictures. We would walk out of the house and forget the floor plan. Obviously, we didn’t fall in love with that house.

We don’t want pictures of the kids on the internet with the property address. It’s one thing to know there are children in the house, another to see what they look like. Take their names down, while you are at it. Keep those babies protected!

Men don’t want to see pictures of someone else’s family in the house that they are considering for their family. They see pictures of the adults and wonder if they were in a meeting with them last week. They spend the entire tour of the home trying to place your clients’ faces and remember where they met them. Might as well take that house out of consideration.

Our team is well versed in what keeps a home from making the A list for buyers and we articulate them so well with your clients that they are glad you sent us to them. Especially when they go to the closing table!

Staging consultations start at $250.00 and can make you thousands in return. Would you like to talk to Geri? Email her at Geri@stagingdenver.com or call 303-886-1614. You’ll love her!

On the surface, this sounds logical; after all, don’t we all want a “specialist” to represent us when we’re looking for expert assistance?

Sure we do! But when I think of a “specialist” in real estate, I imagine that person to understand the entire process of marketing, selling and closing a home sale. And, to my way of thinking, someone who specializes in the exchange of real estate should have an intimate understanding of the Very Important Person on the other side of the table - the BUYER.

In my never-to-be-humble-opinion, if a real estate agent doesn’t work with buyers on a regular basis, he may not have the expertise to accurately price homes for market. I know a few agents who have dozens of For Sale signs in my market area, yet have never shown or previewed one of my listings. I don’t understand how they can be a neighborhood expert when they don’t know the competition, and more importantly, don’t have an understanding of how buyers think.

Because I work with both buyers and sellers equally, I can help a seller look at his home through the eyes of a buyer… and the buyer’s agent. I know what is currently in vogue with the local buyers. I know what will WOW a buyer as he walks in the door…and what will immediately turn him off.

I can advise my seller client on the upgrades and improvements that truly matter in our market, even specific to his particular neighborhood. I know how important a walk-in closet is… or isn’t. I know if buyers will overlook a dated kitchen… or if they won’t. I know if buyers will balk at the lack of a garage… or if they will be tickled just to have off-street parking.

I know how much value to add for being close to a popular coffee shop… or how much to subtract for being on a bus route. I know how to price an asbestos-sided house so that buyers will consider it… over the vintage brick Tudor they really want.

Other things I know because I work with buyers…

I understand why a 1,200 sqft Bungalow is far more valuable than a 1,000 sqft Bungalow (aside from the difference in square footage.)

I understand why a main floor master bedroom is undesirable for many buyers.

I know that in certain neighborhoods, one-story Bungalows are selling far more quickly than larger two-story Victorians. And I know why.

The real estate market changes on a daily basis and data from the MLS tells only part of the story. What you knew about the market six months ago is irrelevant to the market conditions today. To truly be a “listing specialist,” you must also be committed to knowing the inventory… and to knowing the buyer.

And Knowing the Buyer makes me a Listing Specialist. IMHO.

 www.CharmingOldDenver.com

Contributed by Mary Beth Bonacci, CRS, RE/MAX Alliance www.mblovesdenver.com

I grew up in a Hutchinson.

Many of you who grew up in Denver are nodding. For the rest of you, I’ll explain.

Hutchinson Homes built houses here in the Metro Denver area from the 1950’s until the early ‘80’s. They built a lot of houses. If you’ve spent any time in Denver at all, you’ve seen a Hutchinson. They all look alike. Two bedroom windows, front door, picture window, garage. Mostly brick. Garage may be one or two car. Kind of like this:

Or this:

Or this:

Wherever you see blocks and blocks of essentially identical houses like this, you’re in a Hutchinson neighborhood. Some of the houses will have two car garages, some will only have single car. Some have the garage on the left, some on the right. Occasionally you’ll see one with no garage at all, or with only one bedroom window in the front. But mostly they look a lot like 85 Cody Street, where I grew up.

In the 1970’s they branched out and built some trendy bi-levels and tri-levels. But throughout the ‘50’s and ‘60’s they built these little brick forts. A lot of them.

And they were forts. They were small. They were simple. But they were built incredibly well — built to last. And they have.

One of my buyers recently bought a Hutchinson. I was having a lot of fun when we were shopping, because walking into a Hutchinson reminds me of my childhood. The one he bought reminded me of my friend Lisa who lived down the street. We played Barbies in her basement a lot.

The inspector I generally work with is wonderful. Most thorough inspector I’ve ever seen. If there’s a problem in a house, he finds it. Takes three to four hours on the average inspection. He grew up in a Hutchinson, too. Inspecting this Hutchinson for my buyer, he kept walking around saying “This is a joy.” Not just because it reminded him of his childhood, but because the house – which was built in 1961 – was in such amazingly good shape.

We wound up asking the sellers for no repairs. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Of course, not every Hutchinson is in such pristine condition. This one has had the same owners since 1975, and they’ve taken very good care of it. But even a Hutchinson in rough condition is, at its core, a well-built house.

My parents owned their Hutchinson for 40 years. It was small. (1100 square feet and six people – you do the math.) It didn’t have a lot of closet space. But it was sturdy. It sat on a big lot. And by the time my parents sold it, it had been very personalized. They finished the full basement in 1968, doubling their finished square footage. In the ‘70’s they added a beautiful family room to the back of the house. Later they tore up the carpet and refinished the beautiful hardwood floors underneath. Every pre-1970’s Hutchinson has gorgeous #1 red oak hardwood floors, often buried beneath dated shag carpeting. It cleans up nicely!

That house was lovely – and sold very quickly – when my parents finally moved out in 2004.

Starter home? Investment property? Check out a Hutchinson!

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 pesky details to deal with like inspection, appraisal and loan approval which can take another 30-60 days, but the official DOM statistic refers to the date the listing is changed from "Active" to "Under Contract."

I'm asked this question a lot, both in casual conversation (yeah, I'm a fascinating conversationalist) and when I'm formally speaking with a potential home-seller. Obviously, the home-seller wants to know how long it's going to take to sell his home and plan accordingly.

And I SO wish I had an answer for him! Wouldn't it be lovely if I could confidently tell a home-seller that he'll need to plan for a 60-75 day marketing time and a 30-45 day contract period?

But that's just not reality. No, I'm not saying that we can't sell your house in 60-75 days or that a 30-45 day contract period is unrealistic; what I'm saying is that in our Denver real estate market, the average DOM statistic is meaningless. Utterly meaningless.

Here's why.

In the last three months, there have been around 60 homes sell in the $250,000 to $300,000 range in zip codes 80211 and 80212 (Northwest Denver). The lowest DOM of the 60 properties is two days. Yes, TWO days. The highest DOM is 628 Days. Yes, 628.

The AVERAGE Days on Market for this group of properties is 61. However, of the 60 homes, 17 of them sold in less than two weeks. Nine took longer than 100 days to sell. And out of the 60 sold properties, not one of them took exactly 61 days to sell; in fact, only nine were within 10 days of the average DOM of 61.

So, when you're looking at market data, please don't be misled by "averages." A better question to ask is "How can I sell my home in 30 days?" Because, clearly, in our market, that's utterly do-able!

www.CharmingOldDenver.com

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 broker open house, I'll do mid-week open houses, I'll distribute color brochures throughout the neighborhood and post an ad on the nearby college's bulletin board."

Lucky for me, the house did sell quickly, so I didn't have to implement my admittedly weak Plan B.

But it's now 12 years later and I still don't have a good answer to the question: "What will you do in 30 days if my house hasn't sold?" However, with 12 years of experience under my belt, I KNOW that there ISN'T a great answer to the question! Especially if the seller is expecting me to reach into some magic bag of tricks and pull out a secret marketing strategy that I reserve only for my non-selling listings!

Here's the thing. Even if I HAD a magic bag of secret marketing tricks, why would I hold out using them until after the listing is stale? Wouldn't it make more sense to hit the market with all guns blazing?

But the truth is, I don't have a magic bag of tricks.

NO AMOUNT OF MARKETING CAN SELL AN UNSELLABLE HOME.

I could do broker opens every day of the week, distribute enough color brochures to kill a small forest and refresh my Craigslist ad every 21 days for the next five years and my listing will not sell if it's not properly priced, properly prepared and properly presented!

NO AMOUNT OF MARKETING CAN SELL AN UNSELLABLE HOME!

My job as professional real estate agent is to know what it's gonna take to get a house sold. I need to know how to price the home TO SELL; how to prepare my sellers for the reality of Being on the Market and how to help them prepare the home to evoke the most positive emotional reaction from the greatest number of potential buyers (and their agents). It needs to look good, smell good and photograph well. It needs to be easy to show without the distraction of barking dogs or a work-at-home owner. If there's an obstacle to sale, I need to recognize it and have the balls to be frank with my seller about it (and help ‘em fix it).

That's how I sell my listings. By working with my Charming Old Denver sellers to create a marketable product, not to throw time and money at advertising after the sign goes in the yard. Frankly, our MLS system is an incredibly efficient system to sell houses and there's nothing I can do individually to out-market that MLS.

The moral of the story... when talking with a real estate agent about his or her "marketing plan" don't be fooled by promises of fancy marketing unless the agent has a solid PRE-marketing plan!

www.CharmingOldDenver.com

If you're looking for old world charm, you must see this wonderful Highlands home! Untouched woodwork throughout, high ceilings, leaded glass windows, two clawfoot tubs, vintage fireplace with original mantle & tile. Spacious rooms and plenty of storage. Two car garage, too!

Here's a link to an article that (rumor has it) will be featured in next month's REALTOR Magazine.  

I think it came out very well!

(Okay, I'll stop patting myself on the back now and get back to selling houses.)

Are you self-employed and considering Blogging for Business? 

New bloggers often worry about many things... what voice to use, what topics to write about, how often to post, which keywords to sprinkle. But y'know what? The beauty of successful blogging is that it's an opportunity to truly be yourself.  

When you blog, don't be DORKY, be YOU. If you're sappy, blog sappy. If you're sarcastic, blog sarcastic. If you're funny, blog funny. If you wake up one morning frustrated as heck about something or other, blog about it. Conversely, if you're tickled pink by a recent encounter at the health food store, write about that. If you have a brilliant AHA moment standing in line at the post office, there's a blog in there somewhere!

(Oh, one caveat. If you're a sloppy writer, don't blog sloppy! Use your spell check, capitalize appropriately and be sure to use your ENTER key on a regular basis.)

Don't try to write about topics you couldn't care less about. Not a political type? Don't try to write about local political issues. Don't know much about the economy? Leave the economic outlook blogs to someone who does. Not into cultural events? Don't bother trying to write intelligently about the new opera in town. Me? Among other things, I love dogs, sushi, rollerblading and old houses. That's what I blog about.

But don't worry too much about speaking to any particular audience. YOU do the talking and the right audience will find you. And you know what? If your blogs come from YOUR voice, you'll stand a much better chance of enjoying the process enough to keep it up.

Blogging for dollars is a long-term prospecting project, so enthusiasm is critical if you want to see your efforts pay off. Once your audience discovers YOU and starts to tell you how awesome YOU are (how insightful, how funny, how creative, etc.), well, that'll be some serious inspiration to keep at it! But blog with someone else's voice and eh... you'll probably throw in the towel within the month.

In summary, to avoid being a DORKY blogger:

•       Write from YOUR voice, that real person who has a terrific personality

•       Write about topics of interest to YOU

•       Proof-read, proof-read, proof-read  

Now, go get 'em you UNDORKY blogger, you!  

Well, about a month ago, I started having problems sending messages. If you were communicating with me during that time, you might remember getting ten identical emails from me at a time, one right after the other. Apparently, my SENT messages were going to my Outbox, but weren't able to move to the SENT folder; thus they were being sent over and over again. Because I was in the process of moving my Internet server, I figured it was related to the switch, and didn't worry too much about it (oops).

Well, yesterday, I went into my Sent folder, looking for a message I'd written the day before, and BAM! NO messages. "There are no items in this view." I exited, came back in, held my breath... and BAM! Still "There are no items in this view." Oh, sh*t.

My entire business history is in my Outlook Express folders. This was starting to look mildly catastrophic.

I called Microsoft Technical Support and I tell ya' - say what you will about Microsoft but they were great. For the low, low price of $59 (yeah, that annoyed me, but whatever), I was immediately connected to Benny in the Outlook Express department. He spent two hours with me and installed a special Outlook Express Repair program on my computer which he hoped would recover my 12,313 lost emails. And, it took 15 hours of run-time, but it worked!

The punch line? Your Sent folder can fill up. Mine was at 1.99 GB (whatever that means), and when it hit that threshold, it simply deleted all the messages. So, today, I have to go through all 12,313 recovered messages and delete the ones I don't need. And, of course, keep an eye on my Sent folder forever and ever.

Thank you Benny!

I SO wish I could take credit for this idea... But alas... someone else beat me to it and I suppose it's the soulful thing to do to acknowledge her brilliance...

I read an article in one of our local neighborhood newspapers (the North Denver News) written by a Denver wedding officiant named Maureen Thomson (www.memorableceremonies.com). 

Here's the introduction to the article:

"Several years ago, I eschewed the traditional New Year's Resolution (which I failed to maintain 100% of the time anyway) in favor of a theme for the year. As opposed to a list of "will do's" that the resolutions stipulated, the theme was a gentler way of turning my attention toward the areas in my life that were most in need of attention.

I had no idea what I was in for when I started this tradition. My themes have turned into manifestations that are beyond coincidence. My theme for 2005 was "Unthinkably Good Things Can Happen" and that was the year that I met my future husband, Jeremy. This was followed by my 2006 theme of "Build the Dream" which was the year my business took off, growing into a multi-state operation. And we mustn't forget 2007's theme of "Do the Never" whereby I did all kinds of things I swore I'd never do - not the least of which was to marry again.

But nothing prepared me for the events surrounding my theme of this year: "Simplicity." Even its one-word title was a deviation for me. Back the beginning of the year, I had no idea how much this theme would change me..." (Read the rest here)

I love this idea of identifying a big picture goal for your year and letting nature takes its course. I'm tossing around ideas for my 2009... and I keep coming back to "The Year I Found Peace." Whaddya' think?

How ‘bout you? What might your theme be for 2009? Please share...

Cute, cute cute! 1946 brick ranch on a great block, just north of Lowry. Much larger than it appears from the street, with a huge master suite addition complete with private bath, gas fireplace and patio doors to the back yard. Wood floors throughout, spacious rooms and two full baths. If you like to garden, you'll love the yard AND the covered patio that's perfect for all your gardening fun!

View this recently sold Single Family Home or see all my home sales

This is a fantastic opportunity to own a cool house at a great price. Heading for foreclosure, all it needs is a little love & cleaning up to be fabulous. No fix-up work to do (at all) - it's a wonderful house with all the goodies. Three bedrooms, two baths, garage, new windows & doors, air conditioning, remodeled kitchen & bath, garden level basement with built-in office furniture. Wish I had pictures from when the current owner lived there - it just felt GOOD! If I were in the market for a home... I'd buy this in a heartbeat.

For those familiar with Evergreen, it's not one of those "mountain retreats" that sits at the tippy-top of a hill, three long brutal miles up a winding, pot-holed, street-sign-free dirt road. Nope, it's just a mile from downtown, off Hwy 73, easy-peasy to find and get to.

The lot is small - city-size actually - but there's a natural park across the street and another one right next door. So, you enjoy privacy and solitude without the responsibility and hassle of yard work!

The price, you ask? Get this... $263,900. Seriously. That's a DEAL for a nice house this close to downtown Evergreen.

This place is CUTE CUTE CUTE! Check it out!

VIRTUAL TOUR

Wanna see it, live and in person? Call me... 303-947-1335. Let's take a trip to Evergreen!

Nonetheless, today’s market does offer incredible opportunities for the amateur or professional investor and I’ll bet a lot of us will wish we’d taken advantage of one or two of them… I know if I had a couple extra hundred thousand lying around right now, I’d be picking up some real estate…

Anyway, I wanted to pass on the name of a guy I met a few weeks ago who has created a dandy little niche for himself in this Foreclosure market. What he does is purchase a foreclosed home, renovates it, procures a renter and then sells the house at a cash-flowing price. I’ve seen his work and it’s decent! I’ve never done a transaction with him, but my impression was that he’s a straight-up guy offering a win/win proposal. His tagline is “We Always Pass the Deal on.”

If you’d like an introduction, just get in touch with me and I’ll hook you up.

All the charm you expect at a price you can afford! Hardwood floors, unpainted doors & trim, beautiful original fireplace mantle, built-in bookcases & high, high ceilings. On the practical side, the home features updated systems, good storage in the basement, a two-car garage + off-street parking, all on a quiet Sunnyside block. Priced to sell quickly, so call today!

Contrary to urban myth, you can actually buy a decent house in Northwest Denver without spending $300,000+!

Don’t believe me? Then check out my new listing (HOT HOT HOT off the press) at 2786 West Denver Place (that’s just one block north of 38th between Eliot & Decatur).

It’s over 1000 sqft with a nice yard, a two car garage and lots and lots of CHARM! Hardwood floors, vintage fireplace (decorative only), unpainted doors & trim, 2built-in bookcases and really high ceilings. The systems are all updated and there’s great storage in the basement. Oh, and a nice, big yard, too. The price? $229,900… Better hurry!
 

Click Here to Visit the Virtual Tour…

 Listed by:

RE/MAX City Horizons 303-947-1335