Home Selling Tips

How to be your own worst enemy when buying or selling a home

Click to learn how to avoid losing 1,000s of dollars! June 13, 2011

If you only read one of my blog posts, this is the one to read. Click to continue...

What happens when home sellers start with too high a price and lower it later

Click to See Entire Chart October 18, 2010

This past week I’ve been busy with sellers. The critical topic is always pricing. In this competitive market, no amount of marketing or home staging will sell a home, if it’s overpriced. Above is a chart showing monthly average home sale prices as a percent of original list price for both homes that didn’t need Click to continue...

Can you over stage a home for sale?

Thumbnail image for Can you over stage a home for sale? June 7, 2010

Michael M. wrote me last week, “I was just wondering, is it possible to over stage a place, or go too far with the decluttering?” Yes and maybe. According to Stager Invasion’s Lisa Lynch, a home can be over staged when there’s something in every space. Check out her video on over staging. What Lisa Click to continue...

Changes in FHA approvals add challenges for Chicago condo buyers

Thumbnail image for Changes in FHA approvals add challenges for Chicago condo buyers May 1, 2010

The purchase of a Rogers Park condo advertised as FHA Approved (not the condos shown left) by my buyer, Art, hit a bit of a snag last week. His mortgage banker, Michael Poland with Baird & Warner Financial Services, discovered that the condo development where Art was buying hadn’t been recertified for FHA approval. Michael Click to continue...

Irving Park 5 bedroom houses for sale

Thumbnail image for Irving Park 5 bedroom houses for sale April 25, 2010

Last week a seller wanted to talk with me about taking over the listing for her 5 bedroom house in Irving Park. It’s been on the market a while and she’s looking for a Realtor to do better marketing. It’s a beautiful house and I could see numerous ways of improving the marketing, but I Click to continue...

The master bath was perfect except for…

Thumbnail image for The master bath was perfect except for… December 26, 2009

My buyers, Lisa and John, and I were curious to see a duplex condo that looked great online. The photo of the master bath showed dual sinks and a huge, tiled shower. However, the “spa bathroom” (as the listing agent described it) lost a little of its luster when we spied the toilet paper roll Click to continue...

How not to sell a home – ugly marketing materials

November 29, 2009

Friends passed along to me a flyer they picked up in front of a home for sale in Arlington Heights. Shown left is part of it. With color printers priced less than $100, there’s no excuse for such an ugly flyer. Marketing materials not only provide information about a home. They give the reader an Click to continue...

Time to clean the gutters

Thumbnail image for Time to clean the gutters November 22, 2009

Here’s a photo of the front gutters on a house I showed yesterday. To be full of debris is one thing, but to be sprouting new growth is another! Click to continue...

Paint fumes are a great way to drive away home buyers

September 24, 2009

I showed several houses in Naperville on Tuesday evening. My buyers quickly ruled out the first home which as shown left clearly wasn’t ready for market. Not only did it not show well, the drying paint fumes were horrible! Can you imagine car dealers selling cars that smell like exhaust fumes inside? A fresh coat Click to continue...

FHA 203(K) loans great for marketing homes that need work

September 16, 2009

Yesterday I attended a seminar on FHA 203(K) rehab loans. I wrote about these from the buyers perspective back in August in my blog post “FHA 203(K) loans great for buying homes that need work“. FHA 203(K) rehab loans should also be considered by sellers with homes that need work. By paying up front for Click to continue...

When in doubt, disclose even though IL real estate laws not as strict as CA

September 7, 2009

Inman News which covers the real estate industry recently reported the story of home buyers in California who are suing their sellers for not disclosing known noise issues. California has stricter real estate disclosure laws than here in Illinois. In California home sellers are required to disclose “known neighborhood nuisances, noise issues (including parties), and Click to continue...

How not to stage a dining room

August 31, 2009

Each room in a home for sale should have a clear identity. If not, it makes it harder for buyers to imagine how they would use the rooms. Just one item such as the scale in the dining room of a house I showed in Glen Ellyn shown left can make buyers wonder about a Click to continue...

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