Avoid These 4 Mistakes When Listing Main Line Homes

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There are 4 very common mistakes that can really mess up a home sale. I want to share these mistakes to avoid with you and take it one step further with some helpful alternatives.

1. Doing it alone. Nine times out of 10 when listing for sale by owner you’ve exposed your house to a small number of people, and you may have shown the wrong price, the wrong condition, or just the wrong media. Consider hiring a professional as for sale by owner homes typically get 6-7% less.

2. Mispricing. If you overprice your home, consumers may not recognize its value because they’re not looking in the right spaces. If you’re $50,000 too high, they might be looking for that fourth bedroom when you’ve only got three. Agents could discount it just thinking that you’re unreasonable. You could miss all the pent-up demand and end up reducing the price later on.

3. Using terrible or no photos. We’ve all been online and seen this - and the very next thing we do is skip to the next property. Never put your home on the market until your photos are perfect.

4. Not working on the backyard. People make this mistake all the time because barely anybody pays attention to it. They get so focused on curb appeal and inside the home that they forget all the weeds, toys, and junk in the backyard.

Thanks for watching. If you have any questions you can email me or call me and I’d be happy to talk with you.

A Warning to Those Considering a Main Line Home Addition

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I have a word of warning I give to those who are thinking about building an addition.

With major construction projects on your home, you often run into major cost overrun. Lots of times you find yourself spending far more money than you thought you would on that addition.

The second thing to consider with an addition is the question of it adding value. Sometimes simply adding space doesn’t add value to your home. You might not get back every penny returned on that investment. In fact, in most cases, it doesn’t. Smaller and simpler repairs like painting and cleaning often bring back the best return.

The third thing I talk about with clients considering an addition is to consider your neighbors. Say you’re the first person on the block to bump up your garage and add a room above it - you might stand out in the wrong way and it won’t return the value.

Finally, consider if it would be more cost effective to move into a neighborhood with a bigger home rather than making your house the biggest on the block with an addition that’s hard to sell.

Have questions? Give me a call or send me an email and I’d be happy to speak with you.

Five Simple Ways to Upgrade Your Main Line Home

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Looking to sell in the Main Line? Get a Free Home Price Evaluation

There’s five really simple ways to upgrade your Main Line home that I’d like to share with you.

1. Declutter: Move things around, take out the stuff you don’t need; donate it, give it to a friend or just throw it out.
2. Replace lighting: You can really update your home quickly by updating the lighting or getting rid of those old builder fixtures or even just replacing the rings in your recessed lighting with fresh ones.
3. Replace appliances: You can not only update to the latest finishes, you can save money on energy usage and maybe even get some rebates from your local electric company.
4. Paint: Repaint with today’s hot colors you find in a magazine - have some fun with it. This can really make you fall in love with your house again.
5. Hire a stager to help you focus on decor: It can be both expensive or inexpensive as most people charge by the hour. You don’t have to send them out shopping for you, but they can make some simple tweaks to stuff you have to help you upgrade your home.

Do you have any questions or topics you’d like to see made into a video? Email or call and I’d be happy to speak with you.

Finding the Right List Price For Your Main Line Home

Looking to buy in the Main Line? Get a Full Home Search 
Looking to sell in the Main Line? Get a Free Home Price Evaluation

Do you know how to determine what your Main Line home is worth? If not, do you know how you can find out?

Start by thinking about your x-factors. What have your neighbors sold for and what improvements have you made to your home? Have you finished your basement or gutted your kitchen? Maybe you have remodeled a bathroom.

You should absolutely use an agent to help you find your home value. They are in and out of the market every day and know it well. They hear what buyers and sellers are saying, and they know the comparables, and they know what it takes to get a home sold in today’s market.

You can hire an appraiser, too. They look backwards at sold data to determine today’s value. An agent looks forward, and an appraiser looks backward.

Also, look at the competition that’s actively for sale in your neighborhood and absorption rate. You’ll also need to consider the condition of your home against the competition and what’s available for sale.

If you have questions for me, don’t hesitate to reply to this email or give me a call. I’d be happy to speak with you.