Dear Reader,
Have you ever noticed that some TV shows stereotype lawyers, doctors, and even real estate agents like me?
Real estate agents, for example, are often seen hammering in lawn signs, hosting open houses, and making deals.
But, of course, there’s more to the story than that.
Sure, I do a lot of work for my clients during a transaction — helping them find and buy the home of their dreams and, in many cases, helping them sell their current properties, quickly and for the best price.
But there are many less glamorous things I do for clients that don’t make it on a TV show that are still important to you.
I stick with my clients for the long-term, helping them maximize the enjoyment of their homes. I do that by staying in touch regularly, being available when they have questions or need recommendations, and providing other home-related advice and services.
If you have any real estate-related questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
How To Make Your Home Sale “Smooth Sailing”
If you’ve ever been on a cruise ship, you know that rough waters can result in a miserable experience. Even on modern ships equipped with stabilizers, choppy seas and bad weather can leave you stuck below deck – and possibly seasick.
When you sell your property, you’ll want smooth sailing too. You’ll want the experience to be as nondisruptive as possible, while also having plenty of qualified buyers interested in your listing. In the end, you’ll want the transaction to be completed without a hitch.
So how do you ensure that happens? Here are some things you can do to help:
- Think of your home as a product - Potential buyers are more likely to become interested in a product that looks clean, uncluttered, and well-maintained. Make sure the front entrance is inviting and keep closets half-empty and organized. If you are in a house, make sure the exterior is appealing (shrubs and flowers go a long way with this).
- Price it right - If it’s listed too high, potential buyers won’t come. If it’s listed too low, you may leave money on the table (potentially thousands). Setting the price will be one of the most important decisions you’ll need to make when selling your home.
- Don’t be there during showings - As your real estate agent, I will take buyers through your property and show them all the great features. If you’re there, some buyers may not feel comfortable and may leave before they have had a chance to become interested.
- Be flexible - This is especially important when it comes to showing appointments, negotiations, home inspections, closing dates, etc. It’s okay to be firm on some things, just not everything.
With these tips in mind, you can better tame choppy waters that may arise and hopefully smoothly sail into a sale.
Whole-Home Security Systems Continue to Evolve
Until recently, even the latest home security system could become obsolete overnight. Nowadays, newer whole-home integration systems are much more compatible with interchangeable parts and innovative add-ons.
As a result, it’s now possible to have a multi-faceted security system that watches over many of the functions and activities in and around your home. For example, you can organize and control your home’s exterior cameras, motion detectors, door locks, window coverings, lighting, entertainment, appliances, and HVAC with one system.
If you’re buying an entirely new system, there are many established and emerging brands available, so consider their functions, cost, convenience, and reliability. If you want the whole-home system to manage existing utilities and appliances, things can become more challenging. You will need to ensure that your specific devices can communicate with your new hub, which means you need to identify the way they share information. Because their device compatibility is not certain, it’s advisable to identify the make and model of your existing equipment and check for compatibility before you purchase a new security hub or system.
How to Quickly Improve Indoor Air Quality
Unfortunately, air quality alerts are becoming a more common occurrence these days. Aside from that, there are many reasons why the air quality in your home may not be at its best. Maybe it’s a faulty furnace or an aged carpet to blame. Until you get those issues addressed, how can you make your indoor air healthier – today?
Here are some ideas:
- Use an air purifier – Choose a device that uses a HEPA filter, the gold standard for indoor air purifiers. Also, look for one that has a CADR rating equal to at least two-thirds of the room’s area. You may also want to consider if the purifier’s energy costs, and ongoing maintenance costs are within your budget.
- Check the furnace filter - This is one of the most overlooked maintenance items in the home. Any furnace repair person can tell you stories about filters they’ve seen caked in dust. Make sure those aren’t yours. Air passes through those filters before circulating throughout your home. Replacing a filter takes less than five minutes.
- Clean the drains - Drains are a surprisingly common source of odour in the home. Most people only clean them when they’re clogged, but they should be flushed thoroughly with a good-quality cleaner at least once a season.
- Turn on the bathroom fan - Not only do bathroom fans remove odour, but they also reduce moisture build-up. About 50% of air pollutants originate from some type of moisture; mould is the worst of these pollutants. Professionals recommend you keep your bathroom fan on for at least 30 minutes after a shower.
- Clean your doormat - Even if your doormat doesn’t smell, it can be a source of air pollutants. When people wipe their shoes, they transfer outside pollutants from their shoes to your mat.
Hope these tips have you breathing a little bit easier.
Notable, Quotable, Quotes!
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”
Napoleon Hill
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
Albert Einstein
“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.”
Dwight Eisenhower