If you are selling your home as part of your RELOCATION, and planning to buy a new one in your new location, you really need to understand about INVENTORY and how it can impact the decisions you  need to make.

Inventory will affect the price you will determine for listing your home so it is positioned well in YOUR particular market.

Bbut inventory will also impact the options you will have in your new location. A well-informed agent WILL understand this and be able to provide you with the information you need most so you can be an informed consumer.

If you need help in finding a qualified agent in your area, please feel free to let me know. I have a huge network of agents I know around the country becuase of my substantial Internet marketing plus my professional certifications (Certified Residential Specialist or CRS for one).

Selling your Carlsbad home is a challenge. And you want to know that the REALTOR you hire will get the job done. Of course I am assuming that you have priced the home to sell, since we know that no matter how much marketing you do, an overpriced home will not sell.

Read: What’s Important to You as a Seller?

This is not so much about how to go about finding the right agent, but more about what will the listing agent do for you.

Read: What do You Want to Know About Your Agent?

Also: What Kind of Agent do You Want?

There are many strategies a listing agent can employ in order to help you find the right buyer for your home. The operative word here is CAN: some agents take the easy (or lazy) way and do the minimal work needed to get a home sold, or don't have a clue about Internet marketing where most of today's buyers are.

Gaining the maximum exposure in today market is critical since there is so much competition. Buyers are being picky and are not willing to pay more than what they perceive market value to be. So, to reiterate…PRICING is the most important thing you can do to sell your home. And of course your home will be free of clutter and personal items (i.e., staged), and repairs will have been taken care of. Assuming that is on target, then, what sorts of things might you expect the agent you are considering hiring to provide you with regarding to marketing and advertising?

• Standard offerings
  • listing in the MLS – accurate information, no typos hopefully, and lots of high quality photos
  • signage in the yard
  • attractive feature sheet in the house and in a brochure box (there is some debate about the brochure box)
  • An ad in the local newspaper, an open house or two (or perhaps one every weekend – hmm, is that what you really want, given we know few homes sell this way?) and broker caravan
• Other offerings
  • Single site webpage or blog (see 6547 Calle Valperizo for an example of a blog I am using for my newest listing)
  • Unique URL for YOUR home (see above)
  • Virtual tours – these are easy to do and pretty common, yet lots of agents DON’T use them…and buyers say they WANT to see them. Here’s an example.

• Written marketing plan – many agents do not have one and look at you like a deer in the headlights if you ask to see one. How do you know what they plan to do to target market YOUR home?
• Lots of photos – buyers tell us they WANT to see photos, lots of them. Some buyers will not even look at a listing that has no photos…and many don’t. Here is an example of a slide show of a recent listing of mine.
• On-line flyers and postings on multiple websites – here is a Vflyer for my latest listing. This gets posted on multiple sites. And there are dozens and dozens of real estate website where your listing should be (Trulia, Realtor.com, Zillow are just a few of the big name ones that get the most Internet traffic).

• Video – is there a video of the home, or better yet the community? Here is an example I did.
  

There’s more, but you get the idea. Don’t short change yourself. Selling your home is TOO important, if you are really serious about it.

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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad or surrounding communities, and the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your home search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

In today’s market it is not unusual for sellers who are relocating, especially for a new job, to reach a point where they NEED to move to the new location but still have not sold their current home.

How can you best handle this situation, and protect your investment?

1. Discuss the situation with your REALTOR and reach an agreement regarding him/her checking the house regularly, especially after bad weather (say, at lest once per week or more). They ought to do this without you asking but better to be sure.
2. Entrust a good friend or neighbor with a key to also check in, in case your REALTOR gets busy and is not available, or forgets to check in. Have them check the bathrooms in case they have been used by folks touring the home, and watch for leaky pipes and sinks. They can also check the heat and AC in case buyers or agents turn them on and forget to turn them off.
3. Turn off the water to the washer if there is one in the house.
4. Keep the utilities – yes, it will cost a little, but it is not impressive to show a home without a any lights, especially on a cloudy day or in the evenings. And if it’s the cold season you do not want the temperature in your home to go too low – pipes could freeze, and it’s an annoyance for buyers who are touring your home.

• Are you REALLY ready to deal with this pain?
• Are you WILLING to do what is necessary to sell?
  

So why ARE you moving? And how SERIOUS are you?

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If I can provide more information about the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360
or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

As you purge your excess, also pack the items that will move with you. As you pack, group like items together. Consider how they will be stored and organized within your new home. Think about their “home”, where they will live, within your new home and place them in a box marked and destined for that location.

If you are unsure about an item’s destination and can’t figure out how to mark the box, consider what type of activity relates to using it. For instance, if you discover a grill cover, tongs for grilling, bug spray and outside chair cushions, they might be destined for the same area, your fabulous new deck! Items that will live together in your new home should also live together in the same box until unpacked. Place the heaviest items on the bottom of each box to avoid damage enroute.

Mark each box clearly with the room destination desired so that the movers can do most of the work for you. This also helps you locate items if you need them in a pinch before they are officially unpacked and stored.

If you are simply purging and not moving, stop before you reload your closet or cupboard. Consider each item and whether it should actually keep living where it was found or if it would serve you better in a different location. Things end up in the craziest places by default when life gets busy. Take a moment to reconsider before you tuck it away into the same space.

Professional Organizers thrive on this kind of challenge. We love this process! If you feel overwhelmed and under-motivated, help is a phone call away. As a Board Certified Professional Organizer, I can expedite this process and make your home or move less stressful. Call me direct at 760.840.9997 to discuss your challenges and I will explain how the Professional Organizing solution works. You can also visit my website to view actual client ‘before and after’ storage solutions .

After you have sorted, packed and purged your closets and cabinets, you are ready to strategize for the actual move. Or maybe you will enjoy your newfound space so much that you will decide that your house really isn’t too small, it was simply packed with too much stuff! No joke, I have witnessed this phenomena with actual clients!

Next up, we will cover the big day – the move and how to best prepare for this dramatic shift in scenery!

Kathi Burns

Founder - addSpace to Your Life!

670-840-9997

If I can provide more information about the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360
or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

If you choose to donate, simply place the items into an empty box and keep adding to this box until full. At the end of the day, load your donations into your car to take away to your local charity the next time you drive away. Do not let these boxes stockpile, get them out of your life as soon as possible! Momentum is your objective!

If you decide that an item could be given to someone else, realize that this action will require more energy. Also, keep in mind that your clutter might become their clutter. Most people are not very good at saying no when offered something for free, even if they don’t have a use for it, especially when that offer is from a friend. After all, they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Make sure that they truly need what you offer and will actually use it.

If you decide to give multiple of items to a single person or charity, arrange for them to pick them up within a set time frame. Many times my clients have fantastic intentions taking time and trouble to pack goody boxes for their friends or friend’s children and then no one shows up to claim the goods. Arrange a timeline with a predetermined deadline that, on a certain date, everything still on site will go to charity

If you decide to discard an item, try to recycle it instead of adding it to the local landfill. Visit my website to see a comprehensive list of San Diego’s recycling or donation stations for your castaway goods.

In the next post I'll talk more about packing to move as part of this purging process.

Call me if I can help (760-840-9997) or visit my website.

Kathi Burns

Founder - addSpace to Your Life!

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Start your CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH here (and other San Diego communities)

Download FREE BUYER AND SELLER REPORTS here

Visit CARLSBAD COMMUNITY REPORTS for profiles on communities, subdivisions and neighborhoods (including other areas)

Are you a first time home buyer. Check out FIRST TIME BUYER CENTRAL.

The best way to prepare to sell your home is to begin by methodically taking inventory of your possessions and purging all unwanted possessions and clutter. Adding space to your home makes it more desirable to prospective buyers and also solidifies your intention to move.

Before I moved to Southern California from Florida, I began getting rid of excess possessions. I did not know how or when we were going to be able to move, given the dramatic difference in real estate values and cost of living, I knew that we had to begin somewhere.

The fact that the move would be across the entire Untied States made it easy to see what I didn’t want to pay to move! The actual process of de-cluttering set the intention that we were going to move. I feel very strongly that by starting to downsize. purge, plot and pack, our dreams became much easier to manifest!

An easy place to begin in decluttering your life is to methodically empty closets and cabinets. You will be amazed at the things you have managed to store away over the years! As you empty each space, examine each item and make a decision. I’ll explain more about that process in Space Clearing 101.

Once you have mastered clearing, organizing and/or packing the items in your hidden spaces, it will be easier to clear the visible spaces. You will have fresh eyes and a new perspective about how much stuff you really own. This makes it much easier to let go of the tchotchkes collecting dust throughout your home.

Buyers want to see wide-open spaces, clear ledges and countertops. Space helps them visualize how their possessions will look in their new home. If your home is overflowing with clutter, it is more difficult for them to see their life superimposed in your home. Make it easy for the buyer. Give them plenty of space in which to dream their own dreams as they take the grand tour!

To prepare for your de-cluttering project, equip yourself with empty boxes, packing paper and trash bags. Pick a door, open it and get started! As you pull items out, ask yourself these questions:

1. When was the last time I used this?
2. Will I need it or even want it in my new home?
3. If so, is it worth packing and paying to move?

If you immediately catch yourself thinking, “where did this come from?” instead of asking yourself one of the above questions, this is a good indication that you should quickly donate it and move on!

Each item will involve one of three possible actions. You can

• donate it or pass it along to someone else
• trash or recycle it
• or pack it to move into your new home.

Start your CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH here (and other San Diego communities)

Download FREE BUYER AND SELLER REPORTS here

Visit CARLSBAD COMMUNITY REPORTS for profiles on communities, subdivisions and neighborhoods (including other areas)

Are you a first time home buyer. Check out FIRST TIME BUYER CENTRAL.

The NEW YEAR is here, and it’s time to get organized.

Sound like another new year’s resolution? Well, perhaps.

But if you are planning to sell your home and move into a new one, your success, and happiness, depends on being organized. Most of us probably aren’t as organized as we would like. And as my friend Linda Scanlan asked so poignantly in her recent, and popular, article, is your life organized? I had to say no. Perhaps you do too.

Selling your home, moving, and getting settled in a new one can be a Herculean task, enough to challenge the most organized obsessive. And, admittedly, no matter how organized you might think you are, things will just not go the way they should, or clutter and confusion will take over. Life is just that way sometimes. I know, I’ve been there.

So, making the assumption that you might be in need of some assistance, if you are planning a move, here are some tips to help you on your way. And if you are sticking around the homestead but really need to apply a bit of organization to your home and life, this may benefit you as well.

While I have my own ideas on the subject, I thought I would ask Encinitas business owner, and Founder of addSpace to Your Life!,Kathi Burns, to help us out. Kathi’s expertise, and business, is all about organization. You can tell the minute you talk to her or visit her website. Not the kind of organization that makes your eyes roll, but simple, straightforward, easy-to-apply strategies for improving the disorganization in your life, getting rid of clutter, and overcoming chaos.

Kathi has written many articles, and made multiple public appearances including radio and TV, plus she is a Board Certified Professional Organizer (BCPO). So she knows what she is talking about.

For those of you who are relocating, to make it easy we’ll talk about three stages of the process:

• preparing your home to sell
• the move itself
• getting settled in your new home.

All must tie together or you will have a mess on your hands, and a mountain of frustration and teeth gnashing. And much of what Kathi has to share will help YOU get organized even if you aren’t moving.

Are YOU ready to get organized?

So let’s started…stay tuned for the first article later this week.

And if you can’t wait, why not give Kathi a call at (760) 840-9997 to set up a time to meet with her to get started. Or visit her website to learn more about how to addSpace to Your Life.

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Start your CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH here (and other San Diego communities)

Download FREE BUYER AND SELLER REPORTS here

Visit CARLSBAD COMMUNITY REPORTS for profiles on communities, subdivisions and neighborhoods (including other areas)

Are you a first time home buyer. Check out FIRST TIME BUYER CENTRAL.

While signage is not the most critical part of selling your home, it certainly is an essential part of the strategy. I know I have said multiple times that if the price is not right, all the marketing and advertising will not make up for it.

Having effective signage, is, however, necessary in order to gain exposure in this competitive market, and to appeal to as broad a buyer pool as possible.

I just posted an article about using signage effectively, using my most recent Carlsbad home listing as an example, using a multimedia approach to "grab" the attention of buyers and provide information. You can read more about the value of signage here.

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Start your CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH here (and other San Diego communities)

Download FREE BUYER AND SELLER REPORTS here

Visit CARLSBAD COMMUNITY REPORTS for profiles on communities, subdivisions and neighborhoods (including other areas)

Are you a first time home buyer. Check out First Time Buyer Central.

I have started to use a new application that I believe will be helpful for both buyers and sellers.

Map My Pix allows me to put photos on a map that are easily viewed by clicking. The viewer not only sees the photo (or a tourist site, home, etc.) but also the location.

I see some great utility and plan to use this is a number of ways for clients.

1. I will include the map with relevant photos in my on-line listings (check out the first one here to see the Mapping with Photos in action) for buyers to learn more about my listings
2. I'm going to start using the mapping in my listing presentation so sellers will see yet another way in which I use technology, and how will use it when I list their home!
3. My relocation buyers will receive a map with the photos of the homes they will be touring when they meet with me for their house-hunting trip.
4. I will also share copmmunity profiles and a map with photos of the areas my relocation clients are interested in (e.g.,photos of restaurants, sights, parks)

What do you think? Will this be helpful?

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Start your CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH here (and other San Diego communities)

Download FREE BUYER AND SELLER REPORTS here

Visit CARLSBAD COMMUNITY REPORTS for profiles on communities, subdivisions and neighborhoods (including other areas)

Are you a first time home buyer. Check out First Time Buyer Central.

Maybe you already know this. But I bet many of you have not thought about it in this way.

As a seller of a Carlsbad home (or anywhere, for that matter), your FIRST open house is on-line...don't forget it, OR underestimate the power of what I just told you.

In this day and age of Internet marketing, unless your agent is in a cave, you should have plenty of exposure to the buying public on-line. It's the first place buyers generally look for homes, and so it is where they will gain a FIRST IMPRESSION of your home.

Is your Carlsbad home really ready for that open house?

I wrote an article directed more toward agents, but the same information applies to sellers. You and your agent have to work as a team to prepare for that FIRST OPEN HOUSE (as an example, some of the photos I have seen on-line for homes are pretty scary - who would want to go see THAT house?!).

Read more here

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Start your CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH here (and other San Diego communities)

Download FREE BUYER AND SELLER REPORTS here

Visit CARLSBAD COMMUNITY REPORTS for profiles on communities, subdivisions and neighborhoods (including other areas)

Are you a first time home buyer. Check out First Time Buyer Central.

You are trying to sell your home, buy a new one in your new town many miles away, perhaps finishing an old job or starting a new one, preparing to move, getting financing in order, dealing with kids and chores, and so on.

Do you feel like you are dodging bullets all the time? Waiting to see what next is going to get thrown at you? I think it's an apt description of what relocating buyers and sellers are coping with.

If you aren't feeling this way, consider yourself extremely lucky. Managing all the details of a relocation, especially when jobs and kids are involved and you are moving a distance, with limited time, IS like dodging bullets.

It's normal, so accept it. It's a huge challenge, but this too will pass. Keeping organized, dealing with the issues as you can, and not letting yourself get bent out of shape will help you through. Use your agent to help whenever possible, even if you need some spiritual counseling! And enlist the help of other experts that can help you get the information you need, look at the options you have, and make the right decisions in a timely manner.

The key is staying focused on the end goal - your new home!

If you are getting a relocation package from your new employer there will likely be a number of services provided to you, including relocation assistance, temporary living expenses, and if you own a home, possibly a buyout.

A buyout may be structured in a number of ways depending on the company, it's relocation practices, and the level of your position.

In general, this means you will be given an opportunity to sell your home using an agent (and the relocation company may choose who that person is for you) for a period of time, but if the home does not sell (say within 90 days), the relocation company will buy it. They will typically conduct an appraisal to determine market value, and then the buyout will be a percentage of the market value (maybe 100% if you are an executive, but likely less). Specific terms and conditions will vary from situation to situation.

It is essential to understand the specific terms and conditions of a buyout so you are prepared to move ahead knowing what your options are, and how much money the buyout is worth to you. This can potentially impact your taxes for the following year, the amount of equity you have for a new home, and so on.

If the market is slow a buyout could be a good thing since you may not be able to sell otherwise, but you may also be sacrificing some money, especially if you have not lived in your home for very long.

So do your homework and research.

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Start your CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH here (and other San Diego communities)

Download FREE BUYER AND SELLER REPORTS here

Visit CARLSBAD COMMUNITY REPORTS for profiles on communities, subdivisions and neighborhoods (incouding other areas)