Price right, that is price the property to sell.  There is no more "well, let’s just see if we can get the sky, the sun, the moon AND the stars for this property!"  Buyers are back; they’re coming off the sidelines.  But they’ve got nearly 10,000 properties in the inventory, and they’re going to be picky and expect reasonable pricing. 

Sick of those bundles of credit card applications in your mailbox?

Get rid of them:  www.creditsourceonline.com/optout.html

 And they’re dangerous… falling into the wrong hands, discarded without shredding… most frequent method of identity theft is those very applications that stuff your box every day!  You’ve probably done this one already, but if not:  www.donotcall.gov to stop the telephone solicitors, or by phone at 1.888.382.1222

How did this home sell in 10 days in this "cooled" market?

I’ll tell you.  The seller took my advice and finished the home, rather than letting an investor have it to finish.  Fear was put aside, he pressed through, and it rewarded him with $45,000 more net than he’d have earned by "dumping" it unfinished. 

What can you do?  First rule of thumb, if you’ve felt it’s something that needs to be done, DO IT!!!  Do it for them, though you never did it for yourself.  Ready your home for the market the way you would if you were selling anything!  Would you put a used car in the paper and then let people come to test drive it still filthy and unpolished?  No way! You’d clean out the BigMac wrappers, have it detailed, waxed, put in a nice CD for ambient music when they turn the ignition… and make sure that the CD player works and the blown back speaker is replaced, right?! 

Homes that are spiffed and polished, painted and groomed…those show well and sell more quickly.  As for your stuff:  remove 1/3 of it.  Pack, rent storage space, and follow the adage "less is more" with decor, furniture, everything.  Put bright bulbs in every light fixture, wash windows, leave all curtains open and lights on when you leave for showings.  Fresh flowers (no nasty water, wilting leaves, please!) in big planters, in vases, make it "look like a magazine!" 

What does "Neighborhood Specialist" mean?  I have sold all three of these homes.  And I live in one of them.  Guess which one?  This is Historic Feldman’s neighborhood, just north of Speedway at 4th Avenue.  It’s a fabulous concentration of 20’s, 30’s and 40’s bungalows, walkable to the hip 4th Ave shopping district and to UofA.  Call me if you are interested in learning more!  977.8503

What is Staging?

Think of a director, carefully selecting just the right pieces of furniture, just the right lighting… for an effect.  She wants an emotional effect on the audience, not a realistic lived-in family room!  That’s what you’re after here, too, with staging a home for sale.Lighting is key… many buyers come to see your home with their realtor after work, and daylight’s getting shorter!  Create ambience with the right lights, the right bulbs, and don’t scrimp… leave them on so the stage is set when your potential buyers walk through the front door.Remove some furniture, leaving just a suggestion:  two chairs placed to suggest a cozy converstation corner, a table with three stems in a vase and colorful placemats.  Get rid of all the clutter:  magazines, knicknacs, chotchkies (sp?), all of it!!!  Box it, sell it, rent a storage unit… it’ll make a difference!

Paint is cheap and can really change the look and feel of a room; 10 minutes of HGTV should prove that to you.  But don’t go wild with color… keep it simple and subdued so the buyers first reaction isn’t "Ohmigod!  Look at that ORANGE bedroom."