Archive for the 'For Home Sellers' Category
Spring has Sprung! - Let The Sunshine In
Categories: Chattanooga Real Estate News, For Home Sellers, Home Maintenance
By David Israel, Business Manager - Andy Hodes & The Scenic City Team
As we move away from the winter weather in Chattanooga, even though we still have the possibility of another frost, the days are getting longer and the sun is shinning brighter. This is the time to start a spring cleaning of your home. No, I am not talking about your normal spring cleaning, I am talking about -
“5 Great Tips for Seller’s - Let The Sunshine In“.
1. Clean the Windows- It is bright and sunny outside, bring some of that natural light into your home. If you notice 
that the windows are a little dirty, there is an easy way to clean those windows. Mix a solution of of one part vinegar to nine parts water, plus a drop of dishwashing liquid. Spray on and wipe with newspaper to avoid streaks, yes, start saving those newspapers; re-use them to clean your windows. Having your windows professionally cleaned is less expensive than you think.
2. Bring out the Color - Start getting ready to put out flowers, if you haven’t already. This is a good time of year to start thinking about putting in some colorful flowers. Remember, your buyers will one get a first impression of your home once. Make sure you don’t skimp or over plant.
3. Cut the Grass - After several months of not having to cut grass in the Greater Chattanooga area, the time has come to get back out into the yard. You need to step up your schedule of cutting the grass while your home is listed. If you normally cut your grass or have a professional do it, add another cut every month into your schedule. The last thing you want is a perspective buyer to come for a showing and see that the grass isn’t maintained. Their first thought will be “if the grass isn’t maintained, what about the rest of the house”.
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Don’t Ruin Your Credit with a Home Foreclosure; Try a Short Sale First!
Categories: Ask Andy, Chattanooga Real Estate News, For Home Sellers, Mortgage and Finance
By Andy Hodes, Realtor, Andy Hodes & The Scenic City Team
I ran into a friend a few days ago, let’s just call her Norma, who lost her great job several months earlier; her new job pays much less. Norma was struggling to barely pay all her bills, including a big mortgage. She asked if I could quickly sell her home so she could look for a place to live that would fit her new budget.
After a few questions I quickly determined that Norma couldn’t sell her home for a price high enough to pay off her mortgage. We call this being “upside down”- a bad place to be if you need to sell quickly. Norma said that if she couldn’t sell it, that she’d just walk way and let the bank foreclose. I suggested trying a “short sale” of her home instead, which could be a real win-win for her AND her lender. Norma wanted to know more.
In economic times when home prices keep going up, we don’t hear too much about short sales, but now that we’re in a buyer’s market with increasing inventory and declining home values, short sales become more prevalent. More and more people need to sell - and sell now - but they owe the bank more than their home is worth. There’s no need to walk away and have a foreclosure ruin your credit for years to come.
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7 Keys for a Successful OPEN HOUSE!
Categories: Chattanooga Real Estate News, For Home Sellers
By David Israel, Business Manager Andy Hodes & The Scenic City Team
I have written several articles for our blog and one of the most important items I have stressed in almost every Real Estate related article is you only get a 1st Impression one time. Please keep this in mind when you are preparing your home for an Open House. There are several websites that can assist you further.
1. Pay attention to the Outdoors - From the time a buyer walks in to the time they leave, they will be coming and going 
through your entire house. Make sure that all items are put away or in their proper place. Clean off the doormat or purchase a new one. Don’t leave anything at the front door that would distract a potential buyer.
2. Clean your home - Whether you do it professionally or personally. Go through the entire house and thoroughly clean the house from top to bottom. Dust the entire house, sweep and mop the floors. You want your home to sparkle like a diamond. Clean off the counters, but don’t shove things in cabinets, buyer will open cabinets and closet doors. Buyers don’t just look around, they feel around they want to know how a door opens and closes. It is their first “Test Drive” of the home.
3. Bake Cookies - Sometimes if you bake chocolate chip cookies in the morning, the house will have that incredible aroma throughout the house. Baking shows that the home is being used and the smell will tell their senses to keep looking. In the kitchen, place the cookies on a nice plate for visitors to enjoy.
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7 Tips on Making your home more appealing to Buyers
Categories: Ask Andy, For Home Sellers, Home Maintenance
By David Israel, Business Manager - Andy Hodes and The Scenic City Team
I have blogged regularly on first impressions, the buyer will only get one. So, to make your home more appealing, I have come up with 7 Tips on Making your home shine for the buyers.
1. Trim all bushes so they don’t block windows or cut down on the natural light entering your home. You want to let in as much natural light as you can.
2. Use warm, incandescent light bulbs for a nice homey feel. You don’t want to shock a buyer with “bright light”.
3. Set your Dining Room table for a dinner party. Be creative with a centerpiece, use cloth napkins, and be sure that
everything matches.
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Sellers - Don’t Let the Lights Go Out!
Categories: Ask Andy, Chattanooga Real Estate News, For Home Sellers
By Andy Hodes, Realtor, Andy Hodes & The Scenic City Team
While most real estate transactions glide to a successful and on-time closing, there are instances when a closing is delayed by a couple of days, or worse gets cancelled all-together. Even though our closing team does everything possible to keep things on track, delayed or cancelled closings are a fact of life.
Because of the possibility of a delay or cancellation, we advise our Sellers to wait until the day of closing to notify the electric, gas and water utilities to discontinue their service.
Many Sellers, attempting to stay on top of every detail, have their utilities shut off on the day of closing. If closing is delayed, Sellers risk having their utilities disconnected, requiring phone calls and reconnection fees to restore service. Even worse would be the loss of service during a cold Winter night.
Simply wait until after closing and then contact your utilities. If the Buyer has already set up their account, your utilities will verify the change, ask for your forwarding address and you are done.
If the Buyer hasn’t arranged for service, provide your forwarding address and request a final meter reading. Our utilities here in Chattanooga usually get someone out to read the meter in a day or two. Also, let your Realtor know so they can remind the Buyer, or the Buyer’s agent to arrange for service at their new home.
Waiting guarantees uninterrupted service and a smooth landing.
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Staging - Attracting the Right Buyer Audience
Categories: Chattanooga Real Estate News, For Home Sellers, Home Maintenance
Staging your home in Chattanooga is key to find a buyer to purchase your home. You will only get a chance for a first impression once. There are tons of things you can do and even more that you should not do to attract a buyer to your home.
4 Great Tips on Staging your Home
1. Pick up recent issues of home Decorating Magazines like Country Living or Better Homes and Garden for ideas on making your home look the best it can look.
2. Stage a Home Office, it is not a trend, it is a reality in today’s market. Many Chattanooga buyers are looking to be able to run their businesses out of their homes. If you are not using a spare bedroom, stage it like an Office. Today’s buyers are looking at homes with the anticipation of setting up a home office.
3. Float your furniture. Move your couch away from the wall and place it at an angle. Set up a reading area in your living room with a chair and lamp. This might not be how you would place your furniture, but it is a way to make the buyer see how comfortable the home looks. You can find more information on floating furniture at HGTV.com.
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3 Quick Tips to Preventing Fire Loss
Categories: Chattanooga Real Estate News, First Time Buyers, For Home Sellers, Home Maintenance
I read an article recently in the Chattanooga Times Free Press about Home Inventory Lists and it really got me thinking of 
how many of us are pretty well insured for our homes, but have no idea what we have in our homes. The article, a sad one, talks about a family who had a fire in their home and lost everything. When it came time to deal with the insurance company, they could not give an itemized list of valuables and treasures they had owned for many years.
“No one ever expects that this will happen to them, but, are you prepared it this unfortunate event ever happened? The answer is, probably no.”
There is a Nationwide Insurance agency here in Chattanooga and I spoke to a Master Claims Representative and asked him what percentage of individuals actually keep an inventory of their valuables. Mike told me that he personally keeps one updated, but the majority of homeowners do not keep a list.
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