Tri-Valley Real Estate Blog

Have You Become Nose-blind to Your Home?

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You’ve probably seen those commercials where people have gone “nose blind” to odors in their home such as garbage, kitty litter, or cigarette smoke, but how do you know if you have become nose blind to your own odor?Have You Become Nose-blind to Your Home?

Have you ever walked into someone’s house and immediately noticed a weird smell? You might have wondered if the homeowner can smell it too. But nope, they probably don’t. Nose blindness is a real thing according to psychologists and it’s very common.

Also called olfactory adaptation, nose blindness occurs when your nose detects an odor, determines it’s not a threat, and then shuts down the receptor for that odor. So it makes sense that smells that tend to linger often get forgotten about. So how do you make yourself more aware of your interior odors? [Read more…]

The Real Reason Your House Isn’t Selling

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House been on on the market a long time? Maybe just a few weeks without any bites? Perhaps you’re just setting yourself up for success when you do list? Whatever the reason is that you’re selling, you certainly don’t want to be on the market any longer than you have to.

In doing research yesterday I came across several houses that have been on the market for more than a year. That’s very unusual in this hot market. Even most markets around the US are seeing a four-month absorption rate, meaning that if no new listings hit the market today, it would only take less than four months to completely eliminate every listing on the market. So, what is up with these houses that have been on the market 300 – 400 days or more?

In my experience it really only comes down to three things:

[Read more…]

Do Buyers Want to See a Home Office?

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The home office. It’s a place of intentional work, pay bills, or just sit and manage your home life. Maybe you work from home so it’s literally your office. Many sellers are creating a home office setting when staging and listing their home but is it necessary? Do buyers really expect homes to have an office?

Do Buyers Want to See a Home Office?

There are options and many buyers are not putting the emphasis on a home with an office as an office setting really can be anywhere. So what are other options sellers can do to present their homes in a new light?

 Home Theater.

This might sound extreme but in many markets around California, this type of room is becoming very popular. The dedicated space with surround sound, high-quality TV and visual dynamics are making a comeback in many homes.

 Family Rooms.

It all depends on how much space you have and if it’s a closed off room or open area. Many new homes have a landing at the top of the stairs that can be turned into a large play room or family room instead of an office space, which feels awkward when you have to walk through it to get to the bedrooms.

 Creative Space.

This could be an arts and crafts room or a space that one could get messy in. The floor may be tile or other material that’s easy to clean.

 Library.

If you have plenty of books, try dressing up a space room into a quaint library. Large bookshelves can even serve as dividers to section off the room into a sitting area and library. Create an inviting space by using comfy chairs or couches, blankets and good lighting.

 Guest Rooms.

The guest room doesn’t have to just be a bed. Create a neutral bedroom that could suffice for anyone for the nights. A neat night stand, lamp, good book, vase of flowers, dresser, neutral decor and fluffy linens all invite guests to make the space their own for the night.

There are lots of different things you can do to a room beside the typical office. If you’re selling in the Tri-Valley area, give me a call! Let’s talk about what buyers are looking for and how you can appeal to all buyers out there.

Why Staging Your Home Sells Your Home

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Memories fill houses and turn them into homes where singles, couples, and families can have a place to put down their roots. While photos of our most memorable vacations charm and please our friends and families, it can, unfortunately, make selling our homes more difficult. When potential buyers see a home that specifically caters to a particular family, mostly through photos, they have a difficult time visualizing themselves fitting into the mold. The easiest way to fix this problem is to hire a home staging company to transform your home back into a beautiful house to be viewed by all potential buyers and eventually sold to a new family to make memories in. [Read more…]

Is Your Home’s Value Decreasing?

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Here are some key things that seriously pull down your home’s value.

Is Your Home's Value Decreasing?

#1. Poor curb appeal.

If you’re planning on selling your house you need to know that the very first impression a buyer is going to see is the exterior of your home. Most MLS cover photos of the listing need to either be the front of the house or the view from the house. Chances are, most people are going to take a picture of the outside of the house so this is the first impression buyers will see of the property. It’s important to make your homes curb appeal stand out and attract buyers in further. Clean up the yard, trim trees, bushes, shrubs, mow the lawn, and repair any unsightly flaws to the outside of the house such as leaky windows, broken steps, or cracked sidewalks. [Read more…]