Category: Selling Your Home

Okay, so you don’t have a warehouse full of designer furniture, accessories and home décor items, or a degree from an interior design school. Don’t let that stop you from fashionably staging your home before you put it on the market. Staging isn’t merely the act of decorating a home; it is primarily an appeal to emotions. A lot of psychology goes into determining colors, textures, and furniture arrangement. You can see this psychology in action in model homes. Every element of each room is thoughtfully chosen to evoke an emotional response from the potential homebuyer. Overall, the designers hope

Although DIY home staging may seem an easy project, we see several common mistakes when homeowners make the attempt. Most go about the process as if it were just a matter of rearranging furniture or redecorating. There’s a lot more to home staging than that, however. The most important aspect is of it is knowing who your most likely buyer will be and then appealing to his or her emotions. In Oakland and the Bay Area, the real estate landscape is competitive. Buyers know that they will need to pay top dollar in order to get into a great home.

Ah, the need for speed in a real estate deal – we’re quite familiar with it. From clients who’ve taken a job out of town with an impatient employer to the need to sell a deceased family member’s home, “Should I sell my house as-is” is a common question. There are also the clients who tell us they aren’t the best at maintenance and have, sadly, let the home go over the years and they now need to sell, with neither the time nor the money to make needed repairs. Let’s take a look at some of the issues you

Think back to a time when you, or someone you know, sold or traded in a car. There was some work to do before advertising it for sale or taking it to the car lot, right? It’s a rare car seller who’ll leave all the fast-food wrappers, empty plastic water bottles and crumbs left behind by the kids. Why? Because a clean car gives off an impression of being well-maintained. It’s the same thing with houses. Sadly, cleaning and decluttering a car about to go on the market is a routine task, doing the same for homes isn’t. Yet a

I have a friend in another state who wants to sell her home. And, whether a blessing or a curse, she has the luxury of taking her time. In other words, she doesn’t need to relocate for a new job, she’s not getting a divorce, and she’s not in escrow on another home. So, suffering from “analysis paralysis,” she drags her feet. She also burns up her minutes calling me for news on what the market is doing. She’s waiting for that perfect time. You know the one—when home prices are the highest they’ll get. Sound familiar? If so, keep

When you’re thinking about selling your house, you might be thinking about whether to have it professionally staged, when you’ll have the time to clean out that garage, and what price you’ll list your home at. However, just as important as the what and the how, is the when. Even the day of the week that you list your home can make a difference, especially since that initial wave of interest and that first open house are critical in ensuring your home moves quickly, interest never wanes, and buyers put forth their best offers. But of course, before you pick

Have you ever noticed that information and advice for first-time home buyers is plentiful across the internet? What happens when you look for that same information and advice for first-time home sellers? Crickets. While buying a home for the first time is somewhat confusing until the process is explained, selling one for the first time is even more so. This is a huge investment you’re selling. How much will you make, and when? We believe that knowledge is power, and we’re always happy to share our knowledge with our clients. You should be aware of every step in the process