Scottsdale Real Estate Blog

Staging Your Home To Sell

Throwback Thursday Post - Staging Your Home to Sell

Last week I found an older post that still held true today.  I was told by a "website guru" that it might be a good idea to keep old posts, polish them off if necessary and give them a fresh date.  So I'm trying it.  The truth is, many people won't go back to a post written in 2005 and think it pertains to today's market.  But some posts hold up, as the one below does.

The following post was originally written on November 26, 2005

If you've heard of the term "staging" your home, you're probably wondering how important it really is. I believe it is very important. Buyers continue to get pickier. What this means is that your home has to be the best for the price in order to get an offer.

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Real Estate and Reality TV

In 2009 I wrote an article based on an HGTV "reality" show about a real estate sale in Chicago - you can read it here.  Today I read an article from Inman News about real estate and reality TV.

When I write my own blog post in relation to a published article I usually go down the original list and write in my own thoughts.  I'm going to tackle it a bit differently today.

Editing and True Reality

Unless you've been interviewed for an article in a newspaper or magazine or have been on a television show, you don't realize how editing can skew your entire interview or the true happenings while filming a show/documentary.

I've been published many times in local newspapers and The Wall Street Journal Online even published a story about me losing…

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Is It Worth It To Remodel Your Scottsdale Home?

This is another Throwback Thursday post I wrote in December 6, 2005, that still holds true today.  The link to the Cost vs. Value Report is for 2014.

Cost vs. Value Report

One of the reports I really look forward to each year is the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) “Cost vs. Value Report“.  This report can help you make your own determination on whether a remodel project is worth it to you and gives you an idea of what you should be able to expect as a return on that investment.

If you’re thinking of doing a remodeling project for the sake of selling your Scottsdale home I would suggest speaking to an agent or home stager before doing anything.  I’ve noticed that sometimes sellers want to do too much or they want to fix and replace…

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Do You Like Being Cold Called?

This wasn't what I was planning to write about but I just heard, for the 2nd time, about a woman that was harassed by a barrage of agents cold calling her.  The first time I heard about it was from one of the agents that were part of a cold calling group that might have been part of this story.  He posted his story on a real estate group on Facebook.   A similar story was featured on the news in Colorado.  I'm not sure this is the same story, but to read a post from one agent on a real estate group on Facebook and to see the news story here, I'm thinking it might be one and the same.  I've been searching to find the original post on the Facebook group but haven't been successful.  I will state that in the video of the news feed on the above link a…

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I Saved My Scottsdale Townhouse Sellers Thousands

This is part 3 of the “Neighborhood Expert” series of posts.  I am an agent that lives and works in Scottsdale.  I’ve been selling real estate in the since 1983.  Below is one of my stories about out-of-area agents against a local Realtor®.  It is in response to an article in Inman News speaking against self-anointed “neighborhood experts.”

The Scottsdale Townhome Sellers That I Saved Thousands

I took a listing for a Scottsdale townhouse for sale.  It was a beautiful place with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.  We got an agent from Gilbert that had an interested buyer.  In an era of technology, she insisted on presenting her offer at the table with my sellers. My sellers obliged (many won’t) and the agent proceeded to state that the townhouse would…

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Explaining Home Equity

What is the definition of home equity?

The total amount of your outstanding mortgage(s) deducted from the current market value of your home appears to be a relatively straightforward computation. Here's an easy example:

$525,000 = is the current market value of your home
$225,000 = what is still owed on your mortgage
$300,000 = your equity in the home

The loan balance, which appears on the monthly mortgage statement, is one side of the equation that is factual. The second side is less obvious: your home's current market value. Until the home is listed on the market and you receive an offer, a market value is only a guess.

When you make a home purchase, your down payment creates the initial equity of your home. Every mortgage payment you make…

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Real Estate Neighborhood Expert Series Part 2

This is part 2 of the Real Estate Neighborhood Expert series – click the link to see what started these posts.  In a nutshell, this series began from an article I read in Inman News.  The author was blasting agents that call themselves area experts.  His thoughts were that these so-called experts would take high-priced listings because they weren’t keeping abreast of local market conditions.  I commented on his post and wrote my own response, which you can read using the above link.  That post is very long so I’m going to create some shorter posts to highlight specific things referred to in the Inman article.

You’re not an expert if you don’t know the current market value in your area

Personally, I don’t see many, if any, real estate agents…

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The Real Estate Neighborhood Expert Series Introduction

What Is a Real Estate Neighborhood Expert?

Searching Google, here is the definition of the word "expert" from the online Merriam-Webster dictionary:  "having or showing special skill or knowledge because of what you have been taught or what you have experienced."

Many Scottsdale real estate agents are trying to rein in the large areas they cover.  They want to establish themselves as a real estate "neighborhood expert," or the "local expert" in their community. Some consider themselves the local expert in their subdivision or condo/townhouse association. Agents reducing their area of expertise to this kind of extremely specific, smaller area are probably the closest you'll get to a true neighborhood expert.

There is an agent I've read about…

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Best U.S. Cities for Public Transportation According to Walk Score

I've been reading and posting a lot of lists lately.   Most national lists only name big metropolitan cities.  One negative of living in the Greater Phoenix area is the lack of public transportation, specifically trains. My husband and I grew up in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and are used to having multiple train stations to get to downtown Chicago's Loop.

I used to work downtown Chicago and took the train 5 days a week. I'd have to drive to the station, park, and then wait for the train. It wasn't too fun in bad Chicago weather, with our terrible snow blizzards, black ice, and hot and humid summers. But I would rather have the train than have to drive every day in rush hour traffic.

The Top Five Cities for Public Transportation Are...

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Banks That Reject the Most Mortgages

When I saw the heading of the article I found online I couldn't wait to click on it. I get so many buyers that have been pre-qualified by their personal bank. A few buyers received a financial benefit from using their banks, like a lower interest rate or closing cost help. But most do not. In fact, many buyers go to one of the big banks because they don't realize there are other financial options.

Even if I give them my list of fantastic mortgage brokers, they've already spoken to someone at the big bank and for some reason feel like they need to continue with that lender. One of my most recent closings was a buyer that regretted making that choice, which happened to be Wells Fargo. With that said, here is a list of the banks that reject the most…

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