Poconos Real Estate Blog

Sham-Wow Your Home Listing To Sell

Staging your house to make it easier to sell doesn't have to cost a fortune. Watch this video and learn some easy and inexpensive tricks to make your home stand out from the competition.

(A big thank you to Lani at AgentGenius for the video!)

A Few More Staging Tips

If you are looking for even more home staging tips, use this checklist of thoughts as you go through your house to get your staging juices flowing!

• 1st impressions are critical so start out at the curb and work your way in to the property and home. What stands out?
• Engage all your senses when going through your home and planning changes: sight, smell, sound, mood, etc.
• Imagine how your home would be displayed in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, or if it were a model home. Of course you must be realistic but these kinds of images are helpful comparisons.
• Simplify, simplify, simplify.
• Renting storage space is cheaper than your listing languishing on the market.
• Accentuate the positive, downplay the negative.
• You are selling a lifestyle so make sure your home speaks the lifestyle language to your perfect buyer.
• Think clean lines, utility of space & functionality, and lots of light.
• Try to let go of thinking of your home as your home. This will help as you contemplate changes to the decor and in the de-cluttering process.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to improve your home's show-ability.

For more information on turning your home listing in to a product that Pocono home buyers want to buy, contact me via email info@lisasanderson.com or call 570.421.8950 ext. 394

Home Buyers: Stop Searching For Houses!

photo credit

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Yes, It Is The Fun Part!

It is so easy to be mesmerized by the prospect of shopping for your house. It's an exciting time in your life. You've made the decision to finally make the move, down the street, to the Poconos, across the country, or wherever. And these days the availability of information makes it seem like self-service real estate is a no-brainer. Why contact pesky real estate agents when all of the info is right there on your computer? There are home listings available in every corner of the internet, so why do you need to bother with an agent? Many potential home purchasers decide they'll call an agent in after they find the houses they want to see, usually the day before they are ready to make the trip to look, or even the day of.

Stop Looking For Homes

Yes, that's what I said. Stop looking for houses. Despite what you may think as you scour the inventory of property listings for the perfect home, finding 'the house' is the easiest part of the entire process. The hard parts, and there are many of them, are not immediately discernable from your current idealistic vantage point. The home buying process is a complex one and you'll need the guidance of a trusted real estate agent.

Sure, you say, of course I want to promote the importance of using a real estate agent, I am one after all. To that I say this, something I say to every potential home buying client I meet:

"You need an agent you can trust to guide you through the process. Find an agent you are comfortable with, whether it's me or someone else, and hire them to be your Buyer's Agent. If I, as an experience agent who knows her way around a Pocono real estate transaction, were to move to Florida or anywhere else for that matter, I would interview and hire a Buyer's Agent very early on in the process. It's that important!"

Home Buyers Tell Their Stories

Twice in the past couple weeks I had very similar conversations with two different home shoppers. Both of these buyers shopped online for houses and then called an agent when they were ready to 'come up'. Both ended up unhappy, citing mistrust, sales tactics they didn't appreciate, poor service and more, as reasons why they were now calling me. The first experience taught them to take some time to properly vet some real estate agents before committing to an appointment this time around. Fortunately, neither one got too far in before realizing they needed more than just an agent to 'let them in' to houses. One went so far as to make an offer with the agent they called by 'accident', but quickly surmised the need to get out of the contract and find quality representation in order to ensure their interests were served. These people quickly learned that Trust is a major factor in a real estate transaction.

My Best Home Buying Advice?

1. Find an agent you relate to, one that you feel you can trust, and hire them to be your buyer's agent. The process is too long, involved and stressful to not have confidence in your agent.
2. Contact your Buyer's Agent well in advance of your anticipated arrival for your home shopping trip. Do not assume they will be able to make themselves available because you are ready, and you don't want to decide which agent to use based on who isn't busy when you happen to be ready. Especially here in our area, certain times (like weekends, for instance) are in high demand for appointment scheduling, and most good agents are not available at the last minute. And even if they are, there is lots of preparation to be done in advance of 'touring a buyer', so please give plenty of notice.
3. If you have specific concerns or fears about the home buying process, bring them up at your first meeting. Heard rumors about the tricks agents pull on people to get them to buy or other horror stories? Bring them up. A good agent has probably heard it all before and will be able to address them, without being offended. Airing these concerns up front allows you to concentrate on your goal of homeownership and will make you that much more comfortable when issues come up and your agent needs to advise you.

First thing's first. The house will come.

Related Reading

First Time Home Buyer Tax Incentive
5 Biggest Myths of Real Estate
Info on Buying a Pocono Foreclosure

Is The Pocono Real Estate Market Stabilizing?

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Forget an upturn, stabilization is the word of the day. We want the market to find an even keel for awhile, which is the natural progression of a market cycle after a downturn. Once things stabilize, the stage will be set as buyers regain confidence that their real estate investments aren't going to tank and home buying becomes fashionable again. Once we achieve stabilization, normal appreciation can resume.

Market Data Indicates Stability is Imminent

Here are some positive pieces of market data reported by the Pocono Mountains Association of REALTORS and compiled by Dominic Sacci, Senior Vice President/General Manager of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates:

• Active Listings (Market Saturation): There were 10% fewer homes on the market in March 2009 than in March 2008. Lower inventory is a good thing!
• Pending Listings (The Crystal Ball, aka predictor of future actual closings): The number of pending sales reported in March 2008 was down 26% from March 2007. The number of pending sales THIS March are only down 5% from last March. Interestingly, this 5% equates to only 20 sales! Once the percent change is 0, we are stable.

We Still Have Challenges Ahead, Of Course

The average sale price of homes that actually went to closing this March was down 13% from the same time period last year. The reason? Foreclosures. Foreclosure sales have accounted for 35% of the total number of sales in Monroe County so far this year. Since the average sales price of a foreclosure has been 23% less than a non-foreclosure sale, this has a big impact on home values. Home sellers are still competing with the bargain-priced foreclosure offerings out there. 

For more information about real estate issues and market conditions in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania, please contact me via email info@lisasanderson.com or by phone 570.421.8950 ext 394

Another Pocono Real Estate Attorney Offers Valuable Advice (Part III)

Because the notes associated with most mortgages had been packaged with other loans and sold as a commodity over and over again, the documents are often hard to find. Requesting your lender or loan servicer to 'produce the note,' as proof of the debt, can put the breaks on foreclosure in many instances.

Other "Produce the Note" Resources

Attorney Jane Roach Maughan
726 Ann Street
Stroudsburg, Pa 18360
570.421.7009
Email Attorney Maughan

The Poconos Real Estate Blog, Lisa Sanderson & Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates are not licensed attorneys and offer this for informational purposes only and not as legal advice. Everyone's situation is different and a consultation with an attorney is recommended to ensure all your legal rights are protected. If you are a homeowner facing foreclosure, short sale or other issues pertaining to your mortgage, please be pro-active by contacting the appropriate advisors early on - it will make you feel better and may even save your home!

Homeowner's Insurance Explained

Check out this quick tutorial explaining homeowners insurance, what it is, why you need it and how to shop for it. Even if you already have homeowner's insurance, you may benefit from a quick look-see at the video as there are quite a few golden tips packed in to three little minutes!

If you are buying a property, you will need a policy in place before closing in order for the mortgage company to fund your loan, so don't wait until the last minute to start shopping for your policy.

Insurance Agents in the Poconos:

Lansdowne Insurance Agency (Nationwide Insurance)
Offices in Mt. Pocono & East Stroudsburg
570.839.7413
Email David Lansdowne

The Whitewood Insurance Agency (Erie Insurance)
Office in Downtown Stroudsburg
570.426.1158
Email Adrian Whitewood

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me via phone 570.421.8950 ext 394 or via email info@lisasanderson.com with any questions, concerns or assistance requests!