Price, location, and square footage are very important when selling a property. Beyond that, however, you can focus on these top 5 listing elements to turn your listing into a “must-see” property.

#1: Digitally Friendly Listing

Plenty of quality photos and a complete description that focus on the popular aspects of your listing are required. The Internet is your real 24/7 Open House opportunity. Use it wisely.

#2: Drop the Hysterics

It’s not the “MOST INCREDIBLE ALL-STAINLESS-STEEL kitchen!!!” It’s a “warm, modern kitchen perfect for family celebrations.” Lead with believable emotional benefits and descriptions, not hyperbole.

#3 Well-Maintained From Curb to Kitchen

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These tips will get you started on turning your house into a “show home”.  Even if you’re not moving, you will find these tips also make your home more relaxing and enjoyable to live in.

1. Walls:

Neutral colors are going to be best, although it does not have to be light beige. For the fall season, try painting your walls a rich shade of caramel or cream that’s neutral yet warm and inviting. Add pops of color with accessories in deep reds and oranges.

2. Art:

If you are unsure how high the art should be hung use this rule as a guild: 60 inches from the floor to the center of the art. In an occupied home if there is no decent art at all, take it out! It is better having empty walls than unappealing art. more…

by Jeanne Huber

Solving wet-basement problems is one of the most important things you can do to protect the value of your home and health of your family.

Some wet basements are easy to cure simply by clearing gutters and by diverting gutter water away from the foundation. But if the problem comes from other sources—water flowing toward the house on the surface, seeping in from underground or backing up through municipal storm drains—you must take more aggressive action.

Here are eight strategies to keep water out of your basement.

1. Add gutter extensions

If downspouts are dumping water less than 5 feet away from your house, you can guide water farther out by adding plastic or metal gutter extensions.

But extensions aren’t the neatest or most effective long-term solution, especially if you’re likely to trip over them or run over them with a lawn mower. Permanent, underground drain pipe is invisible and capable of moving large quantities of gutter runoff much farther from your house.

For about $10 a foot, a landscaper or waterproofing contractor will dig a sloping trench and install pipe to carry the water safely away.

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When it comes to preparing your home for sale in an environmentally friendly way, Kermit the Frog had it wrong. It is easy being green.

With so many homebuyers seeking green features in the homes they consider, sellers should create an eco-friendly atmosphere for the buyer and that doesn’t always mean costly fixes.

It’s always nice for a homebuyer who’s been touring houses all day to find water or a snack waiting for them in your kitchen. Instead of leaving the customary bottled water, go the eco-friendly route and have a pitcher of filtered tap water at the ready. Add some organic fruits and vegetables and keep trash minimized. Also, use glassware and plates instead of plastic cups and paper plates. This practice is not only green, it shows class.

Another way to act “green” is during your de-cluttering stage, when you remove furniture and other items from your home prior to the home’s listing. Instead of simply throwing out all those things you no longer want or need, you can recycle, resell at a garage sale, donate to a charity or give away the items at the popular website Freecycle.com. more…

By Nadia Huliai

Real Estate Marketing Expert

Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors

2011 opened as a strong buyer’s market so home sellers must be on their toes to give their homes maximum appeal. Not only should sellers complete the home repairs they know must be made, they should also hire a certified home inspector to thoroughly and impartially evaluate their properties.

If this inspection results in a fix-it list, review the list with your real estate professional to establish necessities and priorities. Depending on your budget and objectives, you may want to repair only items that could cause significant deterioration to your property, such as a leaky roof. Ideally, the closer you can get your home to “move-in-ready” status, the more likely you are to attract today’s cautious and discerning buyers.

Among the most common repairs and enhancements yielding immediate buyer appeal include:

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Here is a very entertaining story about how the owner of ForSaleByOwner.com used a Realtor to sell his own house.  If selling your home at a market price yourself was that easy, he would have done it himself and used his own web site. This is a very good indicator of return you will get selling your home as FSBO vs. using a  real estate agent.

Colby Sambrotto, who founded a website for DIY-real estate, just sold his Chelsea apartment for $2.15million.

The founder of a website helping people to sell their own homes has found a buyer for his own apartment – with the help of a traditional real estate broker.

ForSaleByOwner.com creator Colby Sambrotto even paid the standard 6% commission after selling his two-bedroom New York condo for $2.15 million.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Sambrotto spent six months trying to sell the apartment in trendy Chelsea through online listings and classified adverts.

But the DIY home selling guru eventually decided to turn the sale over to a professional.

Not only did broker Jesse Buckler set the price $150,000 higher than the original asking price, he went on to lure the elusive buyer Mr. Sambrotto’s self-help methods had failed to attract.

The Journal said the 2,000-square-foot apartment at The Lion’s Head building near Sixth Avenue is now under contract.
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