Psst!-What’s That Smell? Quick Fixes For The Dreaded House Odors!
April 23rd, 2008 categories: Home Sellers
The Nose Knows, But House Odors Can Be a Forbidden Topic –
Sometimes we’re all tempted to let the topic of the dreaded house odors slide in the pre-listing process. You like us, we’re bonding, we like you and we don’t want to hurt your feelings. But, house odor is an important obstacle to the sale of your property that must not be ignored. Sellers often become aware that there could be an obstacle to their sale only when the feedback starts rolling in from the Buyer Agents. Too late. By then you could have lost a buyer or two or more. Strive for the fresh as a daisy air quality and don’t try to mask odors with heavy scents.
What causes house odors? Life, and our precious children and pets, cooking, dehumidifiers, cars in garages, trash, carpets, draperies and of course the worst, smoking! Or, there could be more serious problems to solve like mold and mildew. Here are 7 Quick Odor Fixes to help you sell faster for more money. Read the rest of this entry »
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5 “Must Have” Reasons You Need Title Insurance
April 23rd, 2008 categories: Home Buyers
What’s A “Cloud” On The Title?
Don’t Let a “Cloud On The Title” Rain On your Real Estate Parade –
Remember, Title Insurance is more than a line item on your HUD-1 Settlement Sheet. You need to know if there might be a “Cloud” On The Title. No Clouds and a Clear Title is where all of the ownership rights, liens, liabilities have been cleared or paid giving you a Deed with clear and marketable Title.
5 “Must Have” Reasons You Need Title Insurance –
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Fraud or Forgery – Mishandled, misfiled, deeds, tax liens and payoffs
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Wills/Trust Provisions– Undisclosed heirs and owners
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Similar Names – divorce, spouses, previous spouses, relatives
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Marital Status Misstated – Failure to review Property Settlement Agreements.
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Recording Errors – incorrect “metes and bounds“, “Historic Properties”, inconsistency in recorded deed and tax records
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Shocking News About Title Insurance – 3 Things You Must Do To Protect Your Property
April 23rd, 2008 categories: Home Buyers
Shocking 40% of Property Uncovered By Title Insurance –
I was shocked to learn that as of 2005 almost 40% of the property conveyed in the United
States was not covered by Title Insurance.
The topic came up in one of my annual Continuing Education courses that I take to keep current on changing real estate practices, with a statistic published in, Title Insurance for Real Estate Professionals, by Dearborn Real Estate Education
Curious about what the statistics might be for Pennsylvania real estate transactions, I decided to investigate. Read the rest of this entry »
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Wegman’s or No Deal – My Kinda Guy!
April 23rd, 2008 categories: Chester County, Lifestyle
Wegman’s and Realtors – It’s All About The Service!
What’s a Wegman’s? This is what I love about real estate. You’re always just one phone call
away from working with a great client.
It was a slow day in early Spring. Late in the afternoon. I was giving in to a touch of Spring Fever and thinking about walking Daisy. The phone rang, “Hey Judy, I’ve been on your website for about 6 months. Great information. Listen, I might have to relocate to Philadelphia for my job, BUT I’ll only move if I can be close to Wegman’s.
….Uh, me “What’s a Wegman’s?. I was a little smoother than that, but not much. So I “Googled”, which is what I’ve learned to do when I need to know something. Guess what? Read the rest of this entry »
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The Whole Truth About The Sellers Disclosure
April 23rd, 2008 categories: Home Sellers
The Sellers Disclosure Form Is Required –
Pennsylvania Law requires a Sellers Disclosure Form for every listing and the National
Association of Realtors has Annual Mandatory Continuing Education – 14 hours or two 7 hour courses plus Ethics Training every 4 years to help Realtors stay up to date on professional standards and changes in the market. “It’s a good thing” as Martha Stewart would say. I’m 100% in favor of The Sellers Disclosure Form and Ethics Training. That’s the serious part.
MCE – “War Stories”! Ugh!
Having said that, and at the risk of sounding like a devil’s advocate, 14 Hours of Mandatory Continuing Education can be a little like going to the Dentist – short term pain for long term gain. And seven hours on a 5 page form, in a small room with uncomfortable chairs and the “war stories rebel” who attempts to dominate the discussion, can sometimes make going to the Dentist sound good!
In these days of uTube and Webinars, I’d like to suggest that it’s time for a face lift on MCE. How about a knowledge and competency test? If you pass, you only have to spend three hours in a small room, with uncomfortable chairs and the war stories rebel. I see a Webinar in my future! Read the rest of this entry »
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Your Healthy House Diet – 5 Tips To Go From Skinny To Sold
April 23rd, 2008 categories: Home Sellers
A Healthy House Is A House That Buyers Want To Buy –
A Healthy House Diet? Yes, you can make more money with a house diet. No, you don’t need to call Dr Phil. Forgive me for bringing up the topic of yet another diet. But, on the day of settlement, when you make more money selling your skinny house, you’ll thank me.
So what’s a healthy house? A healthy skinny house is a house that has been thinned down of any and all unnecessary “stuff”. A skinny house is a house that you want to sell and one that the Buyers want to buy.
Remember, you live in a home for your own pleasure, but you sell a property for your Buyers pleasure. Here’s 5 Tips to help you get you started. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair – The Horses Are Coming!
April 23rd, 2008 categories: Chester County, Fun Things To Do, Lifestyle
Main Line Health, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Horses, Cotton Candy and funnel cakes – OH My!
Once a year this unlikely collection of topics will appear in the same sentence as the excitement of The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair begins to build. You know it’s almost that time of year when you see the sign go up at The Devon Fair Grounds letting you know that from May 22 to June 1st our Devon will be host to a world class equestrian event known as The Devon Horse Show & Country Fair.
Even if you know nothing about matters equestrian, invite your favorite child, grandchild, niece or nephew and come to The Devon Fair Grounds, where to everyone’s delight you will find a Midway with a Ferris Wheel, a Carousel to ride, games with prizes, yummy treats like the famous Devon Lemon Sticks, Devon Fudge, popcorn, cotton candy and hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza and Devon Sweet Tea with a hint of mint and lemon. There’s even a Tea Cart with real tea sandwiches or The Devon Garden Cafe if your palette is on a higher plane than cotton candy. Of course, you can find a salad, but, “gee Mom”.
Not to be missed are the many Boutique Shops offering designer fashions Read the rest of this entry »
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The Jenkins Arboretum-Help For Your Green Thumb
April 23rd, 2008 categories: Chester County, Fun Things To Do, Home Sellers, Lifestyle
Have You Heard? -The Jenkins Arboretum Is In Your Back Yard!
The Jenkins Arboretum , located just off of the Devon 202 Interchange on Devon State Road in Tredyffrin Township is one of the Main Line’s secret garden gems. I often pass by The Jenkins Arboretum in my travels about town. A couple of years ago I visited the Spring Plant Sale and enjoyed the company of other would be green thumbs. These unique, charming watering can sculptures were created for a fund raiser.
Check out these upcoming events and share the secret with your other ‘wanna be” green thumb friends. It couldn’t be easier – it’s a great place to walk, it’s free and open 365 days a year!
This is a good time for Sellers to dress up your entrance prior to listing and for Spring pleasure. Contact me for more great ideas if you’re thinking about selling your home. I love to talk about real estate and I have more great ideas to help you get sold.
- May 3, 2008 @ 9am-3pm – Annual Plant Sale
- May 4, 2008 @ 11am-3pm – Annual Plant Sale
- May 11, 2008 @ 1pm-5pm – Mother’s Day Rhododendron & Azalea Flower Show
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Sellers, Know Your Market – Be Prepared or Perish!
April 21st, 2008 categories: Home Sellers
Sellers Prepare To Know Your Market Before Listing Your Property
Sellers, you must be prepared and know your local real estate market. What does the national
real estate news mean to The Philadelphia Main Line and Western Suburbs? Not as much as you might think. “All real estate is local” is a well known truism that’s easy to forget when the national news is full of doom and gloom. Our local real estate market is not as hot as the 2005 or 2006 market was, but that’s a good thing and overall our local market is more stable than those markets in high foreclosure areas.
Which market are you in? Is it the Condo market, the Luxury New Construction Market, the First Time Buyer market or the downsizing market? As a local Realtor I help Sellers determine the statistical truth of their market .
Here are seven tough questions to get started. The answers will help you know which market you’re selling in. Read the rest of this entry »
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