Thoughts on Redecorating &/Or Remodeling......Realtor Thoughts

I'm quite sure I've blogged about this before, but I found a beautiful photo on Instagram recently....truth be told, I find them every single day. I follow a lot of home decor pages, remodeling, interior design kind of thing. #RealtorLife 

I'm definitely partial to the rustic, farm, woodsy, bohemian style. It calls to me. But, I see that some of my friends like other home styles too. Minimalist, utilitarian, colorful, plain, there is something for everyone in home decor.

Years and years ago, I must have been about 25, I met a friend of my then mother-in-law who was an interior decorator. She told me the most important thing about decorating your home. And, I've never forgotten it.

Walls, floors, tile, fixed items? Those should be kept simple & basic, not bright and wild. Nothing that is so outlandish that you can't decorate around it when you, or the next owner, wants to change it up a bit. 

When doing staging for my listings, what I generally do is clear out and start over. But, the hardest ones to do are ones like this:

Why is that so hard you ask?

Because the person looking at your home to purchase may not be a fan of that turquoise counter to ceiling back-splash. Me? I think is is spectacular, soothing, absolutely beautiful. But, I'm betting there are a few of my peeps that do not find it attractive.

The cabinets, flooring, appliances, & shelves, those are simple and easy to decorate around. The back splash makes too much of a statement. It should have been left white, tan, beige, off white. Then, you could have put some pops of turquoise color on the counters, shelves, maybe paint the ceiling? Yes, paint is cheap and easy to change.

I've collected staging decor over the last 2 decades. Reds, Yellows, Grays, Turquoises. As the color choice of the day changes....you've heard of that Pantone color of the year, right?.....my staging decor changes as well. FYI, this year it is gray & yellow. 

And, that's the way you need to think when you are considering re-vamping your home. Make it the way you want it, yes, enjoy your home. But, keep in mind that you may grow tired of that turquoise wall and how much easier it would be to hang colored dish towels, colored pottery, art work, etc., than having to change out all that tile.

And, a lot less dinero too! 

Food for thought. 

I'm always happy to share my tidbits of knowledge.

Will The Vaccine Help Our Housing Inventory?

I'd like to hope that it would! I think the more would-be home sellers feel it's safe to allow people into their home, the more likelihood of more sellers coming on the market.

Although, the bigger thing I hear is still 'where am I going to go?' It's such a double-edged sword situation right now.

The last few years the beginning of January has been low inventory. Not low like today's. But, still lower than the 'let's buy a home next year' buyers were hoping for when they made that announcement at the end of the previous year for sure.

But, they always come along...the new listings. They come. So, I have to expect in the next 30-60 days we'll see quite a few more sellers put up For Sale signs.

Right now we currently have only 174 active listings. Meaning single family homes, condos, townhouses in all of Santa Clarita are available for sale. Well, as of about 9 am this morning that is!

(Yes, I promise, I'm talking about SCV!)

In escrow, meaning buyer/seller have come to an agreement, we have 464. Sold in the last 30 days, back to our standard of 334. We do have a couple dozen in the Coming Soon category.

I'm heading out this afternoon to check in on an upcoming seller. Next week, doing it again. Had another prospective seller reach out to me as well. See? They'll be coming, promise.

Wanna talk Real Estate with me? 

Just give me a shout ~ Lauren@KeepYourWitz.com / (661) 313-5470

Even During a Pandemic, Homes Were Still Sold - # 11 Here!

So, yesterday we had our annual awards 'luncheon'. Well, actually we had our awards Zoom meeting. For all intents and purposes our company tried very hard to make it fun. We had raffle prizes, big boss actually wore his suit too. And, told his silly jokes that we all know are silly, he knows are silly, it's an expected thing at the awards luncheon. His silly jokes. Made if feel a bit more normal honestly. 

As anyone knows, that reads my posts, watches the news, 2020 was a remarkable year for housing. Abso-freaking-lutely remarkable.

I helped a lot of people last year. Sellers, Buyers, referrals out of state too. This year looks like it's going to be a pretty good year too. Well, as long as we get some more inventory on the market. But, we will, it's terribly low at 172 active right now, but I've got a couple coming and I'm sure others do as well.

For 2020, I achieved top 5% in my company in sales. I closed out at number Eleven in the entire company. If I had gotten that Tapia Canyon 12 acre to close just a few days earlier, I would have been number 9 probably! LOLOL

Being a Realtor for 19 years now has been quite the wild ride. Even during a pandemic I was still able to help people that needed my help.

Being a Realtor for 19 years I've learned a lot. The hardest thing for me is still 'tooting my own horn', but people want to know, well, I think you want to know, that I really am one heck of an agent. My numbers tell you I do a lot of sales, my repeat clients, referrals, & reviews, tell you I make a lot of people happy.

Being a Realtor for 19 years has been so very rewarding. Emotionally & Fiscally. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2021 will bring!

~ Lauren@KeepYourWitz.com ~ (661) 313-5470 ~ Here to Serve. ~ 

I Am Kinda Tall & It's Truly About Relationships

About a dozen years ago I was doing an open house for a listing I had in the Saugus area. As guests arrived, I did what all Realtors do, I asked them to sign in.

Some did, some did not. One particularly adorably petite woman, I mean cute as can be adorable, did. And, while she was at this house we just started chatting. Felt like 2 girlfriends having a gab-fest.

While the house I was hosting open was not the one for her, we developed a relationship and went house hunting together.

We were on the front porch of one that we were scheduled to view and we both noticed that the door jamb was pretty broken up, as in police rammed through broken up. When the occupant opened the front door, my adorably petite client stepped 3 feet back and behind the safety of my formidable stature. Well, I'm only 5' 7", but compared to her at about 5'1", I was a giant. The guy was covered in tattoos, but very polite. Long story short on that one, it wasn't the house for her either.

We found an incredible home with a pool and a beautiful view which she and her family lived for many years. I helped them buy that one, helped them buy a condo for their daughter. Helped them sell the view house, helped their daughter buy a big home.

Fast forward, 12 years later, and yesterday the daughters condo popped into escrow. Yes, with multiple offers, yes over list price. Most things are moving in that fashion right now.

I'm still 5'7", still willing to protect my clients physically,

 & in their Real Estate transactions.

Still building relationships.

 

Not My Typical Blog Post

There's a guy I follow on Instagram. Super motivational, definitely geared towards Real Estate. I got turned onto him by my home warranty Diva rep. I adore her by the way!

Yesterday he posted this:

I get 'I'm sorry' from Buyers the most. Sorry for not liking the house. Sorry for being picky. Sorry for taking so long to decide. I always tell them it's not necessary to apologize. Always.

But, because it's come up in my business life, I thought it was appropriate to roll over to my personal life. One in particular is totally spot on for me & my husband will drop his jaw when I start using it.

Which one will you change? Where in your spoken life will you stop saying sorry to someone and instead thanking them?

Just curious. Hugs & Love people. And, thank you for reading, I'm absolutely not sorry I posted this.

COVID-19 Home Selling Reminder ~ January 2021

Yep, we're into the new year, we're almost at a full year of a Pandemic...so I thought it would be a good time to remind prospective Sellers what to expect if you're considering selling your home this year.

Well, I can tell you what it will be like selling it with me that is.

The typical pre-marketing considerations, the lists of what you need to do, the staging, the photography, the cleaning crew, etc. And, all of that with gloves, masks, sanitizer and declarations that all who enter your home are COVID free ......that they are aware of.

Honestly, that's the real caveat.....'that they are aware of'. And/Or, that they are truthfully telling you.

What I tell all my Sellers is you have to be aware that people are not all going to follow the rules set forth by the CDC. Just like the people that don't signal before a lane change. Or the ones that think it's okay to glance at their phone when the text message received dings at them while driving down the road.

So, what do you as Sellers have to do? BE DILIGENT in your cleaning, more diligent than you have ever been before. Be diligent in your own use of PPE, wear your masks, don't touch anything after a showing....until you're sure that it's cleaned again. 

I provide all gloves, hand sanitizer, signs, reminder signs not to touch anything, booties if needed. No one needs a mask, fortunately they all seem to wear those! 

I schedule with agents to have time in between, as you allow. I remind you to leave doors open, cabinets open, so buyers/agents don't have to use hands to open....they can use their elbows!

BUT, embarrassingly so.....as noted above....not all agents nor their buyers, follow the rules. And, if you have a Ring doorbell, or a camera system....you'll see the same. It's rather appalling. But, we are dealing with Human Beings after all. I wanna bet, prospective home Seller, you haven't followed every rule in your lifetime as well. Am I right?

So, it's an incredible Sellers market, and you want to get in on that? Reach out to me, we'll discuss in detail how I can help you to stay as safe as possible.

We know the risks, I'll regularly remind you, I'll do my best to protect you & your family.....but, again the reminder....we are all just human beings...with all our glorious flaws.

You have to decide if you want to deal with those flaws to sell your home during a pandemic. I am proud to say, not a single COVID case has erupted with any of my buyers/sellers since the onset.

Very proud to say so.

Lauren@KeepYourWitz.com or (661) 313-5470. #BeSafe

How Much Does The Right Marketing Really Matter?

100% it totally matters. Regardless of the market you are in, the way your Realtor 'sells' your home is vital.

Now, mind you, I totally love this story that I'm going to tell you. Totally love the property that I was hired to sell too.

A few months ago, some guy sends me a message to my Gmail account. I only check that a couple times a day, so I didn't even see it for several hours. One of his comments was that he wasn't married to his phone, so fortunately me not getting back immediately wasn't even noticed! He was referred by a dear friend/associate of mine.

He was struggling with another agent that had his parents home listed for sale. Said it was about to fall out of escrow. I researched the property, noted that it had been listed 5 times with 4 different agents already. Eeeeeck. It generally means the property is over priced, right? Well, to say the least it was crazy high priced in the beginning. But, the biggest take I got on the previous listings was truly the lack of appropriate photography, information, and marketing for the home.

It is unique. It is older. It has a lot of hills. And, yes, it has deer.

I told the Sellers they had to get their current listing agreement completely unwrapped before I could step in and 'take charge'. Oh, yeah, I took some charge all right. Very carefully, respectfully, and not in the least bit girly. LOL But, they wanted that. The family all met me, they took notes of my suggestions....3 pages if my memory is right. Yes, 3 pages of notes of what they needed to do to get the home ready for sale.

I brought 3 boxes of staging supplies out of my personal selection and used almost all of it for this home. Pillows, blankets, plates, flowers, pots, candles, a large picture, all kinds of color pops. Mostly inside, but a bit outside as well.

There were lists for the occupants of what needed to happen whenever we had a showing scheduled. It was followed to a T.

I paid an arm & a leg for the most exquisite photography. An arm & a leg I tell ya! I asked my guy to do shots from here, there, and everywhere. And, then, do them again at twilight. And, then do a movie of the house, the grounds, the hills, views, and the road that takes you to the property. 

I prepared a 1500 character (that's our MLS limit) description of what that property felt like. Yes, what it felt like. Not just 3 bedrooms, 3 baths kind of stuff. The vibe of the house and the acres. But, because 1500 characters just wasn't enough, I did an extra supplement in the MLS for things the sellers had told me about the property, stories they shared, building ways, things that just couldn't fit anywhere else but by providing this extra doc for a prospective buyer.

And, I noted in the showing remarks that the buyers should wear tennies so that I could take them on a personally guided tour of the property. Quite honestly, I felt if they weren't willing to do that, they probably were not the right buyers for this home.

My phone went crazy. Texts, calls, emails. All to view this home. Over several days I toured, I don't even remember how many, buyers with their agents.....about an hour for each visitor(s). Up the hill, over the ridge, pointing out the boundary markers, pointing out the ownership of what road, what tree. Pointing out water tanks, propane tanks, septic tanks, wells. Anything and everything so the buyer could completely get the same vibe I got when I was on that ridge.....and, it was a great vibe I got that I shared.

I handed out the list of 'Things to Know' that was in the supplements, a floor plan of the home itself, a plat map of the 3 parcels that made up the property. 

And, then, the offers came in. All were great. All were motivated. And, long story short, I protected the hell out of my clients with our Seller Multiple Counter offer and we closed escrow today.

What 4 other agents, couldn't do 5 different times....I did. I guided my clients, they followed my lead, we sold their home for the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time.

I think they are pretty darn happy with me. Wouldn't you be?

Thinking About Selling A Home This Year? Read On....

 3 Must-Do’s When Selling Your House This Year

It’s exciting to put a house on the market and to think about making new memories in new spaces. However, despite the anticipation of what’s to come, we can still have deep sentimental attachments to the home we’re leaving behind. Growing emotions can help or hinder a sale depending on how we manage them.

When it comes to the bottom line, homeowners need to know what it takes to avoid costly mistakes when it’s time to move. Being mindful and prepared for the process can help you stay on the right track when selling your house this year.

1. Price Your Home Right

When inventory is low, like it is in the current market, it’s common to think buyers will pay whatever we ask when setting a listing price. Believe it or not, that’s not always true. Don’t forget that the buyer’s bank will send an appraiser to determine the fair value for your house. The bank will not lend more than what the house is worth, so be aware that you might need to renegotiate the price after the appraisal. A real estate professional will help you set the true value of your home.

2. Keep Your Emotions in Check

Today, homeowners are living in their houses for a longer period of time. Since 1985, the average tenure, or the time a homeowner has owned their home, has increased from 5 to 10 years (as shown in the graph below):This is several years longer than what used to be the historical norm. The side effect, however, is when you stay in one place for so long, you may get even more emotionally attached to your space. If it’s the first home you bought or the house where your children grew up, it very likely means something extra special to you. Every room has memories, and it’s hard to detach from the sentimental value.

For some homeowners, that makes it even harder to negotiate and separate the emotional value of the house from the fair market price. That’s why you need a real estate professional to help you with the negotiations along the way.

3. Stage Your Home Properly

We’re generally quite proud of our décor and how we’ve customized our houses to make them our own unique homes, but not all buyers will feel the same way about your design. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you stage your house with the buyer in mind.

Buyers want to envision themselves in the space so it truly feels like it could be their own. They need to see themselves inside with their furniture and keepsakes – not your pictures and decorations. Stage and declutter so they can visualize their own dreams as they walk down the hall. A real estate professional can help you with tips to get your home ready to stage and sell.

Bottom Line

Today’s sellers’ market might be your best chance to make a move. If you’re considering selling your house, let’s connect so you have the help need to navigate through the process while prioritizing these must-do’s. Lauren@KeepYourWitz.com or (661) 313-5470.