Simple Tips for Better Home Showings

Do you or someone you know have their house for sale?  There are several things that can be done to make your home more appealing to buyers. These tips are provided by the Realtor® Magazine.

1. Remove clutter and clear off counters. Throw out stacks of newspapers and magazines and stow away most of your small decorative items. Put excess furniture in storage, and remove out-of-season clothing items that are cramping closet space. Don’t forget to clean out the garage, too.

2. Wash your windows and screens. This will help get more light into the interior of the home.

3. Keep everything extra clean. A clean house will make a strong first impression and send a message to buyers that the home has been well-cared for. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates, mop and wax floors, and clean the stove and refrigerator. Polish your doorknobs and address numbers. It’s worth hiring a cleaning service if you can afford it.

4. Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Open the windows to air out the house. Potpourri or scented candles will help.

5. Brighten your rooms. Put higher wattage bulbs in light fixtures to brighten up rooms and basements. Replace any burned-out bulbs in closets. Clean the walls, or better yet, brush on a fresh coat of neutral color paint.

6. Don’t disregard minor repairs. Small problems such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression that the house isn’t well-maintained.

7. Tidy your yard. Cut the grass, rake the leaves, add new mulch, trim the bushes, edge the walkways, and clean the gutters. For added curb appeal, place a pot of bright flowers near the entryway.

8. Patch holes. Repair any holes in your driveway and reapply sealant, if applicable.

9. Add a touch of color in the living room.  A colored afghan or throw on the couch will jazz up a dull room. Buy new accent pillows for the sofa.
10. Buy a flowering plant and put it near a window you pass by frequently.
11. Make centerpieces for your tables. Use brightly colored fruit or flowers.

12. Set the scene. Set the table with fancy dishes and candles, and create other vignettes throughout the home to help buyers picture living there. For example, in the basement you might display a chess game in progress.

13. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light. Show off the view if you have one.
14. Accentuate the fireplace. Lay fresh logs in the fireplace or put a basket of flowers there if it’s not in use.

15. Make the bathrooms feel luxurious. Put away those old towels and toothbrushes. When buyers enter your bathroom, they should feel pampered. Add a new shower curtain, new towels, and fancy guest soaps. Make sure your personal toiletry items are out of sight.

16. Send your pets to a neighbor or take them outside. If that’s not possible, crate them or confine them to one room (ideally in the basement), and let the real estate practitioner know where they’ll be to eliminate surprises.

17. Lock up valuables, jewelry, and money. While a real estate salesperson will be on site during the showing or open house, it’s impossible to watch everyone all the time.

18. Leave the home. It’s usually best if the sellers are not at home. It’s awkward for prospective buyers to look in your closets and express their opinions of your home with you there.

Reprinted from REALTOR® magazine (REALTOR.org/realtormag) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.  Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Let me know if you are thinking of  listing your home and I will show you why you should list with me at Coldwell Banker Metronet Realtors®

Welcome Home Flights

I recently attended a Welcome Home Flight at Fort Campbell.  For those of you who don’t know, these are the flights that our brave soldiers are returning on from Afghanistan.    The Chamber of Commerce through the The Military Affairs Committee (MAC) has a Welcome Home Team.  For the flights that are assigned to MAC, they provide food and drinks to the families and friends that are awaiting the return of their loved ones.  The Hopkinsville Christian County Board of Realtors sponsored the homecoming flight that I attended.  Our flight was scheduled to arrive at 11:45 pm and we arrived at the hanger about 8:45 to setup the area for the refreshments.  The AUSA (Association of the United States Army) has volunteers there to show you what to do and help.  They have all of the food and drinks on site.  Soon after we were setup, the families started streaming in.  They are bused from a parking lot to the hanger where the flight arrives and walk by the refreshment table as they enter.  They bring signs, balloons, and wear T shirts with their loved ones names on them.  The children were so excited they couldn’t sit still.  We served the refreshments and socialized with the families until about 15 minutes before the plane arrived.  At that time everyone went outside to see the plane land.  After it landed, it taxied close to the hanger and the soldiers started to exit the plane.  They assembled at the back of the hanger as everyone rushed back into the hanger to watch as they marched in.  The doors opened and they  marched into the hanger, followed by a very short ceremony honoring their service.  They were then released to meet their families.  I sat at the top of the bleachers as everyone rushed the floor the find their loved ones.  It was very emotional to watch as children ran to the father or mother.  Spouses, girlfriends, and boyfriends rushed into each other’s arms.  After a few minutes we went onto the floor and welcomed and thanked the ones that did not have family able to attend.  They were so appreciative that we took the time to show we cared.  You leave with even more of an appreciation for the soldiers and their families.  We cannot thank them enough for the sacrifices they make allowing us to have our freedom.

You can participate by volunteering through MAC or by sponsoring a flight. Contact Kelli Pendleton by email at Kelli Pendleton at kpendleton@hopkinsvillechamber.com or call 270-885-9096 for more information about how to get involved. 

Outer City REZ

The City of Hopkinsville is discussing the possibility of developing a program that would give incentives to home buyers that are moving into the city.  The incentives would be close to $5000.00.  It is about time Hopkinsville gets proactive in getting people to live in our area.  I can remember just a very few years ago when there was absolutely nothing at Exits 1 and 4.  Clarksville made a commitment to have the military live in TN.  For years the military was not welcome in KY.  That has changed over the last 20 yrs., but we still did not promote our city and county.  The Chamber of Commerce in the last few years has made a big push to attract the military to our area.  The Military Affairs committee and Operation Left Turn have been working hard to promote the soldiers to turn left and come to KY.  Now is the time to make the push to get them here.  With the return of the military from Afghanistan, they will be looking for homes.  The incentive program could make a big difference.

The proposal also has incentives for developers.  One of the reasons we do not get the military here is the fact we do not have a supply of new homes.  The cost to develop a subdivision is enormous.  Most people do not realize that the developer pays for the installation of the street, electric, sewer, and water.  I believed the city should put in the infrastructure in.  Why should a developer have to pay for it?  The city will be collecting property taxes so they should put in the street.  The electric company should install the electricity and HWEA install the sewer and water because they both will have new customers.

To attract more residents we have to either have a bigger population or more retail and restaurants.  Which comes first the chicken or the egg?  Well if we have neither we surely don’t have a chance.

Bruce Smiley

I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons. – Will Rogers

Do you get tired of all the politics?    I know I do.  Every news story has to be twisted into a political view.  Every news program I see it is one guy on one side of an issue and one on the other, both talking at the same time and trying to yell louder than the other one.  You turn the channel and there will be two more going at it over the same subject using the same talking points.  Do these guys get some magical email that tells them what to say?  Do any of them formulate their own opinion?  Same goes for Congress.  They may act like they are going to vote against their party, but in the end very few will stick to their convictions.  There is now way that any vote should be straight down party lines.  No matter what party you belong to there will be times you will not agree with them.  It is time for some common sense and the members of Congress need to stop being zombies that vote however the leaders of their party tell them to. 

We need people that will represent the voters that elected them and who are not afraid to buck the system.  They should be proud to serve our country and not be worrying about getting the “Party’s” money so they can be re-elected.  I think they should only be compensated a set amount that would cover normal expenses.  No private planes, limos, parties, ect.  

And they need to have COMMON SENSE!  If common sense had been used over the last several decades, our goverment would not have so many regulations and would not be in such debt.

Bruce Smiley

A Few Statistics

As you know, housing sales are down.  In April, the Hopkinsville-Christian and Todd  County Association of Realtors® sold 25 homes, 5 of which were bought by our Military. 

Here are some numbers comparing the first quarter of  this year to the first quater og 2010:

	Q1  2010	Q1  2011	%+/-
New Listings	186	159	-14.5%
Closed Sales	75	74	-1.3%
Days on Market	132	144	+8.8%
Median Sales Price	$98,000	$90,000	-8.2%
Inventory of Homes For Sale	313	289	-7.7%
Months Supply of Homes for Sale	9.5	10.3	+8.5%

* Data from 10K Research and Marketing

It is defintely a buyers market.  If you are planning on buying a home in the next couple of years, now may be a good time to buy since there is an ample supply of homes on the market combined with very  low interest rates.  Give me a call at 270-348-1677 or email me at smiley@hoptown.com to help you buy or sell your home.  You can also visit my website at www.findhopkinsvillehomes.com to find all the homes listed on the MLS.

Welcome to my blog

I want to thank you for visiting my blog.  I will be using this blog to give information about the real estate market in Hopkinsville and surrounding areas.  Somtimes I may post about issues in the news.  I hope to keep it interesting, so plan on checking it out often.