Five More Tips for Selling Your Home in the Winter

Part 2 of a 2-Part Series

In Lake Arrowhead, as in many mountain communities, some people bury their heads in the snow, waiting for spring to arrive. But if you want to sell your Lake Arrowhead home, don’t follow suit. While there are admittedly fewer buyers in cold winter months, there is also a lot less competition. Also, since your Lake Arrowhead house was designed with weather in mind, you should take the opportunity to showcase just how beautiful it is in a winter wonderland. So, now is actually a great time to sell your house– if you follow these 10 tips: (We provided five tips in last week’s post. Click here to read what you missed.) Then, read the following, which concludes our two-part series this week.

6. Appear meticulous

You may feel awkward about asking potential buyers to remove their shoes or slip on rubber shoe-covers before walking around your home. Don’t worry about it. This request shows buyers that you are picky about maintaining cleanliness. And this impression will shape their opinion of the state of your home, in general.

7. Keep it warm

Interest and entice buyers by making your home feel warm and cozy. You don’t want people who are looking at your home to shiver while they walk around inside. Set the thermostat higher if you know people are coming to look at the home. Better yet– if you will be there during the showing, set a fire in the fireplace.

8. Make it look comfortable

Small touches, like a throw blanket or afghan on a sofa and a large folded-over comforter on a bed, can add to the sense of warmth inside a home. Make the buyers see themselves comfortably living in the home.

9. Use timers on lights

In the spirit of keeping your home well illuminated, set up timers on inside and outdoor lights to make sure your home looks good at dusk and at night. Also, pay attention to the light around the front door, making sure it’s bright enough to seem inviting.

10. Keep an inviting aroma

The sense of the human body that sellers may neglect most is the sense of smell. Make your home pleasing to the nose by baking cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, apple pie, or anything with vanilla. Don’t overdo things by using scented candles or incense everywhere – some people are allergic. Also, you wouldn’t want buyers to think you are trying to mask something. If your home suffers from musty odors and pet smells, thoroughly clean those areas and replace or clean rugs and fabrics that may harbor bad odors.

If you are interested in buying or selling property in Lake Arrowhead, California or the surrounding area, don’t get caught in a Catch 22 — owning two homes or none at all. The Prime Team is the only group of real estate agents in the Lake Arrowhead area who stand by our services by offering a number of guaranteed sales and purchasing programs. So don’t miss a prime opportunity to take advantage of today’s market. We’ll answer all of your questions today, and you’re never under any obligation. Call 1-909-337-7653 and ask for a member of the Prime Team.

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New Year’s Real Estate Resolutions

Part 1 of a 2-Part Series

Are you planning to buy or sell a home in 2015? Whether you are looking to purchase or sell a vacation home or a luxurious place you and your family can live year-round in the Lake Arrowhead area, our gift to you this year is help you keep your 2015 New Year’s Real Estate Resolutions.

If you’re a seller, the list will help you get started on home improvement projects so you can prepare your house for today’s competitive housing market. For buyers, it may be tough to find just the right place unless your agent helps you map out a strategy before you even get started. Whether you plan on securing a mortgage or if you plan to pay cash for your luxury locale in Lake Arrowhead, our 2015 Real Estate Resolutions will help you make your move.

This week, our post will examine resolutions for sellers. Check back next week, when we will conclude our two-part series by focusing on resolutions for buyers.

Real Estate New Year’s Resolutions:

For Sellers:

Check your entire house, top-to-bottom. Although you’ve seen the house time and again, you need to take time to look at it from a buyer’s perspective. But whatever the tour reveals, don’t think you have to every room at once.  Start at the front door. Then, go room-by-room, pretending you are seeing it for the first time.  Be honest and critical. And use the information to make a list of areas that need attention. Your real estate agent will be able to help you identify potential projects and even make recommendations about reputable service professionals who can tackle the jobs.

Clear the clutter. As you go through your home, organize the paper trail by creating piles in each room. Stow the paper. Then, sort items to keep, give to family or friends, donate to charity and sell at a garage sale or online. Put away everything that won’t help you sell. This includes personal mementos and family photographs. You will want buyers to picture their own family living in the space.

Spruce up the kitchen. Kitchens and bathrooms sell homes. So make sure yours are spotless. Create an organized area for loose items like keys and mail, which often end up on countertops. Store small appliances out of sight instead of on the counter. And make sure absolutely everything is immaculate.

Bolster the bathroom. Clean grout, tiles, shower door and vanity, all of which can make a huge difference in the bathroom. Clear out the medicine cabinet. Throw away melted bar of soap, hang a new, crisp white shower curtain and replace worn towels with high quality white or other neutral towels.

Empty closets.All too often, closets become graveyards for belongings that homeowners don’t know where to stash. Interested buyers will likely open your closets. So make sure they aren’t stacked to full capacity, because that communicates a lack of adequate storage space. Spacious closets are a coveted feature among buyers. So make yours appear larger by keeping them clutter-free and well organized. If you haven’t hired a professional closet organizer, now may be the time to do so.

Clear bookcases. Even if you love holding on to paperbacks after you’ve read them, move them out of sight. Replace them with a few home decor items for visual interest. When in doubt, follow the “rule of three,” a practice of home stagers, by clustering items into groups of threes to create visual appeal. If you want to appeal to high-end buyers, you may want to hire a professional home stager, whose skills will help you get the best possible offer.

Purge basements, attics, build-ups and garages. Organization. Separate items to be stored in clear plastic bins, to reveal their contents. Do so by categories, such as holiday decorations. And be sure each one is clearly labeled. Also, make sure lids fit tightly, to keep pests out.

We will conclude our two-part series next week. So check back to read our recommended resolutions for buyers. Real estate investing can be tricky—whether you are buying your first home, purchasing a vacation home, or upgrading from a starter. If you are interested in buying or selling property in Lake Arrowhead, California or the surrounding area, don’t get caught in a Catch 22 — owning two homes or none at all. The Prime Team is the only group of real estate agents in the Lake Arrowhead area who stand by our services by offering a number of guaranteed sales and purchasing programs. So don’t miss a prime opportunity to take advantage of today’s market. We’ll answer all of your questions today, and you’re never under any obligation. Call 1-909-337-7653 and ask for a member of the Prime Team.

5 Steps to Help you Sell your Luxury Home

Part two of a two-part series

Although it’s difficult to quantify the definition of a luxury property, most buyers know one when they see it. The scale is grand. The location, ideal. The house, much more than a home. If you are looking to buy or sell a luxury home, you are in good company, as estate sales are hitting records across the country. For example, the number of California homes selling for $2 million or more reached an all-time high in 2013.

In our last blog post, we covered 10 Tips for Buying Luxury Property. This week, we will conclude our two-part series by focusing on how to sell a luxury home. Admittedly, the last several years have been volatile in terms of the housing market. However, one niche segment has remained fairly strong—the ultraluxury segment.

According to Business Insider writer, Abby Rogers, “While talking to realtors and industry insiders…we heard some great home-selling tales and got valuable tips about how to sell an astronomically-priced home.”

5 Luxury Home Selling Tips

1. Show the Value – more important for a luxury property than for any other house, valuable assets should be showcased in a way that appeals to luxury buyers.
2. Understand Buyers – while their market may have been the slowest to change, luxury buyers today understand how important it is to invest in the perfect property, not just for vacation or even full-time use, but for potential future investment.
3. Reach Your Target Market – when you’re selling a modest home, it might suffice to list with a novice realtor whose ad campaign will focus strickly on the local market. But if you don’t want to waste time, and if you want to make sure you get the best available offer, work with an agency that offers global exposure. The Prime Team, for example, is a member of Leverage Global Partners. In addition to offering exceptional service and connectivity, Leverage differentiates itself from existing international luxury real estate associations by increasing the online and social media presence of their members, and providing marketing tools designed to help each member expand their individual business. Leverage promotes the presidents of member firms and extends media access for their members’ properties through a robust public relations outreach and digital platform.
4. Stage It – studies prove that people respond with higher offers when they see properties that are perfectly staged. Most of us just don’t have a good enough imagination to picture how to beautifully furnish a luxury home. So, unless your real estate agent advises leaving your home as it is, consider hiring a company which will do all of the work for you. The right luxury agent will be able to recommend staging companies and may even offer to work with the stager on your behalf.
5. Network – Referrals are vitally important when it comes to selling your home. So don’t list with someone who is new to the area or hasn’t worked hard to develop valuable connections. Word of mouth remains the best sales tool ever invented. So your broker’s associates multiply your pool of perspective buyers, which will result in a quick sale and a high price.

#RealEstate investing can be tricky—especially if you are in the market for #LuxuryProperty. If you are interested in buying or selling property in Lake Arrowhead, California or the surrounding area, don’t get caught in a Catch 22 — owning two homes or none at all. The Prime Team is the only group of real estate agents in the Lake Arrowhead area who stand by our services by offering a number of guaranteed sales and purchasing programs. Recently named the exclusive Lake Arrowhead member of Leverage Global Partners, we are perfectly positioned to help you take advantage of today’s luxury market. We’ll answer all of your questions today, and you’re never under any obligation. Call 1-909-337-7653 and ask for a member of the Prime Team.

10 Tips for Buying Luxury Property

Although it’s difficult to quantify the definition of a luxury property, most buyers know one when they see it. The scale is grand. The location, ideal. The house, much more than a home. If you are looking to buy or sell a luxury home, you are in good company, as estate sales are hitting records across the country. For example, the number of California homes selling for $2 million or more reached an all-time high in 2013.

According to data prepared by Nationwide Real Estate Schools:“ the 11.6% price growth in California over the last year means that a house worth $925,000 last summer may be worth $1,032,300 today. (What’s more), the influx of international buyers is pushing up prices at the high end.”

When it comes to looking for a starter home or even a modest upgrade, the expertise and experience of your real estate agent is far less important than if you want to purchase a luxury home. The reasons for this are many:

• Time is money. Investing in luxury property is done mostly by people whose success is owed to hard work and wise use of time. While junior employees can afford the time to scour websites and pound the pavement in search of great bargains, successful entrepreneurs and C-suite executives understand that time is money. So they appreciate working with an expert who does the legwork for them—showing only the best possible options.
• Connections are key. Luxury property is unlike that on a more modest level, in that networking is critical. The most luxurious properties come on the market only to be snatched up by the first discerning consumer. So anyone who is interested in buying or selling a luxury home will benefit from the experience of brokers and agents who are in the know.
• Money talks. The real estate professional you choose for a relatively small real estate transaction is less critical than if you are dealing with a six-figure sale. Don’t leave your property search to someone who doesn’t intricately understand the market.

To help you on your quest, we have prepared 10 steps to help you buy luxury property. In next week’s blog, we will focus on 10 steps to help you prepare to sell your luxury home.

5 Steps to Help You Buy Luxury Property

1. Find the right agent. Although this is always the case, in luxury transactions, working with the perfect real estate professional will make the difference between a successful transaction and a frustrating process. The Prime Team is a Leverage Global Partner, uniquely aligned with the most prestigious independent real estate brokerage firms around the world. Leverage Global Partners offers its members the opportunity to better serve their clients’ relocation and real estate portfolio needs by establishing each member firm as a key player in the international real estate arena. Prime Properties is the only Leverage member in Lake Arrowhead.
2. Don’t overlook the basics.The foundation of energy efficiency begins with the basics — sealing and insulation, an orientation for optimal efficiency, adequate ventilation, an HVAC system correctly sized for the house and Energy Star-rated appliances (or better)! The green issue looming on the horizon is water usage. Consider any feature that conserves water or collects water to be a plus.
3. If necessary, procure financing in advance, if possible. Most brokers who specialize in luxury real estate will be able to assist you with this. As long as the terms you offer are attractive and you come in with a large down payment, you are in equal position with a cash buyer who is offering less than market value for the home, according to Iyna Bort Caruso of The Wall Street Journal.
4. Do your due diligence. In many cases, since luxury homes are large, they feature amenities that may require specialized home inspectors. (If you work with an experienced real estate professional, he or she will be able to help you find experts of this kind.)
5. Don’t rush the process. Although the market has improved, it may take awhile to find the perfect property. Trust the agent you are working with to find you the right home and to negotiate on your behalf to make sure you secure it.

#RealEstate investing can be tricky—especially if you are in the market for #LuxuryProperty. If you are interested in buying or selling property in Lake Arrowhead, California or the surrounding area, don’t get caught in a Catch 22 — owning two homes or none at all. The Prime Team is the only group of real estate agents in the Lake Arrowhead area who stand by our services by offering a number of guaranteed sales and purchasing programs. Recently named the exclusive Lake Arrowhead member of Leverage Global Partners, we are perfectly positioned to help you take advantage of today’s luxury market. We’ll answer all of your questions today, and you’re never under any obligation. Call 1-909-337-7653 and ask for a member of the Prime Team.

Pristine Home with Tree View