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Just Moved? Time to Make Some New Friends
Just Moved? Time to Make Some New Friends
A lot of people worry about how pets and children will adjust after a move. Adolescents and teens are incredibly social yet often have a hard time finding new peer groups and making friends. And while these are all obstacles that are often overcome, we often handle these issues without considering how the adults in the house will adjust socially to a move.
Wait. What? Yes, you. The adults. It doesn’t matter if you moved 20 minutes from your old house or 200 miles away. You are in a new neighborhood and just dropping everything for a cup of coffee with your friend up the street won’t be possible unless you make a few new friends in your new vicinity.
Making New Friends
Making new friends doesn’t mean you have to ditch your old friends, but you need to have a social circle you can turn to locally. Here are a few ways to meet people in a new area:
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Join a meet-up group. Look online for local meet-up groups happening in public places and go check one out. You probably won’t be the only one there who hasn’t met anyone in the group before, and you may just find that commonality to bond over.
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Find a sports team to join. Love soccer? Love baseball? There are adult fun-leagues all over the place. Find one and you’ll not only get some great exercise but will make friends with a common interest.
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Take a hobby class. There are plenty around, from new paint studios to ceramic classes. Maybe sewing, knitting, or even sign language. Check out the adult classes that are often listed in community brochures or college catalogs and see if something interests you.
Setting Guidelines
Here is where things will get hairy. First, you need to become more comfortable with yourself. You need to be willing to have dinner in a restaurant – alone; to go grocery shopping in a new store – alone; to take a class where you may not meet a new friend – alone. Go to a museum; check out an art gallery; check out the local coffee shop’s open mic night. Just go and open yourself up to opportunity, whether it be enjoying the experience or striking up a conversation with someone new.
At the same time, you need to have guidelines for the types of people you’ll allow into your life. If something strikes you as odd about a person you see at a meet-up, don’t feel obligated to exchange contact info – or don’t use it when given. If you have fun, get an email address. If you keep calling people but they never call you, look to find other people who will reciprocate your friendship in a friendlier way.
Not sure what to do? Talk to your real estate agent. Many are familiar with the areas in which they are selling and can probably help you to find the resources you need to get out there, have a little fun, and meet some people in the process.
Showing Your Home: What to Do with Your Pets
Showing Your Home: What to Do with Your Pets
You’re trying to sell your house but you have dogs, cats, or some other breed of pet hanging around. While many won’t mind seeing pets around the house, some will, so you’ll need to give careful consideration to what you’re going to do with your pets when your real estate agent is conducting a showing or open house.
General Staging with Pets
Let’s start with everyday staging. If you have small animals that live in cages or aquariums, this won’t be as much of a problem. If you have cats and dogs, you’re going to have to work daily to make sure your rugs are vacuumed and that your furniture isn’t covered with animal hair.
You will want to survey your home to make sure there are no signs of damage caused by your pet (scratches on crown molding, stains on the carpets and rugs, etc). You’ll also want to have a neutral third-party tell you if your home has a pet odor. You’ll need to take care of these things before you can even put the house on the market.
Make sure your pet’s toys are cleaned up – neatly tucked away in a basket or out of sight. Move the cat’s litter box to a more discrete location and make sure you pet’s feeding area is clean at all times. When showing the home, move these things out of sight altogether.
During a Showing
Most real estate agents will recommend that all signs of cats and dogs be removed completely before an open house or showing. This can cause your pet some anxiety, especially cats. If you really can’t get your pets out of the house, try to crate them in a quiet place until the showing is over. Talk to your pet’s veterinarian if you are concerned about how preparations for a showing will impact him emotionally.
If you can take them elsewhere for a while, all the better. Potential home buyers with allergies may not even want to enter your home if your pets are there. Those with animal fears may feel the same.
Some real estate agents will ask you to completely relocate your pets to another home while your house is on the market. We understand that your pets are a part of your family and that this can be especially trying, so we like to review each home on a case-by-case basis. Give us a call for help if you aren’t sure what to do with your pets. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.
Long Distance Moving with Pets: How to Care for Them on the Trip
Long Distance Moving with Pets: How to Care for Them on the Trip
Moving isn’t always easy and long-distance moves can be particularly stressful. You have to figure out how to get yourself set up in a new town or state, hundreds of miles from your current location, sometimes with very little guidance. Many people tend to forget how difficult a move can be on a pet – not just the idea of having a new home, but the stress of the trip in moving day itself.
Driving or Flying?
Some people send their belongings on a moving truck and then fly themselves to their new locations. While this may be ideal for the people in your life, it may not be best for your dog or cat. As a matter of fact, it almost never works for families with multiple pets as there are often “one pet” restrictions to consider. Older animals and those in poorer health may also become stressed when separated from you.
Driving is a great option if you have older pets or simply want to keep the family together. You can keep a closer eye on your loved ones and make sure they are not overly stressed or taxed by the journey. You can also control the frequency of driving breaks for using the bathroom, feeding, or assessing for car sickness.
Plan the Actual Trip Carefully
You’re going to want to take special care in planning the actual trip. If you were driving with only people, you could squeeze more hours into the day, take less frequent breaks, and not worry about which hotels you stop at. Here are a few tips that will make the entire journey more enjoyable:
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Carefully plan your route. If it would normally take two days, plan for three or four and split your time up accordingly. Moving adds pressure to your timeline, and having pets in the car may make that pressure feel worse. Give yourself plenty of extra time to get to your new location.
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Make sure you are booking pet-friendly hotels and make sure your hotel takes your type of pet. A lot of hotels assume you’ll have a dog but may not allow for a cat (or a guinea pig or a snake).
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Make sure you carry your supplies where they can be reached easily – food, bowls, bottled water, familiar bedding for the hotel, medical records, and some of your pet’s favorite foods and treats. The food and treats are important because you’ll want to have a favorite to entice eating in strange places.
Don’t assume that because your pet does well on short car rides that he’ll be OK on a full or multi-day journey. Talk to your vet about things you can do to ease your pet’s anxiety (medications, Feliway for cats, etc). The smoother your trip, the easier it will be for your pet to settle into your new home when you arrive!
Preparing Your Home for a Fall Listing
Preparing Your Home for a Fall Listing
Oh, the fall is such a lovely time to sell a home. The lull in the summer market caused by casual shoppers who have paused their house hunts to go on vacation ends. People find themselves back in a regular routine, the kids are back in school, and those who have been considering a move start putting more serious effort into their searches. And your home will be ready and waiting.
Your Home’s Landscape
Take some time to spruce up your home’s landscape. Get that lawn mowed one last time before it gets too cold, pull the weeds, and plant a few nicer, fall flowers. Mums are colorful and fall-like and can be planted or placed around your landscape in large, decorative pots. Place a couple of nice pumpkins on the step (note – pumpkins – not carved jack-o-lanterns), keep your lawn raked (or hire a lawn service), and make sure your home’s siding is clean and free of damage. Chips in the paint will begin to show more as trees and shrubs lose leaves when going dormant for the winter. Don’t go overboard. Keep your outside décor simple.
Home Repairs
No one wants to buy a home that needs a lot of work right before the holidays. Make sure your home is “move-in ready” by making any of the improvements and repairs it will need. If you already know you’ll need new carpeting, or that a room needs paint, take care of those things. Save yourself the hassle of a negotiation or delay in settlement.
Make the House Cozy but Bright
Natural light is incredibly important, but it becomes more scarce during the fall months and people are more likely to look at homes after work (when it’s dark) or on the weekends. Make sure all of your lighting fixtures have warm but bright bulbs so the home feels bright and open.
Make sure our home feels cozy as fall buyers are coming in and out during times where temperatures are trending towards cool. Drape an afghan over your sofa; leave out a few unlit candles; and make sure you have wood near the fire place if you have one. Make sure the home is clean, tidy, and appealing all around. You might even want to put a comforter that appears more cozy and warm on the bed.
Fall is an incredible season and the opportunity you have to sell your home before the winter is huge. Talk to your real estate agent about other things you can do to take advantage of the season when staging. You’ll be surprised at how much interest your home receives.
Selling an Elderly Family Member’s Home: Things to Consider
Selling an Elderly Family Member’s Home: Things to Consider
Whether it’s because of a downsize, a move to a care facility, or after a death, the sad reality is that at some point in your life you may find yourself faced with the task of selling an elderly family member’s home. Here are a few key points to consider.
You’re Going to Need Time – and Help
Not only will you be faced with the emotions attached with selling a loved one’s home, but you will very likely be tasked with cleaning it out from top to bottom. This means not only furniture and clothing but a lifetime’s worth of paperwork, bank statements, photographs, and documents you aren’t sure are relevant or not.
You’re going to need help. Grab a sibling, child, or cousin and put everyone to work. Hire someone for a few hours a week, if you have to. Someone can pack up the dishes while someone else sorts through financial statements and paperwork. Make sure everything has a place – the yardsale pile, the donation pile, the garbage pile. You’re going to be frustrated and tired, but make sure you are thorough so that you don’t miss a drawer or pillow or secret compartment in a floor vent (true story behind that last one).
Wall Paper
Sorry, but if you’re going to sell that house you’re going to have to get rid of the wall paper. Most real estate agents will be brave enough to tell you that, whether you want to hear it or not. Wall paper is outdated (especially the kind your elderly family members have) and a fresh coat of paint can really brighten up a house. Hire someone or spend a day with the family getting it off the walls – but do it.
The Carpeting Has to Go
Think about this carefully. The memories you have of your grandmom’s house probably include a familiar smell. Maybe not the smell of a certain food but just the everyday aroma of going to grandma’s house. A lot of times homes owned by elderly people have a distinct odor. It’s not that it’s particularly offensive, but it happens when carpet is decades old and has absorbed years and years of family living. Removing the carpeting and replacing it with new (or in some cases exposing the gorgeous hard wood flooring you didn’t know was beneath it), can make a huge difference in your ability to sell the home.
The task of selling a home an elderly loved one lived in for a long period of time is never easy. Ask your real estate agent to walk through the house with you and give you an idea of what changes have to be made for the staging process. It may take time, but your efforts will help your loved one get a fair price for her home – whether for her continued living expenses or for her estate.
What Does the Chinese Market Mean to US Real Estate?
What Does the Chinese Market Mean to US Real Estate?
The global market has huge reach. A piece of political turmoil in one country, especially when it includes finance or banking, can have a ripple effect that spans the globe – shaking confidence, making people nervous about investments, altering interest rates, and more.
More recently, the world has had its eye on the Chinese stock market based in Shanghai. As the turbulent Chinese market changes and leaves investors feeling less secure about local real estate, Chinese investors are looking to the United States instead. In terms of real estate, a slump in the Chinese market means a boom in US real estate sales.
Go figure.
According to CNBC, “Chinese buyers have poured $28.6 billion into US real estate in the past year…” This is a huge number, and forecasters expect to see further increase. While California has always been a favorite for foreign investors, Florida and Texas are also favored because of educational and work opportunities.
Why real estate? The Chinese yuan and the US dollar have a very close relationship, so turmoil doesn’t necessarily mean a huge change in exchange rates, though some devaluation has been seen very recently. Real estate is considered a safe asset to have as part of an investment portfolio. The risk is considered low to moderate and the returns are generally pretty high, especially in the past several weeks.
The surge in Chinese purchases in the US started before August’s major stock exchange crash, but the impact of the crash has had a significant impact. According to Inman, “The Chinese stock market has lost 30 percent of its value and continues to see major swings,” and “More than half of Chinese citizens are considering buying foreign real estate.”
There are some analysts who wonder if the stock market crash will scare investors away from all avenues of investment, startling them into saving instead of making purchases anywhere – in China or overseas. Most seem to think that investors will continue spending in other countries, particularly in the West.
What does it mean right now? As a real estate agent, it means you need to embrace the opportunity to work with new clients. Focus on today and on your ability to appeal to a new, growing audience. We’ll keep an eye on the stock market and continue to be aware of day-to-day changes and their impacts on the global economy.
Moving with Pets? How to Prepare and Help them Adjust
Moving with Pets? How to Prepare and Help them Adjust
Your pets are an important part of your family and, as such, shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to the moving process. Your pets are highly tuned to your everyday schedule and the stress of preparing for a move will not go unnoticed. There are several things you can do as you lead up to moving day, and on moving day, to make sure your pets are calm and cared for.
Pet Friendly Neighborhoods
For starters, don’t forget about your furry friends when you search for your new neighborhood. Make sure it’s pet-friendly, especially if you have dogs. Are there parks and trails? Other animals? A lot of sounds or traffic that will become bothersome? Make sure the new atmosphere is both welcoming and safe.
Change Stinks
Pets don’t like change – at all. Especially cats. The best thing you can do is start bringing moving boxes into your home early so that the animals can see them, get a feel for them, and get used to having them around.
Moving Day Safety
Your pets should not be allowed free access to your home on moving day. Confine them to a single empty room or send them to a friend’s house for the day. This will reduce anxiety and keep them from becoming scared and bolting out your front door. If you can’t find a friend’s house, consider checking them into a pet hotel or kennel for a day. It may not be ideal, but they’ll be safe.
When you get to your new home, do the same thing as you did on moving day – give your pets a single room to settle into first. Include food, water, treats, toys, and whatever else will make them comfortable. Make sure people are finished with the in and out to trucks and cars, and allow your pets access to new rooms a little bit at a time. If you have a cat, you’ll want to make sure this room is especially quiet to keep anxiety levels low. Dog or cat, be sure to stop and spend time with your pets in this quiet space so they don’t feel ignored.
There’s a lot to keeping pets safe and secure during a move, but making sure they’re part of the plan will ensure nothing gets overlooked. Talk to your real estate agent if you need referrals to pet-friendly services to help you out during the moving process.
How to Entice Buyers to Look at a Vacant Home
How to Entice Buyers to Look at a Vacant Home
You had to move to your new home before your old one sold. No matter what the circumstances that forced your early move, the truth is that you now have a unique selling situation. You have a vacant home to show and sell. While that may seem like an ideal situation, it does present a number of challenges.
An Empty Home is a Boring Home
One of the first problems you’ll encounter is that the home is completely empty. Believe it or not, this actually makes it more difficult for a buyer to visualize himself living in the home. There is no frame of reference for how the rooms might look with furniture or décor. The upside is that this can be remedied in a few different ways.
The first is virtual staging, where an artist uses technology to add furniture and décor to the images of the home that will appear online. The images can be used as a supplement to the home showing. More ideal would be to rent furniture or buy someone on consignment to leave behind. The home will look a little more lived in, without the clutter of an actual family running in and out.
Regular Home Maintenance
A vacant home is an unmaintained home. Make sure you have someone doing outside yardwork on a routine basis to keep the outside looking well maintained and cared for. Depending on how long you’re out of the house, and how far away you are, you may want to hire a cleaning service to make sure the inside isn’t too dusty, that the windows are washed, and that there are no odors in the home.
Utilities Need to Be On
You need to make sure that there are utilities on within the home. While you may fear the cost, you’ll be spending significantly less than if someone was living in the house. Your real estate agent needs to be able to turn on lights, adjust the heat or air conditioning, show that the gas range works (if applicable) and show that the plumbing systems work. If the home sells, an inspector will need to be able to do the same. No one will want to tour a home they can’t see, or that feels awful compared to the outside temperature.
Don’t panic if you need to leave your home before it has sold. Your real estate agent is here to help and will guide you through the process, ensuring everything runs smoothly in your absence.
How to Analyze a Neighborhood before Buying a Home
How to Analyze a Neighborhood before Buying a Home
You know exactly what you want in a home. You know how many bedrooms and bathrooms they’ll be, whether you want an attached or detached garage, a basement, a large kitchen, or walk-in closets. And while you have a picture-perfect vision for the home you’d like to purchase, we have to stop and ask if you’ve considered the type of neighborhood that home will in. For many, especially those with children, the type of neighborhood will dictate the areas in which they even look for a home – and it’s not just about crime rates.
Townships and Public Services
What are the tax rates in the towns you’re considering? Are they unrealistically low; unreasonably high? Take a look around the town to see if funding has been cut for traditional services. Are the parks well-maintained? Does the local library have normal hours? Are there any signs that the township is in distress? If so, you may want to look elsewhere.
Social Cues Matter
When you drive around your intended neighborhood, do you see a lot of for-sale signs? We’re not talking homes alone, either. Are businesses moving or closing down altogether? That’s a sign that the town’s economy is struggling.
Look for things that matter to you as well. Are there safe running or bicycling trails? Is your favorite type of café within close proximity? Is there a generally quiet atmosphere or can you constantly hear noise from a nearby highway or airport?
Examine the School District
Do some research on the quality of the school district. Is this a place where families will want to raise their children. The importance of the answer to this question does not hinge on whether or not you have children of your own or ever plan to; or even if you homeschool the children you do have. It will matter if you ever decide to sell your home, as you may end up selling to a family.
Talk to the Neighbors
Take a walk through the neighborhood around the homes you’re considering and knock on a couple of doors. Introduce yourself as a prospective buyer and ask for a few minutes of time. Your potential neighbors won’t mind filling you in on the pros and cons of the surrounding area, your prospective immediate neighbors, and more.
There’s a lot to look for in a neighborhood as well as in a home. Ask your real estate agent for help finding homes in areas that meet your specifications. Most can guide you in the right direction with ease.
