Is Your Kamloops Home Not Selling? 17 Tips For Home Sellers

home for sale kamlooops sign real estate home sale mls listingWhen you are selling your Kamloops home, you as the homeowner can play an important part in the timely sale of your property. When you take the following steps, you’ll make your sale a profitable one.

1. Make the Most of that First Impression
A well-manicured lawn, neatly trimmed shrubs and a clutter-free porch welcome prospects. So does a freshly painted – or at least freshly scrubbed – front door. If it’s autumn, rake the leaves. If it’s winter, shovel the walkways. The fewer obstacles between prospects and the true appeal of your home, the better.

2. Invest a Few Hours for Future Dividends
Here’s your chance to clean up in real estate. Clean up the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen. If your woodwork is scuffed or the paint is fading, consider some minor redecoration. Fresh paint adds charm and value to your property. If you’re worried about time, hire professional cleaners or painters to get your house ready. Remember, prospects would rather see how great your home really looks than hear how great it could look “with a little work.”

3. Check Faucets and Bulbs
Dripping water rattles the nerves, discolors sinks, and suggests faulty or worn-out plumbing. Burned out bulbs or faulty wiring leave prospects in the dark. Don’t let little problems detract from what’s right with your home.

4. Don’t Shut Out a Sale
If cabinets or closet doors stick in your home, you can be sure they will also stick in a prospect’s mind. Don’t try to explain away sticky situations when you can easily plane them away. A little effort on your part can smooth the way toward a closing.

5. Think Safety
Homeowners learn to live with all kinds of self-set booby traps: roller skates on the stairs, festooned extension cords, slippery throw rugs and low hanging overhead lights. Make your residence as non-perilous as possible for uninitiated visitors.

6. Make Room for Space
Remember, potential buyers are looking for more than just comfortable living space. They’re looking for storage space, too. Make sure your attic and basement are clean and free of unnecessary items.

7. Consider Your Closets
The better organized a closet, the larger it appears. Now is the time to box up those unwanted clothes and donate them to charity.

8. Make Your Bathroom Sparkle
Bathrooms sell homes, so let them shine. Check and repair damaged or unsightly caulking in the tubs and showers. For added allure, display your best towels, mats, and shower curtains.

9. Create Dream Bedrooms
Wake up prospects to the cozy comforts of your bedrooms. For a spacious look, get rid of excess furniture. Colorful bedspreads and fresh curtains are a must.

10. Open up in the Daytime
Let the sun shine in! Pull back your curtains and drapes so prospects can see how bright and cheery your home is.

Click here for a free, no-obligation online home evaluation.

11. Lighten up at Night
Turn on the excitement by turning on all your lights – both inside and outside – when showing your home in the evening. Lights add color and warmth, and make prospects feel welcome.

12. Avoid Crowd Scenes
Potential buyers often feel like intruders when they enter a home filled with people. Rather than giving your house the attention it deserves, they’re likely to hurry through. Ideally ensure that you vacate your home for any home showings. Buyers will feel more at home in an empty home.

13. Watch Your Pets
Dogs and cats are great companions, but not when you’re showing your home. Pets have a talent for getting underfoot. So do everybody a favor: Keep Kitty and Spot outside, or at least out of the way.

14. Think Volume
Rock-and-roll will never die. But it might kill a real estate transaction. When it’s time to show your home, it’s time to turn down the stereo or TV.

15. Keep a Low Profile
Nobody knows your home as well as you do but the Real Estate Professional accompanying the buyers know what they need and what they want. If you absolutely need to stay home for a showing, do your best to stay in the background.

16. Don’t Turn Your Home into a Second-Hand Store
When prospects come to view your home, don’t distract them with offers to sell those furnishings you no longer need. Whether it’s the kitchen table, bar stools or a lamp.

16. Adjust the price of your home to the market conditions
When you initially list your home for sale you decide on a reasonable list price with your Realtor. If you do not get any offers in 30 days and there are few showings you have to look at your price. You can do all the above mentioned things but if your price is too high no one will buy your home. Look at recent sales that compare to your home, as comparing your home to other homes currently for sale poses a very simple problem; the other homes also are not selling. Ultimately price will sell your home.

If you’ve covered these 17 points in the sale of your home, you may have to ask yourself “what is our Realtor doing?” We suggest the following questions:
1. Where are you advertising my home?
2. What has been the feedback on the showings?
3. How many hits are we getting on line?
4. How do you feel our price is compared to other homes like ours?
5. What do you have planned for marketing our home in the next 30 days?

There are many important things that have to be done by both the listing Realtor and the home seller when selling a home. Ensure that you and your Realtor have the same expectations.

Click here for a free, no-obligation online home evaluation.

Kamloops Real Estate New-Home Starts Increase in October 2010

This article appeared in the New Home Buyers Guide included in the Kamloops this Week dated November 24, 2010.

The construction industry in Kamloops continues to roll along as the number of new-home starts for the month of October outpaced the total in the same month last year.

According to new figures from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, there were 23 housing starts in the Tournament Capital last month, compared to 18 in October 2009. The 28 per cent increase in starts eclipsed other cities in the region, including Kelowna and Vernon, which saw a 25 and 67 per cen decrease respectively.

That brings the total number of single-family housing starts in Kamloops in 2010 to 314, up from 134  the previous year, which is a significant increase. Once again, those numbers are the highest in the region, as other Interior cities are experiencing increases of between 50 and 75 per cent in single-family housing starts.

However, the city is slightly off last year’s pace for multi-unit construction starts. With two months left in the year, there has been 209 multi-unit starts in the Tournament Capital, down from 217 the previous year.

Overall, the number of total units built in Kamloops this year is up, to 523 from 351 in 2009.

Kamloops and District Real Estate Associations Statistics For October 2010

The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association has posted it’s latest statistics for October 2010. The number of residential sales has dropped in comparison to October 2009 (229 units in 2009 vs. 146 units in 2010). The median sale price is also down significantly from last month. However, the median sale price can easily be affected by a large volume of high priced home sales. Click on the images below to enlarge.

Comparative analysis by property type October 2010 Kamloops Real Estate Statistics

Kamloops Real Estate Comparative Analysis By Property Type October 2010

MLS Activity October 2010 Kamloops Real Estate Statistics

Kamloops Real Estate MLS Activity October 2010

Sales by Subarea October 2010 Kamloops Real Estate Statistics

Kamloops Real Estate Sales by Subarea October 2010

Kamloops Home Inspections: Reduce Your Home Energy Bills

Todd Hrycenko Kamloops Home InspectionsSpend a little bit of money on your Kamloops home and save a lot on your home energy bills. Here are some tips on cutting your energy costs year round.

A lit fireplace sucks furnace-heated air up the chimney, which is replaced by cold air that comes in the opposite direction through the same opening. Turn the thermostat down and close your damper when it’s not in use.

Soot buildup, dusty fans and loose fan belts can add hundreds of dollars to your heating costs each year. Have your furnace tuned up regularly by a heating contractor, this can save up to 10 percent on heating bills.

Heating water makes up about 11 percent of our utility bills. Switching your unit for a more efficient storage model could save you 10 to 20 percent on heating bills.

Small changes can make a big difference.

Maintenance Matters

Air filters, included on all forced air furnaces, remove dirt and lint from heated air. This keeps the fan, heat exchanger and air conditioning coil clean. It also helps clean the air of your home as air circulates through the system.   The air in houses in Kamloops and area can be very dusty due to the low humidity, and filter maintenance is essential to keeping your home healthy.

Maintenance is based on the type of filter, how often the unit is running and how you use your home. The three basic types of filters are media, electronic and electrostatic.

The standard filter on most furnaces is a 1-inch thick media filter, usually made of fiberglass. This filter should be changed when visibly dirty – usually every month or two, depending on the quality of the filter and the amount of dirt in your home’s air. Children, pets, plants and activity tend to produce more dirt that finds its way into the heating system.

Filters are designed to be installed with one particular side facing the air stream. Most filters have directions or an arrow telling you which side should be installed toward the furnace.

Todd Hrycenko, Global Property Inspections
Phone: 250-371-2787 [email protected]
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