6 REASONS TO REDUCE YOUR HOME PRICE

Home not selling? That could happen for a number of reasons you can’t control, like a unique home layout or having one of the few homes in the neighborhood without a garage. There is one factor you can control: your home price.

While you’d like to get the best price for your home, consider six reasons to reduce your home price.

These six signs may be telling you it’s time to lower your price.

1. You’re drawing few lookers:

You get the most interest in your home right after you put it on the market because buyers want to catch a great new home before anybody else takes it. If your real estate agent reports there have been fewer buyers calling about and asking to tour your home than there have been for other homes in your area, that may be a sign buyers think it’s overpriced and are waiting for the price to fall before viewing it.

2. You’re drawing lots of lookers but have no offers:

If you’ve had 30 sets of potential buyers come through your home and not a single one has made an offer, something is off. What are other agents telling your agent about your home? An overly high price may be discouraging buyers from making an offer.

3. Your home’s been on the market longer than similar homes:

Ask your real estate agent about the average number of days it takes to sell a home in your market. If the answer is 30 and you’re pushing 45, your price may be affecting buyer interest. When a home sits on the market, buyers can begin to wonder if there’s something wrong with it, which can delay a sale even further. At least consider lowering your asking price.

4. You have a deadline:

If you’ve got to sell soon because of a job transfer or you’ve already purchased another home, it may be necessary to generate buyer interest by dropping your price so your home is a little lower priced than comparable homes in your area. Remember: It’s not how much money you need that determines the sale price of your home, it’s how much money a buyer is willing to spend.

5. You can’t make upgrades:

Maybe you’re plum out of cash and don’t have the funds to put fresh paint on the walls, clean the carpets, and add curb appeal. But the feedback your agent is reporting from buyers is that your home isn’t as well-appointed as similarly priced homes. When your home has been on the market longer than comparable homes in better condition, it’s time to accept that buyers expect to pay less for a home that doesn’t show as well as others.

6. The competition has changed:

If weeks go by with no offers, continue to check out the competition. What have comparable homes sold for and what’s still on the market? What new listings have been added since you listed your home for sale? If comparable home sales or new listings show your price is too steep, consider a price reduction.

Article by G.M.Filisko at http://www.houselogic.com/

FEELING THREATENED? How to Use Your Smartphone as a Weapon

A smartphone isn't just for making phone calls. Learn about new mobile apps that can help keep you safe on the job

A range of mobile apps are available — some even designed specifically for real estate professionals — that can do everything from instantly alerting others when you’re feeling threatened to even automatically accessing your GPS coordinates to request help when you need it most. The apps offer discreet ways to call for help when faced in uncomfortable situations, whether encountering squatters in vacant residences, meeting with strangers in empty homes, or even open houses where you never know who will walk through that door next.

Real estate pro Michelle Jones, ABR, GRI, with Realty Austin in Austin, Texas, recently worked with a developer to create Real Alert, a safety mobile app for the iPhone and Android for real estate professionals. She created it after facing some uncomfortable client situations herself that made her begin to question her own safety more. Following recent news of an Iowa real estate agent who was killed at a model home and a San Antonio agent brutally attacked during a showing, Jones’ husband also became fearful of his wife going to showings alone at empty houses with clients she barely knew, and so they came up with the idea for a safety mobile app that would give them both more peace of mind.

“We’re meeting strangers on our job and often we’re alone,” says Jones. “This app can make people feel more secure and it makes you more aware of your surroundings. I’ve been in situations where I’ve been uncomfortable, but I wanted to call for help without alarming the other person. By carrying things that protect ourselves and becoming more aware of the dangers, we’ll be less prey and maybe even prevent more attacks from happening.”

Click here for more information on the 4 safety mobile apps you need to know about:  Moby, Real Alert, Safe TREC, and IcePics.

Story written by Melissa Dittman Tracey at Realtor.org.

CREATING YOUR DREAM KITCHEN

THE CLASSIC WORK TRIANGLE

Placing your sink, range and refrigerator in a convenient arrangement that fits in your space will naturally result in a "work triangle". Your job is to make that the best triangle possible. Here are some factors to consider:

•The length of the three sides added together should be less than 26 feet, with each side being 4-9 feet. This will give you a work area which is not too cramped, but not so large that you waste time and energy hiking from one place to another.

•Main traffic route should not pass through the triangle. Sometimes this is impossible to achieve, but redirecting traffic outside the triangle is much safer and more convenient for the cook.

•An island or peninsula should not interrupt the triangle. A "barrier island" between major work areas or appliances causes a lot of extra walking (and maybe bumped hips as you swing past the corners of the island on the way to somewhere else).

Kitchen floor plans

However the work triangle in kitchen remodeling is not the only concept...

There's more than one way to approach creating a floor plan for your new kitchen. The classic "work triangle" method dates from the 1950's and involves optimizing the triangle formed by the three main kitchen appliances - sink, range and refrigerator. Your job is to make sure the legs of the triangle are neither too long (too much walking) or too short (everything feels cramped and people get in each others way). Since the 1950's we've added many more possible appliances, and kitchens nowadays can have more than one of some types and more than one cook - so more recently the concept of "work centers" has come into use.

CONTEMPORARY PLANNING: Work Centers

Nowadays the work triangle is not always enough to describe how a kitchen will function. Adding appliances (extra sink, dishwasher(s), separate cooktop and oven(s), microwave oven, etc.) adds extra work stations which the simple triangle can't account for. Adding cooks to a single triangle is a recipe for tripping over each other. The concept used to solve these problems in design is that of work centers or zones. A work center groups everything needed to do a specific type of task into a single area. The three major ones are:

Food Prep Center

Near fridge, near sink (may have its own sink separate from the main cleanup sink), near trash and compost containers: needs counter space, knife storage, cutting boards, measuring and mixing utensils, small appliances such as food processor or blender, casseroles and baking dishes, flavorings, cookbook storage, graters.

Cooking Center

Range (stove) or cooktop and ventilation: oven may be located separately if it's not part of a range (possibly near the baking zone). If you cook using your microwave, you might include it in this zone (possibly mounted over the range), but if you mainly use it for heating up snacks it could be better located outside the main work triangle where non-cooks can access it without getting in the way. Close to the food prep center so that food can go directly from prep to cooking. If you do a lot of cooking involving large pots of water (pasta for 12, canning, etc) a faucet nearby can be very useful. Small cooking appliances like the toaster, toaster oven, convection oven, deep fryer etc might be located here or in a separate snack center. Storage for frypans, possibly saucepans, pot lids, cooking utensils, salt, pepper and spices (away from heat), oils, vinegars and other flavorings, oven mitts and gloves, fire extinguisher.

Cleanup Center

Main sink, dishwasher, garbage disposal, trash and compost bins, recycling bins, waste compactor; storage for cleaning materials, dishtowels, food storage containers and materials, paper towels, garbage bags, colanders and strainers, possibly everyday dishes and flatware (near dishwasher), possibly saucepans (near water source).

   

   

   

   

MOST EXPENSIVE HOME FOR SALE IN TULSA COUNTY

Just for fun I researched the most expensive home currently listed in Tulsa County. If you judge by price per square foot this property is listed at $517.00/sq ft! Six bedrooms, seven full baths, three half baths, yet only a 2-car garage (interesting) on a gorgeous three and a half acres +/-. It's the most expensive by square foot and by the price of $9 million!  If you'd like to take a look at the virtual tour click here.

No matter what price range you're house-hunting...give us a call!

WHAT DO YOU WANT IN A REAL ESTATE AGENT?

1. Honesty and Credibility

Win them over with the truth! When Buyers & Sellers talk about honesty and credibility, it often comes with stories about past negative experiences with agents. They have expressed how hard it is to trust anyone in today’s real estate market, so it’s even more important for agents to communicate with honesty, even if less-than-favorable information.

2. Area Familiarity

Do your neighborhood homework! Buyers & Sellers place a high importance on finding an agent who not only sells homes in a specific neighborhood, but also knows that neighborhood well. They want an agent who knows all about the schools, local parks, safety, restaurants and even the secret gems the neighborhood has to offer.

3. Good Follow Through

You say it, you do it! There's frustration with agents who don’t do what they said. Email me, call me and send me the things you say you will. It seems like such a small thing to ask for. Do what you say, combine it with some honesty, and you’ll be an agent buyers feel comfortable working with.

4. Organization

Keep it in order. The average person spends roughly 150 hours per year searching for documents, electronic files, and other information. That’s equivalent to almost a month of work. Some studies put the number even higher—10% of work time. Think of the lost productivity, the aggravation, and the resulting discord. With a few tools and processes, you can reclaim the time you would have otherwise lost to disorganization. 

5. Good Listener

Everyone is unique. Treat them like it! Buyers & Sellers want an agent to listen to them with a blank mind. Phrases such as “pigeon hole”, “judge”, “they aren’t listening”, “tell me what I want”…etc. are common with Buyers & Sellers that feel they are not being understood. They don’t want an agent to assume they need A just because they hear B. They want an agent who listens to what they want and will ask as many questions as required to really understand who they are and what they are looking for.

Mike & I would be happy to provide you with references from Buyers & Sellers that we have successfully helped attain their real estate goals.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Independence Day honors the birthday of the United States of America and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It's a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, and a reason to fly the American flag.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." ~ Ronald Reagan

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.