FSBO Jane

Many of us are in the midst of celebrating the special holidays with our family and friends. Soon, 2009 will end, and 2010 is right around the corner. This time of year always makes me sentimental. I tend to make a habit of sitting down with a mug of hot chocolate and making a list of what I’m most proud of accomplishing each year. The list I will never forget creating is the year that I sold my house FSBO and moved into a new place to make my own. What an accomplishment!

If you can’t write that on your list this year, don’t worry. There’s always next year. At the end of 2010, you can check off buying and/or selling FSBO on your list, and you can feel just as great about it as I did! As a past user of Buy Owner, my advice is to let them help you through the process. I’m telling you, using this company will help you accomplish your goals with so much less stress than if you were to do it any other way.

Why? Because they hand you all the tools you need to accomplish your goals on your own, and for free. You can search thousands of houses on their website, you can choose exact features that you want to search for in a house, you can work at your own pace, and you can obtain tons of free information on everything you need to know in the process of buying and selling your home FSBO by reading their Buy Owner Blog. The articles are split into categories, such as Buying Tips and Selling Tips, to make is easier for you to find exactly what you’re looking for. Seriously, this blog is a godsend.

Happy Holidays!

In honor of the Christmas season, I’ll be MIA for the next few days, back again Monday. In the meantime, here are some holiday- or winter-related posts from the FSBO Jane archives for you to enjoy:

1. 3 Tips for Selling a Home in Snow
2. Are You Selling Your Home during the Holidays?
3. (Selling Your) Home for the Holidays
4. Holiday Decorating
5. HOAs & Holidays
6. Quality Links: Selling in Winter

Image: Krisdecurtis

Image: Paul Keleher

With Thanksgiving behind us, most Americans are turning their attention to one thing, be it Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa: the holidays. This is a magical time of year, though busy. December is notoriously filled with parties to attend, gifts to give, tradtiions to take part in.

And with so much going on, it can be a very difficult time to try to sell a home.

Sellers, don’t lose heart amidst the holidays! This season is an important time to keep your eye on the goal: selling your property. Here are some tips for showing your home while also celebrating the season:

1. LESS IS MORE

You can still put up a wreath on the front door, a tree in your living room, decorative lights on the exterior. But don’t overdo it. This is not the year to compete with your neighbor to see who  can be most elaborate. It’s wonderful to make your home feel warm and inviting, as this will help interested buyers imagine themselves celebrating in coming years. But don’t overwhelm them (as in the photo above) with too much.

2. USE HOLIDAYS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

When an open house is scheduled, or when you have a buyer coming for a tour, bake holiday cookies and put them out in the kitchen for the visitors. Maybe make some hot apple cider or hot chocolate, too. Most people associate the holidays with warm feelings and memories, so if you can get them to feel those with your home, that’s half the battle.

3. REALIZE THIS IS A SLOWER SEASON

This real estate market is more favorable towards buyers, and that’s a fact. Couple that with the holidays, and you have a smaller pool of buyers (who are still shopping around Christmastime) to draw from. Don’t lose heart. Keep being faithful at the important things: good marketing, immaculate house, right pricing. The right buyers will come, and it maybe be before the new year.

The holidays are the perfect time of year to turn your house into a home. The decorations, traditions and parties all give way to a cozy, inviting feeling. So whether you’re new to your home, about to move into one or just not sure how to begin nesting, here are some quick tips!

Be sure to write all of your ideas down. Or—even better—create a bulletin board full of various things that inspire you, whether it be a color that you think would be perfect on the bedroom wall, a piece of fabric that you like or a picture that you cut out of a magazine. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and it’s important not to dismiss it. When decorating your home, your board of inspiration can be an excellent source of help in making your dreams become a reality.

If you choose to spend a little more on a sturdy couch, then find some cheap throw pillows to complement it!

And remember, this shouldn’t be a chore. Don’t let decorating become a source of stress; just have fun and enjoy the process!

H a ll o w ee n is almost here! I always enjoy driving past homes that have cutesy pumpkin decals on the windows or scary gravestones on the lawn. However, when I’m visiting a friend or my family, I sometimes drive pass countless condos and townhomes that have no decorations at all. And while I know that not everyone likes to showcase their holiday cheer, there is often another reason why I see empty yards and windows when I visit other people who live in small subdivisions.

Depending on where you live, if you own a condo or a townhouse that is nestled inside a small community, you may have to belong to a homeowners’ association. All HOAs have different rules and regulations, which can determine any number of things, from parking to patio furniture, outdoor lights and holiday decorations. Some do not allow you to display any decorations until 14 to 30 days prior to a given holiday.

So while my front lawn may be decked out with crazy spider webs, frightening headstones and carved pumpkins on October 1, those who own condos and townhomes in small subdivisions might not be able to decorate their property until the middle of the month! Many HOAs also express that residents must take down decorations by the 30th calendar day after the holiday.

To me, this is not such a big deal. While I would be a little disappointed that I couldn’t put up my decorations until the middle of a given month, it’s not really a problem. And when I was little, my family used to leave my Christmas decorations up until February or March! So I think that a required deadline for decoration set up/removal is actually a good thing. You wouldn’t want to look at terrifying ghouls as you’re eating Thanksgiving dinner, would you? You also probably would not rotting pumpkins to sit on your lawn, as they would most likely attract unwanted bugs and mold.

So when it comes to the “holiday rule,” who really cares? Some people say that HOA rules and regulations make or break the sale of a condo/townhome. But it’s not because someone couldn’t keep their Halloween decorations up until Thanksgiving! Stay tuned for another post about homeowners’ associations.