What are you doing this weekend? Are you holding or attending an open house? If so, you’re not alone! This weekend, April 20th and 21st, is Nationwide Open House Weekend 2013!
Tag Archives: open house
Springtime Staging Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
The buying market is competitive and with that comes first impressions. Real estate pros can make a solid first impression with fresh staging techniques for open houses, showings and those ever important property photos and videos (i.e. a picture says a thousand words).
Successful staging can make the difference between a property that moves off the market quickly or one that extends past your listing agreement and gets in another agent’s hands. Homes.com also knows that while staging isn’t the only factor that sells a home, these staging “Do’s and Don’ts” could help or harm the sale of the home.
Spring Staging DO’s and DON’Ts:
1. DO NOT cover up any structural problems or areas that need repair.
DO encourage the seller to take care of these items as soon as possible. If these issues remain “as is” for the sale, be open about it and don’t brush it under a colorful rug (pun intended). This is misleading and in many states this could be seen as fraud and misrepresentation.
2. DO NOT decorate to your own personal style.
DO stick with simple ideas. Look at magazines and use Pinterest as a guide even, because you want each buyer to see that living room or kitchen with their personality. If they are overwhelmed with the seller’s style, imagining themselves in the home will be a struggle. Stay simple, avoid eclectic furniture, faux finishes and minimize personal photos as well.
3. DO NOT forget about the unseen areas.
DO remember to stage closets, kitchen storage, pantries, even the garage if you can. Buyers want to see these areas to evaluate how they will put them to use and that cannot be done when they are stuffed with clutter. Some of these areas can be difficult to de-clutter especially when you have a family living on site, so discuss the reasons behind this and offer your help. A referred agent is one that goes above and beyond – be the agent that helped your clients stage their closets and other storage areas.
4. DO NOT give the impression that some of the staging items convey with the property. For instance, you change the porch light to something more savvy or placed bamboo shades in a home that will be sold with bare windows.
DO tell the buyers what items do and do not convey with the home. This will avoid confusion at closing and serve as great conversation pieces as you interact with buyers during the property tour.
5. DO NOT let driveway cracks and oil spots remain.
DO attempt to fix these areas as they make the property look unpolished and could potentially be a safety hazard. An oil mark can really hold your attention regardless of the beauty of the home so be sure not to track dirt or oil through the home as it could also appear in property photos.
Share your successful staging tips and experiences on our Facebook page! We hope these tips guide your spring staging objectives and support your potential buyers in imagining themselves in your listings this spring!
Share this Tailgate Guide for Super Bowl XLVII with Your Clients!
Homes.com created this Tailgate Fever Guide a few months ago, but if you missed it or want to use it again, talk about perfect timing! Super Bowl XLVII is right around the corner. The Baltimore Ravens will take on the San Francisco Forty-Niners on February 3rd in New Orleans!
What better time to use it than the biggest NFL game of the year? You could even print branded versions out at your open houses over the next few days and give your new leads a little something to take away and remember you by. They’d visit an open house to see a potential property to call home, meet you, a fantastic real estate agent, and leave with a great way to entertain their guests. If your game plan is to be remembered, this guide is a TOUCHDOWN!
Whether your clients are rooting for the Ravens or the Forty-Niners, we are sure they would appreciate a branded version of ways to entertain their guests in their new home. We have included tons of ideas for big entertainment especially within football season. All that’s missing is your branding.
That’s right — you can add your own personal real estate business’s branding so that whomever receives the guide will remember YOU! We provide all the great recipes, kid treats, “pre- game” games, and party theme ideas. You provide your branding. Together, it’s a game-winning combination.
You can also direct your clients and prospects to our consumer blog designed especially for them. There, they’ll find more tips and recipes for the big game.
Home Prices See Biggest Jump in Two Years, Home Sales Rise Too
We have more good news to report on the housing front. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, home prices have seen the biggest jump in two years! In Q3, prices were up 3.6 percent higher than they were the same time last year!
5 Simple Steps to Making the Best Real Estate Videos
Real estate professionals know how important video has become to the industry.There are millions of video tours on Youtube today and video blogs have become all the rage for top real estate pros. The problem with many real estate videos is that the quality can be poor. Just because you are taking an amateur video doesn’t mean it has to look like an amateur video.
Here are five simple steps to making great real estate videos with your smartphone:
- Step 1: Record Horizontally - Recording horizontally gives you a wider view. Conversely, when recording in a vertical position, you’re only recording part of the image. This looks okay if the video is viewed from a smartphone, but since most real estate videos also make it to YouTube and other websites, vertically recorded videos do not present as well as horizontal views.
- Step 2: Tripod and Tripod Attachments - There’s nothing worse than seeing a real estate video that is shaky or that moves around a lot. This can make people dizzy and it’s a huge turn-off for viewers. There’s a simple fix for this: use a tripod. Tripods are built for regular cameras, but there are low-cost adaptors available.
Joby sells a great all-in-one tripod for smartphones called Gorillamobile for $40. There are other options for tripods as well. For adaptor and brackets, photo retailer Adorama has a $10 product called the Heavy Duty L-Bracket, that attaches to your tripod and holds your phone in place. Studio Neat Glif is available for $20, and does the same thing as Adorama’s product. These sites also have iPad options. Other websites to check out are Amazon.com and HDhat.com. - Step 3: Sound - The microphones that are built into smartphones aren’t usually studio quality. The easiest way to fix this is to get a microphone that plugs directly into your smartphone. There are many options, ranging from very reasonable to quite expensive. One of best entry-level options is a lavalier mic from RadioShack that plugs directly into your phone. You simply clip the mic onto your shirt or lapel and you now have a much better sound to your program. Other options are audio recorders and mic cables. You can compare products and pricing at Amazon.com. Whatever you decide on, a microphone is a must for good video quality.
- Step 4: Apps - Recording the video is one thing, but developing it into a nice production is another thing. There are many apps out there for Apple and Android devices, but here are my favorites:
iMovie (iPhone) and Clesh Video (Android): These apps are great for piecing together movie clips, editing, and importing music from your library to create great video. You can also easily post your video to Facebook and YouTube from these apps. Both are $4.99.
Filmic pro: This app enables you to tweak exposure while shooting video. It’s $3.99 and available on both iPhones and Androids. - Step 5: Accessories - You’ve bought the apps, the tripod, and the microphones, and now you’re ready to create great video. Is there anything else that you might need? Accessories can help a lot! This includes everything from specialty lenses to professional production equipment. Here are some of my favorites:
- Lenses: The Olloclip lens add-on is the most popular. It slips right over your iPhone and gives you fish-eye, wide-angle, and macro views. It costs about $70 for all three. Check Amazon for pricing and other lens options. Another great site that specializes in real estate video equipment is hdhat.com.
- Hollywood zip lines: These devices are used by Hollywood studios, but now there’s one available for iPhone. This is a zip line that attaches to your phone and allows you to walk with your camera seamlessly without shaking extra movement. It stays in a straight line. Tiffen makes one for regular cameras for $700, but has also developed one for iPhone for $149. Great for video tours!
Creating great quality video tours and video blogs doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t have to hire a professional crew to do this work for you. All you need is the right equipment. These five simple steps should enable you to record high quality video for a very reasonable price.