Whether you are short selling or just selling, you will do better if you stage the home. If you are short selling, the better price you bring in, the happier your lender and the sooner you can move on.

Home staging is about illusions. It’s like Houdini, but with selling a house. It’s beyond decorating and cleaning. It’s about perfecting the art of creating moods. Moods that say ‘Buy My House’

Staging makes your house look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, more loving and, best of all, it makes home buyers want to buy it.

Contrary to what you might think, it’s about more than preparing the house for sale. Staging is what you do after you’ve cleaned, decluttered, painted, made minor repairs; it’s all about dressing the house for sale.

• Fold clean/new towels
• Buy Scented soaps that match the  bathroom
• Apply orange oil to cabinets so they shine
• Put out large bowls of fruit such as polished apples, bright oranges, grapes, etc.
• Arrange colorful and fun cookbooks on the counters
• Clean Mirrors
• Dust your Plants, and remove those that are dead/dying, or put out Silk Flowers
• Vacuum Floors, Area and Throw Rugs
• Fluff Small Love Seats and Pillows
• Fill Baskets with fabric, knitting good, etc.
• Wipe down outdoor Furniture
• Alphabetize spice jars.
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
• Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction.
• Line up shoes.

Yes, this seems obsessive but buyer love to snoop.  You want your house to look like their dream home. And if you have any questions about selling your home, call us today at 602-456-9388 and we can make it happen for you!

Did you know 40% of single family and condo sales in Greater Phoenix in January were cash purchases. Now, I’m not talking about sacks or briefcases full of cash, but people are buying homes outright and their are some benefits.

• Psychologically,  there is a big benefit in knowing that you own your house free and clear. You also free up quite a bit of income because you will have no rent or mortgage.
• Buying a house with cash means that if the value of the home goes down by 10% then the money you put in also goes down by 10%. The most you can lose is the amount of money you put in. In the case of a 20% down mortgage, if the house’s value goes down 10% then you lose 50% of the money you put in because of leverage.
• When you have the cash to pay for the full amount of a house, it means that there will be no contingencies on getting a loan and the amount of time needed to close a deal is shorter. This generally gives you the buyer more negotiating power for a discount on the price of the home, and with the number of homes on the market quickly drops timing is everything.

But is it for you? Well there’s no tax advantage. But if the amount of cash you spend does not consist of a significant portion of your liquid assets and the amount of savings you get from an all cash deal versus a loan deal is significant, cash might be for you. In other words, you might be earning more money on your investment in a house than other investments.

Now, I’m not a financial advisor and I suggest you speak with one before you purchase a home. But if you want to know more about the market, please give me a call at 602-456-9388.