When Should You Accept A Low Bid?

If you are selling your home and are motivated to get the deal done quickly, you may be tempted to accept a low bid. Whether you need to sell because you are being relocated or need to downsize to save your financial investment, there are several things you should consider before accepting a bid that is below your asking price. Here are a few tips on making that decision a bit easier.

How Motivated Are You?

The decision to accept a low bid should always be influenced by your actual financial position rather than simply wanting a quick sale. If you are in a situation in which you may lose your home due to foreclosure, accepting a low bid may be your only option. If, on the other hand, you are simply tempted to take a low bid because it is more than you originally paid for the home, you may want to reconsider. For most people, the motivation will lie somewhere in the middle, and balancing your motivation to sell and the potential financial loss of accepting a low bid should be carefully evaluated.

Avoid Becoming A Motivated Seller

The best way to sidestep having to take a low bid is by avoiding the position of being a truly motivated seller in the first place. If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, be sure you have exhausted any refinancing options that may exist. Another common reason people feel obligated to accept a low bid is that they have already purchased a new home and do not want to be in the position of paying two mortgages at once. So before purchasing a new home, first sell your existing home.

No matter your reason for considering accepting a low bid for your home, be sure you get the advice of both a REALTOR® and a financial advisor to ensure you are making the right decision. 

Have more tips? As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Be well,

Rhonda

PS. Thinking of buying a home or selling yours? I'd love to sit down and talk with you about the process and the market. You can reach me anytime at 401-326-2928. 

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What Season Is Best To Sell?

So you are ready to sell your house, but you look out the window and see several feet of snow on the ground. Should you bother putting your house on the market in the winter, or should you wait until spring? Is there a better season in which to sell your home? The answers to these questions depend on a few basic factors.

Where You Live

In a place where the climate is very cold in the winter, it can be wise to wait until spring to sell, because fewer buyers will be venturing out to look at homes. In an area where the sun shines year round, weather is not a concern, and people will have no trouble coming out to see your house. This doesn’t mean, however, that season doesn’t matter in a warm climate! It can still affect how many potential buyers will come out and the odds of selling.

Watch Out For The Holiday Slump

People are usually too busy from Thanksgiving through Christmas to spend much time house hunting, and in January they are often recovering financially from holiday over-spending. Most experts will recommend that you avoid listing your home until after the worst of the holiday slump in the market is over and people are looking to buy again. This is true no matter what the climate!

Particulars Of Your Home

If your home is near a high school, you might want to consider selling in the summer when things nearby are a bit quieter. The noise and traffic of the school year might put some buyers off. If your home is near a lot of fun winter activities, this might actually be a selling point that will be highlighted better in the winter months. Looking for these details of your area and capitalizing on them will help you to get your home sold.

The season does matter when it comes to home buying, and spring is usually a good time to list. Your REALTOR® can help you to determine what season makes the most sense for listing in your particular case, providing you with market information in your area and helping you pinpoint the particulars of your home that make it appealing in a specific season. 

Have more tips? As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Be well,

Rhonda

PS. Thinking of buying a home or selling yours? I'd love to sit down and talk with you about the process and the market. You can reach me anytime at 401-326-2928. 

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Garage Sale Tips And Tricks

Getting ready to sell your home? A garage sale is a great way to make a few dollars and get rid of a lot of clutter in your home. With a few simple tips, you can create a garage sale that runs smoothly and makes you more money. 

Getting Ready 

Get all of your things for the garage sale ready to go before the sale begins. Start by organizing everything into categories. Put kitchen items in one section, toys in another, books in another, and clothing in yet another. This will make it easier for people to find your items. Pick up some plastic baskets from the dollar store to fill with small items, and label each basket with a per-item price. This saves a lot of time wasted labeling each and every small item with the same price. 

Wash clothing before you put it up for sale. A clean, nice-smelling piece of clothing is more likely to go for the asking price than a wrinkly one that doesn’t look fresh. If you can, mend any small issues like loose buttons. Give toys a wipe down as well so they look newer and cleaner. 

Start Early 

Garage sale lovers often start out early in the morning, so get up early and get started. You may miss a lot of the bargain hunters if you choose to sleep in, so set the alarm! Have everything ready the night before, set up on tables you can simply push out. Casters are a great way to make this easier. Price things a little higher than you would like to get for them, since all garage sale visitors love to negotiate a better price—this way you can drop prices without losing much. 

Advertise Your Sale 

Advertise your garage sale not just with signs around the neighborhood, but also on the local craigslist page, where many people look for garage sales to visit each weekend. List some of the larger items you have for sale, as some people may be seeking a particular item. 

Consider having a multi-family garage sale with some friends or neighbors. Large sales with a lot to offer will draw in more people, resulting in more sales for you. You can finish off the evening with a barbecue and turn a successful garage sale into a successful weekend event. 

Ready to sell? Call me today for a free market analysis. I'm happy to help in any way I can. Call me anytime at 401-326-2928.

As always, I look forward to your thoughts.

Be well,

Rhonda

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Splash on the Color!

You are getting ready to paint the interior of our home this winter. Hours have been spent hours pining over colors, trying to figure out the perfect palette.

Now, let's throw a little twist in the scenario and say, you are putting your home on the market. Should you stick with white? While white might be safe as to not offend anyone.  White absolutely has its place in the world of paint colors, and nowadays there are endless choices of "white". However, instead of playing it too safe, consider the beautiful world of neutrals.  Adding a touch of richness to the walls can make a big difference, and uplift a room's energy.

On a personal note, a couple of years ago, when we put our home on the market, I looked around at our walls. While the main living area was a beautiful khaki color, we had a brick red dining room, dark moss green bathroom and a burgundy office.  And that was just the first floor!  I loved the feeling each of the colors invoked, to me it made the house warm and inviting.  After giving it serious thought about whether to tone down some of the rooms, we decided to keep the colors we loved. Through all the feedback we received by potential buyers and agents, only one person mentioned the wall colors, and it was the actually the agent, not the buyer. When showing properties, I always remind clients that it's only paint and can be easily changed!

So let's get back to the fun part, and choose some colors for those walls! When choosing colors, the big question is "How do you want the room to feel?" Warm and cozy? Cool and airy? "Downtown Chic" or "Provençal Farmhouse" Do you want to feel like you are sitting the beach? In a meadow? There is an abundance of web sites, books and online tools to help you choose.  Check out Sherwin Williams color visualizer where you can upload photos of your rooms play with various color schemes. Also, check out HGTV's Color Guide full of painting tips, tricks and ideas.

What's your favorite color? Would love to hear your additional thoughts.

Best,
Rhonda

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