Sellers - RealCentralVA.com

Sellers – Pretend You’re Seeing Your House for the First Time

Does your doorbell work? Are you sure? How often do you ring your own doorbell? I remember visiting an unrepresented seller many years ago to discuss marketing her home She was surprised when I noted that she ought to fix her doorbell as it wasn't working. She never rang it, as she was one of the rare homeowners who parked her car in her garage. Pretending you're seeing your home for the first time is one of the best things you can do. Stand on the front porch. Look around for a minute or two, as if the Realtor is opening the Read More

Client Code of Conduct or My Commitment to My Client

Helping my clients make good decisions. That's my simple goal every day. That goal requires the right partnership. One of the most important things I do is to manage my clients' expectations, whether that's what to expect when they make a low offer on a house, or put forth an escalation clause in a multiple offer situation, choose to price the house higher (or lower) than I advise, or what to expect with respect to growth in Read More

List Now, or Wait Until Spring?

Buyers looking in Charlottesville already know that they should be starting their homebuying journey. A lot of Charlottesville sellers are asking, "Should I list now, or wait until Spring?" That's a question I'm trying to answer often right now. As with most things in real estate and life, the answer starts with, "it depends" What are you trying to accomplish, (yes, I Read More

Listing and Selling a Home Timeline

Selling a house can be an uncomfortable experience. It's a necessarily invasive process. This is a bit of what to expect from start to finish.

Decide to sell
- This is so much more than a bullet point. Is this a discretionary move? Is it going to be worth the trauma? Where are you going? How long might your house take to sell? Can you afford to sell? And a whole lot more.
Interview Read More

Preparing for the Spring Real Estate Market in Charlottesville

The 2017 market in the Charlottesville area is going to be an interesting one. They all are. The Charlottesville real estate market is going to be much less calm than the waters depicted above. Will this property hold value? I received that question by email (and get it many days of the week) the other day, and it was about a specific property in the City of Charlottesville. As I noted in my response, I cannot/will not give specific real estate advice unless we have an executed buyer brokerage agreement; but I'll certainly provide Read More

What’s On Your Book Shelves?

Years ago, clients and I walked out of a house (that they didn't buy) and shared our collective "weird" feeling as we'd gone through the house. It took us a few minutes, but we soon concluded that the weird feeling was created because the house felt empty and soulless - there were no books. Anywhere. "I could live here! This could be my bookshelf!" My clients didn't buy that house. But they seriously considered it more than they would have otherwise, in large part due to the books on the shelves. Buyers are seeking way to evaluate whether Read More

Trying out a Matterport in Charlottesville

I'm trying something new; while I'm not the first in Charlottesville to try marketing a house via Matterport, I'm one of the first. Sometimes cutting edge is better than bleeding edge. Thoughts on this Matterport walkthrough welcomed. The house is not quite ready for the market*, but will be soon. I'm not sold on the "dollhouse" view, but the walkthrough of the house definitely shows the layout. I thought the Matterport would be useful for this particular house as Read More