Living in The East Valley » Home Selling Advice

Using QR Codes for Real Estate Marketing

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:20:06 +0000

We recently learned about a new technology to use for real estate marketing and we are giving it a try. Lots of people have access to the internet on their phones now. However, accessing internet information from the phone can be difficult unless the website is formatted for mobile phone display. Using this new technology, it is easy to display property information on a cell phone.

We create a mobile phone formatted website for each property. We also create a QR code for each property. A QR code looks like a bar code except it is square instead of rectangular. It also has a smaller square in each of three corners.

To access property information, a mobile phone user first needs to download a free QR Reader from their app store. Then follow the softwares directions to scan the code (take a picture of it). Be careful when taking the picture to get a clear picture and try to have the QR code take up as much of the photo as possible. Then, it should be as simple as clicking on the button to access the property information. Property information and photos are available on our listings. The service we are using also provides a map of the property’s location and some local information.

Do you want to try it? You can use either of the QR codes below.

If you would like to see what the property information looks like on your mobile device without scanning the QR code, simply visit the following website on your phone.

http://vyoo.it/7ksj8

Phoenix Area Home Prices Starting to Increase

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:57:11 +0000

I just read an article from the Phoenix Business Journal regarding homes prices. Everyone is always wondering when the real estate prices will have hit bottom. That is something we can’t tell until prices have started to increase and we are past the bottom. We have seen greater competition by buyers in the market place and reduced inventories compared to the recent past years.

This is a great time to buy a home. Prices are still low but looking to slowly increase going forward. Additionally, interest rates are at historically low levels.

Selling Your Home – Make it Look Great to Help it Sell Quickly

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:02:48 +0000

7 Tips for Staging Your Home

Make your home warm and inviting to boost your home’s value and speed up the sale process. Read

5 Tips to Prepare Your Home for Sale

Working to get your home ship-shape for showings will increase its value and shorten your sales time. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Listing Book for Home Owners and Home Sellers

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:10:36 +0000

We have a new service we are offering to home owners and home sellers.

Find out what homes similar to yours are selling for in your neighborhood
Get notifications of price changes and new listings in your neighborhood

If you list with us you can:

We will provide you with a Competitive Market Analysis so we can work with you to set the right price for your home to get it sold quickly
Get reports of how many buyers have viewed your home via Listingbook and how many people have marked it as a favorite
Have your property featured on www.EastValleyHomesForSale.net, www.RealtySecrets.net and www.townHOMESonly.com

Short Sale Advisory for Home Owners

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:39:26 +0000

If you own your own home, are having trouble paying your mortgage, and are considering a short sale, you should read the Short Sale Seller Advisory. This was issued in January 2010 by the Arizona Department of Real Estate in conjunction with the Arizona Association of REALTORS® and has a lot of good information. Here are some of the topics covered:

Understand a Lender’s Options upon Loan Default
Be Aware of Predatory “Rescue” Scans & Short Sale Fraud
Contact a free HUD-approved Housing Counselor or Contact Your Lender Directly
Utilize Free Services Available to Arizona Residents
Obtain Legal and Tax Advice
Be Aware of the Consequesces of Committing “Waste” (Damaging the Property)
Options Other Than Short Sale
Short Sale Considerations

Phoenix Area – Things to Do in February

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:15:47 +0000

Feng Shui for Real Estate Workshop, Scottsdale - February 13 from 10:00 am to 2:00pm at Scottsdale Home and Garden Expo Center 13802 North Scottsdale Road. Scottsdale, AZ 85254. Sellers – get the Feng Shui perspective on how to make your home more attractive to potential buyers.

The VNSA Used Book Sale, Phoenix - February 13 – 14 at the Arizona State Fair Grounds. This is one of the country’s largest used book sales. CDs and DVDs are also available. Proceeds from the sale are used to support three local non-profit charities.

Prospector’s Family Fun Day, Phoenix - February 20 at the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum. Enjoy gold panning, activities for children, or browse the mineral dealers tables. Free admission and parking.

Features Buyers Want

admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Here are the five kitchen and bath features buyers want the most:
36% want a separate shower enclosure in the master bath
31% want an eat-in kitchen
24% want high-end appliances
23% want granite counter tops
21% want a kitchen island

Source February 2009 issue of REALTOR® Magazine - Source: NAR 2007 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences

Improve Your Odds of Getting Your Home Sold

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:18:00 +0000

When you are selling your home what it looks like on the inside matters. Buyers will look at photos of the inside of your home on the Internet and will decide based upon these photos whether or not they want to see your home. Don’t think that if the inside of your home is a mess that you can still get buyers by not having interior photos of your home posted on the MLS. Many buyers browse only those homes that have multiple photos.

Once you get them interested enough to come view your home, it is important that the home look clean and clutter free when they arrive to view it. Potential buyers should be able to picture themselves living in your home. This means that you need to pack up or give away items that are cluttering up your home. To get an idea of what this means, look at a few model homes in new built subdivisions and see how they are decorated. Look in some home decorating magazines and count how many personal items are displayed. Limit yourself to a similar number. Homes with clean and spacious (uncluttered) interiors tend to sell faster.

For more information – Realty Times article – Clutter Free Helps Sell Homes

Planning Your Move

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:48:00 +0000

We have added a button “Moving Checklist” which is just below the “Condo Search” button. This will link you to a Moving Time Table and a Moving Checklist. You can print either or both out for your use in planning your move. A few more tips are listed below.

Packing Considerations
· When obtaining boxes look for medium size ones that will be easy to lift when full.
· Compartmentalized containers (with cardboard dividers) are great for packing glassware and other small fragile items.
· Don’t use newspapers to wrap items that could be damaged if the ink rubbed off. Use tissue paper or plain paper designed for packing. Towels and linens can also be used for wrapping items.
· Empty and clean your refrigerator prior to the move.
· Be careful packing any containers of liquids that could easily leak. Seal them tightly with tape and place in plastic bags.

Small Bits & Parts
Whenever you dismantle an item for the move. Place small pieces, screws, and wires in a zip lock bag labeled with the item. Tape bag to item or place all such zip lock bags in one clearly marked box.

Why no one is looking at your home for sale.

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:15:00 +0000

Click on picture for a larger image.

Showing homes to potential buyers starts these days at the computer. Agents search for homes using criteria that is given to them by the buyer. It has to be in a certain city or it has to have four bedrooms. If you’ve bought anything, you’ve been through this process.

Realtors input this information into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). What most of them fail to realize is that each input is a possible connection with the buyer. The more you input, the greater the chance that the buyer’s agent will find it in the MLS. If you put in a typo that the price is $3,500,000, instead of the correct price of $350,000 (one extra zero), than no one is going to see your home. If you leave a field blank, than it might limit the showings as well.

Here’s an example. I have a client that needs a ground level unit that is one level. She’s disabled and she cannot do stairs. I found 37 properties in the area she wanted to live in that were single level. Now, you can have a single level home on the 2nd floor. I then narrowed it to how many were ground level and found five. Now, I thought the number would be higher. So, I went back to the first search and manually looked at each listing. Sure enough, I found about 15 properties that were ground level, but wasn’t listed as such. 15 agents that left the field blank and 15 agents that are getting less showings because of it. Look at the picture, there’s other boxes that might need to be checked. All in all, there are hundreds of places for agents to mess up on.

If your home is listed for sale and you are not getting enough showings, I’d check your MLS listing to make sure it is accurate. If you are in the process of interviewing your next agent, ask him or her for an audit of your current listing.

Here’s the five top things I’d check for:

1. Is the location correct in the MLS map? I was looking at a Queen Creek property the other day. When I clicked on location, the map showed dozens of properties pinpointed far from Queen Creek. One, was in Salt Lake City, Utah.

2. Can you get to the home with the written directions?

3. If you live in a condo/townhome is the level, shared walls, unit style correct?

4.Under features and room details is everything possible listed?

5.Are there pictures and virtual tours attached to your listing? Did you know that agents can choose to send only listing with these items. I’ve seen properties on the MLS for over a year and no picture of the home.