In this economy, sellers think that there is no way their home will sell quickly and brace themselves for months on the market. I will share with you some common, but frequently forgotten, tips to help your home sell.
1. PRICING, PRICING, PRICING! - I can't stress enough how important pricing is! Selling your beloved home is undoubtedly a very emotional experience, but it's very important to be realistic as well. I think many people are in denial of the market downturn affecting their home's value. A common mindset is that "it affected my neighbors' homes, but certainly not mine". Additionally, if a home is priced too high, you can spend as much time and effort and money as you want marketing it through every avenue available, but it isn't going to sell! REALTORS® do not set the price of your home, BUYERS do! Your home is only worth what someone is willing to spend to buy it.
2. Hire A Qualified REALTOR® - Simply putting a sign in your front yard that your home is for sale isn't enough! The only people who will actually know that your home is for sale are those people who happen to drive by and see the sign. When you list your home with a REALTOR®, your home is entered into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which is where many people begin their home search. At Century 21 Pride, we take advantage of every available technology to feed your listing into other popular and heavily-searched home sites such as Realtor.com, Zillow.com, and many more. We give your listing exposure to millions of potential buyers, which is not only helpful, but incredibly necessary if you want your home to sell quickly. REALTORS® also know how to sell a home and are most likely good at it! Remember, we have experience selling all kinds of homes and this isn't our first time! Before you decide to try and sell your home yourself, just weigh the options of using a REALTOR® and getting access to all of our valuable resources and knowledge.
3. Stage Your Home - Staging your home isn't as difficult or expensive as many people might believe. We're not necessarily talking about going to the extremes of emulating the homes on HGTV or hiring someone to stage your home. There are many actions you can take yourself to make your home appear more appealing to potential buyers. First off, clean up ALL clutter and put items in storage if necessary. Potential buyers do not want to see clutter and it makes your home appear smaller to them. Having only the bare minimum furniture and decor in a room makes it appear larger and gives it that "model home" feel. I will share with you a success story, from the Wall Street Journal, about a couple selling their home and using staging techniques:
"Want to know the big secret to selling a home quickly?
Make it look pretty.
Patrick McAllister and his wife Lisa Cox had an edge in that regard. Their 1917 Craftsman house was beautifully renovated with hardwood floors and bright, airy rooms. Carefully chosen artwork hangs on the walls. In the master bedroom a balcony overlooks the Seattle neighborhood of Wallingford.
The couple put their home on the market on a Friday in January, just one month before they planned to relocate to Bangkok where Mr. McAllister is starting a new job as director of housing finance for Habitat for Humanity International.
Two days later the 3,040-square-foot home had three offers and sold for $753,000—$3,000 more than the asking price.
The buyer's real-estate agent says that the couple could have gotten more. "I think if they would have priced it a little higher, they might have gotten fewer offers, but it would have sold," says Mary Durkan of Windermere Real Estate/Northwest.
Ms. Cox was just gratified they sold quickly. "I think any money we might have lost was just made up in peace of mind," she says.
That's the other part of the secret: Price the home to move. This may seem glaringly obvious, but it is increasingly important at a time when foreclosed properties dominate the market. Nationwide, "distressed property," including foreclosures and homes at risk of foreclosure, accounted for 32% of fourth quarter transactions, according to a report out Thursday from the National Association of Realtors." - The Wall Street Journal Online (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703630404575053232969697708.html?mod=WSJ_HomeBuyingSelling_LeftTopHeadLines)
You, too, can share in this couple's success by hiring a qualified REALTOR® and following his or her advice on pricing and staging techniques!
I will be sharing more selling tips in the weeks to come! Thinking of putting your home on the market? Maybe you are looking to downsize? Looking for a larger home for your growing family? Please contact me today! I'd love to meet with you and discuss your needs and provide you with an in-depth analysis of your home and how I would market it. Each home is unique and different and I like to take a very targeted approach to each home that I sell. Additionally, I'd love to not only list your home for sale, but also help you look for a new home. You can search through the entire MLS of available properties on my website at http://www.ashleywydra.com/. I'm always more than happy to set up appointments to visit your favorites with you. With me, you can enjoy a very low-pressure, stress-free home showing, as I do not believe it is my job to "sell" you anything, but rather to help you find the home that is right for you and your family. I do not like to put pressure on my clients to buy a home that may not be the "right" home for them!
I really look forward to working with you! You can call me anytime at 708-307-9616, visit my website at http://www.ashleywydra.com/, and email me at sales@ashleywydra.com.
- Ashley
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thinking Positive Thoughts!
I think a lot of people are under the impression that most real estate agents are sitting around right now and doing nothing but playing solitaire and counting sheep in these economic circumstances, but that's not at all true! I really believe that these kinds of conditions make or break a real estate agent. It forces us to become more creative and think of new ways to generate business for ourselves. I'm very fortunate that I'm busy these days, especially with the first-time home buyer credit ending on April 30th. A lot of potential buyers are feeling the time crunch and wanting to get in to take advantage of this credit.
One of the most important things for me has been my thinking and my outlook on the industry and my situation as an agent. If I woke up everyday and thought "I think I'll sleep an extra hour or two because nothing's going on in the real estate market anyways" I wouldn't be helping myself at all. Instead, I look at it and think "there are interested buyers and sellers and I just need to figure out a more creative way to connect with them". Let me tell you...it has been paying off! I don't know whether other agents are shying away or if I am just getting lucky, but I've had many good contacts lately! I really strive to connect with my potential clients through various avenues such as social media (I have a Facebook fan page, MySpace page, this blog, etc) and community events.
I really appreciate all of you who take the time to read my blog posts and are my fans on Facebook! I hope that we can work together, whether you have immediate or future real estate needs, and I can help you sell your home or find the home of your dreams!
Don't forget, you can always search the entire MLS of available properties on my website at http://www.ashleywydra.com/! You will see the listing with all details and photos on the MLS. If you know anyone else, also, who is looking to possibly buy a home, please share this valuable resource with them! They can visit my website and see all available properties in one place!
Enjoy your Saturday everyone! : )
- Ashley
One of the most important things for me has been my thinking and my outlook on the industry and my situation as an agent. If I woke up everyday and thought "I think I'll sleep an extra hour or two because nothing's going on in the real estate market anyways" I wouldn't be helping myself at all. Instead, I look at it and think "there are interested buyers and sellers and I just need to figure out a more creative way to connect with them". Let me tell you...it has been paying off! I don't know whether other agents are shying away or if I am just getting lucky, but I've had many good contacts lately! I really strive to connect with my potential clients through various avenues such as social media (I have a Facebook fan page, MySpace page, this blog, etc) and community events.
I really appreciate all of you who take the time to read my blog posts and are my fans on Facebook! I hope that we can work together, whether you have immediate or future real estate needs, and I can help you sell your home or find the home of your dreams!
Don't forget, you can always search the entire MLS of available properties on my website at http://www.ashleywydra.com/! You will see the listing with all details and photos on the MLS. If you know anyone else, also, who is looking to possibly buy a home, please share this valuable resource with them! They can visit my website and see all available properties in one place!
Enjoy your Saturday everyone! : )
- Ashley
Friday, February 26, 2010
Too Much Is Not Always Enough...
Ever wish that there were more hours in a day? Do you sometimes feel so overwhelmed like there's no end in sight?
I think we all try and take on more than we can handle sometimes because we hate to leave anyone disappointed. I think it's important for us to take a deep breath and realize that unless we know our limits, we won't really be helping anyone by trying to accomplish too much at one time.
I'm often guilty of trying to accomplish A LOT in a short period of time. It's important to be optimistic, but you don't want to cross over from optimistic to overburdened.
Just sharing some thoughts in my head. I'd love to hear your opinion!
- Ashley
I think we all try and take on more than we can handle sometimes because we hate to leave anyone disappointed. I think it's important for us to take a deep breath and realize that unless we know our limits, we won't really be helping anyone by trying to accomplish too much at one time.
I'm often guilty of trying to accomplish A LOT in a short period of time. It's important to be optimistic, but you don't want to cross over from optimistic to overburdened.
Just sharing some thoughts in my head. I'd love to hear your opinion!
- Ashley
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!!
Did you ever wonder how the tradition of Valentine's Day started? In honor of the holiday, I decided to do a little bit of research and I will share my findings with you:
"Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day) is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished." - Wikipedia
I visited the History Channel's website and found much more history on Valentine's Day:
"Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.
One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.
According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)
Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap"." - History Channel Website
Now that we know all about the origin of Valentine's Day, it's time to take a moment and think of your Valentine...now maybe it's your husband or wife, maybe your girlfriend or boyfriend, or maybe you're still searching for that perfect mate. Either way, Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate love and romance.
In honor of Valentine's Day, I'll share my little love story with you:
"Andy and I have been dating for 6 years and couldn't be more perfect for one another. We met at a high school dance on Valentine's Day and that was when Andy first worked up the nerve to ask me out. We've been inseparable ever since. We are now planning our wedding for August of 2011 and living in our townhouse in Lockport with our two little cairn terrier boys, Buster and Baxter. I truly feel like the luckiest woman in the entire world to be in love with my best friend!" - Ashley Wydra
If you're soon to be getting married to your sweetheart, don't forget to contact me during your exciting search for your first home together! If you and your husband or wife are looking to start a new phase in your relationship by searching for your next home, I can assist you with that, too!
I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Valentine's Day!
- Ashley
"Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day) is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished." - Wikipedia
I visited the History Channel's website and found much more history on Valentine's Day:
"Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.
One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.
According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)
Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap"." - History Channel Website
Now that we know all about the origin of Valentine's Day, it's time to take a moment and think of your Valentine...now maybe it's your husband or wife, maybe your girlfriend or boyfriend, or maybe you're still searching for that perfect mate. Either way, Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate love and romance.
In honor of Valentine's Day, I'll share my little love story with you:
"Andy and I have been dating for 6 years and couldn't be more perfect for one another. We met at a high school dance on Valentine's Day and that was when Andy first worked up the nerve to ask me out. We've been inseparable ever since. We are now planning our wedding for August of 2011 and living in our townhouse in Lockport with our two little cairn terrier boys, Buster and Baxter. I truly feel like the luckiest woman in the entire world to be in love with my best friend!" - Ashley Wydra
If you're soon to be getting married to your sweetheart, don't forget to contact me during your exciting search for your first home together! If you and your husband or wife are looking to start a new phase in your relationship by searching for your next home, I can assist you with that, too!
I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Valentine's Day!
- Ashley
Thursday, February 4, 2010
New Beechen and Dill Homes in Lockport!
For anyone looking to move to the Lockport area, there are some beautiful Beechen and Dill homes off of 151st and Farrell. Here are some photos from my recent visit there:
Like what you see? Give me a call at 708-307-9616 or email me at sales@ashleywydra.com and we can go and take a look at the models one day! Plus, don't forget to take advantage of the first-time home buyers credit ending April 30th, 2010!
These beautiful homes are directly down the street from Big Run Wolf Ranch (http://www.bigrunwolfranch.org/). You will even hear the wolves howl at night! Be sure to come to the next open house on Saturday, April 17th, from 10am to 4pm! See you there!
- Ashley
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