Client Appreciation Day

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Get a FREE iPad 2!

Friends,

With the holiday season here, I have a special gift for you. An extended Black Friday Blow out!!!! Home prices are at their lowest levels right now and mortgages are possible below 4%. Buyers are busy shopping and spending time with their families. This means you'll be able to get the best deal on your new home, right now.

So, to get you out of the mall and into your next home, I will give you a free iPad 2* ( Or, donate the cost to a charity of your choice) when you list or purchase your home through me by Dec 31st 2011. That's right,sell or purchase your next home with me and you'll receive a FREE iPad 2 - no strings attached. But hurry this special promotion only runs until the end of the year.

Click here to search all homes available for sale in Louisville >





Call me and I'll help you negotiate your best deal, no matter whether your looking to buy or sell.

If you are not in the market to buy or sell a home currently please pass this email along to your friends or family members as I am always happy to help.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Todd Martin
Real Estate Agent
RE/MAX Metro
2200 Dundee Road
Louisville, KY 40205
(502) 220-4663
toddmartin@realtor.com

* iPad 2 to be given 24hrs after a successful purchase or sale of property. Listing and/or purchase contracts must be signed prior to Dec 31st 2011. If your home is currently listed or you are currently working with another Realtor this email is not a solicitation for your business. This offer excludes short sales and bank owned properties.

Five Simple Things That Will Be The Ticket To Successfully Selling Your Home

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If you put your home on the market, for whatever reason, be it that you are going to seize the great opportunities out there for buyers these days or if you need to relocate for a job or are ready to move into a condo for your retirement – obviously, you want your home to sell.  With so many properties on the market for sale these days, buyers have a host of choices to choose from.  Here are some easy steps to take to make sure your house sells and sells well.

Put Away The Personal Stuff 
(Strangers Have No Need to See Your Grocery List)

The one surefire way to get buyers to want your home is to get them to visualize themselves living in it.  Never mind the purple fluorescent walls you may have installed in the basement or the bright green kitchen tiles – to begin with you need to remove traces of your own personal lives that serve as a distraction to buyers.  It is important to provide a blank enough slate that potential residents can imagine themselves living in it while at the same time leaving enough elements of the home to show that the place IS livable. 

Get Rid of All The Clutter 
(Buyers Don’t Care About Your Magazine Collection)

Clutter hides the real stuff.  If buyers want to gauge where they may put their own furniture and belongings, it will be next to impossible for them to do it if they can’t see past the junk and clutter lying around while you live in the home.  Try to keep it as neat and clean as possible.  If you must have pockets of things around the house then make an effort to organize them in an appealing manner. 

Make It Squeaky Clean
(Pretend Your Mother-in-Law’s Coming Over)

If something is not clean as a whistle, the first instinct a buyer will have is to get out of there and find another, better place.  Even though things can be cleaned later on, you need to show buyers your home at its best potential.  Make a solid effort to make fixtures shine, bathrooms sparkle, getting rid of long-term stains and build-up wherever possible.  Think of a high-end hotel and set things up in a clean way that will appeal to many tastes.  In the kitchen, your appliances should be spotless.  Windows are also an important aspect that should not be ignored. 

Make It Smell Fresh and Inviting
(Fresh Smells = A Home That Sells)

Again, just like a high-end hotel, if someone walks in and the first thing that hits them is a nasty smell or even a subtle but unpleasant smell, they are not going to want to stay.  If there are smokers in your home, or if you have indoor pets – first ask a friend or relative to walk around your house and give you an honest opinion of how it smells.  Then be sure to treat any problem areas and potential pitfalls that could hinder your sale.  Having carpets steam cleaned is an investment worth making; removing drapes and bedding to have them dry cleaned is also not a bad idea.  Some sellers put a pot of apples, cinnamon and sugar on the stove and cook it for a few hours before showing the house, giving the space a ‘fresh baked’ aroma.  Be sure not to mask bad smells though, rather treat them.

Make Sure There Is Outdoor Appeal
(People stop in their tracks when they see a gorgeous exterior)

If you can get people to say “wow!” when they see your home from the outside, there is a good chance they will be compelled to see the inside too.  Curb appeal is the first opportunity to generate interest in your home and it also lets you provide a glimpse of what you may have to offer inside.  Make sure there are no ugly areas of peeling paint, faded wood or unkempt and poorly maintained areas in the lawn and garden areas. The outdoor space should be inviting, have lots of nice potted plants or trees and shrubbery that is watered well while surrounded by fresh grass. 
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The best way to get OFF the market with a nice red “SOLD” sign out front, is to provide buyers something appealing.  By following these five easy steps, your property will likely not last long in the selling circuit and sellers will grab it in no time.  Not only does the property sell easily, your efforts also yield top dollar for the house!

Is a Real Estate Investment a Smart Move Right Now?

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Here’s a quiz…

TRUE OR FALSE:
1. Home prices have come down over 50%.
2. Over 6% of households are in foreclosure.
3. The suspension of foreclosures by major financial institutions will delay recovery of the real estate market.

The answer for each is – IT DEPENDS.

Prices of homes have come down considerably in the last few years. Foreclosures are also increasing by an alarming rate. This does not mean, however, that there a large amounts of foreclosures today. The numbers are still relatively low overall.

What does this mean? Because foreclosures make up such a small percentage of households in our market, if some were suspended the impact would be insignificant.

It is important to recognize that real estate markets are local, that prices all over the country haven’t taken a complete nose dive, and that the market isn’t flooded with foreclosures.  

We, as consumers, have been inundated with a continuous stream of negative news from the press because extremes, whether booms or busts, get attention. Five years ago, good news about the real estate market was exaggerated. 

Now the statistics from the worst market in the country are generalized as if they were occurring everywhere. That’s why it’s so important for understand the complete real estate picture to separate fact from fiction.

Here’s another quiz:

TRUE OR FALSE:
Now is the best home buying opportunity of a lifetime.

The answer for the real estate marketplace is TRUE!

Here’s why:

1. The Market
We have clearly seen the bottom of the market. Unit sales have dropped after the April 30, 2010 expiration of the home buyer tax credit, but annual sales have been stable for three years.

2. Interest Rates

Interest rates are at generational lows. It is hard to believe they will go much lower, and they will definitely rise as the economy begins to improve. We would normally think of 5.5% as a terrific interest rate but at the current rate of 4.25% is outstanding. A buyer borrowing $250,000 over 30 years will save $2,700 each year over the life of the loan. That’s a total savings of $68,000!

3. Quality of Life

It’s not unusual to hear conversations about the rent versus buy scenario. There are some advantages to renting but in reality, but buying is usually the best choice. The best communities are made up of owners who care about their properties. Owning a home is one of the best ways to take control of our future.

Houses are more affordable than they have been in years. Stable prices and incredibly low interest rates allow buyers to purchase more for their money so they can enjoy living in a house that better meets their lifestyle needs.

4. Long-term Investment

Right now, many people are carefully considering whether or not to buy a home. Lack of confidence in the economy and the job market are holding them back. But there is only so long to wait before this opportunity ends. If life circumstances dictate a move, it’s best to act now. I can’t imagine that conditions will improve for potential home buyers in this area!

In five or seven years, you will probably be glad you bought a home, or be sorry you didn’t. It’s best to make sure you to provide them with the expertise and knowledge to make the right choice now, or else they will look back and say,“I should have.” After all, the true value of what you do goes beyond showing houses or writing contracts. It is in helping people make their dreams come true.