The Home Listing Lady

Great website for SELLERS

2011-06-27T11:32:00.001-04:00

Getting ready to sell and need helpful hints for making repairs of all kinds? Check out this website: HouseLogic.com

Virtual Tour of 69 Hill St, Dover, NH- Walk to town, hospital and park.

2011-06-21T07:30:00.000-04:00

Asbestos; has anybody ever heard of testing for asbestos in the walls of a house?

2011-05-04T06:31:00.000-04:00

This is a first for me. A request was made by buyers to test for asbestos in walls by having an EPA certified expert drill holes in the interior walls of a house by extracting a small amount of plaster to send to a lab for diagnosis.

Now's the time!

2011-03-12T09:07:00.002-05:00

Call it what you will, because it is said that we New Englanders talk about the weather too much, but it's Spring as far as listing your house goes! If you are a seller don't wait too long. The buyers seem to be out in droves, wanting to secure a house earlier this year in the season, than in 2010. For a market analysis and straight forward advice as to what you should do and what your house needs to make it market-ready, contact me at SaraTreacy@comcast.net or by cell: 603-661-8588.

Portsmouth, NH sales statistics for 2010

2011-01-19T10:07:00.004-05:00

If you want sold prices on specific properties just "say the word". Ask Sara at SaraTreacy@comcast.net

New Year's Resolutions for Buyers and Sellers

2011-01-03T10:16:00.005-05:00

Everyone who is the least bit organized is making New Year's resolutions for themselves in 2011, so I thought it might be fun to make some NY's resolutions for buyers and sellers of real estate, to help them achieve their goals.

BUYERS NOTE to SELF: 1)Find a REALTOR and cultivate an open and trusting relationship.(BTW, what's a REALTOR? A licensed real estate agent, who is a member of the National Association of Realtors and does business by a written code of ethics, is a REALTOR.) 2) Drive by the houses and neighborhoods found on-line over the past 4-6 weeks. Realize that previewing the location of a house will dictate if I want to see it or not. 3) Find out what price range is affordable. Meet with a banker or mortgage broker as "job one" before serious house hunting and home buying begins. 4) Trust my REALTOR to guide me through the process and have fun doing it!

SELLERS NOTE TO SELF: 1) Learn current market values and price property accordingly. Do not over price it! 2) Stage each room to show it to its best advantage. This may require a good cleaning and de-cluttering. 3)Pay attention to details such as emptying kitty litter box before a showing. 4) Reduce asking price if property is not getting showings or offers. 5)Show confidence to my REALTOR in his or her ability to get the house sold. Ask for a review of marketing strategy every two weeks.

Surprises can happen in real estate.

2010-11-15T20:42:00.004-05:00

A funny thing happened today with a buyer client. I took her to a house that is under construction, and she loved it. That is not the funny part. It is, that prior to today she described her new "dream home" as an older home with lots of antique charm, pine floors, fireplace and some acreage. Having looked at many homes in many small towns in southern Maine and NH and not finding one she really liked, the buyer was getting very discouraged. So on a recent night I decided to email her all the available listings that had some of her requirements but not all, to try to open up her thinking about what she might like or at least preview. Today she walked into a house that was no where near finished, on less than an acre, in a small subdivision and knew she was "home". It just goes to show...that you never know what you'll buy or what your REALTOR will suggest you look at; just remember that it never hurts to look because you might be surprised and buy what at first you wouldn't consider.

Portsmouth, NH real estate seems to be booming again.

2009-11-09T10:33:00.002-05:00

You wouldn't think it..to read and hear the news, but real estate sales in Portsmouth, NH are happening again. The action is not just coming from first time home buyers either. It must be the charming ambience of this colonial seaport town plus the momentum of all the new commercial building in the downtown area. The most impressive project right now is called The Port Walk. People from far and wide are looking to buy property in town and the closer they can get to the downtown the better.

Foreclosures and short sales

2009-06-21T21:00:00.002-04:00

So you think that you can get a "deal" by buying a foreclosure or short sale? You can but... The process of actually closing the sale is the hard part and requires patience, patience and more patience. Since the banks are dealing with tons of thousands of distressed property sales, they cannot possibly conduct a sale in the normal amount of time, 45 to 60 days. The bank also will not respond to your offer until it has satisfied itself that your offer is the "highest and best". This may take weeks. Meanwhile you the buyer, cannot have a home inspection until the bank has approved the sale. You cannot commit to a mortgage rate or pay for an appraisal for the same reason. The obstacles and frustrations are so many that unless you have unusual fortitude for "super" bureaucracy, I don't recommend buying a foreclosed or short sale property unless you are a highly experienced buyer of real estate.

List with a professional REALTOR

2009-03-16T15:48:00.002-04:00

REALTOR's are not your "every day run of the mill" real estate agents. We follow a REALTOR Code of Ethics that dictates how we treat our clients, our customers and each other. If a seller or buyer ever wonders why an agent doesn't say negative things about another agent or "obeys" what his client is telling him to say or do, it has to do with following the Code of Ethics. Please contact me for a copy if you're interested.

How to Get Offers on Your House

2008-10-22T15:22:00.005-04:00

Getting offers on your house depends on whether or not the buyers see "value" in comparison to other houses they are looking at. Creating "value" starts when you are getting your house ready for the market and may require you to spend some money to do so, but in the end it will be worth it. Buyers notice and appreciate wood floors in excellent condition, bathrooms devoid of loose grout in shower tiles, up-to-date kitchen appliances and counter tops, clean basements, a not too old furnace or roof(10 years or less) and of course a tidy, clean house.

Not everyone thinks alike or agrees on cleanliness of a house, so if you are not sure about yours, ask a friend to come over and walk through the house. Be open to suggestions. Even after you have spent some money to fix up your house for selling it, you may need to clean and dust to really put the finishing touches on your home to make a buyer choose it over another one. Sounds simple and it is but so many sellers do not do these simple things.

Listing in a “Hot Market” vs. Listing in a “Tough Market”

2008-08-16T08:52:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my blog site and thanks for visiting! As an experienced real estate agent, I am used to “reading” the market and translating what I “read” to my clients. If you are selling a home now in this recessionary market, the steps you must take are very different from the “hot market” of a few years ago.

First, a seller has to decide his/her own motivation for selling. Certainly now is NOT the time to “make fast money” as it could have been 3 and 4 years ago. Moving might be to relocate for a job, to downsize because of retirement, to buy a bigger house for a growing family, an illness etc. SO HOW DO YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS IN A DECLINING MARKET?

Real estate agents do make a difference! They are not all alike in terms of training, knowledge or experience. An experienced agent will tell you what you can expect to sell your house for. As a seller you should be prepared to disclose to your agent the amount of your mortgage balance and your home equity loan balance. Determining what you have to pay off when the house is sold will help determine IF you can sell your house now and reach your expectations. The thinking that, “well, I owe $180,000 on my house so I want to sell it for $225,000 will not work in this market if your RE agent has given you a “price to sell” of $195,000-199,000.