The April Stephens Team Real Estate Podcast

How to Stage Your Home to Supplement Your Sale

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 10:04:00 -0700

Staging your home is an important part of helping it sell quickly and for the most money possible, Today, I have some staging tips you can use whether you hire a professional stager or do it on your own.

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When you sell your house, staging is an important aspect that will help your sale. We want to give your house the best possible chance to sell for the most money, and staging helps us do that. We find that staging gives a home a personality and helps people get a feel for a home's space, especially if it's a vacant or new construction home. Additionally, there are different types of staging, which many people don't realize. For example, one company we work with only does accessory staging, meaning they come to a house and add things like pops of color in the pillows, plants, and other things like that to liven up a property. They will take down your more personal items and help give your house a more neutral face, which buyers appreciate. It helps them visualize themselves in the home—and it costs next to nothing.

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Buyers appreciate it when you give your home a nice, neutral feel.

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There are a few specific things you can do to stage your home outside of hiring a stager. One of my favorite things to do is buy a new comforter set for your master bedroom. It helps buyers feel like they're walking into Pottery Barn because things are bright, crisp, and clean. You want the space to feel cozy and inviting, and new bedding helps. The same goes for matching towel sets in the bathrooms and shower curtains. The best part is that you'll have all this great new stuff to take to your new home! Another one of our main staging tips is to change out heavy or dark drapes. Replace them with something sheer or lighter that will let the light in and bring attention to the windows. These are just a few tips, so if you have any you'd like to share, we'd love to add them to our list. If you have any other questions about staging or about the home selling process in general, just give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to help!

How Do You Know When to Buy a Home?

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 09:59:00 -0800

Whether you are a first-time homebuyer or you are looking to downsize, it’s incredibly important to ask yourself these five questions when coming up with your home search plan.

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If you want to buy a home, what is your plan? Right now, there are a lot of buyers coming into the market. There are a number of first-time homebuyers as more and more millennials enter the market, and there are also many baby boomers looking to downsize. No matter what walk of life you are from, there are a few things you should consider if you want to buy a home: 1. What are your goals for the next five to seven years? Figure out what your long-term plans are. 2. Are you financially prepared? A lot of baby boomers are able to use equity from their current home to finance the purchase of their next home. Reverse mortgages are also on the rise. Millennials need to have their down payments ready. 3. Are you emotionally ready? Millennials may be moving out of their home for the first time, while baby boomers may be selling the home that they raised their families in. We are here to talk you through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Obviously, there are many advantages to buying a home right now, especially if you are a first-time buyer. Owning a home is one of the best investments you can make. For millennials, owning a home is the first step toward financial independence. Baby boomers need to consider where they want to spend their time and money during retirement.

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Has your lifestyle changed recently?

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4. Will owning a home pay off in the long run? Without a doubt, owning a home is a good financial investment. You don’t get a return from renting, but there will always be a return if you own. 5. Has your lifestyle changed? Obviously, millennials and baby boomers are going through a change. Move-up buyers may need more room than they have in their current homes. Whether you are having a baby or your kids are leaving the nest, you may need to make a move. Many baby boomers are leaving their 3,000 sq. foot houses with an acre of yard to mow for communities with amenities and restaurants within walking distance. Asking yourself these five questions will help you figure out your home buying plan. If you have any other questions for us, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Where's the Raleigh Market Headed in 2017?

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Thu, 2 Feb 2017 12:16:00 -0800

The Raleigh market proved to be great in 2016 and 2017 looks like it could be just as good. Conditions are slightly different this year, though, which could have an effect on you if you're looking to buy or sell a home this year.

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Today I wanted to take a moment to discuss how 2016 ended in the Raleigh market and how 2017 is shaping up so far. The 2016 market turned out very well in the Triangle area. We ended the year with the average sale price for homes up over 5%; of course, this varies by area. My hometown of Garner for example, saw a gain of 9.1%, which is incredible. Closings ended up 10% higher than last year with Johnston County leading the race, averaging 19.4% higher than last year. Chatham and Johnston led for the most new construction, which isn't surprising with all the new homes we're seeing coming up. And still, we ended the year 16% below average for inventory. I know we keep telling you that we need inventory—we're not kidding! We're already starting to see some sellers come off the fence in 2017 after seeing that the equity is proven to be there for their homes. We've been really thrilled about the money we've been able to get for our sellers' homes so far this year. Buyers are really excited too because we're seeing a lot of unique homes coming on the market and some really interesting neighborhoods are coming up. I think 2017 will be a great year for both buyers and sellers.

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I think you'll be surprised how much equity your home has gained, especially if you bought it five to 10 years ago.

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If you're on the fence, let us give you a free equity evaluation. I think you'll be surprised how much equity your home has gained, especially if you purchased your house between five and 10 years ago. This year has really jumped out so far, and my Realtor friends would agree that we haven't seen much of a winter slowdown. If you have any questions or you'd like a no-obligation equity evaluation on your home, give me a call or send me an email soon. I'd be more than happy to help!

Fall Cleaning and Home Staging Tips

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 12:06:00 -0700

It’s a great time to do some fall cleaning. What you do now can help you sell next year.

With the holidays approaching, it’s a great time to get some fall cleaning done. If you’re thinking about selling your home after the new year, it’s also a great time to do some prep work so that your move isn’t so much of a hassle when the time comes. There are a lot of decluttering and staging tips you can institute now that will pay off later. Here are our four best tips: 1. Tackle those closets. Decluttering your closets is a great way to make some extra room for out-of-town guests as well as Christmas presents. When the time comes to clean those closets out, things will be much easier. 2. Get a storage unit. If there is additional furniture in your home that you need to move out to make room for guests, putting it in a storage unit is a great idea. It’s one less thing you’ll have to worry about decluttering from your house when it comes time to list. 3. Clean your home for the fall season. Do a deep clean for the holidays just like you would in the spring. When you’ve got your home sparkling clean, you’re halfway there when it comes to listing and staging in the new year. 4. Hire movers. People are always looking to make a little extra cash this time of year. Have movers help you get things out of your home you know you won't need after the holidays.

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Following these tips will get you ahead.

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If you follow these tips, you will already be one step ahead of the market when the new year comes. If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

4 Ways to Make a Lowball Offer Work for You

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 12:43:00 -0700

Right now, the Triangle area market seems to be filled with either bidding wars or lowball offers; there hasn’t been a whole lot in between.

Though pricing can be a problem when it comes to homes sitting on the market, I think that one of the main reasons homes are taking a little longer to sell is due to neighborhood and market conditions.

When a home sits on the market for a longer period of time than we’d like, that usually gives buyers the green light to submit a lowball offer. What should you do if you receive a low offer on your home? Here are four steps you should take to make that lowball offer work for you:

1. Don’t be insulted by a lowball offer. Try to take each offer at face-value and refrain from reacting emotionally. It’s unproductive and not in your best interest to simply reject an offer immediately. Think of this as a starting point of the negotiation.

2. Respond gracefully. Determine what is most important to the buyer in this transaction. Is it price? Concessions? Closing costs? The condition of the property? Grace and consideration can go a long way in a negotiation.

3. Write a strategic counter offer. Once we’ve discovered what is most important to the buyer in this transaction, we will know which elements to factor into our counteroffer. We can negotiate by asking buyers for more money up front or fewer contingencies in the offer.

4. Negotiate other terms. Most of the time, the buyer is looking at one large number: the sale price. This is where we’ll attempt to negotiate with them and educate them on some of the aspects of the offer that they may not have considered so that both the buyer and the seller feel that they’re getting a good deal.

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Determine what is most important to the buyer in this transaction.

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If you have any questions about lowball offers or the real estate market in general, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

The 3 Most Ridiculous Home Selling Myths

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 12:38:00 -0700

There are many things to remember when trying to sell your home, but there is a lot of misinformation out there as well. It comes from all places and at all price ranges, but we wanted to address a few of these selling myths today and explain them.

It’s better to sell in the spring and summer. While this time of year is typically when the market is the busiest, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best time to sell. If you are looking to move now, it is a great time. The market is going to dictate what your home will sell for regardless of the season.
Don’t worry about staging your home. This is another key mistake. While it is true that buyers will use their imagination when walking around your home, you’ve also got to give them a good canvas to paint on. You don’t need to remove every single thing from the home, but put your best foot forward by packing up the stuff you don’t use regularly or don’t envision yourself taking to your next home.
Bad pictures of the home online are OK. They are 'in fact' not OK. It’s important that you to put your best foot forward by having a professional photographer take photos of your home. Cell phones are great, but most don't have a good enough camera to capture your home in the best light possible.

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Put your best foot forward.

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I hope I have busted some of these myths for you. If you’re interested in buying or selling or if you just have a quick question, we are always here to help. Give us a call or send us an email today.

Great Information for First-Time Buyers in Raleigh

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 12:38:00 -0700

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We’ve seen a lot more first-time buyers jumping into the Raleigh market lately. That’s great news, because we pride ourselves in how we work with first-time buyers and all buyers, for that matter. We’ve got a few tips to share to help you or someone you know who is buying for the first time to make the whole process a little easier.

First, you need to check your credit. It’s not all about your credit score, but what your debt-to-income ratio is and how you use credit. When you get with a lender to check this, they’ll also be able to tell you what your buying power is. That’s an important tool.

Secondly, you should figure out what you want in a home. This is especially important if you are buying a home with a spouse. We have a great questionnaire that we give to all our first-time buyers that allows them to sit down and ask the important questions about what they want in a home. It’s good to have this conversation before you start the process.

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We can handle everything for you.

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The next thing to do is to find an experienced agent or broker. We’ve got a passion for helping first-time buyers and the experience to back it up. We can handle everything for you from the time you start looking for homes until the day you close on the perfect one.

One thing that first-time buyers fail to think about is the huge opportunity for an investment that buying a home provides. We sold homes to first-time buyers a few years ago who are coming back now and selling with $15,000 in profit. That’s a huge return in just a few years!

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Low Inventory Means It’s a Seller’s Market in Raleigh

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Thu, 9 Jun 2016 10:26:00 -0700

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The Raleigh real estate market has been booming this year! You might have heard inventory is low right now, and I have the data to prove it! What should we expect moving into the summertime market?

In Wake County, new construction listings are 11% down compared to this time last year. In Johnston County, it’s 15% down.

The big squeeze, I’d say, is on resale listings. We are 31% down in Johnson County and 21% in Wake County. We need new listings to sell! I think many people are worried about their equity position and they might not be sure how much they’ll profit in a potential transaction. Honestly, our clients are seeing incredible gains this year.

That’s mostly due to the monthly supply of inventory. Again, it’s extremely low right now. Currently, in Johnston County, there are only three months worth of available inventory. In Wake County, there are only two months worth! That means our local housing market greatly favors sellers.

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We need new listings to sell!

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It’s also worthwhile to pay attention to price points. For instance, if your Raleigh home is worth less than $300,000, there is less than three months of supply in that area. In the Garner area, it’s down to two months. In Johnston County, if your home is worth less than $200,000, we absolutely need your home right now! There are only two months worth of inventory there as well.

Additionally, congratulations to Flowers Plantation! So far, they’ve had the largest amount of sales within a specific community in the first quarter. It speaks volumes of what they’re doing in Clayton. We’re proud to represent two different communities out there, including Chatham and South Corner.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to sell for top dollar! We need more listings. Take advantage of market conditions right now.

As always, if you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the surrounding area, I’m available by phone or email. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about real estate!

Buyers Are Desperate for Inventory in These Price Points

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Mon, 23 May 2016 10:09:00 -0700

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We need your home to sell! I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot in the media about low inventory, and we said as much in our last blog post. But now, we are desperate. If you have a home that’s worth anywhere in the range of $175,000 and under, you are in a great position to cash in on your equity.

Also, if you’re in the Wake or Johnston County areas and have a home anywhere in the $275,000 to $375,000 range, give us a call. We have a ton of buyers looking in that price range who are looking to move up. We simply don’t have enough inventory for them at the moment.

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There are a ton of
opportunities to take advantage
of in this market.

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If you’ve been thinking about selling but are stressed about the process, we can make things very easy for you. We can market your property as one of our “coming soon listings,” which will allow buyers to know about your home while giving you time to find the new home you’re looking for before we list it. By the time we list your home, it will go under contract within days and it will sell for top dollar with the help of our staging experts. There are a ton of opportunities to take advantage of in this market if you’re a seller.

If you have any questions for us or if you’re just thinking about selling, we’d love to talk to you. Just give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Warning Signs That It’s Time for You to Move

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Mon, 9 May 2016 08:57:00 -0700

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We’re seeing a huge equity frenzy right now in our market and people are starting to wonder if their home is worth a lot more than they previously thought. This situation causes buyers to list their homes for sale. Is now the right time for you to list?

1. Money
Examine your finances and see if you should continue to save up cash for a down payment, explore financing options for upgrades and updates, or if you have enough equity to list your home now and put a down payment on a better home.

2. Storage
Have you outgrown your current storage space? We are seeing a lot of new homes built with walk-in storage areas. If you don’t have enough space for all of your things, it may be time for you to consider upgrading the size of your home.

3. Family expanding
If you’re having a new baby, that’s another sign to consider if it’s time to move. We are happy to come talk to you about your options, whether you want to move into a new home, or add square footage onto your current one.

4. Downsizing
On the other hand, if you need less yard to take care of or you have fewer people in your home than you used to, there are a lot of options for you to downsize into something smaller. It will save you time and money on your monthly bills.

5. Declining neighborhood
If you feel like you may not be seeing the same effort put forth in taking care of your neighbor's property as you did in yours, it may be a good time to find a better neighborhood. Home prices have been increasing, and now is a good as time as ever to cash in on your equity.

If you have any questions or want more information, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

What Do Real Estate Agents Do Behind the Scenes?

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 08:38:00 -0800

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One of the biggest misconceptions about real estate agents is that they spend most of their time looking at houses. Unfortunately, we spend the least amount of our time doing this. Most of our time is spent doing paperwork. The amount of paperwork has tripled since I started in this business 10 years ago.

Here are a few reasons why it makes sense to hire an agent, and why doing so leads to the smoothest transaction possible:

Experience

Our team has over 75 years of combined experience of dealing with every different kind of real estate transaction. Each one is different, but we’ve seen them all and know how to handle them.

Negotiations

Negotiations are a very important part of our job. Being able to come to an informed offer and decisions is the result of a lot of data analysis. You won’t find this data on the internet, these are from our own research.

Pricing

When you use a Realtor, you typically get more bang for your buck. What we mean by this is that a Realtor will be able to help you price and sell your home for a higher amount than you would be able to on your own. Many times, you get more money by selling with a real estate agent than you would by selling on your own, even with commission factored in.

If you have any questions for us, or are thinking about buying or selling, give us a call or send us a quick email. We’d love to hear from you!

The April Stephens Team Is Making a Move!

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Wed, 6 Jan 2016 09:51:00 -0800

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We are quite excited about the new year! The April Stephens Team has moved, but not from RE/MAX 1. In fact, RE/MAX 1 has opened a second location at Highway 50 and 42, so we now have two locations to better serve our clients!

Please feel free to stop by and see us any time you are in the area. We'd love to see your faces! Be on the lookout for invites for our grand opening in January! We would love to have you out to meet the team and even ride the RE/MAX balloon! We're going to have all kinds of family friendly activities for you to enjoy, so we hope you come out!

Thank you so much for all the support in 2015. It's all because of you that we're able to make all of this happen. If you need any real estate assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We look forward to seeing you in 2016!

Tips for Holiday Decorating on a Budget

April@AprilStephens.com (April Stephens) — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 08:45:00 -0800

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The holidays are approaching. Today, we thought we'd do something a little different and share this festive video on holiday decorating tips from HGTV. Designer Angelo Surmelis shares several great ideas to spread holiday cheer throughout the home. Here are some of our favorites.

Pay attention to the mantle. If you don't have some already, buy some kind of garland to drape over the mantle. Next, use leftover ornaments and candles to add light and texture. When choosing ornaments and candles, ensure they are in the same color-palette. This helps make your mantle a great focal point!
Use smaller Christmas trees. Every house has their main Christmas tree. In addition, you can also purchase smaller, inexpensive, eco-friendly trees to place throughout the home. Decorate these trees with strips of fabric from a T-shirt in holiday colors to save money for the main tree.
Use what you have. Be resourceful. Adding a plate charge and place mat to your everyday dining set adds some jazz to your table. Fresh-cut flowers and candles will help finish the look. You don't need grand, expensive candles -- a little candlelight goes a long way!

As you can see, it doesn't take much to make your home feel more festive. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!