Updating your home to sell in Twin Creeks

Do you have a home in Twin Creeks more than 5 years old? Are you wondering what you need to update, to sell your home?

For years, other agents have commented that I have some of the best looking listings. This is not a coincidence, and I do not only list houses that show well in the first place. We get the homes showing the way a buyer wants them to show. I hear feedback everyday from buyers and agents looking at homes in Twin Creeks. I know what these buyers are looking for. If you are thinking of selling your home, and it was built more than 5 years ago, here is how you will get the most “bang for your buck”.

First, no questions asked, REMOVE YOUR WALLPAPER. New construction doesn’t have wallpaper, and buyers want what the new houses have. All wallpaper is dated. My suggestion, when the wallpaper is removed, is to “skip trowel” the walls, because that is very popular now. (I am sure it will go back out of style, as well.) Then, paint the walls a warm beige color. Removing wallpaper is one of the cheapest things you can do to really update your home. And, if you need to repaint to sell your house, don’t repaint it white. It also needs to be a warm beige color for resale purposes.

Does your carpet need replacing? If you are going to replace carpet just to sell your home, I suggest putting in a “frieze” carpet in a neutral color. You can get an inexpensive frieze carpet for the same price as a plush carpet, and it looks pretty good. Frieze carpet updates the home over a plush carpet. And, if you are my client, I offer my clients a 50% discount at a wholesale carpet company. I listed a home once in Twin Creeks, that had previous been on the market with someone else, and the carpet was “so-so”. It was terrible, but it wasn’t new, either. They put in frieze carpet, and the house sold in less than 10 days! That is after it had been on the market over 150 days already! It looked like a newer home on the inside with updated carpet.

Want to take your updating to the next step? After wallpaper removal, fresh paint and carpet, the next smartest thing a seller can do is add granite countertops to the kitchen. I can’t tell you how many listings I have had, that have not had granite, that were not chosen because of the lack of granite countertops. Yes, I know a buyer can put in granite. Yes, I know you might not pick the color the buyer wants. But, there is so much inventory in West Allen, and Collin County for that matter, that a buyer has many homes to choose from that already have granite in them.

In most cases, you will net more money from doing the above items than if you don’t. Buyers look at homes not updated, as a “project” and they always estimate more money to do that project, and that is less money they are willing to offer you. The goal is to get the highest amount of money for your home, in the shortest period of time. Also, updating should shorten your “days on market” because it has more appeal to the majority of buyers in the marketplace.

Also, if you list your home with me, I provide you with a 1 hour free consultation from a professional stager to help your home show better. I also have vendors to help with all of these projects, and they all have good, fair prices.

Of course, there are more updating do’s and don’t, but this will get you started. If you have any questions about updating your house for sale, please feel free to email or call me.

1st Twin Creeks Blog - What is going on in Twin Creeks?

A lot of people have asked me this year, "What is going on in Twin Creeks?" Homes seem to be sitting on the market longer, beautiful homes, priced correctly are sitting on the market, what gives?

Well, after watching Twin Creeks sales since the neighborhood started in 1994, February always seems to be out "indicator" month. If we have a good showing month in February, we usually have a good spring and summer selling season. February, 2006, showings really picked up over January. February, 2007, showings picked up, but now what we usually see in February. Why does February seem so important? My theory is, that is when the relocation buyers come to Dallas to do their "look/see" trip and/or to interview for a position here, so they can move their family at the end of the school year. My statistics over the years, have consistently showed, that 70% - 80% of the buyers that move to Twin Creeks are relocation buyers. If relocation buyers are moving to town, sales are usually god, if they are not, like the selling season after Sept 11th, sales are usually not so good.

So, is it just less relocation buyers this year? No, not entirely. I think there are less relocation buyers in the marketplace this year, but I also think that many of those relocation bueyrs are purchasing new construction. Around April or May this year, the builders really started inceasing their discounts on their houses, because they were not hitting their nunmbers. There was one house, in Twin Creeks 3 this year, that the builder would take $90,000 off of the listed price, and throw in plantation shutters! How can a preowned home compete?

All summer long, I have been telling my sellers that showings are down by about 30% over this same time last year, and what we usually expect to see during the spring and summer selling seasons. A couple of weeks ago, I went ont the MLS, to see how our sales are holding up. From January 1st to September 4th, 2007, there have been 99 preowned sales in Twin Creeks. From January 1st to September 4th, S2006, there were 134 preowned sales in Twin Creeks. That is a 27% drop from 2006! So, my estimate of 30% less buyers in the marketplace was pretty accurate.

What to expect for the rest of 2007? I don't know! Now, we also have the bad news from the mortgage industry. This is going to affect sellers because the lenders are now tightening up on their guidelines for qualifying. This will also give us a few less buyers. But, on a positive note, since school started, I have put 5 homes under contract in Twin Creeks! Our market is usually dead after school starts for a month or two, but we still have buyers out there! So, there is good news and bad news for the rest of this year, and my crystal ball is not working right now. When I get it fixed, I will let you know!

To find out the Real Scoop on Twin Creeks, from someone that works it every day, log on to my Twin Creeks Blog. Go to michellesellsdallas.com, click on "Michelle's Blog", or go to http://mmjtwincreeks.blogspot.com/.