5 Tips on Selling Your Home During the Holidays

Yes, we all know the holidays are here! People get busy shopping, decorating, and visiting with family and friends. Buying/selling a home seems to be the last thing on people's minds...but guess what? It's not! True, the market does typically slow down, but the SERIOUS buyers and sellers are still going strong! So don't get discouraged, it can still happen. Here are 5 tips that Trulia gave out for selling your home during the holidays. Enjoy!

1. Don't, if you don't have to. During the holidays, the pool of qualified and active buyers shrinks - dramatically. The cold, wet weather in some areas makes buyers hesitant to come out and view properties, and holiday travels cause others to put their house hunts on hold. Buyers also know that many sellers take their homes off the market during this period, so the forecast for receiving lowball offers is highly likely. Taking your home off the market during the holidays and relisting it after New Year's holds the potential of exposing your home to a fresh set of buyers motivated by a fresh set of resolutions. Plus, many sellers simply don't want to deal with buyers' muddy feet and scheduling intrusion while they are at home on vacation or hosting holiday dinners or guests. (Note: Most of these issues are slightly less impactful in warm-weather climates.)

With that said, there are some advantages to having your home on the market at this time of year, too. Although there will be a larger pool of buyers out and active after the first of the year, the ones who are out in the wet and the cold right now tend to be really motivated to buy. Holiday house hunters usually fall into two camps: they either plain old need a place to live fast, or they need to close escrow on their new home by year's end for tax reasons. Given that post-tax credit buyers have been characterized by an almost stunning lack of urgency, keeping your home on the market over the holidays is one way to try to capitalize on the urgency this season's motivated buyers face, due to their circumstances.

2. Ditch the holiday decor or make it meticulous. No Charlie Brown trees, people. Staging your home at its festive holiday best can truly backfire if your seasonal staging comes off as amateurish or overdone. Too much decoration can do more harm to a prospective buyer's first impressions than good.

If you DO decide to decorate, rethink it as staging with some holiday cheer; this will help you follow the staging mandates of depersonalizing and decluttering your place. If you have a dining room, stage it for a holiday dinner - many a buyer has bought a whole house around their holiday dinner fantasies. Help them visualize their first Hanukkah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa hosted at their new home (psst - that's your home, in the vision).

But keep your holiday decor somewhat secular and ethnically neutral, if possible. Trees, garlands, lights and bulbs are great - but if I personally were selling my home during the holidays, I'd probably pack my family's nativity scenes away. You might now want your cherished family heirlooms exposed to the public, in the first place. And you definitely don't want to let your ethnic or religious stuff interfere with the buyers' inability to envision their own holidays in your home.

3. Set a few, clear "no show" dates and times. There is no faster way to lose a potential buyer than to make it difficult for their broker or agent to schedule a showing for your home. Sellers seem to forget that most often, buyer's brokers are scheduling multiple properties to be shown in a couple of hours'-long-showing - if the other 3 dozen homes for sale in your neighborhood are vacant or very easy to show, and yours is not, that is an easy way to tip buyers toward a competing property.

By the same token, it's understandable that you may need to blackout showings on particular holidays or times when you're hosting guests. So, rather than going through the drama and frustration of back and forth scheduling arrangements, give your listing agent a couple of clear guidelines around the holiday season showings and ask your agent to include these dates in the confidential remarks for buyer's agents on MLS. The keyword here is "a couple" - if there are multiple, whole weeks or lots of half-day times slots during which you don't want your home shown, consider taking it off the market and relisting it in the New Year.

4. Expect some inconvenience and irritation. Selling during the holidays can be rewarding, but smart sellers approach it knowing it won't always be fun. Go in with realistic expectations. Some buyer is highly likely to track rain, mud or snow into your house, at some point. If you're home for a long staycation, chances are good that someone will interrupt your Zen for a showing. These things will happen, but the upside is that an uber-motivated buyer-to-be may also come see your place. Avoid the emotional rollercoaster and irritation by expecting these issues and chalking them up as par for the course.

5. Engage in safe, sensory staging. Holiday food smells like spiced cider, pumpkin pie and baked appley/cinnamoney things are about as universally comforting as smells get. It certainly wouldn't hurt to do some sensory staging to create a sense of comfort and cheer. Also, remember that dreary winter weather can make even the loveliest house and showing take on a gray cast; counteract this by making sure your home is well-lighted and -heated. One thing though, if your holiday home is a candle-lit home, make sure you leave no candles burning if you clear your family out for showings!


http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson/2010/11/5_tips_for_showing_and_selling_your_home_during_the_holidays

Best Christmas Song of ALL Time!

Ok, here is my FAVORITE Christmas song of all time! What's your favorite Christmas song?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY

Holiday Series!

Hello! Here is the first post of a holiday series that I'll be writing about over these next few weeks. Of course, since food is important in my life, it's also the first post :) Everyone needs a break from cooking during this holiday season! Below is a list of some of my favorite restaurants that I recommend you try! Let me know how you enjoy them!

• The Summit House 714.671.4111
• Taps 714.257.0101
• Roman Cucina 714.680.6000
• The Twisted Vine 714.871.1200
• Cafe Hildago 714.447.3202

Check out these restaurants on Yelp for further information and reviews...ENJOY!

92835 November Market Update

Well, well, well...it's been awhile! The holidays are starting up and it's so exciting. I love the holidays :) Here's your monthly market update!

Active Listings: 102 Total, 62 of these are standard sales
85 Single Family Homes, with the average list price of $817,481
17 Condos, with the average list price of $235,616

Pending/Backup Position: 25 Total, 9 are standard sales
19 Single Family Homes
6 Condos

Sold Since 11/1/2010: 17 Total, 13 are standard sales
12 Single Family Homes
5 Condos
Price Ranging from $130,000-$940,000

If you have any questions, you know where to find me!!

Discovery's Annual Charity Dinner and Silent Auction

It's that time of year again! Century 21 Discovery is hosting their 16th Annual Silent Auction and Charity Dinner. This event is our office's way of giving back to the community where we work and to which we belong! Over the years, we have raised over $183,000 and donated those funds to various charities in North Orange County, such as Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Services, St. Jude Memorial Foundation, and Crittenton Services for Families.

The event is Wednesday, November 17 from 6-10pm at the Coyote Hills Golf Course in Fullerton.

We invite you to join us in this wonderful event! For more information, contact Linda at 714.626.2000.

November YPN Event!

Attention all Young Professionals! Our next meetup is Thursday, November 11, 2010 from 5-7pm. We have a NEW LOCATION at the Cantina Lounge in Fullerton: 2736 E. Nutwood Ave.

We are pleased to present our guest speaker, Tammy Newland from Keller Williams who will teach us how to read people! Come and learn how to generate more referrals by attracting investors and learn useful tips for your buyers!

Come and network with some of our local YPN'ers :) For more information, contact me at 714.928.1757 or c21stephlins@gmail.com! Hope to see you there!

Your Vote Counts!!

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW

NOVEMBER 2, 2010!!