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Promoting Your Home to Sell in the Palm Springs area

Have you ever wondered what it takes to market and sell a home? In the “olden days” of real estate, the home would get listed in the classified section of the newspaper, and flyers and postcards would be mailed out. These days, however, require significantly more sophisticated ways of marketing homes for sale. In this video, Darlene Harwick, Realtor in the Palm Springs area, give tips about successful home marketing.

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5 tips to consider if you’ve been thinking about buying a home in a golf course community

Tip 1:

While living across the street from the fairways offers a homeowner additional privacy (no neighbor in front), it also provides a bird’s-eye-view to golfers – especially those wandering through your yard to retrieve balls. Choose your location within the golf community carefully. Homes along the right side, nearest to the tee box, are statistically at higher risk for wandering golfers searching for errant balls and the damage those balls can cause. You may want to play the course to help determine if the home you have your eye on is ideally located.

Tip 2:

I stress the importance to all homeowners interested in purchasing a home in a managed community to read the HOA documents thoroughly, it’s even more critical when considering a home on a golf course. Is netting prohibited? Are there rules against entering the course from your property?

Tips 3:

While golf participation throughout the country is stabilizing, and fewer courses are closing, keep in mind that it’s still a buyers’ market in many communities in this real estate niche. You are in the drivers’ seat, by and large, in negotiations.

Tip 4:

You don’t have to be a golfer to enjoy golf course living. In fact, it’s estimated that only about a quarter of residents who live on or near courses play the game. They purchased the home to enjoy the scenic view, the enjoyment of not having a neighbor’s home facing theirs and the peaceful evenings.

Tip 5:

If you do play, you may want to restrict your search for a golf course home for sale to communities that offer other amenities as well, such as tennis courts, walking trails, swimming pools.

Thinking of selling your golf course home?

Realtor.com analyzed listings of homes for sale in 273  U.S. counties. They found that those listings that included the word “golf” took, on average, 75 days to sell. These homes eventually sold for 14 percent more than the median sale price for the area and nearly 30 percent more than the nationwide median home price.

Of course, all real estate is local and markets change so the “mileage” here in our area may vary.  Feel free to reach out to me for a complimentary, no-obligation determination of your home’s likely market value.

 

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What Do I Do if My Home Doesn’t Sell?

There are a number of factors why a home doesn’t sell after it’s listed for sale.

The main factors that determine whether a home sells are its LOCATION, and PRICE compared to other similar homes on the market, and the MARKETING used to promote the home to prospective buyers.

If you want to know why your home didn’t sell, you should get feedback from previous agents who showed your home to their buyer clients to find out why they chose not to make an offer on the home.

You can use this feedback to make the necessary adjustments. For example, a home may not be in as good condition as other homes on the market for the same price. In this case, making some cosmetic updates and repairs can help get the desired price. In another case, the home may not have been represented well online in its marketing. For example, if professional photography wasn’t used in the marketing, prospective buyers may have gotten the impression the home was in poor condition.

I use the “3P Formula” for getting your home sold:

  1. Preparation – getting the right things ready so buyers will value your homes features.
  2. Price – pricing your home to avoid Limbo Land, a place where homes sit on the market indefinitely.
  3. Promotion – marketing your home to get your home found online and generate buyer interest.

I work with my clients to implement the 3 Ps and sell homes for higher, on average, than the typical real estate agent.

http://www.palmspringsvalleyhomes.com

 

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Serious About Selling? 5 Steps to Make Your Home the Best on the Block

We all want to be good neighbors.  But when it comes to selling your home, it’s not just about “keeping up with the Joneses.” It’s about outshining them at every opportunity!

If you’re looking to sell your home fast and for the most money possible, you’ll need a strategy to set it apart from all the other listings competing for buyers in your area. That’s why I’ve outlined a proven, five-step plan for serious sellers.

Use these five tactics to help your listing get noticed, win over buyers, and net a higher sales price than your neighbors!

STEP 1: Stage Your Home to Show Its Full Potential

The average seller will do the minimum to prepare their home for market: clean and declutter, fix anything that’s broken, mow the lawn.  And while those tasks are essential, today’s buyers want more than just a clean house and tidy yard. When they dream of buying a new home, they envision a designer house with modern finishes. Help them see your property’s full potential.

Home staging is one of the hottest trends in real estate – because it works! According to the Real Estate Staging Association, homes that are professionally staged spend 73% less time on the market.

So what exactly is staging? In a broad sense, staging is the act of preparing your home for market. The goal is to highlight your homes’ strengths, minimize any deficiencies, and help buyers envision themselves living in the space. When staging a home, you might rearrange the furniture to make a room feel larger or remove heavy draperies to make it appear brighter.

Some sellers choose to hire a professional home stager, who has specialized training and experience to maximize the appeal of their home to the largest number of potential buyers. Others may opt to do it themselves, using guidance from their agent.

I can help you determine the appropriate budget and effort required to push your home ahead of the competition in your neighborhood. The good news is, an investment in staging pays off. A 2018 survey found that 85% of staged homes sold for 6-25% more than their un-staged neighborhood homes.

STEP 2: Draw Buyers in with High-Quality Photos

You only have one chance to make a first impression with potential buyers. And many buyers will view photos of a listing before they decide whether or not to visit in person. In fact, 87% of buyers find photos “very useful” in their home search. Poor quality or amateur-looking listing photos could keep buyers from ever stepping through the door.

Since good photography plays such an important role in getting your property noticed, I  only work with top local professionals to photograph my listings. But I don’t just rely on their photography skills when it comes to showcasing your home.

I  go the extra mile to ensure your listing photos showcase the true essence of your home. I’m always on site during the photo shoot to help the photographer capture the best angles and lighting, and to let them know about unique or compelling selling features that they should photograph. The extra effort pays off in the end. In fact, listings with high-quality photography sell 32% faster than the competition… and often for more money.

STEP 3: Price it Properly From the Start

Even in a strong real estate market, there are homes that will sit unsold for months on end. This can be the “kiss of death” in real estate, as buyers tend to imagine that there must be something wrong with the property, even if it’s not true.

But why are those houses still on the market in the first place? It’s because they are often priced too high.

Every buyer has a budget.  And most will be viewing listings within a particular price range. If your property is overpriced, it can’t properly compete with the other houses they’re viewing that are priced correctly. Which means it’ll sit on the market until you’re eventually forced to drop the price.

Alternatively, if you price your home aggressively, it can be among the nicest homes that buyers have seen within their budget. This can lead to emotionally attached buyers, who are often willing to pay a premium or settle for few seller concessions. In certain markets, it can lead to multiple offer situation, or bidding war. The end result? More money in your pocket.

I can help you determine the ideal listing price for your home in the current market.  Pricing it properly in the beginning is the best way to ensure a fast and profitable sale.

STEP 4: Put on A Good Show at Each Showing

Once buyers are interested enough to schedule a visit, it’s critical that you put on a good show at each showing.

The first step is to make your home readily available – and often on short notice – for buyers to see it. A missed showing is a missed opportunity to sell your home. If you set too many restrictions on when it’s available to view,  busy buyers will simply skip over your listing and move on to the next one.

Part of making your home available means keeping it relatively show-ready as long as it’s on the market.  Most of us don’t live picture-perfect lives, and our homes reflect the day-to-day reality of our busy (and sometimes messy) families. But a little effort spent keeping your home clean, fresh-smelling, and ready for buyers will help it sell faster… which means you can get back to your regular routine as quickly as possible!

STEP 5: Use a Proven Promotion Plan

Most agents are still marketing their listings like what was used 20 years ago… put a sign in the front yard, put the listing in the MLS, and pray that it sells. Yet, we know that 93% of buyers search for real estate listings online.

That’s why I invest in the latest training and technology – to ensure your listing appears in the places where buyers are most likely to look.  My dual-level promotion strategy includes both pre-launch activities designed to seed the marketplace and post-listing activities to ensure your home stay top-of-mind with potential buyers.

By utilizing online and social marketing platforms to connect with consumer and offline channels to connect with local real estate agents, your property gets maximum exposure to prospective buyers.

LET’S GET MOVING

Are you thinking about listing your home? Get a head start on your competition! Contact me for a copy of my Home Seller Guide, which offers a complete guide to the home selling process. Or call me to schedule a free no-commitment consultation. I’d love to put together a custom platform to maximize the sales potential of your property!

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What’s Your Home Really Worth?

Home Value

What’s Your Home Actually Worth?
Discover What Buyers Will Pay in Today’s Market

It’s easy to look up how much money you have in your savings account or the real-time value of your stock investments. But determining the dollar value of a home is trickier.

As a seller, knowing your home’s worth helps you price it correctly when you put it up for sale. If you price it too high, it may sit on the market. But price it too low and you may be losing out on a good chunk of money (nobody wants that!). For buyers, it’s important to know a home’s worth before you make an offer. You want your offer to be competitive, but you don’t want to overpay for the property.

Even if you’re not a buyer or seller right now, as a current homeowner you might just be curious about the value of your home. Keeping track of your home’s worth year over year helps you understand the trends in your market. So when you are ready to sell, you can take advantage of a good window of opportunity.

The good news is, a trained real estate agent—who understands the nuances of your particular neighborhood—can determine the true market value of your property … and at no cost to you!

THE THREE TYPES OF HOME VALUES

When you start the process of buying or selling a home, you’ll frequently hear the words appraised value, assessed value, and true market value. It’s important to know the difference between each one so you can make better, informed decisions.

Appraised Value

A professional appraiser is in charge of determining the appraised value of a home. These appraisals are typically required by a lender when a buyer is financing the property. And while the lender is the one requiring this information, the appraiser does not work for the lender. Your appraiser should be an objective, licensed professional who doesn’t have allegiance to the buyer, seller, or lender—no matter who is paying their fee.

The number the appraiser comes up with (the appraised value) assures the lender that the buyer is not overpaying for the property. For example, imagine a seller lists a home for $400,000. They reach a deal with the buyer to sell the home for $375,000. However, if an appraiser evaluates the property and determines that the appraised value is actually $325,000, then the lender will not lend for an amount higher than that appraised value of $325,000.

When figuring out this number, an appraiser will compare the property to similar homes in your neighborhood, and they’ll evaluate factors such as location, square footage, appliances, upgrades, improvements, and the interior and exterior of the home.

 Assessed Value

The assessed value of a home is determined by your local municipal property assessor. This value matters when your county calculates property taxes each year. The lower your assessed value, the less property tax you’ll pay.

To come up with this value, your assessor will evaluate what comparable homes in the neighborhood have sold for, the size of your home, age, overall condition, and any improvements or upgrades that have been made. However, most assessors don’t have full access to your home, so their information is limited.

Assessments are done annually to determine how much property tax you owe. Many counties use a multiplier (typically between 60%-80%) to calculate the final assessed value. So, if the assessor determines that the value of the home is $300,000, but the county uses a 70% multiplier, the assessed value of the home would be $210,000 for tax purposes.

If your assessed value isn’t as high as you envisioned, don’t sweat it. Many homeowners appeal their assessment in favor of a lower valuation so that they can save money on property taxes.

True Market Value

True market value is established by your real estate agent. It basically refers to the value that a buyer is willing to pay for the property. A good real estate agent is an expert in determining true market value because they have hands-on experience buying and selling properties. They understand the mindsets of buyers in your market and know what they’ll pay for a desirable house, townhouse, or condo.

As a seller, knowing your true market value is important because it helps you choose how much to list your property for. It can also help you decide if you want to make any improvements to your home before putting it on the market. Your agent can help you figure out which updates and upgrades will have the biggest impact on your true market value.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH ONLINE CALCULATORS?

When figuring out your home’s value, you might be tempted to see what popular real estate sites like Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia have to say. When you use an online calculator to determine your home’s value on these sites, it is just an estimate. It’s not an actual appraisal or the “true market value.” These sites all have their own algorithms for coming up with their estimates. For example, Zillow comes up with their “Zestimates” by calculating “public and user-submitted data, taking into account special features, location, and market conditions.”

These online estimates can be a great starting point for opening up the conversation with your real estate agent about your home’s worth. But even Zillow recommends that you use a real estate agent for coming up with the actual market value of your home. The site says that once you get your “Zestimate,” you should still get “a comparative market analysis from a real estate agent.”

Having an agent involved in this process is essential because they understand the market better than a computer ever could. They’re showing property in your city every single day, and they know the particular preferences of buyers and sellers in the area. Young professionals, large families, empty nesters, and other groups are all looking for different things in a home. A local agent has most likely worked with all of them, so they understand what every segment in your market is specifically looking for.

HOW AN AGENT FINDS YOUR HOME’S TRUE MARKET VALUE

So, how does an actual real estate agent determine true market value? They’ll start by doing a comparative market analysis (CMA). This means they’ll compare your home’s features to similar properties in your area. For the CMA, the agent looks at the below factors to influence their assessment of your home’s worth:

  • Neighborhood sales – Your agent will look at similar, recently sold homes in your neighborhood to see what they sold for and what they have in common with your house.
  • The exterior – What does your home look like from the outside? Your agent will factor in curb appeal, the style of the house, the front and backyard, and anything else that impacts how the house looks to everyone walking and driving by.
  • The interior – This is everything inside the walls of the house. Square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, appliances, and more all influence the overall market value.
  • Age of the home – Whether you have a newer or older home affects the number your agent comes up with as part of their assessment.
  • Style of the home – The style of your home is important because buyers in different markets have different tastes. If buyers prefer ranch-style homes and you have one, then your home may sell for a premium (aka more money!).
  • Market trends – Because a local agent has so much experience in your market, they have their finger on the pulse of your area’s trends and know what buyers are willing to pay for a property like yours.
  • Location, location, location – This one’s probably the most obvious. Your agent will think about how popular the area is, how safe it is, and what schools are like.

A computer algorithm simply can’t take all of these factors into account when calculating the value of your home. The reality is, nothing beats the accuracy of a real estate agent or professional appraiser when it comes to determining a home’s true market value.

YOUR AGENT IS THERE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

 Determining a home’s true market value is a real estate agent’s forte. If you’re a seller, your agent will help you find your home’s market value so you can list it at the right price.

For buyers, your agent will help you determine the value so you can come up with a fair offer. Your agent can also set up a personalized home search on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for you so you’ll receive emails of listings that meet your criteria. This will help you see what’s out there in your city and how properties are being priced.

Get a Complimentary Report With Your Home’s True Market Value

Curious about your home’s true market value? Call me to request a free, no-obligation Comparative Market Analysis to find out exactly how much your home is worth!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Best Dog-friendly Restaurants in the Desert

dog-friendly-restaurants-palm-desert

The Palm Springs area conjures up images of sunny skies, golf, tennis, lounging by the pool, and dining at fine and/or fun restaurants. And, for many of us, with our dog by our side.

While dining with your canine best friend is a common site here in the desert, it’s important to know before you arrive at your chosen eatery that it is indeed receptive to your furry family member. A call or website search will be worth your research. Here are a few of my favorite pooch-friendly restaurants I enjoy with my Lollie!

JC Café

www.jcsonelpaseo.com
Family owned since 1987, and conveniently located on El Paseo Dr in Palm Desert, JC not only offers the freshest food and refreshing cocktails, but hands down has one of the best patio and al fresco dining experience in the desert. Check out the Saturday and Sunday $5 all-day cocktails. The staff will treat your loved furry one with a lot of attention, water bowl, and treats.

Melange at the Chateau at Lake La Qiunta

www.thechateaulakelaquinta.com
The patio is ideal to lunch, dine, and socialize and with a glass of champagne or crafted cocktail. It’s located right on the lake offering incredible views of the lake and waterfront homes, and is ideal to lounge with your pooch.

The Corridor

www.palmspringscorridor.com
This hip and happening courtyard with shade trees, lawn, and outdoor sculptures is surrounded by small shops, cafes, restaurants, and events that can be shared with your dog pal.

Jakes Palm Springs

www.jakespalmsprings.com
Named for the owner’s cherished Westie, this popular eatery pampers pooches with water bowls, treats, and plenty of praise from staff and other diners.

The Café at Venus de Fido

www.venusdefido.com
A popular neighborhood lunch destination, the Café offers healthy and creative plant-based meals using only fresh ingredients. This unique destination offers the upmost pampering for you and your doggie, with Spa treatments for both, doggie daycare, indoor dog park, themed doggie playdates, and Fido birthday parties, Bow-wow-wow!

Farm

www.farmpalmsprings.com
The Farm is like a trip back to the South of France. The experience at Farm is like being transported to the South of France. Expect an extraordinary sensory experience; from the garden-like patio seating, beautiful bouquet of floral landscaping, to our incredible authentic menu comprised of the freshest ingredients, you will be wowed at every turn.

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5 Reasons Why You Should Move to Palm Springs!

Many people not only enjoy winter, but wait eagerly for the start of the season. We, however, live in the desert, because we thoroughly enjoy the pleasant year-round temperatures and mild climate. If you’re like us, then you will enjoy reading today’s post about some of the things you can escape from when you spend your winters in the desert. Contact Darlene Harwick in Palm Springs today and let us help you find your dream desert home.

Icy Sidewalks

Icy sidewalks are one of the primary causes for personal injury during winter. Sure, you can spend the money to have radiant heat placed into your own sidewalk, but how does that help you when you want to walk beyond your property? If you are tired of wondering whether your next step might just shoot out from under you, or you can’t fathom sprinkling another round of salt across your driveway, then you should consider moving to Palm Springs and adopting the desert lifestyle.

Black Ice

Speaking of ice, there are few things in life that are more scary than suddenly realizing that you are driving across black ice. Named for its ability to blend in with the color of the road, black ice is dangerous primarily because you can’t see it until it’s too late. The best thing to do is to take your foot off the accelerator and hold the wheel steady until you are at a spot where you can safely brake.

Flu

Whether or not you catch the flu during winter, you probably struggle with a stuffed up or runny nose at least several times over the course of this sickness-inducing season. The fluctuations in temperature between your warm home and the cold outdoors, coupled with changing humidity and a variety of other factors, make winter one of the hardest times to remain healthy.

Scraping and Defrosting Your Car

Even if you keep your garage organized enough that you are able to park indoors, you don’t have the luxury of that protection when you drive to work, or run errands. It is easy to forget the simple luxury that we enjoy during the summer of simply hopping in our cars and taking off. During the winter, not only will you have to scrape ice and snow off of your vehicle, but you will also have to allow time for the heater to warm up your car and defrost your windows.

Heating Bills

During winter, there are only so many clothes that you can put on before it becomes uncomfortable. Likewise, short of heating your home to match the temperature of a sub-tropical climate, there aren’t a lot of other options for remaining comfortable. Most people choose to heat their home to a reasonable temperature and then simply wear an extra layer or two. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk around in your shorts even in the middle of winter? You will have that, and many other comfortable luxuries when you move to the desert.

Darlene Harwick wants to help you find the perfect desert home for you and your family. Whether you are interested in a vacation home to escape winter, or you are looking for a permanent residence, we can help.