3 Easy and Helpful Moving Hacks

As a home seller, how do you know which offer to pick in a multiple offer situation? 

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If you're moving, these three tips should help you out quite a bit:

1. Don't pick a peak day to move: In the central Iowa market, Fridays and Saturdays are the peak days, as well as the 1st, 30th, and 31st of each month. 2. Pack smart: You can read about some great moving hacks here. They'll help you plan, organize, and execute the process of getting all your belongings together efficiently. On top of these hacks, you should try to take the emotion out of packing. It's hard to avoid taking a trip down memory lane when you pack your stuff, but try to save it for when you're in your new place.

Avoid moving on peak days if at all possible.

3. Use our moving truck: This is a big advantage to working with us. We'll even give you the manpower to help you move things. Our truck isn't some rickety old truck either; it's shiny and new!

If you're thinking about making a move and need to buy and or sell a home, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to help!

Join Misty’s Team: We’re Hiring a Home Selling Specialist!

My team is on the lookout for a good Home Selling Specialist. Joining us comes with many advantages and opportunities.  

Want to sell your Central Iowa home? Get a free home value report

Want to buy a Central Iowa home? Search all the homes on the MLS

Today I have some important news to share—my team is in the process of hiring a Home Selling Specialist.

Home Selling Specialists are a highly valued member of my team. In this position, your job is to meet face to face with our sellers and help them strategize pricing, value, what kind of marketing approach is appropriate to take for their goals, and guide them through the process of a successful sale and closing.

There are three tremendous advantages of being a Home Selling Specialist with my team.

The first is our unparalleled marketing. With exposure on radio, television, and many Internet enhancements, our sellers have the exposure to help them get top dollar for their home in the shortest amount of time.

The second is our amazing operations team. Instead of spending your time as a courier putting up signs or as an administrative assistant filling out forms, we provide that service for you so that you’re able to leverage your time for the highest-producing activity—selling!

There are tremendous advantages to being a Home Selling Specialist on my team.

The third is a guaranteed, steady flow of highly qualified seller leads.

We’d love for our ideal candidate to have a real estate license and some real estate experience. However, we’re open to candidates who have experience in related industries, such as insurance or mortgage. It’s extremely important that our Home Selling Specialist enjoys working with numbers, analyzing data, and coming to conclusions to give our sellers good advice.

It’s also important for them to have the ability to have both happy conversations about retaining equity and tough conversations about changing the seller’s expectations, especially when they have a life-changing need such as a death or a divorce that require them to get their home sold in a timely fashion.

If this sounds like something that would be of interest to you—to be able to leverage your time, our amazing marketing machine, and 17 years of real estate sales experience, I’d love to talk. Just click on the “Join Misty’s Team” button on my website to get started.

As always, if you have any real estate questions, I’d love to answer them. We’re here to help!

When Is the Right Time to Downsize?

Before you decide to downsize from your current home, ask yourself these three questions. 

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Want to buy a Central Iowa home? Search all the homes on the MLS

One question we are asked on a pretty regular basis by clients is, “How do I know when the right time to downsize is?” There are some very important questions you need to ask yourself in order to determine this.

1. Can you really live with less space? A lot of empty nesters realize that they don’t need as much space or as many rooms but when it comes down to it, a lot of them aren’t ready to give things up to fit in a smaller space. If you’re not ready to give up some of the luxuries of having a large home, downsizing doesn’t make sense right now.

Can you really live with less space?

2. Are you ready for a truly lower-maintenance lifestyle? Going from a large home to a condo or townhome leaves you with less yard work, less maintenance, and less square footage to take care of. If that sounds like an exciting change in your life, it’s something for you to consider.

3. What kind of equity position do you have on your home? If you are in a great market, the timing might be perfect for you to maximize the equity you will pull out of the home. It might be time for you to talk to us if that is the case.

If you have any questions for us or are looking to buy or sell in Des Moines, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

What’s the Recipe for Appealing to Millennial Buyers?

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Buying a Central Iowa home? Search all homes for sale

It's important to appeal to millennial buyers, because they are making up a larger percentage of the buying market each year, and they are buying in all different price ranges. Millennial buyers have very high expectations, and their buying power is higher than young buyers have ever had before.

The importance of a low-maintenance or maintenance-free lifestyle is the first thing you'll see about these buyers. They want to see systems working properly, and don’t want to do a whole lot of home improvement work. Don’t think you can put off your upgrades in hopes that you can put money for repairs in the contract.

Secondly, millennial buyers love contemporary decor. For freshening up the interior of your home, neutralize it to make it as appealing as possible. Use light greys instead of whites to re-paint.

Finally, you’ve got to realize that these buyers make decisions very quickly. They will decide within 30 seconds of walking into your home whether they want to buy it or not, so staging your home properly can make or break the sale.

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!

Get Your Central Iowa Home Ready for the Market

Selling your Central Iowa home? Get a free home value report  
Buying a Central Iowa home? Search all homes for sale

A lot of sellers have been asking me, "What keeps a home from selling?"There are a few things that you as the seller can take care of in order to make the process successful.

First of all, you need to prepare your home properly. Buyers today are extremely visual. They want to buy a move-in ready home. One of our listing programs includes a certified pre-owned home program, where one of our home inspection partners does a pre-inspection on the home. That way, you know what repairs you need to address before showing the home.We also provide you with a home staging checklist, which is the key to a smooth process and getting the top range of market value.

Second of all, you need to price the home correctly. The strategy of where you position your home in the market is a key part of our marketing.We'll go through the market range and your competition to determine the price. Ultimately, the listing price is your decision, because we're working with your money, not ours. Paying attention to what the market tells us is a key part of that success.

Finally, keep the home available for showings. I know it can be difficult when you have kids or pets, but making it easier for buyers to view your home exposes it to more of the market and makes the process more successful.

2 Things Sellers Do that Ruin Their Home Sale

The Central Iowa real estate market is diverse with both buyers and sellers alike seeking a variety of different properties. As a prospective seller, you can find out the market value of your property with a free home value report right here, or if you're looking to purchase in the Central Iowa click here for full MLS access. Always feel free to reach out to us for any questions regarding the current market conditions, or the value of your property at 515-229-9764.

The average homeowner is unaware of how difficult it can be to sell their home, especially if they want to sell it quickly and for top dollar.  Today, we're going to discuss common mistakes people make when they're getting ready to sell their home. By taking care to avoid these pitfalls, you can rest assured that your home sale will be a successful one.

• Make sure your home is in good condition. Many people don't realize how important carpet and paint are. Stained or worn out carpet is the best way to deter buyers, who are incredibly visual. The presentation of properties online is what brings people through the door - paint and carpet are huge factors in making that happen.
  
  Take advantage of a home walk through. When selling your home with us, as a benefit to you, we offer a walk through of your home to give you tips on what you can do to your home to make it show in its best light. 

• Price your home correctly! When we list your home, we sit down and take a look at homes that have recently sold on the market, as well as what your home will be competing against. In order to get as close as possible to your list price, you need to price your home competitively. This is something we work on closely with our sellers to ensure they achieve their financial goals.

If you want your home to be sold quickly and for top dollar, you need to take a look at the things other sellers do wrong. We hope these tips will be helpful in the sale of your home.

If you have any questions about this topic, or would like to discuss anything pertaining to real estate, we would love to chat. Give us a call or shoot us an email, and we'll help you with whatever you need. Thanks, and we look forward to talking to you soon!