Glenda Young’s Blog

Does staging make a difference?  I get that question all the time!  And the answer is a big yes!  Looking at beautiful pictures that are almost like a model home really helps buyers envision what their new home could look like.  It is one of those things that helps a home sell faster maybe not for more…but the money invested in staging will be returned by having the home on the market for a shorter period. 

I’ve got a great stager on my team if your in the market to sell - Lindi Connally, we’d be happy to make your selling experience easier with a staged home!

Hi Everyone, Got distracted for a while, but I’m back to blogging now.  The Abilene market definitely appears to be picking up, a lot more homes available and a lot more sales occurring.  So I think we are in the ramp up to summer!

A few weeks ago I attended an information session about home owners insurance which was hosted by Nationwide here in Abilene.  While ultimately important for me to know for my clients, this was personally eye opening.  Here are a few tidbits that I found especially interesting:

1) Got a sunken living room?  Well it is considered a basement (since it is below ground level) and basements are not covered by flood insurance!

2) When to file a claim?  I’ve filed a claim over a cracked window….evidently a big mistake as each claim becomes ding on your “insurabilty report” called a CLUE report (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange).  This CLUE report can determine your future insurance rates and your insurability!  Ack!  So for future reference, the guideline is only make a claim for expenses that you cannot cover yourself.

3) So… “What’s insurance for and why do I pay monthly?” became the obvious next question.  The answer, the intent of all insurance is to prevent you from total financial ruin from a claim.  Again, make a claim when you really can’t pay for the repair yourself.

In the future I’ll write more on this topic as there really is so much to learn in order to protect yourself through homeowner’s Insurance.

Here’s my disclaimer:  I am not an home insurance sales person, so you should consult your insurance company before basing any decisions on the information and ideas that I have brought up here. 

I have a wonderful home that is having such a tough time selling.  Good location, impeccable maintenance, competitive price with great curb appeal and shows great!  So what’s the problem you ask?  Well evidently that section of the market decided to dry up last month with only 3 sales in this very narrow price range, $110K to $120K, we’ve got a 7 month supply.  So what to do now?  I’ve newspapered, emailed, websited - on three site, flyers, prayed - well that’s what I did first, now blogged, etc.  Moving to Abilene and looking for this price range, I can tell you that you won’t find a better home.   www.glendayoung.com  MLS ID# 109878  

Yesterday I attended another of a series of interesting phenomena:  Realtor Lunches.  Not the meeting kind of lunch but rather a “progressive dinner” style.  Visit the first house for an appetizer, the next for lunch, and the third for dessert.  This move to a more proactive position by realtors in this area tells me that it is becomming a little harder to sell here in Abilene.  While the market is generally good:  More houses sold than last year by this time and the average home price has increased, there is still an indication that the seller and their agent are getting even more creative to get their properties to move in Abilene.

Recently I showed up on a new car lot, well my husband would question the “showed up” part, well yes I was looking for a new car and after letting him look at motorcycles for a few hours, I redirected the car to the car lot I wanted to visit.  I found a few cars that I was interested in looking at and so requested a test drive.  The salesman got in the drivers seat and we took off.  Yes the salesman was driving what might be MY car.  I did not want to see him driving the car but of course wanted the experience for my self.  How well would it handle, how did it “feel”, could I imagine myself in it?  

This is the same feeling that I get from a lot of my buyers when we visit properties.  They’d like to see themselves in it, not the owner that decided to rush home to be there during the showing or the FSBO owner who is intent on pointing out every improvement.  A lot of experts suggest that you depersonalize a home before you put it on the market and while I agree that removing every family photo is extreme, dismantling the family shrine of photos that include cousins, babies, and kindergarten photos of children now attending college makes a huge difference in allowing the house to sell itself.

What about the car???  Well I loved it and decided to take it home!

Welcome to Glenda Young’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Abilene.