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Home for Sale in Huddleston VA

April 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Home for Sale in Huddleston VA

 

Seller very motivated! Wonderful home on 30 acres with bold stream – Orrix Creek – running through property. Rocking chair front porch with ceiling fan. Formal foyer, living room with large stone fireplace with gas logs. Hardwood floors, built-in bookcases, chair rails and crown moldings throughout main level. Eat-in-kitchen has hardwood countertops, ceramic tile, many custom cabinets. M/L laundry and bath and extensive decking off kitchen. M/L master suite has oversized WIC. Two large bedrooms upstairs, hall bath and tons of closets. Basement has a rough-in bath and flue for woodstove. A thick slate patio is laid at the base of the deck. Pole barn with garage and engine hoist for the do-it-yourselfers is wired for electric and is set up for propane heat. Whole house fan. Masonite siding for low maintenance. Property is two separate parcels of 15 acres each and a 60′ right of way to the back property for a possible later sale; in land use for low taxes. 2yr old Heat Pump. 4yr roof.

Full Details

http://www.findahomeinbedford.com/listing/mlsid/560/propertyid/273716/syndicated/1/cgltguid/084D65EB-5980-43E8-9093-CC9D84F604C0/?ts=crg

Click on photo to see more photos!

Listing Courtesy of Wendy Witt, Keller Williams

 

Keller Williams Bedford VA

 

 

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Staging you Bedford Home

August 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Here are some things you can do to sell your home in Bedford!

Keep in mind selling your home is a competition! You’re home has to stand out from the other homes in Bedford. You need to be better than the others in your price range. Imagine you’re shopping for a computer, there are two the same price. The both have the same processor, hard drive space, RAM, and monitor, but one has a better keyboard/mouse combo, more software, and a blue-ray. Which one are you going to buy? The one with all the extras, of course and that is why your home will sell first.

1. Look at your home as if you were going to buy it! How is the traffic flow? Removing some furniture or decorations will open up the space, allowing the home to “flow”, it makes the rooms look larger, and makes visitors feel more comfortable. When selling – less is always better!

2. Get excesses furniture and decorations out of the home–keep the focus on the home’s architectural features – Things you don’t want donate to charity, take things you want to a storage unit. Buyers are shopping for homes, not your possessions, keep them out of site.

3. Clean! This will cost you nothing but a few hours and may be one of the most important steps. Keep your Bedford home “inspection ready” at all times!

4. Master bedrooms and baths should be gender neutral – Make sure colors and décor are not to masculine or feminine, you want to appeal to the masses here! Remember you goal is to sell your Bedford home!

5. Painting the interior of your Bedford home is a great return on your investment! It doesn’t cost much but make a giant impact. Create a uniform color palette throughout your Bedford home with neutral colors! Choose  taupes, beiges, creams and grays- see above about appealing to the masses! Another bonus is these colors go with almost any decor. Add some color via pillows or art work.

paint can6.  Appeal to the masses, look at upscale hotels online–They are clean, crisp, clutter free, updated. I know you will find this hard to believe, but some homes in Bedford have outdated paint colors, wall paper, and borders! See paint above! There are many homes on the market today; buyers can be picky and rightfully so! It’s a competition, see above! Trust me, the one person who love your teal green living room enough to buy it isn’t coming for a long time. Paint it now, sell it now! Don’t paint and wait……

7. Bedford area buyers will be looking in your closets, cabinets, attics and basements Organize what you must keep, and store the rest. People want to know their stuff will fit in the storage areas.

8. Fix the small stuff,-broken screens, running toilets, door hinges, leaky faucets and door bells – If you don’t fix a leaky faucet what else didn’t you fix? Don’t let a $5 repair cost you a good buyer!

9. Let light in! Open blinds, curtains…. Make your home look bright and warm… Here is a hint; nobody wants to live in a dark gloomy home. Have soft light son, if the weather is good, leave the windows open!

10.  If you can’t be objective call Wendy Witt or Scott Fogleman, Bedford’s Real Estate team! Don’t trust selling your Bedford home to anyone. The Witt-Fogleman team have the experience, knowledge, and the skills to sell your home for the most money in the shortest time possible!

 

 

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Why are photos important to selling your home?

February 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

2282 McDaniel RdThe National Association of Realtors has several surveys of home buyers proving 20+ quality photos make a home sell faster and for more money. Eighty-four percent of home buyers say that photos and detailed property descriptions are the most important feature when searching for homes online. Professional photos get 61% more views and sell for a higher price!

Quality photos make a difference

Point and shoot digital cameras have revolutionized the industry but they do not make professional grade photos.  If you want professional results, get professional equipment! A Digital SLR (DSLR) with interchangeable lenses is needed! Operating one of these cameras isn’t incredibly difficult, but it does take time and education. Not only do you have to think about the camera body but more importantly the lenses. The lens really determines the quality of the photo and how much of a room you can get into a frame. Smaller rooms can sometime be a challenge to get the room in one frame, point and shoot cameras will cut off part of the room or give lenses distortion making the celling look like its bending. A DSLR camera with a wide angle lens can get that photo! DSLR cameras also will accurately display colors. You spent the extra money for Brazilian Hardwood floors, you wanted the right color and look, and don’t you want it to be right in the photos?

Having an “eye” for images is something that can’t be taught! So even if two people have the same equipment the results will be dramatically different. Knowing the right angles or zoom level takes an “eye”.  Again, the goal is for your home to stand out in a positive way.

As a homeowner, you may want to really think about how much you have in a room. Clutter will distract a buyer and make your home appear small. See our post on clutter!

We have lots of great photos, now let’s get them online!

The Lynchburg and Roanoke Board of Realtors allows up to 30 photos of a property in their Multiple Listing Service (MLS). While this is a great place to shop for homes it is not user friendly such as sites like REALTOR.CO, homes.com, or Zillow.com.  Year after year more home shoppers use these three sites than anywhere else on the web with looking for a new home. REALTOR.COM only gives most agents 4 pictures per listing. So, only 4 photos of your home will appear unless the agent has subscribed to enhanced listings allowing up to 25 photos of each listing. Many area homes do not appear on Zillow.com and Homes.com because the agent doesn’t upload their listings to the service. That is right, two of the three places to best market your home many agents are not using! Therefore your home is only being shown to 1/3 of the market place.

Why Witt-Fogleman

Scott Fogleman is a published photo journalist. He work has appeared in many national, regional and local publications. Wendy Witt first started photography when she was in college, showing lots of promise she became an avid hobbyist. They use Canon DSLE cameras with a variety of Canon, Sigma, and Tamron lenses.

Wendy and Scott are a husband and wife Real Estate team who co-list everything (no additional charge). We serve Lynchburg, Bedford, and the surrounding area.

We subscribe to REALTORS.com enhanced listing service, giving each one of our listings up to 25 photos. We also use REALTOR.com featured homes, this places one of our listings at the bottom and the top of each page when a person searches inside our zip codes.

We offer showcase advertising on Zillow.com and homes.com, meaning your home will come up first in any search where your home means the criteria.

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Showing Your Home

September 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

When you have an appointment to have your home shown, you will be given as much notice as possible. Sometimes you will get a call and a prospective buyer will be out and about and want to stop by. Try to have your home tidied at all times in case this happens! Do some last minute straightening up and throw a little something in the oven. Make every attempt to allow a potential buyer in the door – selling is a numbers game and you want to get as many showings as possible. Have your listing packets readily available with stats, electric bills, survey, tax records and any other pertinent information that may interest a buyer.

If you’re home, politely greet the agent and their clients and excuse yourself and leave the selling to the agent. If the agent is not familiar with the house, you may suggest they can ask questions if necessary but don’t be overbearing during the showing.
Over the years, we have found the following information helpful in selling homes:

1. Buyers are more comfortable in a home where the sellers are not present. It is difficult for MOST buyers to relax enough to take in the details of the home.

2. Quiet is the ideal environment. Turn off the TV. Relaxing music is the most noise you may want to have going on during a showing.

3. Try to keep interaction with your pets to a minimum if at all. You love your pet but people have different reactions to animals.

4. Do not apologize for your home’s appearance. This only accentuates the faults of your home. Let the buyer and their agent make their own opinions.

5. Wait until after a sale to discuss personal property.

6. Do not discuss price, terms or involve yourself in negotiations with a potential buyer. This causes your agent to lose negotiation tactics if an offer comes in.

If you’re not home, make sure pets are secure and will not be distracting to a potential buyer. Keep in touch with your listing agent and let them know who signed in or left their business card during the showing so your agent can call for feedback. If you have an open house, plan to be away for the afternoon for all the reasons mentioned above. Your agent will contact you concerning feedback from the open house and perhaps suggestions on improvements that may help sell your home.

Filed Under: Preparing to Sell, Sellers

Selecting a Realtor

September 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The 80/20 rule applies to real estate agents as it does to any other occupation. Twenty percent of Bedford’s agents sell about 80% of the property. You want someone with experience to help you through your investment process. Check out your agent.

1. Ask others for recommendations. Word of mouth is king.

2. Check the agent’s background. What is the reputation of the firm? Have they sold a lot of houses? Is the support staff friendly? Ask for the agent’s resume.

3. Check the agent’s history. How long have they been selling Bedford real estate full time? How many properties do they have listed? How many have sold in the last few months?

4. Investigate problems. Ask the local real estate board if there have been any problems with the agent.

Putting an Agent to the Test

1. Does the agent return your phone calls?

2. Are they pleasant and helpful?

3. Are they easily accessible via fax, email, cell phone?

4. Does the agent have time for you?

5. Does the agent communicate the real estate process in a way you can understand?

6. Does your agent explain different financing options or refer you to someone who can?

7. Can your agent explain contracts to you?

8. Is your agent interested in your needs?

9. Does the agent ask you personal questions about your finances? You may think they shouldn’t but they should. If you find your dream home and you can’t afford it, that is a disappointment. Be upfront and honest with your lender and realtor so you can move in the right direction at all times.

10. Does the agent know the area well?

11. Does the agent show only houses listed with their firm? Is so, ask if the agent gets an incentive for selling homes within their own firm. Full customer service involves showing buyers anything that is on the market within the buyer’s criteria.

Lastly, you should make sure that you use an agent who is actively involved in the Bedford real estate market, who is knowledgeable of the area and someone who makes you feel comfortable

Filed Under: Buyers, Preparing to Sell, Sellers

How do we price your property?

September 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

We will use absorption rates and market information from what has sold to help you make important decisions about marketing your property.

Multiple Listing Service: Commonly known as the MLS, we are responsible for getting your property on this valuable listing inventory service. This allows access to information about your property to all realtors in the area. It is also pulled from the Roanoke MLS to Realtor.com, the most widely visited real estate website in the country. This provides immediate access to your property to both buyers and sales associates looking to show your property to potential buyers. We currently employ approximately 28 websites to share your property information. The trickle effect of the MLS to and our usage of other websites is huge for exposure and is the most effective usage of marketing. Research has shown that print advertising has become a less effective vehicle for reaching potential clients. We will selectively determine when print advertising will or will not be useful in attracting buyers to your property.

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