Top 5 Things To Consider When Selling Your Home

When you've decided to sell your home, the process can seem intimidating and your "honey-do" list starts to grow.  Keep it simple with this quick list of the top 5 things to consider when selling your home!

1.  Are you selling your home, or your house?
As simple as it seems, this is one of the very first things to wrap your head around.  For many people, selling your home stimulates an emotional tie to the home, and in a lot of homeowners minds that means an increase in value.  In reality, you're selling a house.  Buyers are buying a home.  So you need to eliminate as many emotional ties to your home as possible and as soon as possible.  This includes decluttering, taking down children's artwork, removing family pictures from the home and other staging techniques to make your home as show ready as possible.  It also means understanding the market trends and how your house stacks up to other relevant properties for sale.  For an updated market analysis, contact me.  I'd be happy to sit down with you and discuss the market and how it affects your house.

2.  What are buyers looking at?
The National Association of REALTORS® publishes an annual report chocked full of data and statistics based on buyer trends, what they like, what they don't like, what they want to change in homes they buy, their experience, demographics and more.  Using this tool, as well as local showing reports, I can better help you understand what buyers are looking for when shopping for a home and what they buy.

3.  Homebuyers are educated.
There are TONS of tools online for home buyers and they come to the table very educated about what is on the market, what they can ask for, and more importantly, what things cost.  Additionally, there are a host of classes in the Jacksonville area for buyers to take advantage of that discuss the home buying process, mortgages, and investments.  Tack on an experienced Buyer's Agent who professionally represents and negotiates for the homebuyer, and you've got a "professional home buyer" looking at your house.

4.  Exposure.Top 5 things to consider when selling your home
How is your house getting seen?  What is it saying when it's getting marketed?  How available are you to show your house?  Are you measuring your results for marketing?  Who are you showing your house to?  What feedback are you getting with your marketing and showings?  Many homeowners I talk to that choose to sell by themselves rather than hire a REALTOR® to sell their home ask me about marketing strategies.  Our marketing exposes our listings to millions of people worldwide through over 900 websites and we can measure the clicks and inquiries on almost all of them.  We can see what's working and what's not to adjust our strategy to reach the most qualified home buyers in the quickest amount of time, which ultimately leads to SOLD.  We only show homes to qualified home buyers and recently, security is a higher priority, so we have a plan in place to protect ourselves, as well has our homeowners.  Our feedback system prompts for immediate feedback from showings so we know how well the showings went and so do our homeowners.

5.  Time.
Selling a home can be a time consuming task, but it doesn't have to be.  From staging, to marketing, to showing, negotiating, pre qualifying buyers and transaction management, you can have weeks invested in selling your home.  How much time do you have to carry out all of these jobs?  Our team has systems in place or people to manage them.  

If you're considering selling your home, talk with me. 910.545.0450  Let's discuss the process, the market trends and let me help you become as educated as you can be to sell your home!

Homes for sale in Swansboro, NC!

Take a peek at this home for sale in the area, and, welcome to Swansboro!  Known as "The Friendly City by the Sea," this historic little town is located right on the Intracoastal Waterway and the White Oak River, 15 minutes from Camp Lejeune.  Swansboro has something for everyone, whether you're a water sports enthusiast, hunter, fisher, or just love historic towns with eclectic shops and fantastic restaurants!

Homeowners in Swansboro are able to enjoy living close to the water without being "oceanfront" or in a "tourist town."  The Swansboro school district is rated among the highest in the area and residents are able to enjoy the lower property taxes!

 

This home for sale in Swansboro features three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, as well as a bonus room, loft, two car garage, and an irrigation/sprinkler system!


The kitchen boasts granite countertops, tons of cabinet space and is perfectly set up for entertaining!

 

The downstairs owners suite is perfect for the growing family or the ones that are retiring.  The bathroom features a gorgeous custom shower and tons of closet space!

Currently, there are new construction homes for sale in Swansboro, as well as foreclosure homes and home buyers can take advantage of how many options there are to find the home that is perfect for them!  If waterfront homes are more up your alley, we have several of those to choose from as well!  Call Amanda 910.545.0450 for more information on homes for sale in The Friendly City by the Sea, Swansboro, NC!

Buying a home in Jacksonville, NC? Use a Buyers Agent!

If you're considering buying a home in Jacksonville, NC, I'm sure you've been looking at homes online, shopping Pinterest, making your wish list and checking your budget!  But have you considered who you're going to work with?  Or more importantly, who is going to work for you?

In North Carolina, real estate agents can wear many hats, including but not limited to, marketing specialist, area concierge, babysitter, selling agent, market analyst, buyer agent, marriage counselor, and taxi driver.  If you're considering buying a home in the Jacksonville area, making one of the biggest purchases of your life, investing hundreds of thousands of dollars, wouldn't it be worth it to talk to a Buyers Agent?

A buyers agent commits to working solely on your behalf, protecting your best interests, and sharing all the material information about properties with you.  Unless you've signed a Buyer Agency Agreement with your agent, the agent you're working with, isn't necessarily working for you.

The benefits of working with a Buyers Agent are that typically they save you time because they all ready know the inventory and have been showing homes to other homebuyers, so they'll show you the best of the best homes that fit your criteria.  Buyers Agents also negotiate contracts regular for their buyers so they know what to ask for it and how.  And since they're experienced with working with buyers instead of homeowners, they're more apt to know what you will want and protect those interests!

If you're considering buying a home in Jacksonville, NC, contact John Sharek 910.707.4636!  He's an experienced buyers agent and enjoys educating his homebuyers about the home buying process and finding the best home for his clients.  John has raving fans that he's worked with in the past.  Call John, the only buyers agent you'll need,  for all of your home buying needs in Jacksonville, NC.

It's a festival and a Riverpalooza in Jacksonville, NC!

True story!  Next weekend is Jacksonville's 12th annual Riverwalk Festival and Riverpalooza on the New River!
The Riverwalk Festival is Jacksonville, NC’s most successful annual festival (now in out 11th year). The New River Palooza is a celebration of the scenic New River. Together, they make for one unforgettable weekend of music, activities and family fun. Bring your family down to the river walk September 19-20 for this Jacksonville event!  

You can enjoy everything from BBQ pig cook off, shrimp meal, belly dancers, kayak race, paddle board instruction, tons of food, live bands and vendors!

Downtown Jacksonville is steadily becoming an economic destination for arts, cultural, and educational uses.  The area has been growing considerably year over year, and the Riverwalk Festival and Riverpalooza is a fun event to highlight why Downtown Jacksonville is so great!  Hope to see everyone out enjoying the festival and Riverpalooza in Jacksonville, next weekend!!

Have you seen this home for sale near Jacksonville, NC?

No really, have you seen this home for sale near Jacksonville, NC?  Located about 15-20 minutes north of Jacksonville at 402 10th St, Maysville, NC, this four bedroom brick ranch home is the ultimate zombie apocalypse home!
Just think about it- a little outside the hustle and bustle, all brick home, small garden area in the backyard, and multiple power sources (seriously- no electric? No problem! We have propane hookups AND a generator hookup to power the rest of the house!)

This home has a formal kitchen with gas stove, tons of cabinet space, granite countertops and updated appliances, as well as a summer kitchen!  Perfect for canning, boiling water, or even an extra area to prepare food for extra zombie apocalypse survivors.  There are two wood burning fireplaces in this home, one with a granite surround, one with an all brick hearth.  The four bedrooms are all spacious and if you needed even more space, the entire upstairs has been finished from attic space to heated living space!  The upstairs could also double as a defensive stronghold to protect against incoming zombies.

You could comfortably live and grow in this beautiful home with the peace of mind of surviving any zombie apocalypse in the future.  To take a look at this home for sale near Jacksonville, NC, give me a call 910.545.0450!  I'd love to show you all it has to offer!

Toys For Tots Fundraiser Masquerade Ball!

That's right!  Tis' the season to raise funds for Toys For Tots!  The Toys For Tots organization is a non profit organization, directed by the Marine Corps and the purpose is to provide funding and support, as well as toys for children in the local area so that they may have a happier Christmas holiday!
This year, Jacksonville, North Carolina is hosting a Masquerade Ball to raise money in support of this great cause.  All proceeds and donations will go directly to Toys For Tots, and in turn, will go back to children in our community!

Tickets can be purchased at 3840 Henderson Drive, Jacksonville, North Carolina and the event will be held Friday, November 21, 2014 at the Jacksonville Country Club!  Call me at 910.545.0450 for more details and dress to impress!  The Masquerade Ball will be a great opportunity for fun and a perfect fundraiser for Toys For Tots in Jacksonville, North Carolina!

Have you heard of Forkful in Jacksonville?

Well, have you??  Forkful is a locally owned restaurant in Jacksonville that I absolutely love!  They serve fresh food with a  little bit of Mediterranean flair and I honestly always leave super satisfied!

What makes Forkful great?

Let me count the ways....

It's locally owned and operated.

The food is made from scratch daily!

There are always gluten free options, no trans fats, and no MSG's!

You can choose healthy, or even be a little naughty!

They always have something new that they're trying out.

It's super affordable!

You can order online and have it delivered!

Not only is their food phenomenal, but you get generous portions and they cater.  Because of their local roots, Forkful always seems to be pitching in on one fundraiser or another.

You can choose from rice bowls, salads, wraps, homemade soups, or a combination of any of them!  Check out their menu here!

Lots of yumminess to choose from, and truly, the food wizards at Forkful are always cheerful and that really makes the whole experience super!

Still don't have you convinced that this place is the berries?  Call me for a lunch date!  I could always use a good reason to check out one of my fave places in Jacksonville!

Amanda Parmer

Red Sapphire Realty Group

Keller Williams Realty

910.545.0450

Looking for homes near Camp Lejeune?  Click here!  Then have lunch at Forkful, because looking at homes all day can make you hungry!!