As our area market continues to see strong demand and low supply, it becomes more important for buyers to be prepared and ready to make an offer when the right property comes along. Here are a few tips to help strengthen your buying position:
- Do your homework and know what you are looking for in a home.
- Get pre-qualified for a mortgage before looking.
- Stay in touch with your agent and be ready to view any new listings that match your criteria.
- Don’t play games when bidding; you’ll likely be competing with other offers.
- Don’t make your offer contingent on selling your house first. It will be the last offer considered if you do.
While it can be discouraging to buy in a tight market, remember, “Luck favors the prepared”. Be ready to act and to present an attractive offer. Contact me if you’d like to know how to make home buying an easier process. Donna@DonnaForest.com, www.DonnaForest.com, 603-526-4116
This custom Colonial is currently being built. Open concept first floor, large mud room, covered entries, optional second floor master. Possibility for details to change as progression of construction continues. Plenty of room for expansion in the walk-out basement (plumbing for bath is roughed in) or over the garage. Buyer may have options if purchased before work is completed, so make your appointment today! Offered at $685,000. Agent interest.
Jane Snow, Listing Agent, 603-526-4116
If you want to sell your home faster and most likely for more money, consider hiring a home stager. Home staging is not decorating or interior design. It is the act of preparing and showcasing a home for sale to attract buyers. A home should be merchandised and marketed just like any other product, but somehow this is woefully overlooked by most sellers. Staging is a proven marketing strategy - staged homes present and show better, they sell lifestyle and emotion, and they don't give buyers a reason to offer less money. Buyers are willing to pay a premium for a move in home.
Professionally staged homes stand out above the competition and also photograph better - a key component in online marketing. It's hard to make the mental leap from this is your home to now being a commodity on the market.
Stagers are trained professionals who understand exactly what is needed to get your property prepared for sale. Bottom line, it is money well spent to properly prepare a house for sale. Contact me for more useful tips if you are thinking of selling. Donna@DonnaForest.com, www.DonnaForest.com, 526-4116
Simple ideas so you can enjoy your home despite the dust and chaos of remodeling.
Congrats! You finally got that fixer-upper you’ve been eyeing like you used to do to your high-school crush. Now it’s yours, but your budget’s tight, so you’re planning to move in and live there as you remodel.
Wow, that’s a stressful thought. Just thinking about it makes you feel exhausted and excited at the same time. Sigh. Well, you can let your excitement win that battle with these four strategies to ease the stress of living in the middle of a construction zone:
#1 Designate a Place for Stuff You Need to Move out of the Way
Homeowners ride an emotional roller coaster during a remodeling project, says Dave Lupberger, veteran remodeler who wrote the book, “Managing the Emotional Homeowner.”
To give your emotions some grounding, come up with an organization plan. It’s a lot easier (less stressful) to renovate when you’ve got the room.
Think about it:
Where are you going to put your piles of pots and pans until your kitchen cabinets are ready?
Set up a storage place that’s reserved for stuff that needs relocating as you move from project to project. Such as:
- Install an organization system in the basement or garage.
- Reserve one room (future guest room?) if you can.
- Rent a pod; you can even keep it at your home.
For items you’ll need to use more frequently throughout renovations, build shelves in closets or create storage space under a window seat or banquette bench.
#2 Make the Space You'll Live In a True Retreat
Maybe your master bedroom or kitchen will need a total remodel in a few years, but other rooms of the house need more attention now.
Because you spend the most time in your bedroom and kitchen, take this opportunity to make at least one of them really cozy with a quick makeover before diving into any heavy-duty projects elsewhere.
The fastest way to change a room is with paint and accessories. Use paint to create an accent wall in your bedroom and try your hand at crown molding to make a room seem polished. You can even add new lighting for ambiance.
In the kitchen, paint the cabinets, add new hardware, and — voilà! — you have a new kitchen. Install a backsplash over a weekend, and one of your most commonly used rooms will feel peacefully polished — even if there’s chaos right down the hall.
#3 Make a Door One of Your First Projects
Your new home might be a mess inside, but you can feel great about pulling into your driveway.
A new front door, or newly-painted one will remind you how much of an impact your work is making on your home. And give you a reason to smile as you walk through the door.
#4 Create Outdoor Places to Escape to
Have a spring move in?
If you have months of good weather ahead, take advantage of your new yard to create a retreat where can truly get away from the clamor of renovation project. Some simple ideas:
- On your patio or deck, go ahead and “furnish” it — even if it’s just a few lawn chairs.
- Create a picnic spot on a nice shaded spot.
- Hang a swing.
- Turn a shed into a temporary hideout
By
writes about homes, design, remodeling, and construction for online and print national trade and consumer publications, including “Better Homes & Gardens.” Previously, she was a senior editor at “Remodeling” magazine. Follow Stacey on Twitter.
Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from Houselogic.com with permission of the National Association of REALTORS.
Don't forget about Mom this Sunday! Stop by Spring Ledge Farm for some ideas.
They have all sorts of plants for mom, from fruit trees and blueberry bushes to hanging baskets, geraniums, tropical mandevilla, herbs, perennials and flowering shrubs.
They offer kid-sized (& kid-priced) pots of basil, marigolds and alyssum. We have beautiful hanging baskets grown using organic soils and beneficial microbes and good bugs. They even add a long term organic fertilizer to the hanging baskets for a season-long food source. They've created combinations of ceramic pots and flowering annuals that look great and will last all season.
Hardy Japanese maples, forsythia, azaleas and rhododendrons are in stock and looking great. Planting one of these for mom results in a lasting memory and something to enjoy for years. Spring Ledge has bags of compost and local earthworm castings to add nutrition and soil health to the planting.
Or let mom choose exactly what she wants with a gift card to Spring Ledge - available in any denomination.
And the best part of shopping at Spring Ledge Farm? Their great staff to help you choose from all the available plants and pots. They are open Mon-Sat 9-6 & Sunday 9-4. Stop in early to beat the rain!
Beautiful four bedroom custom cape privately set on the eastern side of Lakeshore Drive with glorious long-range New Hampshire as well as local New London views. Recently renovated kitchen open to the living room, 4.5 baths. Lower level boasts a generous family room with propane fireplace and sliding doors to the outside, well-appointed office with Murphy bed and brand new 3/4 bath. This home exudes warmth and contentment! A wonderful, private property for all where you can enjoy indoor/outdoor living at its best! Offered at $795,000. For more information and photos, visit www.NHViewsandPrivacy.com
Sharon Lavigne and Emily Campbell listing agents
603-526-4116
Teamwork from the Team that works –Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
Rich in detail and steeped in history, this 4 bedroom colonial offers a picturesque setting of gardens and shade trees, 9 acres of fields and woods, a huge barn and even a sugar house! And a bonus - two additional lots of record that could be sold separately. Enjoy the vintage advantage as well as the many modern updates - upgraded kitchen with granite and center island, metal roof, automatic stand-by generator, on-demand water heater and much more. While styled for today's living, this sun-filled home still retains its historic features with gunstock corners, wide pine floors, fireplaces, built-ins, and wainscoting. Treasured and well-preserved, come live your dream with cherished yesterdays and gracious tomorrows. Offeres at $329,000. For more photos and details, visit www.NHAntiqueHome.com. Donna Forest, Listing Broker, 603-526-4116
Teamwork from the Team that works –Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
Springledge Farm will be having a "Seed Sowing Workshop, Part II" on April 29th from 10am-2pm. Another Workshop coming up on Saturday, May 6th will be "Pollinator Seed Sowing" from 11am-1pm. Springledge Farm is at 37 Main St. in New London, NH. Call 526-6253 or email to sign up.
New for 2017! Spring Ledge Farm will be a pickup spot for fresh NH seacoast fish this season. They're partnering with NH Community Seafood who are offering a CSF (Community Supported Fishery) for the season. A great way to have fresh, local fish every week and support the seacoast fishermen in NH.
Spring Ledge is the pickup spot only; in fact Spring Ledge does not make any money off the program. They are simply the pickup location for this area. All the monies go to the NH Community Seafood and the fishermen. The program details, payments, logistics and communication are all handled through NH Community Seafood. Any and all questions should be addressed to them. They have been working with farms as drop-off locations across the state for many years, and they have the experience and knowledge to answer all your questions.
NH Community Seafood will send out emails each week with information on the catch of the week, including recipes and cooking tips. The shares can be 1/2 lb., 1lb. or 2 lbs. and includes shellfish and oysters (in season), but you can opt out of these. It is all very well explained on their website.
Click here to read about why the program was started and how it benefits the local fishermen.
Sign up is super easy, pickups will be on Saturdays. Check them out on Facebook @NHCommunitySeafood and their website nhcommunityseafood.com.
Market news from New Hampshire REALTORS:
A strong sellers' market continues after a first quarter in which New Hampshire price increased, sales decreased, and inventory dropped dramatically.
Among the highlights:
- Closed sales: The 1,083 March residential sales were just four off the sales pace of March 2016 and represented the second-most in the month in more than a decade. First quarter sales (2,747) were down by 3.4 percent from a year ago, but still a substantial uptick from first quarter 2015.
- Median sales price: At $244,900, it was the highest priced March since 2007 and a 4.2 percent increase from March 2016. The first quarter saw a 5.6 percent increase year over year, to $245,000 in 2017.
- Inventory numbers are the lowest in NHAR's recording period, dating back to 2005.
- The number of residential homes for sale at the end of March was 4,902, a 32 percent drop from a year ago. By comparison, there were roughly 12,000 for sale at the end of March 2010.
- Months supply, meaning the number of months it would take to sell off the current inventory at the current sales pace, is at 3.3 months, a 35 percent drop from just a year ago. There was nearly 17 months supply in 2009.
There's plenty more information where that came from. The New Hampshire REALTORS market report includes 10 different categories and historical data going back to 2006, as well as county-level data. Also included below is the long-term statewide data, dating back to 1998.
- For the complete March 2017 report, click here.
- For the first quarter 2017 report, click here.
- For past monthly reports, click here.
- For statewide and county level data from 1998 to 2016, click here.
If you have questions, please contact NHAR Communications Director Dave Cummings at dave@nhar.com or 603-225-5549.
There are common mistakes many sellers make when they go to sell. As a professional with over 23 years of experience, here are my top 5 picks sellers should avoid.
1. Overpricing. It's the kiss of death in any market. Be realistic in your pricing.
2. Not getting the house ready to sell. Don't expect to sell if you have done nothing to prep it for the market. De-clutter, update, paint, repair, the list goes on. Ask your REALTOR what you need to do before putting it on the market.
3. Being emotionally attached. Yes, your house is your home - except for when you go to sell. Your house is now a commodity that is competing with other properties for a buyer.
4. Not trusting your REALTOR. Listen to and solicit advice from your agent. We do this for a living day in and day out; take advantage of our knowledge.
5. Ignoring lowball offers. Don't be insulted with a low offer. Set emotions aside and view it as a starting point for negotiations.
If you are thinking of selling, then contact me. As an Accredited Seller Representative Specialist, I can provide you with invaluable advice on getting your house sold. 603-526-4116, Donna@DonnaForest.com, www.DonnaForest.com