Color Secrets of the Pros

Many of my clients are either in need of decorating their new homes, or finding a need to “update” their existing residences. Many want to update for their own pleasure, and others want to “spruce things up” in preparation for selling their existing home. After all, a small investment with the proper “updating” will also help to bring more $$$ to the closing table!

There are many ways to update a home. Some may want to hire a professional interior designer. Others many want to tackle the job themselves, however, for those who elect to update their homes themselves, I have come across a very handy tool to help you decide your color palette. Most professionals will tell you to stick to three main colors and decorate around these three colors. You may want to choose one predominate color, and use the other two colors for accent. It’s also important to note that if you stay with these three colors, you can use different shades of these colors which also will add dramatic effect.
 
A good rule of thumb to follow is to choose a light color, a medium tone and a darker color. These three colors will form the foundation of your interior colors scheme. 
 
Use your light colors as the background. Your medium colors should go on your largest pieces, and your darkest color should be used for accent. Once you have decided on your colors, you may want to look at them at various times of the day, as the morning or afternoon sun may have a different effect on the colors when you see them in the evening.
 
And most importantly, have FUN while you decorate. And once the job is done, throw a party for yourself. After all, you’ve done a great job!

Sherwin-Williams offers a great color visualizer tool. It’s a great place to start to help organize your project and see what colors work for you.

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

The Sun Is Shining On Real Estate In The Valley

SOLD in 83 Days! 2 Pebble Beach Dr in Mission Hills East

The media has continued to report “Doom & Gloom” in relationship to real estate sales. “Not so,” says Nancy Hankin with Remax Real Estate Consultants! Nancy just sold a condo in Mission Hills East, located in Rancho Mirage in 83 days and the home sold for 96% of the asking price!

Pricing a home properly in today’s market is critical, yet so many sellers think they should list their homes way above market price. In doing so, Nancy tells them “you will only lose good qualified buyers who can afford to buy in your price range when you do this.” When you list too high…………you become an invisible listing. Buyers can’t see you because they are searching in the price range they are approved for, and you’re not there!”

Many sellers in today’s market are also shopping around for a “Discount Realtor,” who will take a smaller commission. What they don’t realize is that many sellers and builders are getting HIGHER commissions today, including offering the Buyer’s Agent Bonus’s of $10,000, $20,000 and more. The cost of marketing homes successfully is increasingly high, and commissions are split (4) ways. When you aren’t able to market a home properly, or when Buyer’s Agents don’t show your home because the commission offered them is less than the one down the street………….homes don’t sell.

Furthermore, Discount Realtors are Realtors who are so desperate for a listing, they will promise the seller anything, just to get the listing. Then the seller wonders why their home in not selling, and why they never hear back from that Realtor. Ask yourself if this is the type of person you want negotiating the sale of your home.

Homes are one of the largest commodities a person has, yet sellers will oftentimes hire a Realtor with little or no experience. Would you shop around for the least expensive heart surgeon…………..or would you try to find the best?

Nancy Hankin has been a Realtor in the Coachella Valley for the past (16) years, She is also a Real Estate Broker with many additional years of education. She is one of 50,000 Certified Residential Specialists nationwide and one of 10,000 Senior Real Estate Specialist selling homes in the Palm Springs Desert Area.

The next time you are thinking of Buying or Selling a property, call the professional……………Nancy Hankin & Associates. Check out what her past clients are saying about their experience with Nancy. You’ll be happy you did!

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

A Successful Hunt

Buying a new home is a strain for every member of the family. Selecting a new house can easily become overwhelming. Throughout the process, it is imperative that you communicate well, and frequently, with your Realtor. There are several things you can do to enhance the process, minimize aggravation, and keep yourself on track during what ought to be a very exciting time for you.

Prepare a list of Wants and Needs. This list will detail the features you absolutely must have in a home, as well as those that would be nice, but not necessarily essential. Have everyone participate in the preparation of this list. Give your agent a copy of this list and discuss it to assure that everything is clear. Be as specific as possible. Communicate your likes and dislikes to your Realtor. This entire process will help narrow the field and make house hunting more efficient.

Take a copy of the Wants and Needs list to each property you view, check off the amenities of the house against your list, and make notes for future reference. When visiting properties the best way to organize properties and to find the most desirable properties is to do the following:

• Only keep flyers on properties you feel you could comfortably live in.
• Make notes on the backs of all flyers. This will remind you of special features that interested you.
• When you see a property you really like, compare this to all others you see. This will help eliminate less desirable properties you saw.
• Try to find 2 to 3 properties you like in the event the first property you liked was sold before you were able to get your offer accepted.

You may want to spend time driving around by yourself, getting a feel for various neighborhoods, and checking out drive-by-properties to consider from the outside. Talk to your agent about this first. You can’t always tell a book by its cover, certainly, and you don’t want to inadvertently dismiss a fabulous property simply based on its façade. Your Realtor can make appointments to view the interior of homes that you find appealing.

In the event you would like to see New Home Developments, please keep in mind that in order for your agent to represent you, he or she must accompany you on your first visit. It’s also important to have your Realtor give you an objective opinion of the property, the builder and the area. This can’t be done if you represent yourself. New Home Developers cooperate with Realtors just as Sellers do. It will not cost you anything to use your Realtor to assist you in a New Home sale, but it could cost you considerable in not using them.

Plan to leave small children at home while you’re house hunting. The process can be exhausting for grown-ups, and wears on children very quickly. You’ll be better able to concentrate on each home if the kids are with a sitter.

As you view various properties, keep your needs, wants, and financial capabilities foremost in your mind.

Remember, careful planning, staying organized, and in communication with your Realtor will all serve to make house-hunting enjoyable, efficient and productive.

If you have any successful house hunting tips please let me know by leaving a comment.

For more information about the Palm Springs area click here.

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

 

A Checkup For Your Home

If you are considering the sale of your home in the not too distant future, you may want to think about a home inspection. Home inspections are not just for potential buyers. A home inspection can be a kind of checkup for your property. Think of it as the annual exam you may get from your doctor. The inspector can give you a blueprint for the condition of your home, its mechanicals, roof, appliances and other items.

A home inspector is not there to criticize, but to give you an honest and informed opinion on what repairs may need to be made now and in the future.

So, what does the inspector do? The inspector will go through your property with a fine tooth comb, climbing from top to bottom –going into the attic or crawl space. Specific areas of interest will include the electrical system, plumbing, heating and air conditioning and the roof. They will also look for such things as rotting wood, peeling paint, insect infestation, cracks in the basement walls and possible water damage.

All of the information gathered will go into a report that is handed to you. Recommendations will be made with concern to home maintenance, painting, cleaning, gutters, etc. Armed with such complete information, you can schedule repairs and be ready when it’s time to sell with full knowledge that you’ve done all you can to present your property at its very best.

A final rule is that inspectors should never offer to make the repairs themselves.

 What is your home worth in today’s market? For a FREE Comparative Market Analysis click here.

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

Protecting Your Laptop

It is reported that over 80% of home buyers are “Shopping the Internet” before they contact a Realtor. Using our Laptops and Desk Top Computers for “just about anything” has become a critical part of our everyday lives.A good majority of Buyers looking for vacation homes, retirement homes and permanent homes, condos and estates in our beautiful California desert are contacting me from all around the world…all looking for information that will help them make better financial decisions before they ever visit the Palm Springs desert area! These buyers are finding me on the first page of many of the real estate related sites when searching on Google.

Unfortunately, laptops which are portable and easy to carry with you, are becoming the target of many savvy thieves. On any given day, thousands of laptops are stolen, and when this happens you not only lose valuable information, but it can “prevent you from doing business.”

For several years now, I have been using a very effective and inexpensive  piece of software that can “tract” stolen laptops. You , too,  might want to protect your laptop as well.

Just go tohttp://www.lojackforlaptops.com Absolute Software Corporation  will download software into your laptop for a very reasonable yearly rate that will totally protect you if your laptop gets stolen.

As soon as the laptop is started up by the thief, it activates a GPS system that will accurately locate your stolen computer, and the police can then arrest that person and return your laptop. It works just like the LoJack systems in cars!

To protect yourself,  just visit their website or call them at : (877) 337-0337..

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com  

Clutter is Chaos

 

The trouble with clutter is that it never seems to go away by itself. It comes in the mail. We buy more. The kids bring it home from school. Well-meaning friends pass us stacks of barely read magazines. Bills. Letters. Articles. Newspaper clippings. Cards. Notes. Recipes. Clutter is everywhere. And it usually ends up in a closet. 

Clutter takes up a lot of space. If it’s taking up closet space, it’s not so noticeable on a day-to-day basis. After all, our immediate goal is to get clutter out of our sight temporarily–and then it becomes sort of “permanent” clutter. If clutter is hoarding your closet space when you’re home is on the market, your closets won’t look spacious. They will simply look full of junk. 

Start with your clothes. As you make the painful decision to keep something or toss it, use the tried-and-true professional advice: if you haven’t worn it in over a year, you probably won’t. So get rid of it. Limit yourself to things you really do wear, and wear often. Think about your work week, and the weekends and keep items that suit your lifestyle.

You can create a more usable space in any closet by using organizers, wire shelving and wire baskets. Get a shoe rack to instantly corral footwear. Fold items and stack them on shelves or in drawers to free up space on your hanging rod. Over the door hooks work nicely for belts and ties. “Closet Accessories” in the Yellow Pages can point you to the best resources. 

When you start sorting through paperwork, promise yourself to handle each piece only once. Papers that belong to other family members should be sorted and then handed over to that individual. 

Control newspaper and magazine pile-up by vowing to discard each issue by the time the next one arrives. If it’s Sunday, Saturday’s paper goes, read or not. And if you didn’t read those magazines this month, who’s to say you’ll have time for two issues this month?

Once you’ve sorted through all the clutter, you should have everything designated as headed for the trash, charity, yard sale, or a keeper. Gather up clothes, books and toys in large trash bags and deliver them to your local charity’s distribution center. Once it’s gone, you won’t even remember you had it.

Sorting and throwing out will make you feel less stressed and give you a sense that your home is much larger. You’ll reclaim your space, and in the process simplify your life. Your visitors will get to see your house and not your clutter, and be impressed with all the space!

Click here for more tips on Selling your home.

Let me know if you have any tips on how to control clutter.

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com