Your Folly Beach Real Estate Roadmap

Middletown is located 30 minutes from Calistoga and 1 hour from Sonoma County. We have the cleanest air in the State of CA.  We are a rural community with many areas to choose from.  We have Cobb mountain, Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake.  Hidden Valley Lake is a gated community with 3 seperate gated areas and a private lake with 2 beaches, pool, 18 hole golf course, various playgrounds.  We are not a Condo HOA but single family.  Check out www.hvla.com to see photos of the Hidden Valley Lake which is part of Middletown.  to see local listing of Middletown check out www.justlistedlakecounty.com .  You will be surprised home prices are starting under $300K.

Give me a call today with any questions

Yvette Sloan

Century 21 House of Realty

707-355-2171

Falling in Love with the Hill Country? I have lived in the Hill Country area for nearly 20 years now and  I am happy to help you find your new home! From Lake Front Lots to Equestrian Estates...I have been the director of the Meadow Haven Horse Sanctuary in Medina, the DC for Clip Clop Pony Club, and have a little one in school, whose very active in local sports and acting in Kerrville theater, so I have many contacts to help in our search of the perfect property! There are many factors visitors do not consider when moving to our area as well (sometimes that beautiful river front you may be looking at could be under water the next rain!) so I can help you with your community research so you do not make a mistake in your purchase! Visit my web site and give me a call. And Welcome to the Hill Country!

Sandra Burger   www.TXListings.Info

Visit the horse sanctuary at 1/2 mile north of town or at  www.horseadoption.net ! Dont forget to eat at the Cafe or Medina Apple Store...Medina has excellent food! Theres a neat art gallery in the center of town too, and the Frontier Store has some cool souveniers to take home. Enjoy your visit!

Finding the right realtor
Posted by Janice Roosevelt, ABR, e-PRO   SUSAN MANNERS TEAM, Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors - Chadds ford 610-764-3062   jroosevelt@featuredblog.com

 First, to find the best person to represent you in either selling your buying a home, ask friends and family who they would recommend. Interview several professionals in related fields, such as your financial manager, banker or loan officer, or insurance person. Check out the internet and an agent’s web site.
When you call a realtor, see if they actually know the inventory. Agents can’t see all properties on the market, but they need to demonstrate through their recent sales and knowledge that they do know the market. Ask them for a list of past clients.
Third, find an agent that asks you about your financial situation, if you are pre-approved if buying, or what your mortgage is if you are selling. If you are in Pennsylvania or Delaware, they should talk to you about “agency,” and explain what that means to you. You want someone who is straightforward, honest and you feel you can trust - not someone who will tell you what you want to hear.
Particularly in this market you want a seasoned veteran; someone who successfully has navigated the up and down cycles of real estate.
Does the realtor ask you make an appointment and come to their office or come to your home? They should; it indicates that they take their job seriously. After all, she or he only makes a commission if they actually sell your home or finds you a new home to buy.

STAGED HOMES SELL FASTER - Janice Roosevelt, ABR, E-PRO, Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS - Chadds Ford - jroosevelt@featuredblog.com

Getting ready to sell your house means more than hiring a realtor. Staged homes sell faster and for a higher price. Sellers need to declutter, re-light, scrub and neutralize their home. Lifestyle is what you’re selling A staged home allows the buyer to imagine celebrating family holidays in the dining room, watching the Eagles in TV room or barbqueing on the deck. As accredited stagers, the SUSAN MANNERS TEAM creatively and strategically stages a home as part of our listing services.

A decluttered home appears large and gives the buyer the sense that there is enough room for their furnishings. If you don’t believe us, go to open houses at new construction sites where model homes are professionally decorated. Rule of thumb: eliminate 35-50% of items in each room. Store large furniture that you want for your new home. Give away house plants and depersonalize rooms by removing some family photos and toys.

Clean closets and drawers. Expect buyers to snoop. Less is more when it comes to countertops so buyers can visually expand the kitchen. Dishes and appliances should be in their proper places. Add some life to an old kitchen table, buy some beautiful table linens and place fresh flowers or an interesting arrangement in the middle.

Showings will happen at night so at a minimum, put the highest wattage bulbs you can in existing light sources. Replace older light fixtures with nickel, chrome, or worked iron. Just don’t get too trendy. Smaller lamps can create pools of light that make the home feel cozier. Focus on the kitchen, dining room and bathrooms. For daytime showings, make sure that curtains, drapes and blinds are open. Scrub it shiny. Clean the house from top to bottom. Clean anything a buyer will touch, rails, door knows, light switches (perhaps update them).

Wash windows inside and out, clean carpets and get rid any sign of pets. Scrub the kitchen and bathrooms until they sparkle. Clean the stovetop and oven; remove any stains on the countertops. Keep floors pristine. Add luxury items throughout: a new shower curtain, fresh flowers and new towels. Avoid scents however; some buyers may have allergies.

Neutralize decor. Nothing takes the place of freshly painted walls and trim. Keep adjoining rooms in the same color palette to make the home appear larger. Maximize your home’s assets to give the best first impression and this includes the outside – walkways and driveways, the lawy, shrubs, potted plants. The front door is very important, it’s where time is spent fumbling with the keys to get in. First impressions matter and the way a home “shows” is one of the aspects of selling that you control.

6 TIPS FOR BUYERS NOW
Posted by Janice Roosevelt, ABR, e-PRO Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS- Chadds Ford 610-764-3062  jroosevelt@featuredblog.com

I’ve heard colleagues call this market a “normal” one. Plenty of inventory, interest rates still low - this week, a 30 year fixed was between 5.875 and 6.5% depending on points. So why wait? Here are some suggestions in moving forward.

1. When is the perfect time to buy? When you find the home you love. This IS personal.

Home should be a safe, comfortable haven, not perfection, mind you, but a place in which you and your family and friends take pride. Focus on what is right with the house, expect appreciation between 3-4% in our area, depending on your particulars, but make appreciaton secondary.

2. Because it’s personal, find an agent whose skills you respect and personalities resonates with you. It’s about the money, but you need someone who understands and has the skill to deal with the emotions that come into play.

3. Make sure you are pre-approved by a reputable mortgage company before you make an offer.If you are making an offer contingent on selling your house, have a plan for getting it on the maraket, if it is not already. Having a contract in had for your house is an even stronger position.

4. Being a killer negotiator can mean death to the deal. Negotiate don’t terminate. Realize there needs to compromises from both sides to make it the proverbial “win-win.”

5. Expect buyers’ remorse. I tell clients, there will be a dark night, maybe 2 days after, maybe 2 weeks after, the paperwork is signed; you wake up saying, “What have I done?”

This, too, shall pass. It’s part of the emotional cycle.