Tag Archives: Knoxville homes for sale

Attention to Details

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Your home is for sale and you’ve had plenty of showings, but no offers. You know that it is priced competitively, so, what could be the problem? It may be time to call in an expert, a staging professional, to help provide attention to the details in order to obtain a sale.

Staging a home goes deeper than de-cluttering and applying a fresh coat of neutral paint. It is also highlighting a home’s positive attributes and downplaying any potentially negative aspects of the home. Here are some staging details to make sure your home looks attractive to potential buyers.

Enhance the curb appeal. The potential buyer’s first impression occurs as soon as they drive up to the home. Make sure the front yard impresses them. All bushes, trees, and grass should be trimmed and maintained. Flower beds should be weed-free and colorful. If possible, plant annuals, like impatiens, to bring color to the yard. The potential buyer will be noticing the pretty flowers, not that the yard is small.

The front porch is another opportunity to create an inviting atmosphere. Make sure you have adequate front porch lighting for those night time showings. Also, the front door and porch railing should have a fresh coat of paint and be in good working order. Outdoor decorative elements made from metal or ceramic materials and plants in decorative containers can liven up the front porch space. Creating an outdoor sitting area is another special touch that potential buyers will surely appreciate. Additional space is important, even if it’s outside.

Create the wow-factor for the entry way. When a potential buyer enters the home, you want them to say, “Wow.” You can make a good impression by creating a focal point. One idea is to place a small table at the entry way. On top, you can place fresh flowers or a framed decorative picture (not of family members, but of scenery or an inspirational quote). Another suggestion for creating a dramatic entryway is to hang a large piece of art in the foyer. An enlarged photo in a powerful frame or an interesting painting can make the right impression on potential buyers.

Add special touches. If a bathroom needs updating, but it is not economically possible to renovate it before you sell, there are some inexpensive ways to improve the space. Updating the cabinet hardware, the fixtures, and the lighting can do wonders for the bathroom. Decorative accessories, like pretty towels, candles, and soap dispensers can help buyers from thinking, “This place needs updating,” to “Aww, those are pretty.”

Knoxville area home buyers and sellers turn to experienced Realtor Judi Starliper who works with a knowledgeable team, including a professional home stager who can help turn showings into offers.

Necessary Repairs to Sell Your Home

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In this Knoxville home market, buyers are expecting the property to be “move in” ready. In order to sell your house in this competitive market, these repairs should be made before you list your Knoxville home for sale.

Repair and clean the gutters. Loose or hanging gutters are a huge red flag that the property hasn’t been maintained.

Fix cabinet doors that are askew. Make sure all cabinet doors can open and close easily.  Cabinet pulls and hardware should be updated and installed properly.

Replace chipped tile and re-seal grout. A cracked or chipped tile will stick out like a sore thumb to potential buyers. It leaves an impression that the home will require a lot of work before moving in.

Repair leaky or dripping faucets. You might not notice a drippy faucet, but a potential buyer will.

Patch nail holes. A little putty and paint and potential buyers will never know where pictures or posters used to hang.

Eliminate odors. Candles or potpourri can’t mask powerful kitchen odors or the smell of smokers living in the home. Cleaning can usually eliminate most kitchen smells, but certain deep fried cooking aromas can permeate the cabinets, ceiling, and walls. A more thorough, deep scrubbing might be necessary. For smokers, cleaning might not be enough. Removing carpet and painting the walls may be the only way to eliminate the smell of smoke.

Clean the baseboards. Dust and grime accumulate along the baseboards and in corners where the vacuum and mop can’t reach. Spend some extra time getting those hard to reach places.

Remove peeling wallpaper. Outdated, peeling wallpaper represents a headache to a potential buyer. Remove the wallpaper and go with a neutral paint color.

Making all these necessary repairs will give you an advantage when trying to sell your Knoxville home. If you have any questions about listing your house, then contact an experienced Realtor, like Judi Starliper and the J-Star Team.

Buying and Selling Real Estate in the Winter

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Everyone knows that the prime season to buy or sell a Knoxville home is during the late Spring to Summer months. However, buying and selling real estate in the Winter offers some advantages too.

As in all business transactions, supply and demand drives the market. Many Knoxville home sellers decide to take their house off the market during the holidays, so  when list your home during the winter months, your house will be competing with fewer properties.

Another benefit to selling your Knoxville house during the winter is that your Knoxville Realtor will be showing it only to interested buyers. With the scheduling demands the holidays bring, fewer “lookers” will be scheduling showings or attending open houses.

Many relocation clients use their holiday vacation time to find their new home. Also, visitors come to the Knoxville area to see relatives during the holiday season. Many would like to relocate or move back to the area to be close to their extended family. If they fall in love with a new home and can get it at the right price, it might be the motivating factor to take the plunge.

For those who are considering selling their Knoxville home, the holidays may be the perfect time to get their home ready to list on the real estate market. Many sellers use vacation time to make any home repairs and to take care of the necessary de-cluttering. An experienced Knoxville Realtor can offer staging suggestions and advise which repairs to tackle before the home is placed on the market.

During the holidays, home sellers can appeal to all the senses of potential buyers. Christmas decorations add visual interest and sparkle to the home. For selling during the holidays, home staging plays an important role. So that potential home buyers can easily tour the home, it might be necessary to only put out decorations that enhance the space. Consider placing the Christmas tree in a corner, rather than in the middle of a space. Also, you might not have enough room to display the entire Christmas Village that you have collected. Instead, select a few special pieces that can be tastefully displayed on a shelf or mantle.

For showings and open houses during the Christmas holidays, sellers can use the sounds of the seasons to set the stage. Instrumental Christmas carols playing softly in the background can enhance the potential buyer’s experience throughout their home tour.

Holiday baking can envelope the home with enticing aromas. For showings or open houses, some sellers set out cookies and a decanter of hot chocolate which is always a thoughtful touch that can put a potential buyer is a favorable mood.

Keeping the home clutter-free can be a challenge during the hectic holiday season. Keeping decorative baskets handy to stash things is a useful way to deal with unexpected showings.

While selling your home during the busy holiday time can be stressful, it can be manageable with some careful planning. An experienced Knoxville Realtor can offer suggestions to keep the process as less stressful as possible.

Things NOT to do When Selling Your House

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When listing a home for sale, inevitably you will receive a lot of advice about what to do. For example, staging experts advise home sellers to clear the clutter and choose neutral paint colors when listing your home. While staging your home is important, there are also some things that you should NOT do while your house is on the real estate market.

Get a new pet that needs to be house trained. Potential homebuyers do not want see or smell fresh pet stains on the carpet.

Take a vacation from yard work. First impressions are important when trying to sell your home. Overgrown grass, hedges, and flower beds will leave an impression with potential home buyers, just not a good one.

Indulge your artistic side. That floor to ceiling mural will look good at your new home, not the house you are trying to sell.

Try a new hobby. Learning to cook Thai food can be entertaining and delicious, however, buyers will smell the lingering aroma for days and days to come. Model airplanes are works of art, the smell of airplane glue is not.

Disconnect your phone or change your phone number without telling your Realtor. Your Realtor needs to contact you prior to a showing. It can be quite embarrassing for all parties involved to show up unexpectedly to the house.

Accumulate a new collection. Potential home buyers may not be as impressed by your new beer bottle or comic book collection as your friends are.

Take on a new home repair project. Make all the necessary repairs or updates before you list your home for sale.

Selling your home can be an emotional challenge. To make the process as easy as possible, work with a knowledgeable real estate professional, like Judi Starliper, who knows the market inside and out.

Will My Roof Be Finished!?

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I’m like everyone else in Knoxville.  I needed a new roof, gutters, 6 windows, 2 skylights, 2 chimney caps, custom shutters, a doorbell, an outdoor light and who knows what else!

The insurance adjuster was very nice. He did his report and four weeks later, I received a check for the above items. I proceeded to get a general contractor so that he could handle the entire job and not just the roof. Problemo —- the insurance company didn’t give me enough money.  I turned in the contractor’s estimate which was around $12,000 more than the insurance estimate. Two or three weeks later, I received the additional money and started the roofing process.

I was worried about my shrubs and my huge bed of red impatients that had grown knee high. There are so many horror stories, that I felt I needed to reiterate to the head of the crew that I don’t want nails left in the yard nor my shrubs messed up. I want the yard cleaned up at the end of every day. Frankly, I don’t want to even know you’ve been here. He said that it wouldn’t be a problem. The shingles arrived in the driveway around 7:30 a.m. while I was dressing for work.  All of a sudden, 6-8 people were climbing on the roof. A huge keg of water arrived in the backyard.  The blender showed up and was placed under the backyard tree. Soon the men were throwing shingles off the front and back while others were hammering and swinging from ropes.  It was like a swat team had engulfed my house. The driveway was covered in materials. But I really want to know how do they stand it for all those hours in the hot sun with foam pads under their knees till 9’ o’clock at night. But the roof is finished and it looks like they were never there. But all roofing jobs have not gone this well.

The nightmare! I was selling what we call a relocation house. That’s where an employee’s company buys the house through a third party holding company. Another real estate company had the house listed and hired the cheapest roofers they could find. They promised it would be done in three days and that they would start on a Saturday. We were closing the following Friday and all storm repairs had to be completed before closing. To begin with, they didn’t show up till Tuesday. The leader showed up with no dumpster, four guys with t-shirts on and no protective gear, nor foam for their knees and heads. After watching for a few minutes, it was obvious that these guys had never put on a roof. You have to ask yourself at this point, “no dumpster, no experience, no protective gear, no roof??” I went back by at noon.  Two had quit, 2 were blistered and the leader was gone to the doctor.  “But not to worry”, they said, “it will be done by Thursday for the final inspection.” They also said they would be there at 7:00 a.m.  Wednesday morning. Guess what?  I went by at 8:00 a.m. and no roofers. But, the outdoor swing set, fire pit and bench were gone.  Back at noon, I noticed there were no old shingles lying anywhere. Light bulb!!!  You’re right. They didn’t remove the old shingles. They laid felt over the old shingles and roofed on top of them. They had been paid for the materials but not the labor! I called the leader and told him about my problems. He said he would take care of it, and not to worry! I went by Thursday. No roofers. I called him. He said he was on his way. By 2:00 he and a new crew showed up. By 3:00, the back awning has been ripped to pieces. By 5:00 they had gone again. This became as bad as Nightmare on Elm Street! I had no control and the listing company had no better luck than I did. How, I really don’t know, but the roofers got it done by 2:00 p.m. on Friday and we closed by 4:00 p.m. I just hate it so much for the buyer. He had already sold his house and he felt he needed to move into this one. My guess is that he’ll need another roof in 4-5 years.  Unfortunately with a relocation house, there are no warranties. If you close, you are saying you are accepting the house “as is”.

Lesson learned: Cheap is not always the way to go when it’s a roof. Never pay up front and always check references. Get a written warranty. If you haven’t called your insurance company to have them check your roof, please do. If you let this go, you probably won’t be able to claim a hail damaged roof after a certain period of time.