Found 16 blog entries tagged as home selling tips.

I recently met with some new clients who were referred to me by a past client.

They've lived in their home since the 1990s and are now planning to sell, move out of state and downsize into a smaller home.

Like many people who have lived in the same house for decades, they've accumulated a lot of belongings along the way.

Furniture. Tools. Clothes. Boxes in the garage. Things from when the kids were younger. Things they haven't used in years, but never really had a reason to get rid of.

Now they're faced with sorting through all of it while also preparing for a move to a smaller home.

It's a big job, but it's also completely manageable if you start early and take it one step at a time.

And if you're planning to sell, decluttering…

95 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

When people start thinking about selling a home, most of the conversation naturally revolves around real estate.

What is the home worth? How much equity do I have? Where am I going next? What will my next home cost?

Those are all important questions, but there's another one that can be just as important:

What are the tax consequences if I sell?

I've helped many clients sell longtime primary residences without owing federal capital gains tax on the sale because their gain fell within the primary residence exclusion. I've also worked with homeowners whose properties appreciated so much that their gains exceeded the exclusion, sometimes substantially.

I've seen this particularly with longtime homeowners who purchased their homes decades ago…

42 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

After what feels like weeks of triple-digit temperatures across our area, many homeowners are about to receive one of the least exciting pieces of mail they'll get all year, their summer electric bill.

While we all appreciate a cool house when it's 105° outside, the cost of keeping it comfortable can vary dramatically from one home to another.

When people think about buying a home, they naturally focus on the purchase price and monthly mortgage payment. But the ongoing cost of owning a home can vary just as much, and energy efficiency can play a major role in both monthly affordability and long-term value.

Whether you're looking at homes in Rocklin, Lincoln, Granite Bay, Loomis, Auburn, or one of the surrounding communities, energy-efficient…

105 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Why First Impressions Matter More Than Ever in Today's Placer County Real Estate Market

This week I spent the morning at one of my upcoming listings while the photographer was capturing the home.

As I watched the drone fly overhead and the Matterport camera scan each room, I couldn't help but think about how much selling a home has changed over the years.

Growing up, I watched my parents build their real estate business in the early 1990s. Back then, marketing a home was much simpler—and much more limited.

Many listings didn't include photos at all.

Buyers relied on a written description, local knowledge, newspaper ads, and often a drive-by to decide whether a home was worth seeing in person.

Today, that seems almost unimaginable.

…

178 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Whether you're buying or selling a home in Placer County, one of the biggest misconceptions is that success begins and ends with the MLS.

For buyers, many people assume every available home can be found online.

For sellers, many people assume that once their home is listed on the MLS, the marketing is done.

In reality, that's often just the beginning.

Recently, I mailed the letters pictured below to homeowners in a neighborhood where one of my buyers would love to live.

Why?

Because the home they wanted had already gone under contract.

Rather than simply waiting and hoping another similar home would hit the market, I decided to see if there were homeowners who had already been thinking about selling but just hadn't taken the next…

129 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

After helping buyers and sellers throughout Placer County for more than two decades, I've noticed that the people who successfully achieve their real estate goals almost always share two important traits:

Honesty and decisiveness.

Every transaction is different. Every family has unique needs and circumstances. But time and time again, these two qualities are what separate the people who reach their goals from those who remain stuck on the sidelines.

Honesty

The first trait is honesty.

Not just honesty with your real estate agent, but honesty with yourself and your partner.

For buyers, that means being realistic about:

  • What you truly need versus what would simply be nice to have
  • What you can comfortably afford
  • What homes…

228 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Over the past few weeks, between showing homes to clients, walking properties, and hosting a few open houses around Placer County…

…I’ve been paying attention to what buyers actually react to when they walk through a home.

The comments they make.

The questions they ask.

The things they notice immediately—and the things they quietly move past.

And honestly, it’s interesting.

Because while headlines tend to talk about “the housing market” like everything is moving in the same direction…

…it really doesn’t feel that way on the ground.

Some homes in places like Rocklin, Roseville, Loomis, Auburn, Granite Bay, Lincoln, and elsewhere around the Sacramento region are generating strong interest quickly.

Others are sitting.

And the…

828 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

There’s a lot of advice out there about buying and selling homes…

…but some of the things that actually make the biggest difference are the ones people don’t always think about.

In today’s Placer County real estate market—whether you’re in Rocklin, Roseville, Auburn, Loomis, or Lincoln—these small details can have a real impact on your results.

3 Tips for Sellers

1. Timing Your Listing Matters More Than You Think

If possible, list your home on a Wednesday or Thursday.

This helps:

  • Maximize online exposure heading into the weekend
  • Build momentum going into open houses
  • Give out-of-town buyers time to plan a visit to Placer County

That extra exposure can lead to more showings—and sometimes an extra offer or two, which…

293 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Nearly every buyer would prefer a home with updated flooring, fresh paint, remodeled kitchens and bathrooms, and a clean, well-maintained yard.

And rightfully so—homes like that tend to show better, feel better… and often sell for a premium compared to similar homes without those updates.

But there’s another side of the equation that’s just as important.

- The age and condition of the home’s major systems.

Because whether you’re buying or selling, it’s not just about how a home looks today…
…it’s about what it may need over the next few years—and what that means for value, negotiations, and your overall cost of ownership.

Looking at the Full Picture

When evaluating a home, you really need to look at both sides:

  • How updated it…

505 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Real Estate Negotiation Tips for Placer County

One of the biggest misconceptions I see in real estate is that the only thing you can negotiate is the price.

In reality, a real estate transaction has many moving parts — and negotiation is a normal part of almost every sale, especially in today’s market.

To put some real numbers behind that:

39% of the homes sold through the MLS in Placer County during the month of December showed some form of seller concession that was negotiated.
And that figure doesn’t include transactions where concessions weren’t specifically marked in the MLS.

Beyond that, every sale involves negotiation around standard closing costs — and of course, the final agreed-upon sales price itself.

Below is a breakdown of some of the most common (and useful) items that…

740 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post