The Scent of Your Home is Important to Buyers

How a home smells when a potential buyer comes to see it for the first time, can make or break the sale. Imagine for yourself the difference between the scent of fresh cut flowers and the smell of a cat’s litter box.

My experience with showing various homes over the years suggests that foul smelling odors do turn off a buyer from purchasing an otherwise perfect home. Even homes that are very attractive, with great curb appeal, can be overlooked by buyers if they fail the sniff test!

It is important when preparing for a showing of your home to do everything you can to eliminate unpleasant odors. Common odors to look out for are cigarette or cigar smoke, strong smelling foods, mothballs, pet odors, and the smell of trash left in receptacles.

Take whatever action is necessary to remove all of the above mentioned odors, and replace them with pleasant scents. Some fresh cut flowers placed strategically throughout the house, or mild potpourri could be used. One more tip, consider baking cookies or something with a cinnamon fragrance before an open house or showing. Everyone loves the scent of Mom’s home cooking!

Protect Your Cash

Here are some more great ways to control your finances and keep your cash:

Join a buying club that offers deep discounts. Buy what you need, and have it on hand, saving late night trips to the expensive quick stop shops. How did they ever get by on those wagon trains to California, without a convenience store?

Remember that the Revenue Canada allows you to take a deduction for donations of clothing, furniture, and miscellaneous items. Whatever they would be worth at a thrift shop is a guide. Simply obtain a receipt, and report it on your taxes. You’ll empty the house of cast off items, get more room in your closet, and help someone less fortunate, while lowering your taxes!

Being fit may require joining a health club, but if you joined and don’t go, it’s time to decide, go or quit. As a half step, some clubs offer off peak or alternate day plans that can help cut the fat out of your budget.

How Useful Are Open HousesÉ

Across the country, every Sunday afternoon, open houses are being held. The question is why? Statistics show that less than 3% of buyers who bought property in the last three years bought the property because they saw it at an open house.

Then why are so many open houses still being held? One reason is that sellers still think that agents should hold an open house. Most sellers see open houses as a way to find a buyer for their home. The truth is, open houses do find buyers, but most of the time not for the homeowner that is holding the open house. Buyers meet an agent, and over time, the better agents match the buyers particular needs to exactly the right home.




When a buyer comes through an open house, he may have simply dropped in to take a look without knowing anything about the homes price range or features. Most of the time the house does not fulfill the particular needs of the buyer.

It would be like going to a car dealer and deciding to buy the first car you see, without knowing it’s price, features, or financing options. What’s the chance that you would qualify or that the car would suit your needs? About the same chance that your home would perfectly suit a “drop-in” buyer.

So what’s the other reason open houses are still being held? Open houses are great ways for newer agents to get their feet wet. By holding an open house they meet buyers who might be interested in another property on the market. So don’t be surprised if a more experienced agent refuses to hold an open house on your property. Seasoned agents know what types of advertising and marketing work best, and won’t use your home as an avenue for finding buyers for other agent’s listings.

Financial Checkup

Look at Money Magazine or other financial publications to get their list of low cost credit cards. Some lower fee and lower interest rate alternatives are available. They’ll help you cut your costs of credit until you can pay off those cards. Some cards carry interest rates in excess of 21%, and require a minimum payment so low that it could take more than 10 years to repay the balance in full. Begin to double your monthly payments on the credit cards with the highest balances.

Open an RRSP or other retirement account to allow you to build your retirement nest egg. If you already have an account, analyze your investments to be sure you’re in the right place for your risk preference, and your goals. An annual checkup is in order.

If only someone had given us a thousand dollars at birth, and we had kept it invested at 12% (high) for 65 years (long time), we could retire a millionaire. It’s true, and it’s not too late. Pick some of these ideas and take action now!

Sell Your Home or Become a Landlord

Renting your home out may seem like a great alternative to selling at a lower price than expected, but make sure you consider the financial implications.

If the main idea in renting the house is to move now and sell later, be sure to factor in the costs which may occur when reconditioning the rental home for sale as a residence. Chances are the aggravation of converting your home to a rental will exceed any contribution to costs or profits.

Most importantly, keep in mind that being a landlord can be difficult. Tenants will demand that repairs and home maintenance be kept up with in a timely manner. Expenses can be quite substantial, so be prepared with funds to cover them. Feel free to ask me for more information on sales or rental, anytime!

Controling Your Finances with a Plan

For most of us the first step to a bright future is to get control of our finances, and to use a plan to achieve our key objectives. As we get busier, and more transactions are electronic, by mail, by phone, or by ATM, we can lose track of where we are on the financial road map.

This list of suggested activities can help you get back in the seat on the way to your financial destination.

Like a diet requires you keep track of what you eat, in order to cut the fat, you must also track your spending for a month to see where it all goes. This will highlight areas to be targeted for savings.

Create a plan to save 10% off the top of your earnings. “Pay yourself first,” and “part of all I earn is mine to keep,” are key phrases to remind you that you’re entitled to save now for your future.

Put together all your insurance statements and policies and offer them to one or two reputable agents in order to either update coverage, or reduce your costs. Many of us carry too much insurance, in some areas, while we’re dangerously underinsured in others.

Driving a car that is getting older and less valuable, without adjusting your coverage could be an expensive mistake.

Using “Conditional Offers” To Your Best Advantage

You find a home that you’re interested in buying. But you have concerns. Is it in a good state or repair? Will you be able to secure the right financing? Can you sell your current home in time?

Any of these issues can prevent you from making a prompt offer and as a result, cause you to lose the opportunity.

The solution? Make a conditional offer.

A conditional offer means just that. You offer to purchase the home so long as certain conditions, which you specify, are satisfied. Here are the most common examples:

• “Subject to financing”. You will buy the home if you’re able to arrange for a suitable mortgage.
  
• “Subject to inspection”. You will buy the home if it passes inspection by a qualified home inspector of your choice. If he or she finds that substantial repairs are required, you can either walk away from the deal or renegotiate.
  
• “Subject to selling my current home”. You will buy the home if you can sell your own home within a set period of time. For example: 45 days. A seller might agree to this if your home competitively priced.
  
• “Subject to the repair of ___.” You will buy the home if the seller makes certain repairs, at his or her own expense. This can range from something relatively minor, such as fixing a crack in the foundation, to major repair like replacing the roof shingles.
  

A Conditional offer will protect you. However, there is always the risk that the seller will say “No.” If you’re in a competitive situation, for example, and another buyer’s offer is unconditional. You may lose the deal-even if your offer price is higher!

So you really need to use conditional offers strategically, in just the right way, under just the right circumstances.

Get It In Writing

As you tour a potential new home, you notice that the carpeting in the living room is stained. “Don’t worry about that,” says the homeowner, who senses your disapproval. “We’re going to get the carpeting professionally cleaned before we move.”

Should you take their word for it?

Regardless of how honest a seller may seem, never rely on a verbal promise.
Will they move that abandoned car in the back yard? Will they fix the crack in the front steps? Is that expensive-looking ceiling fan included with the house?

Don’t assume. Get it written into the offer.