Staging Your Home in the Winter
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
The way you prepare and stage your home varies depending on what season it is. In addition to the suggestions we give you for the general staging of your home and preparing for photos. We have a few recommendations to help you in the winter.
- Make sure the heat is on! If the potential buyers are cold they won’t be able to relax and the house will feel uncomfortable to them. We have seen showings cut very short in cold homes.
- Your house needs to smell good. Remember the windows will not be open. Make sure the house is very clean and all pet smells are taken care of. Do not try to cover odors with air fresheners or candles. (more…)
Selling in the Winter – 8 Steps to Welcoming Winter Curb Appeal
What should we do to stage our home in the winter?
Don’t believe that your home can’t look fabulous in the winter! If you plan to sell your home in the winter there are many things you can do to give it great curb appeal. Curb appeal is important in any season. The winter is an opportunity to make your home stand out. Many seller’s won’t give the winter exterior the attention it deserves. This will give you the competitive edge. Take the focus off the dormant gardens, stop focusing on what doesn’t look it’s best and redirect the focus on what looks great. Here is a list of ideas to get you started. (more…)
Trends in Kitchen Design
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokergae
House did a great survey to show the current trends in kitchen design. Make sure to see the full Houzz survey results. We can help with your project ideas early and give you our thoughts on resale in the future. You may not be thinking of selling now but it is important to give this thought when you are renovating your home. The decisions you make now could greatly impact the value and saleability of your home. Contact John & Cindy Farrell 978-468-9576.
11 Thissell Street Beverly, MA – Unit 2
Past home listing in Prides Crossing Beverly, MA
See homes currently on the market in Manchester, MA.
Fabulous North Shore location and setting in Prides Crossing Beverly, Massachusetts.
This home was once the carriage house for the former summer estate “Eagle Rock”, of Henry Clay Frick. Built in the early 1900’s, the carriage house is now five distinctive townhouses. Set on a hill overlooking three spectacular acres that are landscaped with beautiful gardens and rolling lawns. (more…)
- Published in Past Property Listings
Curb Appeal and First Impressions When Selling a Home
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
It is important to make a great first impression when you are selling your home. That first impression used to be when a potential buyer walked up to and entered your home. That is no longer happening for most buyers, and many sellers haven’t given any thought to how things have changed. The first impression most often happens well before someone walks through your front door. When you put your home on the market, potential buyers for your home may be considering your home for the first time on line. Then after getting the address online, possibly driving by, well before they even consider making an appointment to view it with their agent.
It’s important to pay attention to the curb appeal, your online presentation, both with photos and listing detail, and staging the living space. (more…)
Take that staging further
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
After you have done the initial staging of your home and prepared it for photos the next step is to get ready for the showings. Once people are in your home they will be opening the closets, opening your refrigerator, opening the microwave and opening the oven.
See this great post on the National Association of Realtors blog, Styled Staged and Sold, by Melissa Dittman Tracey about staging your refrigerator.
It’s especially important if you are leaving the appliances with the home to have them very clean and well presented. Even if you aren’t leaving the appliances their condition will leave a general impression of how a home has been maintained and cared for. (more…)
31 Topsfield Road Wenham, MA
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Sold July 2013 – Historic Lords Hill home for sale in Wenham, Massachusetts. See homes currently on the market in Hamilton & Wenham, MA. This property was part of what is currently referred to as “Lord’s Hill” in Wenham, Massachusetts. This area reached the Beverly town line and was referred to as “Lords Farm”.
This nine room, three full bath, 2,486 SF home has retained a true farmhouse, cottage feel. With bright sunny rooms and summer breezes. Cozy in the colder months with four fireplaces. This colonial style home built in 1810 still retains many of the older quality features. There are hard pine and fir floors, many large windows, two stairways, and built ins. Set on a pastoral 1.3 acre lot and bounded in the front by a beautiful stone wall.
This home has been a two family home but is now used as a single family with an accessory apartment. There are two separate heating systems.
The first floor has a cottage kitchen, large dining room with a wood stove in the fireplace. The living room with a fireplace is at the front of the house and there is a first floor bedroom and full bath. There is a notable room off the first floor kitchen. This room was once the dairy or milk room. It is quite a special room with a concrete floor and windows on three sides. This would work as a family room or office. The current owners thought it would be great space to expand the kitchen in to. (more…)
- Published in Past Property Listings
Longfellow Road Wenham MA
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Sold November 4, 2014 – Build a home near Pleasant Pond in Wenham! This lot is .24 acres. The owner has already designed a 3 bedroom septic system. There is a potential to build a 3,000 SF home with a 1,500 footprint on the site. (more…)
- Published in Past Property Listings
870 Salem Street Groveland MA
Groveland MA Real Estate
Land for sale in Groveland, Massachusetts. This is a 3.6 acre parcel of land, on the North Shore of Boston, that has the potential to be a 3 lot subdivision. Approximately 74 feet of road frontage. The buyer will be responsible for completing the subdivision process. It is located adjacent to established neighborhoods. Convenient to Route 97, Route 133, and Interstate 95. (more…)
- Published in Past Property Listings
Buying a Home and the Real Estate Process
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker
Getting ready to buy a home in Massachusetts. Are you getting ready to buy a home? Are you feeling confused about the process? Each and every real estate transaction is unique in many ways. But there is a standard chain of events that happen and having an understanding of what the process is will make the transaction go much more smoothly and will give you the opportunity to avoid uneccesary delays or pitfalls.
- Interview and hire a Real Estate Agent to assist and represent you. That could be us! We can do that.
- Financing is the first step. You need to know what you will be approved for. In addition, it is important to know what your payments and costs may be so you can decide what you are comfortable with.
- Visit and research homes and locations. Arrange for automated emailsof homes available. Simultaneously research the real estate market.
- While looking for homes decide who you will use for an inspector and real estate attorney.
- Put a well presented offer on the home you choose and secure an agreement to purchase the property.
- Complete the loan application with your mortgage broker.
- Give all the home information and documents that need reviewing to your real estate attorney.
- Complete home inspections by date specified in the contract.
- Sign Purchase and Sale Agreement. Your agent and mortgage broker needs fully executed copies.
- Receive and provide to your real estate agent a mortgage commitment by the date specified in the contract.
- Set up accounts with utilities and secure home owners insurance. You will need proof of insurance, an insurance binder, for your mortgage broker.
- The closing place and time will be scheduled with all parties involved.
- Review the HUD settlement statement.
- Walk through the property right before closing to make sure everything is as it should be when you take ownership.
- Close on your home – Congratulations!
- Published in Buying Brief - Buying Real Estate
