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Brenda Moore
Associate Broker
    Years of Experience: 9

    ABR - Accredited Buyer Representative
    GRI - Graduate Realtor Institute
    SFR - Short Sales, Foreclosures

Direct: 434-258-7670

Office: 434-525-6561



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Real Living Cornerstone
123 W. Third St
Farmville, VA
434-525-6561


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Archive for May 2010

What is Your Home Worth?

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Market value is the main concept you must understand when determining the value of your home. But what is it and how can it help you price your home?

What is market value?
Market value is the amount prospective buyers are willing to pay at the time homeowners are ready to sell. The best way to find out the market value of your home is to ask me for help. I can ensure that you get the best price by providing and discussing with you the Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).

What is a CMA?
The CMA will include homes in your area that are currently on the market, expired from the market, pending a sale and already sold within the last three to six months. Of course, the best indicator of your home’s value is the price for similar homes in your area that have already been sold. The comparison is based on the proximity to your home and the similarity of characteristics such as lot size, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, etc.

It’s a good idea to sit down with me to discuss how each factor of the market analysis affects your home’s value. You can consider the current listings to identify the competition, recently sold homes to indicate what buyers are willing to pay, homes with a sale pending to show the current demand and expired homes to suggest what buyers are unwilling to pay.

What are the dos and don’ts?
Do obtain the CMA and discuss the findings with me. Don’t price your home based on factors not affecting the market value. Those factors include how much money you need to buy your next home, how much you paid for your current home, how much you paid for home improvements, the value of similar homes in different communities, area appreciation statistics, the cost to build the same home today and personal attachment.

Discovering how much your home is worth is the first step to ensure that your home is priced correctly. So, take the time, do the research, talk with me, and together we can decide what the best price is in today’s market.

Contact me for more information.

Photographing Your Home for a Listing

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Exterior Photos
When preparing to photograph the exterior of your home, your yard should be tidy. If there’s snow, shovel your walkway and driveway. Make sure large piles of leaves and yard waste are left out of the picture. Your driveway should be cleared of cars, garbage bins and any other yard tools. Hoses and sprinklers should be removed as well. Groom flowerbeds, bushes and trees so they don’t overtake the front of the house. Patios and walkways should be swept and well maintained.

Living Spaces
Inside your home, make sure all lights are turned on and all blinds are open to achieve the maximum amount of light in each room. This helps capture the color of the walls, furniture and depth of the room. Staging your room in a way that displays very little furniture helps the room appear larger to a potential buyer. Finally, if you have valuables, don’t include them in the photograph. Displaying expensive pieces of artwork or heirlooms can increase the risk of robbery or a breach in security.

Kitchens
When photographing the kitchen, ceiling fans, televisions and kitchen appliances should be turned off because they pose a major distraction in the photo. Anything stuck to the refrigerator should be removed including magnets, pictures and fliers. De-cluttering countertops creates the illusion of larger workspaces, so make sure to remove toasters, seasonings, breadbaskets, etc.

Bathrooms
All toiletries and cosmetics should be stored in cupboards or closets out of sight. Make sure the bath and shower have been scrubbed clean of all mildew and soap scum. Clean towels should be neatly placed on racks and all products should be taken out of the shower.

Most importantly, family, friends and pets should stay out of these photographs. You are trying to showcase your home, not your relations, so keep them out of the picture.

Contact me directly, as your agent I’m happy to assist with this task and make your home shine.

Higher Rates are in Our Future

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors, mortage rates are expected to start climbing soon.  Interest rates have been historically low for some time but times are changing.  He predicts thirty-year rates may rise to 6 percent by December and to about 6.5 % at the end of 2011. 

The continued high U S budget deficit and the recovering economy are the main reasons rates are likely to climb.  Mr Yun goes on to say that if the US government has trouble borrowing and has to raise interest rates to attract investors to purchase our debt, the rest of the private sector will have to pay higher interest rates.  Mr Yun says on the positive side he does not forsee the mortgage rates to go above 7%  at least not for the next  two years.

More information can be found at www.Realtor.org/realtormag issue for May 2010.

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