Tag Archives: Selling a home

Looking to sell a home in Austin? Doreen Zelma is a real estate professional ready to help. Doreen is a seasoned listing agent and offers only best marketing in Austin.

A Home for the Holidays

Posted on by

happy holidaysThe holiday season is upon us. Sometimes, it is easier for people to sell a home during the holiday season. People tend to shy away from it because they don’t want to move, but forget they are only marketing the house for sale. There are lots of ways I can keep someone home for the holidays – not to mention, most buyers need a loan, which takes time.

People often find it easier is keeping their house cleaner during the holiday season. This is a social time of year with friends and family visiting, so people tend to keep up with household choirs. The house also tends to be naturally staged with holiday decorations. Even the yard becomes lower maintenance this time of year.

Benefits to Buying and Selling Real Estate During the Holidays

There are benefits to both buyers and sellers to stay active in the real estate market during the holiday season. For buyers, one of the main benefits is that less people tend to shop for a home. Investors and owner occupied buyers benefit this time of year because there are less buyers to compete with. There are often tax reasons for a buyer or seller to purchase a property in the current year over the next one.

Advantages of Selling a Home

For Sellers, one of the major advantages of selling a home in the Austin Real Estate market is the positive influx of out-of-state buyers moving to Austin. More people move to Austin than leave and many new hires start in the January. Job transfers often limit or do not include relocation packages, so many new residents are eager to get themselves settled in a new home as soon as possible.

Looking to Buy a Home

A home is what people are buying. Those four walls generate the feeling of home this time of year, more than any other. So, its not a bad time to sell your property, after all it’s a home people are looking for, not a house.

Fall trends as summer ends

Posted on by

sunMother nature has been consistently reminding us that, although Fall is just around the corner, Summer is still very much here. Central Texas has had some of its hottest days in the last 2 weeks testing the limits of our sanity, sun screen and even our air conditioners.

Austin goes back to school

Although Austin real estate has not really slowed down, I expect the next two weeks to be a little slow as people transition back into their fall schedules. With summer vacations winding down, students settling back into school and commuting times needing some adjustment – the market may soften just a bit as everyone takes a bit of a breather.

Buying a home in Austin

What am I seeing out there? Investors are shopping in full force.  We had over 10 showings on the Hyde Park duplex listing in  and got it under contract in a week.  July was a crazy month for showings for buyers with small children who were eager to get their kids settled for school on time. August was spent trying to get everyone settled in time for Fall. Let’s see what September brings.

Where are you going?

Posted on by

When I go on a listing appointment my first question is to ask where the owners are planning to go when their house sells. If plan A is to buy another home, we still need a backup plan.

Buy a Home in Austin

Contracts contingent on the sale of a current property are not desirable in current Central Texas real estate market because there are plenty of buyers to come by. If a seller is getting decent traffic on a home they are going to be less likely to accept an offer that may never close if proceeds are needed from the sale of the buyer’s current home. It is considered a house of cards and a risk in any market.

Selling Austin Homes

A seller is most likely not going to even consider a contingency offer if the buyer’s current home is not under contract. A potential seller can’t really have a specific house in mind to purchase until they are under contract with their current house and the desired house they want to buy may not be available when they do. Having a plan A, a plan B and even a plan C will alleviate some stress because the decisions will already be made.

The plan B alternative may include an extended stay hotel, renting a storage facility or converting to a month-to-month when a lease is involved. It may even mean staying with family (that’s typically plan z).

There is stress considering a plan B, because nobody wants to go there, but there is more stress when you don’t have one so it’s better to have a backup plan.

711 E 50th Street, Austin TX 78751

Posted on by
711 E 50th Street

711 E 50th Street

Hyde Park duplex listing in Central Austin. It is conveniently located between The Triangle and Mueller, just 3 miles North of UT. The floor plan and location may appeal to owner occupant, mother-daughter or roommates.

Hyde Park Location

Both units feature hardwood floors, with separate utilities for gas and electric. Each unit has its own utility room washers and dryers. The property is set on a large lot and tree-lined street. Unit A is a 2 bedroom / 2 bath, unit B is a 1 bedroom 1 bath. The house was built in 1950. It is 1,789 square feet (appraiser).

  • Single Story
  • Space for multiple car parking
  • Storage sheds convey
  • Refrigerators, washers and dyers convey
  • List Price:  $415,000

Turning Projects into Home Improvements

Posted on by

kitchen floorsThe last month in Austin has been a little crazy for many people. School is out which means graduations, graduation parties and vacations. Memorial Day weekend and Father’s Day lend themselves more to backyard barbeques then house hunting. Austin also hosted the X Games.

South and Central Austin Home Finds

I have been spending quite a bit of time in South and Central Austin with buyers looking for homes, specifically Circle C Ranch, Hyde Park and just south of South Park Meadows. I’ve seen some of great laminate that looks so much like wood you can’t tell the difference and really nice stained concrete; both great – low maintenance alternatives to wood and tile.

Turning a Project into a Home Improvement before Selling

I’ve also seen a few unfinished projects. We have all been there. We start projects with the best intentions full of excitement and a tank of energy. Home improvement projects vary from installing new flooring, to replacing windows or even repairing a water leak. Whether it is a do-it yourself project or professional remodel there are typically things left undone when the project is over. Quarter-round molding, a ceiling or even window sills may need to be repainted.

I know, I know – those new floors look great and you are tired, wanting the furniture back in place and your life back. I get it, but finishing the project completely is like putting a ‘period’ on the end of a sentence. Buyers are looking in the now, they do not know the history of the stress and aggravation you endured getting the project done. The Seller sees the beautiful windows and the buyer sees that the windows need to be painted. To the Seller, it is almost done but to the buyer the project is just starting.

When you run out of steam, the best thing to do is hire a handyman. The truth is most people run out of steam when the project is about 90% complete. Having a handyman come in a finish the job with make the project go away and allow prospective buyers to appreciate your hard work for the masterpiece it is.

Staging with a Thinking Chair

Posted on by

Where do you put a dining room table or large TV?   The answers may seem obvious, but for potential real estate buyers – they often are not. In Austin’s current hot sellers market, owners are often moving on prior to selling their current home. Home owners  move first because of a job transfer or owners can afford to buy without having to sell. Buying another home often leads to moving furniture, which often leads to an empty home.

Vacant homes for sale can be harder to sell

When a house for sale is vacant it is often hard for a buyer to figure out how to place furniture. It becomes more of a mental stumbling block and less of a question than one might think. When a buyer cannot figure out where a table might go or if a couch will fit somewhere, it takes them from enjoying the space to now figuring out the space – which means they aren’t even looking at the house anymore. When agent feedback starts coming back that the floor plan is odd or where did the owner put a couch, staging is often needed. Renting furniture can be expensive and there are some strategies to that can be taken before going that route.

Staging Strategies

  • Have pictures taken before the move to give buyers a visual of what the home looked like furnished. Pictures can be very helpful in dining areas and flex space. Flex rooms often confuse buyers so knowing how a seller utilized the space can be very helpful.
  • Don’t move everything at once. Yes, it is more expensive to move twice, but the alternative of keeping your house on the market or renting furniture could cost you more.
  • Floor plans that show furniture, pool tables and even pianos can be produced to show a buyer options on how to configure a space.

The Power of the Thinking chair

Often the best part about staging has nothing has nothing to do with furniture placement at all. It is about the buyers feeling at home when they are looking at a house. Sometimes a buyer just wants to sit and take in the space to envision actually living there. When there is a table and chairs or a sofa to sit on, buyers feel like they can take a breather and just take it all in. Every house for sale needs to have a thinking chair. As a seller, you want the buyer to stay and feel at home. Staging can not only make a house look like home, but feel like home too.

Home Improvements and Accessories

Posted on by

360-2006_10_15_(5)_kitchen_viewThe difference between a house and a home is you.  The memories, the pictures, the furniture, even the paint color combine to create a unique blend that reflects your own personality and style.  Improvements and accessories personalize, improve and/or allow for added functionality that a home may not have had before.  Consider them enhancements when it is time to sell an Austin home because they add appeal whether it’s monetary or simply enhances the functionality of a room.

So what items convey with the property and what items move with you when selling your home?  There are often many assumptions made here by the seller but make no mistake, the opposite thought process is often made by the buyer.  When I have a listing appointment I try to go through items I see and review a contract since many of the items are noted.

Austin Homes for Sale

When buying an Austin home Improvements generally affixed to the dwelling or property are considered permanently installed and built-in so they convey with the sale as real property.  They include items like: shrubbery, plumbing, light fixtures, wall-to-wall carpeting, garage door openers, shutters, mounts and brackets for televisions and speakers.

Accessories include items like stoves, curtains and rods, blinds, draperies, artificial fireplace logs, above ground pools and pool equipment.

Sometimes there are items Sellers want to take typically because they have some sort of personal attachment to them.  Grandma’s chandelier is hanging in the dining room, there are bookcases in the living room or maybe you just really like the curtains.  If it is yours and you want to take it with you, the best thing to do is to remove the item before we list it.  Removing grandma’s chandelier and replacing it with another fixture is simple enough to do and avoids discussions or assumptions later on.

If there is something that is going to stay visible that a Buyer would expect is staying, the best thing to do is to post of little sign on it so that potential buyers know up front that the item is not conveying.  Later on when an offer arrives any improvements and accessories that will be retained by the Seller should be listed into the contract under the exclusions section.  This way it is crystal clear to both parties.