JJ & Ainsley Gordon, The Gordon Group

Taking the plunge and listing can be an exhilarating decision, but doing so without asking yourself some  important questions could leave you scrambling to figure out what you're going to do should your home be a highly sought-after property. If you're toying with the idea of listing, ask yourself the questions below before you make your final decision.    HOW MUCH IS MY HOME WORTH? Unless you consistently check real estate prices in your area or are comparing comparable homes in your neighborhood, it's likely you may not know the true value of your home. If you're thinking of selling, it's important to find out how much your home is worth. If you are dreaming of a new neighborhood, with the hopes that you'll make a good amount of money off your current residence, do your due diligence and ensure your home is worth what you think. The last thing you want is to find out your home is worth less than you thought and your dream neighborhoo...

You don't need thousands of dollars to fully refurbish your home to make it feel like new again. Instead, you can DIY a lot of features in your house to help spruce it up for the upcoming season. Whether you plan to sell your home, have guests over, or are just tired of how drab it's been feeling lately, here are a few tips and tricks you can use to refresh your space: CLEAN + DECLUTTER Throw out all of the junk taking up space! You'd be surprised by how much more you'll fall back in love with your home when you take out the collection of accumulated stuff that has piled up over the years and finally get to see your home's features for what they are. Store what you don't need/use in either the attic, basement, or in a storage unit. After you've decluttered, be sure to finish it off by cleaning your home. Clean windows, walls, and the floors for the best results.  BRING IN NATURAL LIGHT Do you have heavy curtains covering your windows? Bring them down!...

Before you put your home up for sale, you'll want to ensure it's clean for all of the buyers that will come through. A dirty house isn't appealing, and you won't get a good offer, if you get one at all, if your home isn't in tip-top shape. Cleaning your home doesn't have to be overwhelming, below we've listed the top things to remember to clean for each room. FOYER: + Clean the door and hardware. + Wipe off all fingerprints on windows/furniture.  + Clean off scuff marks on floors and door. + Replace all light bulbs and ensure light fixtures are working. + Tidy/clean up the coat closet. People WILL look in there to see the size. KITCHEN:  + Wipe down all cabinets. + Clean all appliances, inside and out. + Clean stove hood, on top and bottom. + Clean behind the refrigerator, on top and bottom too. + Ensure the microwave is clean of food splatter.  + Clean the space behind the sink. + Wipe down blinds/shades. + Wash any kitchen rugs, clean the floors a...

Are you ready to sell your home and want it to have a great first impression on the market? Or maybe your home has been listed for a few weeks or months, and you can't figure out why it won't sell, and you know your agent is working hard to market it. We've listed below the top 6 reasons your home may not make a good impression and end up stagnant on the market. 1. IT'S OVERPRICED To be clear, an overpriced home is the #1 reason a home won't sell. We often times want our homes to be worth a lot more than we may see based on the data, but if you put your home on the market for the number you wish it will bring instead of the price it actually needs to be, your home can sit on the market for months without getting a single showing. If you're thinking you need to price high to leave room for negotiations, statistics show that views for your property, for buyers in your price range, can drop a whopping 90% if it's priced too high. Discuss with your agent ...

There’s no place like home, so why not make home the most beautiful and cozy place you can stay in? Let’s dive into some techniques that can help you showcase the best features of every room in your house. Just a touch of color, texture, and personality can transform your home into something new. Here are a few tips that aren’t a lot of hassle:     ADD SOME COLOR Going with a neutral scheme can never go wrong, but if you’re feeling like your room is a little drab, don’t be afraid to go with a bold color. You can do an accent wall that compliments the current color scheme or use your furniture or accent pieces to bring a touch of color. Color doesn’t have to mean clutter, you can keep the rest of the room simple and add the dramatic touch with a few elements.   USE SOME MIRRORS Bringing in some mirrors can add light and room to your space. Using mirrors in staging is known to help the room look like it’s much bigger than it is it. Add a few accent mirrors, pre...

Ready to sell your house? Staging rooms to show off their true potential is essential when selling your home. Here are a few staging tips to get your home prepared for the market.  1. SAY BYE TO CLUTTER The best thing you can do for your home for sale is to get rid of all of your clutter! Make a rule for your home that for every new piece that comes in, one must go. One of the biggest factors to a cluttered home is too much furniture. Generally, in a professional staging, half the home owner's furniture is removed to make the house look much bigger. Look around your house and see what you can pack away. It'll be worth the investment to get a storage unit for a couple of months to store away a lot of your furnishings and goods. 2. FURNITURE GROUPINGS It's largely misconceived that furniture pushed directly up against walls make a room look bigger, but this is far from true. Instead, you'll want to float your furniture in reach room and away from the walls....

Many homeowners decide to wait until after the holidays to put their homes on the market for the first time, while others who already have their homes on the market decide to take them off until after the holidays. Here are seven great reasons not to wait: 1. Relocation buyers are out there. Many companies are still hiring throughout the holidays and need their employees in their new positions as soon as possible. 2. Purchasers who are looking for homes during the holidays are serious buyers and are ready to buy now. 3. You can restrict the showings on your home to the times you want it shown. You will remain in control. 4. Homes show better when decorated for the holidays. 5. There is less competition for you as a seller right now. 6. The desire to own a home doesn’t stop when the holidays come. Buyers who were unable to find their dream home during the busy spring and summer months are still searching! 7. The supply of listings increases substa...

Paint Color When choosing an exterior paint color, stick with what’s popular in the neighborhood, goes well with the surroundings of the area, or fits the style of the home. Picking a paint color that is not common or completely clashes with the rest of the neighborhood is a very risky decision, especially when thinking about listing a home. When it comes to paint, choose safe colors for the biggest return on investment. The same should be considered for interior paint — big, bold, bright colors might work for your current design scheme, but when buyers walk through a home, and the main living space is four different colors, it’s likely all they’ll see is dollar signs and time spent repainting. Landscaping Landscaping can make or break a home sale, or turn it into a long, laborious process. When thinking of landscaping, consider the plants or trees before anything gets planted — trees and roots can wreak havoc with lawns, foundations and pipes; take into consider...

1. Take a Fresh Look at Your Home Your home looks great to you, but a buyer wants to see it since he and his family will be living in it -- so take a fresh look at your dwelling. Hop in your car, drive around the block, and then scrutinize your home as a prospective buyer will see it for the first time. First, consider what's called "street appeal;" does it need washing or painting? Does the driveway need repair work? Is the landscaping in good shape? Remember, be very critical; your buyer will be. Next, pull into the driveway and take a good, hard look. Is the yard neat and trimmed? What about the view from the front yard? Then, walk inside and size up the interior as though seeing it for the first time. Take a tour and imagine what your real estate agent might say about each room, look into cabinets, open doors, check out the bathroom. Then, make a mental note of the things that might put off potential buyers, along with another list of the things t...

As homeowners, we want our properties to reflect our styles and the designs of the current day. If you have purchased an older property, or you just want to update your current home, a certain degree of work and projects are required to bring your property up to the level you strive for. While many of us have experience with home projects, there are some of us that don't. Below are some of the common projects homeowners embark upon, and suggestions on when it's best to do it yourself or call a professional for help. Walls Most painting jobs are DIY, pending you have a steady hand. Should you have structural repairs or water damage, call a pro, especially if you're going to demolish the existing wall, replace or re-frame anything, install new Sheetrock or drywall or anything else that is labor intensive. Floors Floor repairs can be fairly easy, from cleaning to repairing small nicks in the flooring. If you want to take on a larger project, it might be worthwhile to...

It's common knowledge that most people are advised to get their home on the real estate market in late spring or early summer as that is "real estate season." While the majority of homes do sell in the spring and summer, listing your home or looking for a home during the holidays or in the winter is not as taboo as some would lead you to believe. There are actual benefits to listing or looking for a home during the holidays, and if you've missed out on the real estate scramble of the spring and summer, starting a home search or listing your home now might just be in your best interest. Here are some of the top reasons why you shouldn't avoid listing your home, or looking for a home, during the holidays. Buyers Never Stop Looking Many would lead you to believe that the real estate market comes to a complete stand still during the holidays or in the winter, but that's not the case. Every state's real estate market is  thriving year-round, and that eve...

Want your place to look like those home design website images you drool over? Making your home look high-end isn't always about spending tons of cash... Read More