We all know that if your home is in a prestigious neighborhood or has acres of land, that that is what will be your "lead in" for your Home Ad.  But what if you have a great, normal home in Natick? How are you going to set yourself apart from all the other great normal homes in Natick?  That answer is easier than you may think, and that is why you need Team Lynch to sell your Natick home!

Sometimes, in looking for that GREAT aspect of our home to be the focus of our advertising we overlook the basics of what makes our home truly great.  Even though you may have outgrown your home and are starting to see it's flaws...the goal of marketing is to highlight your home to shine in the eyes of your potential buyers.   So start looking at the basics of your Natick home:

1. Storage:  This is something almost every buyer wants and needs. Since many First Time Home Buyers have struggled with not having adequate storage in their apartment life....you'll want to take pictures and highlight all the storage options in your home.

2. Organizational Options:  Hand in hand with storage is organization.  If you have made the investment in built-in or custom closet or kitchen organizer systems, desks, bookshelves, garage systems, etc....You'll want to highlight this in your homes listing along with great photos of each.

5. Senior Friendly Features:  Many families are now moving aging family members in with them.  This has made the search for homes with in-law suites or senior family features like: single story layouts, level-in entrance (no stairs) and low maintenance landscaping. Even extra bedrooms with a bath need to be marketed as such.  This is a new direction in the way that Americans are living so it makes a great lead in for marketing.

Taking time to prepare your Natick MA home prior to putting it up for sale is extremely important.  After all, for most of us, this is our most important asset so taking the extra time it takes to ensure we have taken care of all the small things makes the most sense.

1. Get all your paperwork together. Simple right? Not so much- if you've been in your home a long time this may take longer that you think. You'll need HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Appliances, Remotes and any other technical systems that your new owners will need to live comfortably in the home.

2. Check all the small things.  You know, the ones you've probably gotten used to living with. Check switch plates, fixtures, door handles, mailbox, etc.

3. Make things less personal. This may seem odd, but you want potential buyers to be able to picture themselves in the home, not see "your" home. So pack up and move out many of your personal items.

4. Try to eliminate all evidence of pets in the home! This may sound harsh, but you want to make it look as though you NEVER had a pet in the home. Get rid of smells, stains, food, food bowls, etc.

5. Remove clutter from every room in the home!

6. Gather estimates on repairs/or replacements.  Unless everything in your home is brand new, you can expect for it to be on the "bargaining block" during the negotiation phase. So get on top the process now.

7. No one wants a dirty house! You want to deep clean...I'm talking "white glove" test. Plus, a clean house will garner a better selling price as well.

8. Hide the kids! What?? A buyer will be checking for signs of damage from children, so make sure you've made those repairs.  When you have a showing, make sure the kids are out of the home, no one wants to have kids under foot while they are looking at a home.

9. Clean up your landscaping. No need to hire a professional...but clean up the yard so that it looks neat and tidy. Grass should be cut, twigs and leaves from winter raked and bagged. Sprucing it up with a few flowers or shrubs never hurts either.

10. Take some pictures. Once everything is cleaned up and looking nice.....take some pictures and use them for marketing purposes.  The better the pictures the more people will want to come and see your home.

This week I'm going to tackle the age old question.....should I rent my home out, if it doesn't sell?  A recent study did show that 39% of sellers prefer to rent out their last residence than sell it when purchasing a new home. With many homeowners refinancing at a low rate, and the housing market struggling with low inventory, the amount you could charge for rentals has gone up. 

If you are a residential real estate investor, than this tactic makes sense.  However, if you really don't want to become a landlord and are only looking at it as a way to purchase your new home, while covering the mortgage on the original home...then you need to ask yourself these questions:

 1.)  How will you respond if your tenant says they can't afford to pay the rent this month because of more pressing obligations? (This happens most often during holiday season and back-to-school time when families with children have extra expenses).

2.) Because of the economy, many homeowners can no longer make their mortgage payment. What percent of tenants do you think can no longer afford to pay their rent?

3.) Have you interviewed a few experienced eviction attorneys in case a challenge does arise?

4.) Have you talked to your insurance company about a possible increase in premiums as liability is greater in a non-owner occupied home?

5.) Will you allow pets? Cats? Dogs? How big a dog?

6.) How will you actually collect the rent? By mail? In person?

7.) Repairs are part of being a landlord. Who will take tenant calls when necessary repairs arise?

8.) Do you have a list of crafts people readily available to handle these repairs?

9.) How often will you do a physical inspection of the property?

10.) Will you alert your current neighbors that you are renting the house?

Once you have answered these questions, you will be in a good position to decide what is best for you and your family.  

(Information courtesy of KCMBLOG)

Although the Super Bowl is not going to be as much fun this year, with our beloved New England Patriots out of contention, we are still going to "whoop it up" and have a great time.  Like always, we are going to decorate, and make lots of great food....but we are also adding a great dimension by having our own TEAM LYNCH SUPER BOWL PARTY CONTEST!  What does that entail, you ask?  Not a whole lot, we came up with the set of questions below to have all our family, friends and acquaintances answer and post their answers to our Facebook Page by Saturday, February 1 at 5:00 pm. Make sure to LIKE US ON FACEBOOK when you're there!

                                     We challenge all of you to have the most correct answers!

THE QUESTIONS:

1.Which team will win, and what will be the final score of game?

2. Who will be the Super Bowl MVP?

3. Who will be ahead at half time, and what will the score be?

4. Which Team will have the most rushing yards? How many?

5. Which QB will throw the most touchdown passes, and how many will he throw?

THE FOOD:

We all have our favorite party foods, but let's face it....if you serve this....you'll go down in Super Bowl Food history!!  Add in a few other appetizers, sweets and a fabulous, signature Super Bowl cocktail, and you'll be on your way to having the Best Super Bowl party ever!!

THE DECORATIONS:

Let's face it...you've got a ton of choices here, so we went with some of the basics.  But get creative, and have some fun!

What are your predictions for the game???