Get Your Pittsburgh Real Estate Ready to Sell

When it is time to sell your Pittsburgh home, one of the best areas to show off  is your kitchen.  Even if you have an older home, with a smaller, outdated kitchen, don’t despair. Despite your home not being a “gourmet” kitchen, you can still show off all the charm and function your kitchen holds by showcasing all the space-or making what you have appear to be large.

Stage Your Pittsburgh Real Estate

One of the best items you can do when selling your how is to stage your home. Get rid of all the clutter, extra furniture and items. Again, you kitchen is the main room that can make or break a home-so to make it appear that yours is spacious, put all your appliances away. Find another storage spot for your toaster and coffee maker-perhaps even cut down on items in your cabinets now to make room for the ones that you will take out to use often. Put extra plates, cups, and cookware in storage or in the attic. Create as much room as possible for your home buyers to view. A cluttered kitchen-and especially a counter top covered with appliances-will give home buyers the impression of limited storage.

Pittsburgh Real Estate

If you find yourself trying to sell your home and not getting the results you want or need, then you may want to consider getting an expert Pittsburgh real estate agent in your corner. As a real estate expert, I know the tricks, touches, and quick staging tips to make your home appeal to buyers. Simply contact me, Jim Dolanch, to learn more.

Until next time,
Jim

For those of us here in Pittsburgh? We are weathering the storm quite nicely. In fact, Forbes Magazine just named Pittsburgh one of America’s Best Housing Markets.

Buying Pittsburgh Real Estate

If you are looking to relocate, here are some of the tings you should look for in the real estate market before you buy:

• Appreciating real estate prices-look at  6 month and 1 year figures, and remember that real estate can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and even street to street.
• Affordable housing for middle-class, good credit families
• Very low foreclosures

Pittsburgh is a city with all three positive factors, so it is no surprise we were listed in Forbes. Pittsburgh suffered a decline when most of the big business manufacturing left; however, that ended up being a blessing. Since we had a bit of a slow start bouncing back from the manufacturing leaving, Pittsburgh actually avoided the huge jumps in home prices, that were artificially inflated by a seemingly endless supply of quick loans.

Pittsburgh real estate has come back stronger than ever from the small decline over a decade ago,  and Pittsburgh homes for sale have kept their great value, great prices, and steady market.

When you buy Pittsburgh real estate for sale, you know you are getting a strong and solid investment, because our home prices have not ever dropped they way they have in Phoenix, Miami, LA and NY, just to name a few.

Relocate to Pittsburgh

If you are ready to make a sound investment in one of the Best Housing Markets in America, then be sure to contact me, Jim Dolanch, your expert Pittsburgh real estate agent. I have a Pittsburgh Home Buying Guide and a Pittsburgh Relocation Guide that will help to make your real estate journey smooth and easy and as always, if you ever have any questions about real estate, the area, or anything at all, know that I am here to serve you.

Until next time.

Jim

Pittsburgh Homes For Sale

Increase your curb appeal. What is the first thing a Pittsburgh area home buyer will see? The outside of your house.

Power wash the siding and driveway, put fresh paint if needed, wash the windows, and get rid of all the cobwebs or fall debris that might still be hanging around. The best way to showcase a yard is to plant flowers and bushes to show off the yard’s best assets. Have a nice sunny patch? Get some bright flowers to draw attention to it. Have a large shady area? Get some great shade loving ferns and plants-show potential home buyers that the shade is a good thing, and show them what can be done.

Getting your Pittsburgh Home Ready To Sell

If you don’t have a green thumb, or don’t know the first thing about plants that will work in your yard, you are in luck. The 29th Annual Home and Garden Show starts today at the Pittsburgh Convention Center, and there are over 9 acres of everything and anything you ever wanted to learn about gardening.

You will also find great ideas for showcasing the inside of you home to its best advantage. If you take care of getting a great yard going and spruce up the inside with some quick cleaning and lighting tricks, you are sure to finally get an offer.

Relocating to Pittsburgh

If you are ready to move, but don’t know much about the Pittsburgh area, be sure to request my Pittsburgh Relocation Guide and my Pittsburgh Home Buying Guide, both are full of the important information that will make your real estate journey smooth and easy. Any other questions? Feel free to contact me, Jim Dolanch, your expert Pittsburgh real estate agent-I am here to serve you.

Until next time,
Jim

Pittsburgh Homes For Sale

First off, when you start browsing the Pittsburgh MLS home search through www.jimdolanch.com, you have the choice of also browsing Pittsburgh real estate for sale by area or zip code, so if there are certain community or area amenities and aspects you would like to enjoy, be sure to learn more about Pittsburgh area communities. By spending a little bit of time researching the areas, you can narrow down your home search by seeing homes that are only in the communities that interest you.

Pittsburgh Real Estate Financing

Second off, you must think about what kind of financing you will be using. If you are an “empty nester” you may be coming to the home buying table with a full cash offer, or if you are a first time home buyer, you may have 10% down. If you are a Pittsburgh first time home buyer, you may not have much credit history on your side; however, if what you have is in fantastic order, you can still get a great rate. As a second or third (or fourth) time home buyer, you do come to the bale with a boost up on the credit, as you have already proven yourself as a responsible home owner, capable of making reliable Pittsburgh real estate mortgage payments.

All of these aspects change the way your lender or bank will set up or mortgage, what interest rate you have, and  how much you can borrow.However, if your credit is questionable, now is the time to get it in order. A good year (or more!) of solid, reliable credit can do wonders to your home buying power, approval with lenders, and your mortgage rates. The longer you have a positive credit score, the more power you have to pick and choose your mortgage, your lender, and your rates.For even more guidance, you can request my Pittsburgh Home Buying Guide or contact me.

Selling Pittsburgh Real Estate

Lastly, For most home buyers, selling Pittsburgh property is the very first step that must be done before getting serious about buying a new home. How do you work out this process? What if a home you love comes on the market, but you  haven’t gotten an offer on yours yet, or the offer isn’t settled yet? With the help of an expert Pittsburgh real estate agent, you can easily make and offer that is contingent on the selling of your current home.

Pittsburgh Real Estate Questions and Answers

Do you have other Pittsburgh real estate questions? Feel free to contact me, Jim Dolanch, your expert Pittsburgh Realtor, to learn everything and anything about the Pittsburgh area.

Until next time,

Jim

Pittsburgh Short Sales

When you are trying to sell your home, but can not sell it for what you owe on it, then you are caught in a short sale. Short sales can be maddeningly frustrating for all involved, because each one has to be approved by the mortgage lenders and that whole process can take a very long time.

Lenders can often take weeks or, in worst cases, months, to respond to a short sale offer. Why? Because they are getting overloaded with requests AND in a short sale, they are getting paid less than what was originally promised. So even though someone may be able to prove hardship in making their Peters Township home payments, the lenders still aren’t super excited to lose the money, even though in the long run they could up getting less if it goes to foreclosure.

So what is a home owner to do? Make sure you work with an Expert Peters Township Realtor, who understands the short sale process for your area inside and out.

Because even when things do go smoothly and your short sale is approved, there can still be mistakes in how long it takes the paperwork to get back to you, making it impossible to close in time and forcing you to start over. Unless you contact an expert Pittsburgh REALTOR and let me help with every step of the process.

Short sales can be frustrating, but don’t worry; the real estate team at JimDolanch.com is here to help you every step of the way.

Are you thinking about how to start the short sale process, or what to see if a short sale might be an option so you can avoid foreclosure? Then contact us, your expert Peters Township, PA real estate agents, with all of your questions and concerns.

Until next time,
Jim

Jim

Since I have been in the Peters Township area and Real Estate industry for many years, I see these mistakes made time after time, and not just by people doing the “For Sale By Owner” road; I see people paying for a realtor’s help commiting these very drastic mistakes.

Avoid these 10 Common Mistakes, and you will have taken a huge step towards marketing your Pittsburgh Real Estate to potential buyers.

1. Over pricing your home

2. Not allowing your home to be shown.

3. Not keeping your home clean and in good showing condition.

4. Not leaving your home during a showing. Leaving allows the potential buyers to imagine it as their home and to not see it as yours.

5. Talking to the buyer or buyer’s agent and giving wrong information or wrong impressions.

6. Panic selling, I’ve got to sell my home now!

7. Not seeing your home through buyer’s eyes. “My home is the best in the area” syndrome. Try to pretend you are out buying and realize the purple ceilings your love may not be in everyone’s taste. De-cluttering, removing dust, and modernizing a bit with more neutral looks-like painting the purple ceiling white again-can drastically change a buyer’s opinion of your home.

8. Believing an open house will sell their home.

9. Demanding their realtor change how they market their home instead of relying on the realtor’s experience and expertise.

10. Choosing the wrong realtor.

First and foremost? Don’t over price your home-rely on your Realtor’s expertise in the matter AND take a look at comparable homes in your area. Should you happen to feel your Realtor has over priced your home, look into getting an appraisal.

Also, don’t tell your Pittsburgh Realtor how to do their job, BUT remember that they ARE working for you-they make money from selling your home! So if there are things you desire-like having the Realtor check the info tube at least once a week to put new flyers in-then by all means talk to your Realtor about what type of service you demand. Realtors aren’t miricle workers; however, there are many little things we can do to really market your Pittsburgh home well to buyers.

And should you feel your Realtor just is not up to par with what you are needing, or if you have not yet found a Pittsburgh Area Realtor, then take a look around my Peters Township and Pittsburgh Real Estate Site and contact me if you ever have any questions about real estate, Peters Township, Pittsburgh, or even just where you can find a great hoggie sandwich. I’m here to help you settle to our lovely Peters Township area anyway I can.

Until next time,

Jim

Again, thank you, for keeping the entire United States (and my lovely home town of Pittsburgh) safe.

Until next time,

Jim

1. Over pricing your home

2. Not allowing your home to be shown.

3. Not keeping your home clean and in good showing condition.

4. Not leaving your home during a showing.

5. Talking to the buyer or buyer’s agent and giving wrong information or wrong impressions.

6. Panic selling, I’ve got to sell my home now!

7. Not seeing your home through buyer’s eyes. “My home is the best in the area” syndrome.

8. Believing an open house will sell your home.

9. Demanding your realtor change how they market your home instead of relying on the realtor’s experience and expertise.

10. Choosing the wrong realtor.

Feel free to ask me all  your Pittsburgh Real Estate questions and to get advice on selling your Pittsburgh real estate quickly and for a fair value.

Until next time,

Jim

The next time you come home, park across the street, where you have the greatest view of you home, then stand back and critique your home as though you were house hunting. Would you want you buy your home as is, or would you be looking for some trimmed bushes and flowers around the mail box? What is your first impression of the house and yard area? What is the best exterior features? How can you enhance them? What are the worst? How can you minimize or improve it? Follow these Pittsburgh Real Estate Moving tips, and you will dramatically improve your curb appeal to potential Pittsburgh Home Buyers:

*Kill mold and mildew on the house, sidewalks, roof or driveway.

*Stow away unnecessary garden implements and tools

*Clean windows and gutters

*Pressure wash dirty siding and dingy decks

*Edge sidewalks and remove vegetation growing between concrete or bricks

*Mow the lawn and get rid of weeds

*Rake and dispose of leaves, even if your lot is wooded

*Trim tree limbs that are near or touchign the home’s roof.

A mistake many home sellers make? DON’T FORGET THE BACKYARD/REAR VIEW OF YOUR HOME. Potential buyers will be going into your backyard; tidy it up and make it appealing. Plant colorful flowers and sweep your deck or patio area so it is nice and clean. Tidy up the kid’s toys, too. Home buyers with kids will understand the mess toys cause, but with kid clutter everywhere you can alienate home buyers that don’t have children by making areas look smaller and dirtier, so clean up before open houses or home viewings as much as possible.

More questions or concerns about how to add curb appeal and value to your Pittsburgh Real Estate? Then contact me, your Pittsburgh Real Estate Agent.