I found this article on the REALTOR.org website. With the wonderful weather on the way, there is better time than now to starting thinking about the garage sale season – especially if you are getting ready to sell your home.

How to Hold a Successful Garage Sale
Garage sales can be a great way to get rid of clutter — and earn a little extra cash — before you sell your home. But make sure the timing is right. Garage sales can take on a life of their own, and it might not be the best use of your energy right before putting your home on the market. Follow these tips for a successful sale.

1. Don’t wait until the last minute. You don’t want to be scrambling to hold a garage sale the week before an open house. Depending on how long you’ve lived in the home and how much stuff you have to sell, planning a garage sale can demand a lot of time and energy.
2. Get a permit. Most municipalities will require you to obtain a special permit or license in order to hold a garage sale. The permits are often free or very inexpensive, but still require you to register with the city.
3. See if neighbors want to join in. You can turn your garage sale into a block-wide event and lure more shoppers if you team up with neighbors. However, a permit may be necessary for each home owner, even if it’s a group event.
4. Schedule the sale. Sales on Saturdays and Sundays will generate the most traffic, especially if the weather cooperates. Start the sale early, 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. is best, and be prepared for early birds.
5. Advertise. Place an ad in free classified papers and Web sites, and in your local newspapers. Include the dates, time, and address. Let the public know if certain types of items will be sold, such as baby clothes, furniture, or weightlifting equipment. On the day of the sale, balloons and signs with prominent arrows will help to grab the attention of passersby.
6. Price your goods. Lay out everything that you plan to sell, and attach prices with removable stickers. Remember, garage sales are supposed to be bargains, so try to be objective as you set prices. Assign simple prices to your goods: 50 cents, 3 for $1, $5, $10, etc.
7. If it’s really junk, don’t sell it. Decide what’s worth selling and what’s not. If it’s really garbage, then throw it away. Broken appliances, for example, should be tossed. (Know where a nearby electrical outlet is, in case a customer wants to make sure something works.)
8. Check for mistakes. Make sure that items you want to keep don’t accidentally end up in the garage sale pile.
9. Create an organized display. Lay out your items by category, and display neatly so customers don’t have to dig through boxes.
10. Stock up on bags and newspapers. People who buy many small items will appreciate a bag to carry their goods. Newspapers are handy for wrapping fragile items.
11. Manage your money. Make a trip to the bank to get ample change for your cashbox. Throughout the sale, keep a close eye on your cash; never leave the cashbox unattended. It’s smart to have one person who manages the money throughout the day, keeping a tally of what was purchased and for how much. Keep a calculator nearby.
12. Prepare for your home sale. Donate the remaining stuff or sell it to a resale shop. Now that all of your clutter is cleared out, it’s time to focus on preparing your house for a successful sale!

Copyright THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® | Headquarters: 430 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611 | DC
Office: 500 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001 | 1 800 874 6500

Do you know the amount of information you can obtain online? With very minimal effort, you can discover all kinds of valuable information about your local real estate.

Residents of Bryan County, Liberty County, Chatham County can see comparable sales, pay property taxes, and read information about taxes due, assessed value, property and improvement size, and more with only an address.

and have the same features as well.

Many counties have this same option. If you aren’t sure where to start, try googling tax assessor in (your county’s name.)

First off – please note the “” around the word “slow.” This is important. When dealing with…well…anything, it is crucial to know that all viewpoints are relative. If we are comparing the current market to the last 5 years, sure, it’s “slow.” But compare it to the Depression (extreme, I know), we are still in really good shape. Don’t believe me? Check out Jay’s chart on 30 year mortgage rates – pay particular attention to the late 70′s & earlier 80′s.

However, there is no denying that homes for sale in the Richmond Hill area are numerous. Clearly we have more sellers than buyers. There are nearly 500 homes on the market in Bryan County. This is a substantial amount when coupled with some other facts

• Our population is right around 25,000
• There have been 329 single family homes sold in the last 6 months
• The average time from list to close for these homes is almost 5 months

Should sellers be concerned? Sure. Sellers should always be concerned – as should buyers. As I have said many times before, buying and selling a home is no small thing. But, it should also be noted that real estate is also an industry. And, as all industries do, it goes through cycles. This means that professionals must adjust their thinking, planning, and marketing to adjust to these changes.

Kris Berg did a fantastic job is summing up what it takes to perform in the current “slow” market.

What does it take for an agent to successfully represent a seller today? Hard work, time (a lot), money (a boatload), and patience.

What do this mean for you, the seller?

• Grabbing the closest agent out of the phone book may not be your best bet. Interview your prospective agents. Talk to more than one. Make an informed decision.
• Not all marketing plans are the same. Investigate different offerings. Which ones address the largest markets and offer the best chance for success? Does it seem special? Does it have strategies in place to combat high competition?
• Understand the market from the buyers perspective, but don’t give away the farm. It is true that mortgage rates are on the rise and the criteria to qualify for a home loan is getting tighter. The surplus of inventory should make for a “buyers market.” However, the current adjustments in the mortgage industry is cancelling a bit of that out. This means that an overpriced home for sale is going to remain for sale. Fairly priced homes are going to fare better.
• Realize that your neighbor’s friend’s brother who sold his property last week for a huge profit may not be the whole story. Lots of things can happen to lots of different people. This doesn’t make it likely, and it doesn’t provide any good indicator as to whether or not it will happen to you – especially if you factor in exaggerations, misunderstandings, and special circumstances.
• If you are not comfortable with the way things are going, pick up the phone. Your agent should be eager to discuss your concerns and brainstorm ways to work them out. You are not “being a bother.” This is my job. It is my purpose in the transaction to ensure that you are taken care of – this does not include you being uncomfortable. You have entrusted me to do a job and are paying my wage – put me to work.

A skilled professional will change and adjust with the market – not bail out and run for the hills. And, since I can’t put it any better – here’s Kris again.

Stop seeing yourself as a salesperson, know your market, check your self-doubt at the door, and do what you were hired to do – Advise and represent your client and assist them in achieving the best price the market, not you, will allow.

Say what you want about the practices of performing real estate transactions. I know many people approach this business many different ways. Some focus on marketing, others on great sales techniques, still some more on education and designation – I sure there are a host of others. I won’t even get into commercial real estate, that is a whole different animal.

I am a residential real estate agent. I deal in homes and families. I focus on people and safe havens. I say it in my website, I don’t buy and sell houses – I help make homes.

This outlook on real estate does not lend itself well to the wonderful art of salesmanship. I am a huge Zig Ziglar fan – I think his valuation of the sales profession is pure genius. His character and moral fortitude should be the standard. But, I am not a salesman. Well, I may be a good fit for his current approach. But, I still feel I lack all the qualifications to merit that designation.

I am a matchmaker. It is my job to understand the desires of people. If they aren’t sure what those desires are, it is my job to help them formulate them for themselves. Then I find those homes that will be that fulfillment. I match them up. I am a matchmaker.

It is my personal opinion that a good many real estate professionals approach their business this way, even if they word it differently. I also think the clients respond well to this approach. I may be wrong, but if I am, this is one instance where I will have to stay wrong, because I am not sure I could do it any other way.

I’d like to add some validity to my personal thoughts.
Are you an agent or a professional in some other client based market? How do you approach your business?
Are you a consumer? How would you like to be approached?
Have you been either in the past? Tell me about it.

*Originally posted July 2007

This is a phenomenal question of which I get asked fairly often. Typically it follows the question, “What’s a blog?”

Today I am going to address why I blog as a person. Tomorrow we will talk about how that relates to real estate. The most exciting part about this two parter is that I am so hoping you will tell me why you blog and how it grows your business.

Even if I were not a Realtor, I would be a blogger. I wish I had known about the blogging community sooner. The characteristics of the folks here have been amazing.

• Free exchange of ideas and information
• abundance of encouragement
• disagreements with love
• agreements with excitement
• instigation to think deeper

I have experienced more personal growth in the last 6 months than I have in the last six years. There have only been two other times in my life I can remember such a massive transformation taking place – motherhood, and wifehood. That’s some pretty tall company.

Where does this life changing information come from? Everywhere. I have been honored to be included on a list of Women Bloggers. How neat it was when I realized Liz had thought of me when it came her time to add to the list. I am still working on mine and it should be up soon. But you could pick anyone of these blogs and find something you didn’t know.

You can also look to your left – that blog roll is filled with people smarter than me and I am working hard to catch up. I know that I will because they are opening their arms and their minds to me.

Speaking of encouragement – I am busting at the seams! This has been a phenom week for my encouragement level.

Sunday, Rosa gave Dave, Tim, Dwayne, Joanna, Dean, Rich, and I the “Thinking Blogger Award.” The honor is great. The words she used to tell each of us how much she cared about us left me speechless.

Yesterday, Priscilla Palmer, life coach, decided I was a Rocking Girl Blogger! That’s a title I could get use to.

So today, I am up early, prepared, motivated, positive, energized, and full of ideas. That has to be good for my clients! I am betting it is good for yours too…