What Are the Options for Empty Nesters?

There are many Howard County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a free property valuation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at 410-964-2400 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Recently, the Pat Hiban Group has been talking to our friends and family members who no longer have kids living at home. We've wondered what motivates people to stay in their current home, and why others choose to downsize. 

Because the answer wasn't immediately clear, we've created a list of people we know personally who are empty nesters or soon-to-be empty nesters. We're going to ask them what they plan to do and why, and share the results here on our video blog.

We are passionate about helping people sell their homes and buy other homes. To help empty nesters get a better picture of what options are available to them, we'll discuss different communities, builders, and areas of interest - as well as what people who decide to stay put can do to improve their current home - in our upcoming videos.

We would love to hear what you have to say on the topic, so give us a call or shoot us an email. We want to have a helpful conversation about the pros and cons of being an empty nester. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Howard County Real Estate Seller Tip's

There are many Howard County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a free property valuation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at 410-964-2400 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Are you thinking about selling your home or is it currently on the market? We've got 20 great tips to make your life a whole lot easier:

1. Replace your light fixtures.
2. Replace hardware in your kitchen: An updated kitchen adds a ton of value to your home.
3. Paint old cabinets: Replacing them can be expensive - painting is an easy way to make them look brand new.
4. Replace old faucets in kitchen and bathrooms: This is an easy way to freshen up.
5. Update vanities: You can find quality, affordable ones at Costco.
6. Add curb appeal: Get fresh mulch, trim your trees, and detail your yard.
7. Remove screen windows.
8. Paint your front door.
9. Replace light bulbs with high-watt lights.
10. Remove unused clothes from closets.
11. Fold linens in your closets: Making your closets look nice will impress potential buyers.
12. Set table with your best china.
13. Pull out best towels for guest bathroom.
14. Buy new bedspreads.
15. Make it smell good.
16. De-critter: Put animal cages, food bowls, toys, and litter boxes away.
17. Give every room a purpose: Working with a professional stager can help you with this.
18. Have windows professionally cleaned.
19. Reorganize under sinks.
20. Get rid of the dehumidifier.

Sure, the list might look daunting - but these are all pretty simple and affordable things to do. We're sure they will make all the difference when the time comes to show your home. 

If you have any questions about our list or would like more home selling tips, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to make the selling process a whole lot easier!

Howard County Real Estate Market Snapshot

There are many Howard County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a free property valuation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at 410-964-2400 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Interesting things have been happening here in Howard County. We're currently inching our way out of a seller's market and toward a more healthy and balanced one. While we saw a small decline in inventory from July to August, inventory is up 40% over last year.

Home prices have been rising steadily since 2012 - from $436,000 two years ago to $472,000 this year. There's good news for buyers as well: with inventory up, buyers have more homes to choose from than at any time in the last 5 years.

What does all of this mean? Buyers should take advantage of low interest rates and the wide selection of homes - there is no better time than now to find that perfect home. Sellers, on the other hand, need to price and market their home aggressively if they want to maximize their profit.

Whether you're buying or selling, we can help you make the most of your real estate transaction. Don't hesitate to reach out to us with all your real estate needs!

What Do You Need to Do Before Putting Your Home on the Market?

There are many Howard County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a free property valuation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at 410-964-2400 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We hope you had a safe and happy Labor Day! We're here today to give you some tips on how you can prepare your home for the market. Regardless of whether you plan to move today, in a few months, or years down the road. we think you'll find these 5 tips helpful:

1. Decultter: This one is obvious, but you would be surprised by the number of people who don't clear their home of clutter before putting it on the market. By storing seldom-used appliances, cleaning out junk drawers, and moving random items from surfaces you not only make your home look better, you make the moving process easier.
2. Depersonalize: You need to make your home as neutral and anonymous as possible. Remove family photos, artwork, refrigerator magnets, and other personal items. You want potential buyers to think of their families living in the house, not yours. 
3. Study the market: If you are familiar with the real estate trends in your area, you will have a much better chance of selling your home. Contact anyone from our team and we'll happily send you the comparables from your area.
4. Search your home: Get online and go to the various home search sites and see if your home stands out in terms of price and condition. Your home needs to be in the top 6 in your price range if you want it to get maximum exposure. An agent can help with this.
5. Improve: Do small, affordable jobs around the house to improve your home's value. Replacing light fixtures, applying a fresh coat of paint, and cleaning your carpet will go a long way toward making your home look great. Ideally, you want to spend less than 1% of the sales price on these little improvements.

These 5 tips are just a starting point. There are plenty of cheap and easy things you can do to and around your home to sell it quickly and for top dollar.

If you're interested in selling your home, shoot us an email with your address and neighborhood, and we'll send you a free comparative market analysis on a monthly basis - simply email us at Homes@Hiban.com. As always, if you have real estate questions of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're your number one Columbia real estate resource!