Spring Cleaning Checklist: Preparing Your Home To Sell In A Hot Market

Spring in the Carolinas is my absolute favorite time of the year!  

Temperatures are rising, flowers are in bloom, and there’s just a little bit of pollen in the air.

Spring is when we dust off our golf clubs, take our bikes out of storage, and begin spending a lot more time outside.   This is also the perfect time of year for your home’s annual “Spring Cleaning.”

What are you doing this year to prepare your home for the Spring season?  

If you are prepping your home to sell, here are five activities you should do to make your home more presentable this Spring.

1. Pressure wash / Paint your home.  To sell a house for the best possible price, one of the most important things is having great curb appeal and having a clean exterior with fresh paint will help you maximize curb appeal.  

   
   

2. Clean and Seal Your Windows.  Dirty windows are a deterrent to potential buyers and they raise the question about broken thermal seals.  Clean your windows and repair any broken seals and woods rot around your windows.

   
   

3. Service your HVAC system.  Summer is just around the corner and buyers want confidence they won’t need to call the AC repair man on the first day of summer.  If you have an older unit, get it serviced and pay for a 1-year service warranty agreement to give home buyers peace of mind and confidence in your house.

   
   

4. Hire a lawn service.  If you don’t have a green thumb, you’re probably not going to become an expert landscaper overnight.  Hire a lawn service to make your grass green and to keep it neatly trimmed.  Planting colorful flowers in front of your house can also enhance curb appeal.

   
   

5. Donate to Goodwill.  Or in other words, “de-clutter.”  And that doesn’t mean shoving everything into the garage, because people want to see that, too.  If you find that you have an abundance of personal items that won’t fit neatly into boxes stacked against one garage wall, you may consider a short-term storage facility to place your items before your next move.

Now that your home is in selling condition, all you need to do is consult with a local Realtor to help you correctly position it in the market and promote it to the public and the real estate community to ensure a timely sale for the best price.

About the Author:

Jimmy Grappone is a Realtor® living in the Charlotte area for nearly a decade. 

His hobbies include fishing, playing golf, watching football, and exploring the Carolinas.

Jimmy is a licensed Realtor® with Allen Tate Company in North Carolina and South Carolina. 

He is a member of a nationwide and international referral network of the world's best real estate agents, "Leading Real Estate Companies of the World."

Jimmy is passionate about "Making Home Happen" for all of his clients, family and friends!

Contact the Author:

Facebook.com/JimmyGrapponeRealtor

Twitter & IG: @jimmygrappone

Online: www.jimmygrappone.com & www.itsjimmyon.com

Email:  Jimmy.Grappone@AllenTate.com

Phone:  980-298-9385

Everybody Works In Sales and Two-Year Olds Are The Best Salespeople

Salespeople get a bad rap.  Not always as individuals, but certainly as a collective group.

Just like new. If "like" means "this is" and "new" means "old." 

We've all heard the descriptions of shady characters you encounter, peddling products for profit, but seemingly unconcerned about the end user.

"He's such a used car salesman."

"She's so pushy...I hate pushy salespeople!"

Too many experiences with bad salespeople have contributed to our negative feelings about salespeople as a group.

But then you have that refreshing experience with a salesperson who takes the time to listen, to educate, and to guide you to a mutually beneficial result.

That's when a "used car salesman" becomes a "used car consultant."

Consulting vs Selling

Visit a CarMax and you will enjoy an experience based on serving the customer's needs more than the needs of the company or the individual selling the vehicle.

When I worked in wireless sales, I rarely led my store in quantity of sales, but I often led in quality metrics because I took the time to listen to my customers, to educate them about the products and the benefits they provide, and to "right-fit" them into the products and services that best suited their needs.

Co-workers said I was slow because my average transaction lasted a bit longer than theirs, but I also spent less time fixing problems on repeat visits because I did the job right the first time. Slow and steady always won the race.

Now, being a quality salesperson does not mean never making a mistake. Believe me, I've made my share.

But it does require honesty, integrity, empathy, understanding, caring, personal branding and marketing, building relationships, industry knowledge, attention to detail, admitting when you make a mistake, being willing and able to solve problems, and asking for current and future business.

If you can master all of that, you shouldn't have any problems

Everyone is a Salesperson

Selling is teaching. And the "classroom" is now
omnipresent and louder than ever before.

In my experience, every profession involves sales in one form or another.

Doctors, lawyers, and physical therapists sell a service. Judges and politicians sell opinions and policies.

Priests sell religion and teachers sell education.

Even parents have to sell good behavior, broccoli, and bedtime to their children.

Two-Year Olds Are The Best Salespeople

Children are often the best little salespeople of all because they know how to ask for the sale and close the deal.

Toddler tears and puppy dog eyes are extremely dangerous weapons.

Today, I work as a Realtor®, marketing my clients' homes for sale, helping buyers find their dream home, and guiding my buyer and seller clients through the obstacle course that is buying or selling a home.

I am proud to be a career salesman and I consider it one of the noblest professions outside of working in health care and childhood development.

So next time you interact with a salesperson, put them in the position of working in your profession and realize we are all salespeople.

We are just peddling different products.

About the Author:
Jimmy Grappone is a salesman living in Charlotte for nearly a decade. His hobbies include fishing, playing golf, walking the dog, and writing articles about things that interest him. Jimmy sells real estate for a living with Allen Tate REALTORs in North and South Carolina and he is passionate about helping his clients find shelter and having a good time along the way. Jimmy's beautiful wife, Lauren, is a physical therapy assistant and skin care consultant with Rodan + Fields. She's the least "sales-y" person the author knows, and even she's proud to be playing the game.

Contact the Author:
Social Media: @jimmygrappone
Website: www.jimmygrappone.com
Email:  Jimmy.Grappone@AllenTate.com
Phone:  980-298-9385

It's Jimmy On the Allen Tate Blog: "A Checklist For Your Homeowners Insurance Physical"

Insurance is all about farsightedness and stability.

Whether considering coverage for your vehicle in case of an accident or an additional feature on your cell-phone plan to protect against drops in the lake, the purpose of insurance is to pay a relatively small amount now to protect against substantial losses or costs later.

In her blog for the Allen Tate Companies (which you can read here), Allen Tate's Vice President of Insurance Sales, Robin Price, shares a brief checklist for homeowners to review and take into consideration when preparing for what she calls an annual "homeowner's insurance physical."

Protecting Your Investment

For most people, home ownership represents not only shelter, but also their largest asset and investment.

Having a viable homeowner's insurance policy that fully protects your residence is key to both your financial security and keeping a roof over your head.

According to Price, "you have to see the value of choosing something today that will protect you down the road."

Though cost is important when selecting or updating an insurance policy, the level of coverage you will receive if you ever have to file a claim is just as crucial.

Price's Big Three

In her blog, Price highlights three key factors that, if changed in the past 12 months, can affect the level of homeowner's coverage you may need:

1)  Physical changes or improvements made to the home;
2)  Acquisition of valuables including jewelry, artwork, firearms and other collectibles; and
3)  Installation of a central fire alarm and/or security system.

If you have made any of these changes to your home since your last policy checkup, you should consider scheduling an appointment with your trusted insurance adviser.

About Jimmy

I am a NC licensed REALTOR with the Allen Tate Companies working out of the Ballantyne office.  As a Real Estate broker with the Allen Tate Companies, I can help you sell your current home and find your next one, and I have access to a wide variety of products through the Allen Tate Companies.  For more information, please contact me directly at 980-298-9385 or via email at jimmy.grappone@allentate.com.

Follow me on Twitter @jimmygrappone and Like me on Facebook so you can join in on the conversation.