Increasing your home's appeal

Increasing your home's appeal

Are you thinking about selling your home? Does the news make you scare about what price you will get? Living in Elk River, Big Lake, Otsego, Rogers or Albertville? I am here to help!

Remember the 60-second rule: That's all the time you have to create a winning first impression. Here are some simple to significant ways to maximize your home's appeal.

Exterior

* Keep the grass cut and remove all yard clutter.
* Weed and apply fresh mulch to flower beds.
* Apply fresh paint to wooden fences.
* Tighten and clean all door handles.
* Clean windows inside and out.
* Powerwash home's exterior.
* Ensure all gutters and downspouts are firmly attached and functioning.
* Paint the front door.
* Buy a new welcome mat.
* Place potted flowers near the front door.

Interior

* Evaluate the furniture in each room and remove anything that interrupts "the flow" or makes the room appear smaller. Consider renting a storage unit to move items off-site.
* Clean and organize cabinets, closets and bookshelves.
* Clean all light fixtures and ceiling fans.
* Shampoo carpets.
* Remove excessive wall hangings and knick-knacks.
* Repair all plumbing leaks, including faucets and drain traps.
* Make minor repairs (torn screens, sticking doors, cracked caulking).
* Clean or paint walls and ceilings.
* Replace worn cabinet and door knobs.
* Fix or replace discolored grout.
* Replace broken tiles.
* Replace worn countertops.

Special details for showings

* Turn on all the lights.
* Open all drapes and shutters in the daytime.
* Keep pets secured outdoors.
* Buy new towels for bathrooms.
* Buy new bedding for bedrooms.
* Replace old lamps or lampshades.
* Play quiet background music.
* Light the fireplace or clean out the ashes and light a candelabrum.
* Infuse home with a comforting scent, such as apple spice or vanilla.
* Set the dining room table for a fancy dinner party.
* Vacate the property while it is being shown.

If you are in need of advice on selling your home I am here to help! Please contact me if you are in the Elk River, Big Lake, Otsego, Rogers, Albertville or any surrounding city for help selling your home.

CHAD ELLIOT, REALTOR© The Hennepin Group, LLC Keller Williams Realty 17205 Yale Street NW, Suite D Elk River, Minnesota, 55330	Mobile: (651) 795-1147 Fax: (763) 241-0187 Email: chadelliot@kw.com ElkRiverHomes.com

When is a Buyer's Market not always a Buyer's Market?

When is a Buyer's Market not always a Buyer's Market?

If you have been listening to the news recently, you have probably heard that it's a great time to buy real estate. Interest rates are at historical lows, prices are down, and inventories are up.

So, armed with this information, you go out with your local real estate agent and find a house. As you prepare to write up an offer you remember what you heard on the news this morning: "It's a buyers market, inventories are high, home values are declining." You tell your agent that you want to make a low offer.

Is this always the best approach?

The answer depends on the situation.

What everyone needs to understand, is that the buyer's market that is being reported is looking at a very broad picture. When you break down the information for you local area, you may be very surprised at what you see. There can be, and frequently are, several different markets within a local area.

This is the situation in the Metro Atlanta real estate market. We have some neighborhoods that are seeing a buyer's market and a seller's market at the same time.

You are probably asking, "How is this possible?". The answer is simple. Look at the number of days that a property has been on the market for both active listings and recent sales. If it is less than 6 months, you have a seller's market. If it is more than 6 months, you are in a buyer's market. If you break the information down by price ranges, you see areas that are selling much faster than 6 months and those that take much longer than six months to sell.

So what does it all mean.

When you are writing an offer, having this knowledge of the local market will help you to make the best offer with the highest chance of being accepted. If you know that homes price between $50,000 - 75,000 are selling in 36 days at 103% of the list price, you may reconsider making an offer at 90% of the asking price if you want to have the best chance of success. After all you are probably not the only buyer making an offer.

How do I know what the best approach is. Simple. Ask your agent. They have all of this information available to them.

Remember, just because you saw it on television or heard it on the radio, you may need the rest of the story.

CHAD ELLIOT, REALTOR© The Hennepin Group, LLC Keller Williams Realty 17205 Yale Street NW, Suite D Elk River, Minnesota, 55330	Mobile: (651) 795-1147 Fax: (763) 241-0187 Email: chadelliot@kw.com ElkRiverHomes.com

Elk River Spring Clean-Up Week (April 19th - 24th)

Elk River Spring Clean-Up Week
April 19th - April 23rd and Spring Clean-Up Day April 24th

For the Clean-Up Week, please note the following details:
Elk River Landfill,

22460 Hwy. 169

April 19th - April 23rd

7am to 5pm

All waste materials must be delivered to the Elk River Landfill. Prior to delivery you must pick up a voucher at the Elk River City Hall, 13065 Orono Parkway from 8am to 4pm.

Show your ID/proof of residency
- Know how many of each item you plan to bring to the landfill
- Pay for you items at City Hall. Any additional items found will be charged the landfill (non-subsidized) rate
- You are required to unload your own materials
- Limit of one pick-up load per household

For the Clean-Up Day, please note the following details:
Public Works Site, 19000 Proctor Road

Saturday, April 24 from 8am to 12pm

Show your ID/proof of residency
- Pay for items at the event
- Items will be unloaded for you at the event (you do not need to leave your vehicle)
- Limit one pick-up per household

Prices are identical for both events. THESE PRICES ARE ONLY GOOD FROM APRIL 19-24. For a list of prices and/or more information call City Hall at (763) 635-1000.

CHAD ELLIOT, REALTOR© The Hennepin Group, LLC Keller Williams Realty 17205 Yale Street NW, Suite D Elk River, Minnesota, 55330	Mobile: (651) 795-1147 Fax: (763) 241-0187 Email: chadelliot@kw.com ElkRiverHomes.com

Twin Cities Market Activity Report - WE 2/22
provided by MAAR

The Twin Cities housing market in early 2010 looks pretty much like it did in early 2009. How similar? Over the last three months, there have been 7,189 signed purchase agreements; there were 7,186 a year ago during the same time period. Eerie, no? Robotic precision.

For the week ending February 13, there were 711 pending sales, down 2.7 percent from last year, and new listings posted 1,764 units, up 4.9 percent from a year ago. The only thing that's really changed much is the supply of available homes, which continues to dwindle relative to a year ago. The current stock of 22,271 available homes represents a 12.4 percent decline from a year ago.

For more information on the Elk River, Big Lake, Otsego and Rogers real estate markets please contact me or visit my website at http://www.ElkRiverHomes.com/.

CHAD ELLIOT, REALTOR© The Hennepin Group, LLC Keller Williams Realty 17205 Yale Street NW, Suite D Elk River, Minnesota, 55330	Mobile: (651) 795-1147 Fax: (763) 241-0187 Email: chadelliot@kw.com ElkRiverHomes.com

Twin Cities Market Activity Report - WE 2/15

Twin Cities Market Activity Report - WE 2/15
provided by MAAR

The Twin Cities housing market at the beginning of 2010 continues to look similar to the Twin Cities housing market at the beginning of 2009. There were 1,848 new listings for the week ending February 6, a 3.8 percent increase from the same week last year. On a similar track, there were 780 pending sales for the same week, 4.7 percent above last year.

With supply dropping—now at 5.5 months of availability—it may be that potential buyers are all too familiar with the inventory they have to choose from, especially in the lower price ranges where sales have been through the roof in the last year and inventory has dropped quickly.

For specifics on the Elk River, Big Lake, Otsego, Albertville and Rogers real estate markets please feel free to contact me or visit ElkRiverHomes.com for more information.

CHAD ELLIOT, REALTOR© The Hennepin Group, LLC Keller Williams Realty 17205 Yale Street NW, Suite D Elk River, Minnesota, 55330	Mobile: (651) 795-1147 Fax: (763) 241-0187 Email: chadelliot@kw.com ElkRiverHomes.com

The Twin Cities Monthly Skinny - February

The Twin Cities Monthly Skinny - February

The Twin Cities Monthly Skinny for February is here! In January, we saw the first signs of a "normal" market with home prices stabilizing when compared to last year. Take a few minutes and enjoy the video.


If you have any further questions or would like to know more details about the Elk River, Big Lake, Otsego, Maple Grove, Ramsey and Minneapolis housing markets give me a call or visit MN-TwinCities.com

CHAD ELLIOT, REALTOR© The Hennepin Group, LLC Keller Williams Realty 17205 Yale Street NW, Suite D Elk River, Minnesota, 55330	Mobile: (651) 795-1147 Fax: (763) 241-0187 Email: chadelliot@kw.com ElkRiverHomes.com

Twin Cities Market Activity Report - WE 2/8

Twin Cities Market Activity Report - WE 2/8

provided by MAAR

As winter continues its streak of cold and snow, sales activity in the Twin Cities housing market is moving along at a pace you'd expect for the season and at about the same pace as a year ago. Pending sales for the week ending January 30 came in at 650, down very slightly from the mark of 673 seen during the same week last year. Over the last three months, there have been 7,038 signed purchase agreements, up a sliver-sized 0.7 percent from a year ago.

Despite the tax credit being made available to current homeowners, new listing activity has yet to show any noticeable jump. The 1,584 new listings for the most recent reporting week represent a dip of 3.1 percent from a year ago. Total inventory of available homes is still down from last year by 16.5 percent.

In related news, Days on Market Until Sale is still dropping while the Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale is still growing. While that's good news on both fronts for home sellers in general, different price points and neighborhoods are experiencing dramatically different market conditions.

For more specific information regarding the Elk River, Big Lake, Ramsey, Rogers or NW Metro areas please contact me or visit ChadElliot.com

CHAD ELLIOT, REALTOR© The Hennepin Group, LLC Keller Williams Realty 17205 Yale Street NW, Suite D Elk River, Minnesota, 55330	Mobile: (651) 795-1147 Fax: (763) 241-0187 Email: chadelliot@kw.com ElkRiverHomes.com

Elk River Energy Expo Set for Feb. 27th

Elk River Energy Expo set for Feb. 27th

Elk River Star News

Elk River’s fourth annual Energy Expo is coming up soon. Polar explorer Will Steger will headline the expo, a free event set for Saturday, Feb. 27 at Elk River High School. Steger will present “Eyewitness to Global Warming” at 11 a.m. in the high school’s Zabee Theater.

The Energy Expo will run from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Other attractions include:

•Tricia & the Toonies perform at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

•Kids can create their own “edible landfill” made from candy.

•Learn more about sustainable living practices and energy conservation.

•Take in demonstrations covering topics such as programmable thermostats, wind turbines and tax credits.

•Learn about Project Conserve, a city of Elk River effort to help people conserve water, electricity, natural gas and gasoline, and reduce garbage.

For details, go to http://www.elkriverenergycity.org/.

CHAD ELLIOT, REALTOR© The Hennepin Group, LLC Keller Williams Realty 17205 Yale Street NW, Suite D Elk River, Minnesota, 55330	Mobile: (651) 795-1147 Fax: (763) 241-0187 Email: chadelliot@kw.com ElkRiverHomes.com