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Excellence in Real Estate

Select your agent to maximize your exposure.

When selling your home, you should select a real estate agent who can expose your property to the biggest market to ensure the fastest sale at the best possible price. Ask your prospective agents about the different ways they plan to advertise your home. Good agents should use the MLS, national and local promotion on the Internet, yard and neighborhood signs, as well as ads in various newspapers and real estate publications.

Don't buy your new home until you have sold your current home.

This is generally sound advice unless you live in an extremely hot market and your Realtor is sure you'll be able to sell your home quickly. Timing is crucial, so start working with your agent to find a new home as soon as yours is listed. With a little bit of luck, the day you accept an offer on your home, you'll be able to make an offer on a new home and close both deals on the same day. At worst, you may have to live in a rental for a couple of months, but most people agree that moving twice is preferable to being stuck with two mortgage payments!

Make high-return improvements to your home before you sell.

There are a number of improvements that you can make to your house that will provide a greater-than-100% return on your initial investment. Chief among these is having your house painted, but you should also consider kitchen and bathroom renovations, adding fireplaces and skylights, and attic or basement conversions. Contrary to popular belief, building a swimming pool is not a good capital investment, and will usually only add 33% of its cost to your home's final sale price.