In today’s economy, we’re all paying attention to our budgets, whether it’s shopping more at Boomerangs and Goodwill, or planning another staycation. While it’s wise to cut and trim our everyday expenses, one area in which this doesn’t apply is preparing your home for sale in  the Roslindale, Jamaica Plain or West Roxbury real estate market.

Even with the current outrageously low interest rates, it’s still a buyer’s market and, with more and more properties being listed every day, it’s critical to have your home stand head and shoulders above the competition. If you’re focused on saving money to buy or improve the next home you’ll be living in, bring yourself back to the present, look at your home as a buyer will, and give it some loving
care before you leave.

Here are some ideas that I share with my clients for getting their property market-ready and sold quickly:

1.  Walk through your home with a relative or close friend who’s not afraid to be honest and objective with you about what needs to get done.  For many of my clients, I provide this service on our first visit, the time when I can view the property with the “buyer’s eye”. This could be de-cluttering, taking down ancient faded drapes, getting the windows washed, replacing appliances in your kitchen, scraping and repainting the front porch, hiring someone to empty out the basement, garage, or attic.

2. Stage your home as if you don’t live in it any more.  One of my maxims, though painful for clients to hear, is “If you’re comfortable living in your house when it’s on the market, it’s not showing correctly.”  This means putting away the dish drainer, sponges and soap for every showing; taking down the shoe-racks from the inside of your closet door; packing up that collection of antique porcelain that’s been collecting dust and that will distract buyers’ attention from much more important aspects of your home, such as room flow, light, overall condition and spaciousness.

3.  Listen to your Realtor (ideally, that’s me!) because she will tell you what to fix, change, or replace in order to preclude a long punch-list after your buyer has their home inspection.  Keep in mind that a new hot water heater (generally about a $1000 expenditure) will be worth many times that amount in terms of overall buyer comfort, as will a new fridge, stove or bathroom vanity.  Large pots of colorful, healthy mums on your front porch, gleaming hardware on your front door,  and a fresh welcome mat are also essential.

As we enter the fall real estate market, keep in mind that what you invest in your property pre-market will shorten the dreaded “days on the market” and get you a price at the top of the scale.

Linda Burnett

Jamaica Plain/Roslindale Real Estate Maven
Keller-Williams Boston-Metro Real Estate
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Had to pick up my car at my favorite auto body shop the other day (Peter’s on Hyde Park Ave. just down from Forest Hills Station).

So I set out on the Blackwell Footpath, a newish stretch of walking path that starts on South St. in Rozzie and ends up on Washington St. in JP.

Hanging a right onto HP Ave., I started to walk by a tiny graveyard I’ve passed many times before and this time I decided to go in.  As a real estate aficionado, I’ve always been fascinated with people’s final resting places — you should see the spot I have waiting for me!

Walking through, I noticed some of the still-legible dates.   Many were from the 1860’s!

So I called the human search engine, Michael Reiskind of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society and he confirmed that yes indeed, the Tollgate Cemetery was dedicated to the Irish-American veterans of the Civil War and their families.

He also informed me that the area now referred to as “Forest Hills” used to be called “Tollgate” because of the toll one had to pay to proceed down Hyde Park Ave!

With the coming of spring and the price of gas, I plan to discover many more such forgotten corners of JP, Roslindale and West Roxbury.  I’m happy to say that my call to Michael reminded him to contact the City to organize a clean-up and fix-up of this sacred and forgotten place. I’ll keep you posted on that!

Many clients, customers and acquaintances have asked me why we often feed each other on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The reasons are many, and here are the top few, in order of importance. Warning: the words you’re about to read are THE TRUTH!

1. We’re a hungry lot and we like to eat. I always serve home-made or close-to-home-made food to attract the largest numbers of agents and brokers. My pledge: You will NEVER find pizza at a Linda Broker Lunch.

2. We want our seller clients to know that we are marketing their property not just to the public but to the broker community as well.

3. We LOVE to see what the other gals/guys are doing and compare OUR listings to theirs in terms of how well they show, how well they’re priced, and, basically, how much of a threat they are to our listings.

4. We trade market observations, talk about good (and bad) vendors, and, basically, gossip.

5. We want feedback on our properties — good and bad. My experience over the years is that a savvy broker will never really be frank with me — why should they help me sell mine when theirs is just around the corner and has an extra half bath? We brokers live in a state of friendly detente — keeps it interesting and keeps us on our toes!

These gatherings are also a great way to introduce our favorite business partners to the broker community.  At my lunch last week at 31 Eastbourne in Rozzie, I had Blair Hamaty (in photo), my favorite staging guy, on hand to meet and shmooze with other agents.  The abysmal rainy weather dampened the turnout a bit, but it was still a fun and lively afternoon.

Another great thing about a weekday “open house” like this is I always invite brokers to bring their buyers. So, buyers also get a free lunch and, sometimes, a sneak preview of a property that they might otherwise have misssed!