Tips to Add Value to Your Home

1) Clean, Organize, and Neutralize Your Space: Unclutter your house to make it look bigger and cleaner.  Buyers need to be able to envision their own belongings in the home, so avoid using bright colors and too many personal effects.

2) Keep your lawn green: Get your lawn in shape. A patchy lawn takes away from the home's overall appearance. Your local hardware store has supplies to re-seed those unhealthy areas.

3) Add insulation to save energy: The most inexpensive way to increase your home's energy is to add insulation which can reduce heating and cooling costs by more than 25%.

4) Update Kitchen Appliances: The kitchen is often the room that buyers gravitate towards first, and an updated kitchen can help sell your home. You don't have to remodel your kitchen to give it a new look. Updating your appliances to the current standard and replacing cabinet doors and hardware can make a big impact at a relatively low cost.

5) Update those bathroom fixtures: A little change can go a long way when it comes to the look of your bathroom. Updating simple fixtures such as your sink and faucet can give any outdated bathroom style. And, according to Bankrate.com, minor bathroom remodels typically return over 100% of the initial investment.

6) Build a fence: If you're trying to sell a house, the appearance of a fence adds value to the home overall. Buyers with children or pets will appreciate the privacy and security of an enclosed backyard.

7) Repair the gutter: Ensuring that your gutter is clean is crucial in protecting your home against water damage.

8) Light up the outside: An easy and inexpensive way to increase your home's outdoor space is to add lighting. It makes it more appealing and safer.

9) Store and organize: Ample storage space is a plus, especially when it comes to garages and closets.  Efficient closet structures can help keep your clothes organized  and can save space.

10) Polish off the basement: Rather than adding an additional room, it is more cost-efficient to remodel your basement. This adds value and usable space.

Visit us at:  ColumbiaCountyHomes

Call Us ....We Should Talk

The value of any Real Estate Firm is its ability to provide seamless access to the best information, quickly and accurately.  Here at VantagePoint Realty, we specialize in this ability; we have the tools, including award winning web sites, updated and cross-linked to countless search engines, allowing us to be head & shoulders above the competition.  Call us; see why now, more than ever, it's so important to follow success!

Call Us VantagePoint Realty  518-392-8484

or

e-mail: info@ColumbiaCountyHomes.com

Visit our Website:  www.ColumbiaCountyHomes.com

As knowledgeable, skillful, and hardworking as real estate agents may be, they are not magicians. They cannot take an unappealing house and make it attractive to prospective buyers at a good price solely on the basis of words. A lot of the responsibility for selling a home rests with the seller's ability to boost its curb appeal with proper landscaping, paint, and repair/maintenance. Unless they are looking for a fixer upper, most prospective buyers are drawn to homes that meet their needs and that they can move into with a minimum of fuss. If this means that sellers must treat interior walls to fresh paint in neutral colors and replace worn carpeting, then that is part of a successful deal.

Hint: If a home is well cared for inside and out, prospective buyers are more likely to assume that it is worth the asking price.

If you are motivated to sell, or to purchase, please contact me, Stephanie W. Samuelsohn, Realtor and Principal Broker with VantagePoint Realty. I have a successful track record of assisting sellers and buyers. I will arrange an initial meeting. You will benefit from my knowledge and experience. The office is conveniently located.

Call Stephanie at 518-392-8484

or e-mail her at: Stephanie@ColumbiaCountyHomes.com

See our website at: http://www.columbiacountyhomes.com/

The Two Secret Ingredients in a Quick Sale

A fresh coat of paint may help, and skillful marketing is certainly important, but only after a key ingredient is in place—a realistic asking price.  Buyers are comparative shoppers, and an overpriced house won’t fool anyone.  How do you figure out a realistic price for your home--With the help of a second ingredient, probably the most important—an effective Broker.  They determine a realistic price upfront, through careful analysis.  Only then will they advise you about such things as fresh paint, and go on to aggressively market your home.  If you want a happy ending, the one place to begin…is with a topflight broker.  Why not begin now ---with a call to me.

Stephanie W. Samuelsohn

Call me:       518-392-8484

E-Mail me:    info@ColumbiaCountyHomes.com

Visit our Website:  www.ColumbaiCountyHomes.com

Would You Remove Your Own Appendix...much less overhaul your vehicle's engine? The fact is that, whether a Doctor or a Car Mechanic, most people turn to those with professional experience to get the results they want. In the case of selling a home, there is too much riding on the outcome to hope that a homeowner can do the job himself or herself. While potential FSBO's (homes 'for sale by owner') nearly uniformly focus on saving money, experienced Real Estate agents usally pay for themselves by getting higher prices more quickly. They do this by setting a realistic asking price, advertising the property thoroughly, networking more effectively, qualifying buyers better, and negotiating a better selling price, circumventing potential problems.

I am fully licensed in both NY & MA and bring with me the skills for service & dedication.

Your Hopes, Your Dreams...Our VantagePoint

HINT: From getting a property ready for market to negotiating with buyers, experienced real estate agents take the emotion out of the home-buying process and produce bottom-line results.

People tend to think the winter season is 'off- time' for buying or selling a home. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. There is an honesty and warmth that animates both sellers and buyers alike during this season - the result is a greater willingness to share and to agree.

So, instead of 'putting off' until after the Holidays, call us. You may end up enjoying a very special New Year's celebration.

Do call us, join in our journey through these "interesting times."

Call VantagePoint Realty and ask for Stephanie 518-392-8484 or

E-Mail me at Stephanie@ColumbiaCountyHomes.com

Check out our NEW website"  at:  www.ColumbiaCountyHomes.com

Why Winter May Be The Best Selling Season

"Real Estate activity has remained strong right through the last Winter...and will almost certainly be strong this Winter, thanks to a strong economy and a greater awareness of the area.  In addition, "Winter Buyers" have always been a special breed--they're not lookers or joy-riders, they are serious, motivated people out to buy.  For these reasons, "waiting until Spring" to list your home--once good advice--is no longer recommended.  It not only delays selling your home, it will cost you additional money each passing month.

If you have been thinking of selling, keep thinking that way.  Call me.  Le me see your home and let me show you my successes and you may be spending next Spring--in a new life."