May Update

Sales are Blooming!  Have you noticed all the Park Company signs popping up around town?  Has a home caught your eye?  If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a new home and want to know how to get the ball rolling- give me a call!  I will see to it that your next sale is your BEST SALE! 

 

Park Company Realtors was just named one of the top 500 Real Estate Companies in the country in the RISMedia Power Broker Report!  That is a huge accomplishment and we have YOU to thank!  As always, your continued support and referrals helps us do what we do best….provide the best real estate service, bar none!  Thank YOU!

 

Have you ever worried about how your neighbor’s yard looks?  Many homeowners do … as long as yours is the one that has the FOR SALE sign in it! J  To help you on your way to a successful sale, check out the following tips that will have your lawn looking tip top this Summer Season:

·        RAKE:  As soon as your yard appears to be waking up, give it a light once-over with a rake, taking care not to disturb new grass plants by raking too hard.  Clean out all debris left over from the fall and winter.  Look for early signs of pests or disease and address them right away.

·        AERATE:  Removing plugs of sod in the spring- aerating- loosens the soil and lets water, air, and fertilizer get down in to the grass plant’s root structure.  If you have a large yard, consider renting or hiring out a power aerator.

·        TOP DRESS: After you aerate, make sure you spend some time “top dressing” your lawn by spreading a thin layer of peat moss over the grass with a rake.  It helps to gradually condition the lawn by strengthening it to resist disease, weeds and thatch and by reducing the amount of water and fertilizer, it needs.

·        WEED:  Go after those nasty weeds early in the season before they have a chance to go to seed.  Cultivating a healthy lawn is on of the easiest ways to crowd out weeds.  Always pull out dandelions and broadleaf weeds w/ an easy-to-use weeder.  There are some great ergonomic tools available that will save your back!

·        FIX bare spots:  A quick and easy way of improving the look of your yard is to repair the discolored patches (disease or dog urine) in the spring when the cooler temperatures help the grass grow.  Just clear away the dead-looking patches, sprinkle grass seed, add fertilizer, and keep the area moist until it sprouts.

·        TUNE-UP:  Give your tools a spring tune-up.  Spend some time sharpening the blades, replacing oil, spark plugs, etc. to ensure easy, fun yard time!

 

Wondering about Mortgage Rates?  Mostly they are still looking great and fluctuating around 6 and 6.5%.  Call me today for the most up to date rates.  Buying a home is still easy, affordable and a wonderful investment!  Check it out.

 

Summer is coming and our Lakes area is full of beautiful lake homes for sale!  If you have considered taking the lake plunge, give me a buzz.  I can help!

 

How much is your home worth on today’s market?  This is one of the hottest questions in real estate!  If you are interested in getting more information about your home and what price it could fetch…Let me know…I can be over there in 10 minutes!  Have a wonderful month of May and enjoy the weather!

Reality Stories

The Real Estate profession is a mystery to those who are not in it. In casual conversations they wink and say things like, “well, you certainly got into the right profession”…as dollar signs emanate from each wink. They also want my professional assurance that they bought the right house at the right time. And they love to hear stories from the trenches.  I am like their own personal local reality program. I like talking about Real Estate, I have lots of stories and enjoy telling them – at least the ones with the happy endings!

 

But Real Estate is hard sometimes too.  The stories I don’t tell have to do with the daily doses of crumbling deals, offers that come in low, scary home inspections, sellers who die a thousand deaths each day their properties don’t sell, and the mere suggestion that they lower the price spurs the inevitable suggestion from the seller that I adjust my commission.

 

But the cruelest of all is when a homeowner with whom I have a longstanding cordial relationship, chooses to work with another agent out of expedience or financial gain. If I’ve developed a relationship with someone, if they’ve been to my home and I to theirs and, through the years, they’ve thanked me profusely for putting them where they are, then to discover they’ve listed with the competition – it stings!  It doesn’t even lessen the blow much when they eventually confront the issue and tell me that in no way is this decision to be interpreted as a criticism of my very real talents – No, of course not.

 

But I’ve learned that I have to suck it up and move on because there are other clients waiting who don’t need to know that this is a bad day for me. Over and out with that relationship. In with the new. That’s what keeps me going in this business. That, and the loyalty and affection of most clients, through thick and thin.  That’s what makes the happy endings.