The Home Selling Process

The first time you buy or sell a house can be terrifying. There are many papers to sign, steps to take, and no one can seem to give you a clear step by step directions of what you need to do first. Realtor.com did an excellent job of laying out the steps you should take as a seller in the article, “The 7 Step Guide to Selling a House,” but as I refer you to read their article I want to highlight the first major step and Realtor’s Step 2 is finding a Realtor. Finding a quality and trustworthy Realtor will make those last 5 steps clearer with your specific needs in selling your home. Come back and read our article on Thursday to know how to select a Realtor!

The Move with my Fur Baby.

We love our animals! Dogs, cats, gerbils, hamsters, fish, horses,  even our lobsters.
Lobsters? Pets? Just kidding.
But seriously! Pets are family and we know you are going to take them with you, so how can you best cater to their needs in the midst of chaos? You cannot communicate with them what is going on like your children, so how can you keep them comfortable and give them security in the fact that you are not leaving them behind?

1. Treat them the exact same. You do not want to baby them and create them to be needy in your new home, but just like a child you want to create emotional stability in the change of living spaces.
2. Make sure they still have their sleeping arrangements set and that does not change until the actual move occurs. Too much change, especially with their sleeping habits will not create a swift transition.
3. Take them to the new house! Let them get acquainted with the sounds, smells, and every new room, or part of the yard. Do not rush their “inspection” and allow them to smell everything for how ever long they need too. Smelling is a primary sense for them and it is required for them to get to know their new home.
4. For yourself: Make sure you receive all your pets’ health information if you will be needing to acquire a new veterinary office.
5. Do not feed your pet for a few hours before you leave on the moving day. The fact is your pet will be nervous and you do not want them getting sick and creating to your stress as you are traveling and moving into your new home.
6. Be prepared with your fur baby’s favorite things to make the Move more enjoyable for them.
7. If at all possible, for your convenience and your pet’s comfort try and not have them at your new home while moving. The constant moving, the multiple people, chaos everywhere, will not put your pet at ease, and will cause stress on you while you are moving items and constantly going in and outside. The last thing you want is your pet to be hurt while you are moving in large furniture or to slip out into an unknown neighborhood and for them to get scared and lost.

Please share with me your Move with Fur Babies experiences so we can better new First time mover’s experiences!

This blog post was co-authored by Christy Bonner.

Susan Carroll

Phone Number

Cell: 404-903-7653

Office Main: 770-692-8050

Office Fax: 678-833-2413

Email Address
susan.carroll@bhhsgeorgia.com

“You.. you’re… gunnnaa… leave me here?!?! *Loud sobs, crocodile tears, and chest heaving occurs*

That is exactly what Amelia did to her mom as Laurie and Richard broke the news to their four year old daughter. Amelia, like most children her age, is very literal minded. She heard the first part of the sentence her dad said, “Hey sweetie, your mom and I have been talking and we are going to be going to a different house soon…” Little Amelia automatically interpreted that as her parents moving without her.

Kids are fragile, vulnerable, compassionate, and very susceptible to change, no matter if they are moving at the age of 1 year or 25 years old. The fact is though, change occurs in our lives daily, and we want our kids to be able to adapt and overcome change not panic and run away from it. With this being said, we want to watch your kids move in a healthy and exciting way! We know there is heartache, stress, and hurt feelings with moving, they have their whole lives changing, but we want them to think of the benefits too, sometimes it takes kids a long time to see the benefits, but one day they will wake up ready to go to their new school, ready to play with their new friends, or look forward to living so close to grandpa and grandma now.

So the Move is definitely happening. How can I make the transition easier and more exciting for my children?

1. Talk to them! Even if they are as young as Amelia. Seeing boxes filled up with their things leaving their house is frightening! Communication about every step of the process will make them more comfortable and help them understand what is happening better.
2. Let them see! Take them to your new house when it is empty. Allow them to explain their dream bedroom to you and talk about what can be done to  make it theirs. It will bring excitement and ownership.
3. Have a timeline or calendar put up in your house to make it something to look forward to. A countdown, having a list of what will be done when, before, and during the Move will contain less surprises for the kids and help you plan everything out so it will not be as stressful.
4. Let them help! Decide on a charity, or family in need to donate some of their unused toys to. Create a joyous time of downsizing all of their toys and clothing in order to help someone else. Allow them to label, tape, load the boxes up into an organized fashion for the movers or into the vehicles. If you have a few kids, put the oldest on babysitting duty, to give them a helpful responsibility to them. Let them know you are counting on them so you can be productive.
5. If you hire a moving company, introduce the movers to your kids. Let your kids be hospitable to them, bringing them drinks or a snack. This will eliminate the fear of the movers from taking their things away from them and show your kids that they want to help them, mommy, and daddy.
6. Before you pack everything up, make sure their most treasured belongings and favorite clothing are easily accessible (I hope this doesn’t need explanation or a reason why.)

I hope all of this helps! I am sure there will be more helpful tips in the future. Feel free to comment and share your tips, I look forward to learning from your experiences good and bad!

This blog post was co-authored by Christy Bonner.

Susan Carroll

Phone Number

Cell: 404-903-7653

Office Main: 770-692-8050

Office Fax: 678-833-2413

Email Address
susan.carroll@bhhsgeorgia.com

The Home Buying Process

Ever wonder what steps need to be taken to buy a new home? Well, here is a chart that gives a quick outline of things you need to be thinking about. If it looks complicated, don’t worry. It is my job to help take the confusion out of it. There are a lot of things that happen in each step, but with a knowledgeable Realtor at your side, your home purchase can flow, just like the chart.

I am standing by to be your guide through the process. Just text me at 404-903-7653.

Susan

Uh… How Do I? Where? When is that…? Help?!?

Okay. It is definitely in our best interest to make the Move. Where do I begin?

Always begin with more evaluation and questions.

Do I need to buy first or sell first? Which is best for me financially? Re-evaluate whether you should buy then sell, sell then buy, or rent out your home.

How do I prepare my house to sell? De-clutter.

Moving is the perfect time to go through what you need versus what you want. Get rid of anything you don’t use. The primary part of selling your house is showing it off to potential buyers! And you want it to look clean and simple. Remove the knick-knacks, and declutter! Look for my future post about decluttering and how to present your house to show it off!

STEPS TO BUYING. You have already completed half the battle. Now it is time for research! Start with online sites of looking and researching to get a feel for what you are looking for. Create need and want lists. Create desires for your location. All of the questions you have answered from the past few weeks write down. Find an agent that best suits your needs and discuss all of this with them. Your agent knows the best process and decision for you once you share all this information with them.

This blog post was co-authored by Christy Bonner.

Susan Carroll

Phone Number

Cell: 404-903-7653

Office Main: 770-692-8050

Office Fax: 678-833-2413

Email Address
susan.carroll@bhhsgeorgia.com

Now or Later?

So many questions. It will all be worth it in the end.

When you are all unpacked, when your family is settled, you will know because you are confident in every decision you made because you were given the proper tools to make every decision the best way for you and your family and because you answered every question possible in the planning stages and not in the active stages.

So finally it is time to answer the most important question; based on all the previous questions…

Is now the time to move?

This blog post was co-authored by Christy Bonner.

Susan Carroll

Phone Number

Cell: 404-903-7653

Office Main: 770-692-8050

Office Fax: 678-833-2413

Email Address
susan.carroll@bhhsgeorgia.com

Oh No! Honey, We Left the Kids!

A move is never simple, but it can be a lot easier if we only have to think about me, myself, and I. Typically though, we move for many more reasons than just ourselves and we have to take into consideration every person in our lives that the Move will influence.

So. Do you have children? Will they be transferring schools? Separated from lifelong friends?

Does a parent or in-law live with you? What will change for them? What will they have to leave behind or get a fresh start in?

It is more than just the location of your home that changes. Even the simplicity of your home’s layout can change your family dynamics.

Is/was/will your house be one story when it was two stories? Or vice versa?

This can create a closer or more strained relationship depending on your family dynamics.

Will the Move result in your moving without someone? Or is someone moving without you? Are you moving out for the first time or is your child? Have you had a roommate since college and now it is time to be completely independent?

Or are you creating a new family and adding to your home’s need for space? Could it be you and your new spouse looking for your first home? Or are you having twins you weren’t prepared for in terms of space?

Now that your life is in transition what can and can’t you live without when it comes to location, services, education, etc. for you AND those the Move is impacting?

Thinking of everyone you are going to be moving with or leaving behind, how can we ease the transition? Does everyone need time to process the Move? Or does everyone want it to occur immediately?

This blog post was co-authored by Christy Bonner.

Susan Carroll

Phone Number

Cell: 404-903-7653

Office Main: 770-692-8050

Office Fax: 678-833-2413

Email Address
susan.carroll@bhhsgeorgia.com

Location, Location, Location.

Home searching and buying is personal. This is your future life that we are looking at.

So evaluate what you have where you are now. What would you change? Do you prefer something closer or further from you that you have now?

Do you wish a certain kind of store, environment, entertainment, were available to you?

That can change NOW!

All those wishes, wants, desires, can be motivations and key ideas you look for in your future home.

So what services do you and your family require? Do you want rural, urban?

Look into your personal life, the big and small!

What preferences do you have for your pets, hygiene, lawn care, doctors’ offices, religious activities, etc.? What type of commerce or community activities do you prefer to have?

Think about land geography, weather, will you be commuting with the sun in your eyes every morning?

Only your past experiences can answer these questions. It is all preference, there are no right or wrong answers, but it is all about what you want or need.

This blog post was co-authored by Christy Bonner.

Susan Carroll

Phone Number

Cell: 404-903-7653

Office Main: 770-692-8050

Office Fax: 678-833-2413

Email Address
susan.carroll@bhhsgeorgia.com

The Move: Fantasy or Reality?

The worst mistake we can make is putting too much time, effort, and money into something that does not pan out. We all know this, yet allow ourselves to dream too big for our house shoes. So this is why the first question we must ask ourselves when looking to buy, sell, and move, is the question, “Why am I doing this?” “What is my motivation?”

If there is no drive, purpose, or motivation, there is no cause and no effect. If there is no reason to move, there will not be a move.

So now you are thinking, “Okay Susan. I’ve got it. How do I know?”

Well I am glad you asked!

Check everything. Go over everything to make sure this is really what you need to do. A home is an investment, not just a pack of gum.

See what you say to the following questions.

Do we need more space?

Is my commute too long?

Is this home fulfilling our needs?

Our wants?

Can we fix or update something to make our home more enjoyable?

Do we want our kids in a better school system?

Are we too far away from the rest of our family?

Is this area safe and suitable to our desires?

Some other thoughts are addressed by Maria Patterson in her article, “To Sell or Not to Sell? 5 Signs it’s Time to List Your Home.”

The next step is to ask, “Should I sell my home or rent it if I decide to buy another one?”

Are you financially stable enough to maintain both houses until your first home creates a profit?

Is your current home paid off and can create a profit immediately?

Do I have the time and energy to be a landlord?

Do I have the money to hire a landlord for the property?

Now I definitely know what you are thinking.

“Susan. Stop with the questions!”

Do not worry! I know this is a lot to think about and process, but every aspect has to be thought about and an honest answer needs to be provided in order for you to be successful in selling your home, renting it out, or buying a new one.

This blog post was co-authored by Christy Bonner.

Susan Carroll

Phone Number

Cell: 404-903-7653

Office Main: 770-692-8050

Office Fax: 678-833-2413

Email Address
susan.carroll@bhhsgeorgia.com