January Newsletter!

Happy 2011! Here's to another month's worth of valuable information!

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December Monthly Newsletter

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Feel free to pass it along!
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Enjoy!

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My Monthly Newsletter

Please enjoy my monthly newsletter! Feel free to pass it along!
If you would like to subscribe directly, send me your email address so you'll be among the first to get it when it's published each month!
Thank you!

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Helpful Hints from Heather and Top 5

Pricing Your Home to Sell

Most homeowners have an emotional connection to their home and, understandably, feel it deserves top dollar when sold. But even though everyone wants to get the most money for their home, especially in today’s challenging economic times, decisions made regarding the listing price cannot be made in haste. All too often, listing your home at a price that is too high can cause it to languish on the market and wind up selling at a lower price than would have been realized had it been priced properly in the first place.

To help foster maximum profits for your home, here are several suggestions for establishing a fair, competitive and marketable sale price:

- Square footage - Total square footage is an important consideration when establishing a home's sale price, but this is usually just a starting point for buyers who will use it to narrow down the field, but make an actual purchase decision based on many other factors.

- Location within the community - Quiet cul-de sacs, golf or water frontage, lots that offer privacy, etc. are value-adds that can justify a higher sale price over other homes in a community…or be leveraged as an advantage against competing listings.

- Views ... or lack thereof - Whether it is the ocean, a downtown skyline, the mountains, water or some other desirable landscape, buyers are willing to pay a premium for views and a home should be priced accordingly. Just be realistic - views that can only be seen from the second-story bathroom window don't count.

- Upgrades and features - For a home to sell quickly at the desired price, it must be "finished" with as many structural and interior design upgrades as possible. Any functional or beautification enhancement to a home are key considerations in establishing a home's true value and strategic sale price.

- Community amenities - Guard-gated communities or those with amenities such as a clubhouse, swimming pool or fitness center are elements that raise a home's price per square foot. When pricing a home without these benefits, know whether you are competing against other homes that do offer such value-adds so that you can price your home as aggressively and competitively as possible.

- Comparable sales - Don't price your home based on price per square footage of other home sales in your community six or more months ago, as these don't offer a realistic portrayal of current market conditions. Focus on prices of active listings to hone a competitive pricing strategy.

- Professional appraisal - Want to sell the home quickly? Price it at or below the appraised value as buyers are educated, are shopping deals, and will recognize your fair price and be more apt to pay it with less haggling.

- Current mortgage conditions - Lenders now require higher credit scores and higher down payments, which can cash-strap buyers holding out for the best deal possible. Savvy sellers will understand the mortgage industry's impact on the buyer and will price accordingly.

There are several other factors involved in choosing the right listing price for your property. Top 5 in Real Estate Members are experienced in reviewing the specifics of a home in order to arrive at the best possible price…a price that maximizes profits and moves your home off the market before price reductions become necessary. Please email Heather @ heather@realestatium.com for further details and feel free to forward this article to members of your social network who may also benefit from this information.

Top 5 !!!

Recently, Heather was invited to join Top 5, a unique real estate network that indicates to consumers she has earned a very elite status among real estate professionals. Membership is reserved only for those North American real estate agents who have satisfied five "consumer-valued criteria."

There is a very rigorous and stringent approval process to become a member of this organization. All of their members must have at least three years experience, attained accredited or formal industry wide education and be committed to providing consumers the latest consumer-relevant information by using the latest in information technology to assist in this process. They further pledge to be community-centric as well as consumer-centric by extending themselves beyond self-promotional accomplishments and showing a commitment in helping to better the community and its residents.


Heather is very excited about this opportunity, and looking forward to sharing the information she is able to obtain through this organization with us right here on her blog, as well as many other venues. One of her goals is to help us all become better educated...you know...just in case we decide we want to buy or sell our homes... increase our property values (not a bad thing in today’s current economy)... or just help us become better informed on this industry...since it does affect all of us in one way or another.

That being said, you will definately want to check back here often, you never know what little bit of information Heather will be passing on to us, her faithful blog followers! It may be a tidbit of real estate information, a current listing, a human interest story that’s just too cool to keep to herself, or an adventure with one of her adorable kitty’s! Better yet, it could be one of her yummy recipes....hmmmmm....is it lunchtime???

Congratulations, Heather!

TTFN

"Good Deeds Day"

Not too long ago Heather sent a message saying ... " saved someone's life today... literally...". She had been on a her way to grab some pictures of a house for a perspective buyer. On her way to the other end of the county, she felt the need to stop and "powder her nose" and that's when the story began. Here, in her own words, ... Heather's "Good Deed for the Day"

"I am working with a customer who resides out of state. When properties come on the market that fit their criteria I preview them, take photos & tell the customer whether or not I think they should proceed forward with it. That is the wonderful thing about my business is the level of trust that my customers place in me. I love how they feel comfortable enough with me to establish that relationship. I hear horror stories of people who hate their agent and don’t have a good “bond” and it just is unfortunate they hadn't found me in time to have a different experience. Anyway, I digress.. back to the story…

On one such Monday I ran over to Coconut Creek and on the way there I needed to powder my nose. Not knowing what kind of condition I was going to find this foreclosure listing in, I decided to stop at a local grocery store. As I park and walk to the store, I notice the car next to me is running with a woman inside looking like she was bending over to grab something. After another second or two I realize this woman isn’t moving. Something doesn’t sit right with me and I decide that if the woman is in the exact same position upon me exiting the store I would do something (what I do not know), but something… Needless to say, a few minutes later I walk back to my car and notice the woman is in the exact same position. NOTHING had changed. I take my car keys and gently tap the passenger window a couple of times. Nothing. I do it again. Nothing. I then decided to go back into the store and ask for a manager.

I get a manager and preface my conversation with him about how this is going to sound crazy, etc, etc,. He proceeds to walk out with me, cell phone in hand to dial 911. We get to the car & he knocks heavily on the window with his fist. After the third attempt the woman arouses from her state and takes her about another full minute to open the door – she couldn’t roll down the window because it was taped in place. She is barely cogniscent (spelling?) and her eyes are all unfocused. She says she is OK and explains she worked late the previous night and was sleeping it off. (What it was you’ll soon find out…) As she is talking, or slurring I should say, I notice the back of her SUV is full of suitcases & boxes, like all of her belongings. She woman continues to say she is alright and after the third time of assuring us, the manager and I walk away. The manager picked up on the same vibes as I did and asked what do I think he should do. I said, come back and check on her in another 10 minutes (at that point it may be considered loitering, no?). I also gave him my card and said if he needs anything to call me.

About an hour later I get a call from the manager who said he came back about 15 minutes later, he could not rouse her this time & called 911. The paramedics were just leaving with her and they thought it was a potential drug overdose. The manager thanked me for being a good Samaritan. Too bad the homes I looked at that day did not work for my customer! That means I am meant to be out in the field again, listing property & saving lives!"

So, there you have it, our Heather, the realtor extrodinair, wonderful wife to D., awesome cook, fantastic mom to her kitties...and Good Samaritan, willing to step in and save lives. Even throughout her hectic day, she takes the time to care and step in...and saved a life because of it! You go, girl!

Meanwhile, back in the office, Heathrow was holding down the fort...after all, someone has to do all that paperwork!

TTFN

Just in Time for Weekend Entertaining!

Heather has finally had some time to share a couple of quick appetizer recipe's with us, and while she was able to squeeze in a few minutes to jot them down, she has been so busy showing houses that she hasn't had time to make these scrumptious creations for me. With that being said, I decided to give them a try and see if I could live up to her reputation and deliver some yummy-tasting treats as well as grab some pictures to share. So, I gathered all the ingredients and ran to the kitchen to get started.

Caprese on a Stick: Mini mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes (cherry tomatoes are fine too) fresh basil. Get a wooden skewer, put a mozzarella ball on, then a tomato, then a small piece of basil followed by another mozzarella ball, another tomato, another basil, etc.... Enjoy!

I LOVE tomatoes, so I used both grape tomatoes and sundried tomatoes. The sundried tomatoes provided a lot more flavor than the grape tomatoes, so I’ll skip the grape ones next time. There were no mini mozzarella balls to be found, so I used the medium sized ones, sliced into about ¼ inch and then cut in half. Some fresh basil and skewers, and viola, “CAPRESE ON A STICK” a'la Heather! Oh yeah, I lightly brushed the skewers with a little basil vinaigrette dressing for a bit of added zip.

Prosciutto & Melon: Prosciutto slices (Italian ham, more fatty and less salty than American ham, but this works with thinly sliced “traditional” ham as well)
Diced or balled melon – i.e.” cantaloupe or honeydew. Get a wooden skewer, start to “thread” the prosciutto on the stick, then a piece of fruit overlay the prosciutto, another piece of fruit, and finish with the prosciutto…Enjoy!

On to the Prosciutto and Melon skewers. I used sliced prosciutto (very thin) and diced cantaloupe and honeydew (for variety). The slices weren’t really long enough to “thread” as Heather had indicated in the recipe, so I took small slices and wrapped them around each diced piece of melon and put them on the skewer, alternating the cantaloupe and honeydew.






Hope you enjoy these recipes from Heather, and I hope I’ve done her justice. Thanks for sharing, Heather, and we're looking forward to more of your yummy recipes!


TTFN

Meet Heather!

I'd like to introduce you to Heather! She's a third generation Realtor® located in West Broward County who not only has a passion for helping you find that perfect home, but absolutely LOVES to hang out in the kitchen creating awesome meals for family and friends.

Heather stays very, very busy. If she's not running around showing and listing properties, she can be found at the local supermarket picking up a "few things" for dinner. She is very fond of spicy foods and she loves to blend the perfect spices for that very special and "unique" flavor. Kinda the same thing she does when helping you find that perfect home. Heather takes the time to get to know you and your desired list of "ingredients". She blends it all together to create the perfect recipe for the perfect home.

Heather is also "mommy" to three adorable kitty's, Heathrow, Teal'C and D'Argo who continue to provide lots of love and lots of humor and lots of comfort to her busy life. They are, one might say, a little on the "spoiled" side, being that they drink their water from crystal and have been known to "assist" in the office work, by either keeping feet warm or helping type as the next listing is being entered. They are also quite good at nudging their little heads under fingers in order to get a little scratch behind the ears...after all, they come FIRST!

Hope you come back often, you never know what story will be shared next...it could be an awesome recipe, a funny story 'bout the kittys or the awesome house that just listed and/or sold. We could even share one of the many wild and crazy happenings of Heather's wild and crazy days!

Which reminds me 'bout the time Heather had to make a quick "pit-stop" and wound up saving some lady's life.......hmmmmm.....we'll save that story for another post!



TTFN