Baton Rouge Real Estate Podcast with Darren James Darren James

 Staging your home is essential for selling quickly and for a great price. Here are our top five staging tips. Click here to perform a full home search Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  You may also call me at (225) 335-7666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. Many people who place their homes on the market fail to stage the home properly to have it represented in its best light during showings. Here are five easy and quick ideas for staging your home fast and inexpensively: 1. Declutter your home. Most buyers want to envision themselves living in the home with their belongings in there. Remove any items from the countertops, any open boxes, and any large collections. Remove those items and maximize your space to its fullest. 2. Add throw pillows to the couches. Throw pillows serve both an aesthetic and functional purpose. Adding them to sofas, armchairs, and beds is a great idea. They can do wonders for giving your home a staged presence. 3. New bedding. Changing the bedspread and pillows in your bedrooms gives a feeling of freshness and coziness when buyers view your home. It’s very inexpensive, but very effective in the eyes of a buyer. “ Changing the bedspread and pillows gives a feeling of freshness to homebuyers ” 4. Plant some colorful flowers. Landscaping inside and out is an easy addition to any home. Potted plants can add color to an area and are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, with a vast array and contrast of colors. 5. Add accent lighting. Focus light on a particular area or object to highlight art or other decor. The brighter the light from the accent lamp, the more interest a room garners from potential buyers. It can also enhance the appearance of the space itself. I hope these tips are helpful to you. If you have any other questions or want to know how else you should be preparing your home for the market, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

While I’m out here at one of our Baton Rouge listings, I want to discuss why the process of home inspections is so important. Click here to perform a full home search Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  You may also call me at (225) 335-7666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. In today’s episode of “Makin’ It Happen, With Darren James,” I’m coming to you from one of our listings here in Baton Rouge to meet with a plumber—he will address some of the items that one should expect to come up on an inspection report when it comes time to sell a home. One of the first steps that comes after a house goes under contract is the buyer’s home inspection. My team is actually representing the seller in this transaction, but since the buyer decided to move forward with an inspection, we’ll address the topic today. What does an inspection actually entail for today’s buyer? During the inspection process, the inspector checks on what we in real estate call the “Three S’s”: 1. Structural issues—They look for problems with the foundation, cracked concrete, etc. 2. Systems—Here, they look for problems with your HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. 3. Safety—Inspectors will watch for any potential or imminent issues relating to fire hazards, carbon monoxide, gas leaks, electrical problems, pests, wood rot, and water damage. “ Inspections are an important aspect of the home buying process. ” Inspections are an important aspect of the home buying and selling process. Though it’s a completely optional process on the buyer’s part, it is highly recommended, so most sellers should expect one. If you have any questions about inspections or are looking to sell a home, please feel free to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.

  Click here to perform a full home searchClick here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation You may also call me at (225) 335-7666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. A recurring debate in our market revolves around the question of whether it is better to own a home or to continue renting. Though renting has its own perks, overall, it’s far better to own a home in this market. Today I’ll share with you three reasons why that is.

What should you do when multiple buyers show interest in your home, but none of them actually make an offer? Today I’d like to tell you about a strategy my team and I have used many times over. Click here to perform a full home search Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  You may also call me at (225) 335-7666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. Imagine this: Your home is on the market and several people are coming by to view it, with some buyers dropping by multiple times. If so many people are interested, why is no one submitting an offer? It’s difficult to pinpoint a reason, but if buyers aren’t making a move, there is something you can do to get things started: make a reverse offer. This is essentially when you, the seller, make an offer to the buyer instead of waiting for them to submit one on their own. Doing this will set negotiations into motion. Our team has helped many clients achieve success using this method. To hear my full message about this, watch this short video.

What is the key to pricing your home correctly in today’s market? Let’s go over some key points all sellers need to know. Click here to perform a full home search Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  You may also call me at (225) 335-7666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. Do you know the true importance of proper pricing in today’s market? Today I would like to highlight this critical aspect of the real estate process. I was recently working with a buyer whose listing we had just had pre-appraised. The appraiser came back with a range of values, which left my client wondering how we should price their home. As a general rule, my advice to sellers is to place your home’s price as close to market value as possible. There are some areas of our market where demand allows sellers to price above this point, but this is not always the case. Proper pricing requires you to consider all factors of a given market. Being aware of statistics such as the absorption rate for your ZIP code will be key. “ When listing, be as competitive as possible in your approach to the market. ” There is a big difference between being in the market and being on the market. Anyone can place a property on the market for whatever price they want, but that does not mean it will sell. Homes are only worth what buyers are willing to pay, and properties sell based on four factors: location, price, condition, and proper positioning. Overpricing is the No.1 reason a home may fail to sell. So when listing, be as competitive as possible in your approach to the market. If you have any other questions, would like more information, or are interested in putting your home on the market, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, the most important thing you can do in any transaction is to get pre-approved. Click here to perform a full home search Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  You may also call me at (225) 335-7666 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. What’s the No. 1 thing you must do in any real estate transaction, whether you’re a buyer or a seller? Make sure you can buy another home. By this, I mean that you should get pre-approved. If you’re buying a home, your first step should always be to get pre-approved. But what if you’re also selling the current home you live in? Interest rates may have changed since you bought that home and possibly affected your buying power. You don’t want to put that home on the market only to find out that you’re unable to buy another home because you didn’t get pre-approved for financing first. “ Always get pre-approved first before moving forward in the real estate process. ” Not getting pre-approved before moving forward with their real estate transaction is a big mistake that, unfortunately, a lot of people make, so make sure you don’t do the same thing. If you have any other questions or real estate needs I can assist you with, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.