Archived March 9, 2016

Come Play Bingo for a Cause!

habitat bingo

 

Looking for a fun event to do in March with the whole family? This month to give back, Erin Wright Homes is partnering with Habitat for Humanity for a fun night playing Bingo for a cause. Join us Friday, March 18, 2016 for a fun night of Bingo while helping support the Evergreen Habitat for Humanity. Games are $2 a piece and all prizes are valued at $25 or more! Complimentary snacks provided and beer and wine available for purchase. This event is family friendly, so bring your kids! Want to get even more involved? Join Erin Wright Homes for our Habitat Build April 2, 2016! We would love to see everyone there!

What: Bingo for Habitat for Humanity

When: Friday, March 18, 2016 from 6pm-8pm

Where: Clark County Habitat Store
10811 SE 2nd Ave.
Vancouver, WA

Please RSVP to Erin Wright by Wednesday, March 16, 2016 by e-mail at ErinWright@Windermere.com
or by phone by calling 360-356-1445

Hope to see you all there!

 

For more information on the Evergreen Habitat for Humanity, please visit their website at:

http://www.ehfh.org/

 

***Want to plan ahead for April’s Community Event? We will be doing a Habitat for Humanity Build with the Evergreen Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, April 2, 2016. We would love to see everyone there. This event is for people 18 years and older.***

Archived March 9, 2016

Successful Pet Food Drive February 2016

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Donations from February 2016 Pet Food Drive

Thank you to everyone who donated pet food during our Pet Food Drive for the Humane Society of Southwest Washington for the February Community Event with Erin Wright Homes. Clients, friends, family, and myself were able to almost fill the back of my SUV with donations for the Humane Society. Donations consisted of both wet and dry cat and dog food. All donations were delivered directly to the Humane Society in the middle of February. The pet food that was donated will help the Humane Society care for the over 8,000 animals they care for each year.

For more information on the Humane Society of Southwest Washington, please visit their website at:

https://southwesthumane.org/about/

Thank you again everyone!

Archived April 6, 2015

The Importance of Staging

By Erin Wright, Real Estate Agent with Windermere Real Estate

Image courtesy of WorldWideStock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sellers often ask me about staging, the benefits of staging, how in depth their staging needs to be, and if there are any small tips or tricks to the staging process. These are all valid questions, and ones Sellers should ask. When I go through my listing presentation, I spend a good deal of time on this very subject, to fully showcase the benefits of staging. I also bring a staging consultant to every one of my listings, so we can all go room by room and talk about the best way to showcase the homes features. Staging helps create the first impression, so it is a vital role in listing a home. When staging, there are a few key rules to follow: keep the style neutral, less is more and focus on light.

Neutral Style: Although some Buyers are able to look past a Seller's style, to create a positive first impression, it is best to make the home a blank canvas. This will allow Buyers to walk through the home and picture their own style and stuff throughout the home. A key piece of advice I give my clients is to go through their home and see what elements are more personal in nature or style. For example, the huge family portrait over your fireplace, not the best way to allow a Buyer to picture themselves in the home. The bright red accent wall in the family room will likely also keep a potential Buyer from picturing themselves in your home. When staging, it is best to depersonalize your home, remove most family pictures, and create a neutral tone and feel in all the rooms throughout the house. It is nice to have a pop of color around the house, so to achieve this consider a fruit bowl filled with colorful fruit in the kitchen, colorful pillows in the family room, and colorful towels in the bathroom. 

Less is More: In our day-to-day lives, I think we tend to like to surround ourselves with our belongings. A beautiful chair, decorative plates, and walls full of artwork. However, when staging a home, less really is more. The goal of staging is to make a space feel welcoming and attractive to as many potential Buyers as possible. Space and the size of rooms are two of the most important things Buyers look for in a house. Therefore, placing furniture and decor in a way that maximizes the space in a room is an essential part of staging. One of the key tricks to doing this is to keep the amount of furniture and decor minimal. Let the space showcase itself. So in a normal sized family room, a Seller may have a sectional, coffee table, two chairs and two side tables. Likely, if the Seller removed the two chairs and two side tables, the space would feel larger and more open. Consider what furniture and decor is essential in each room and place it intentionally. Then I recommend my clients rent a storage unit, use a shed, or use a garage and store the remainder of the furniture. This will allow the home to breath and feel more spacious. Also, this allows Buyers to more comfortably move throughout the home. A great rule of thumb is to keep all pathways and open spaces wide enough for 2-3 people to comfortably walk through them at the same time. Often times my Sellers end up liking the open feel better, and decorate their new home in the same manner as they staged their previous home.

Light is Key: Buyers often request homes with great light. This is because the natural lighting of a home can often create positive energy within a home. This is especially true in the Northwest where it rains for a large portion of the year. Therefore, it is important for Sellers to showcase the areas in the home with natural light. The best way to do this is to keep anything from blocking the light. If there are blinds, raise them. If there are curtains, open them. Allow the light to shine in through the house wherever possible. Another great way to create the feeling of a light and bright home is to keep the walls painted a lighter color and have the ceiling painted white. This will reflect the natural light throughout the home, making it feel lighter and brighter. Also, white ceilings give the illusion of taller ceilings, which is a great-added benefit. Another great idea is to allow there to be ample room in front of windows and exterior doors. Buyers love to go up to windows and look out of them to see the light and the view. 

For information on these and other staging tips, feel free to contact me at ErinWright@Windermere.com or (360) 356-1445.

 

 

 

Archived March 19, 2015

Things to Consider When Buying New Construction

Looking At New Construction? Here are a Few Things to Consider

By: Erin E. Wright, Real Estate Agent with Windermere Real Estate

 

More and more buyers are turning to New Construction for their home buying needs. This is a result of the changing aesthetic styles, low inventory, and increase in New Construction communities around Clark and Multnomah Counties. For a buyer who is frustrated at what they are seeing in the resale market, New Construction can be a great solution. There are a few things buyers should consider when looking at buying new construction.

 

1. Choosing a Builder – There are so many builders to choose from in the Clark County and Multnomah County Real Estate Markets, not to mention other markets around the country. First, it is important for buyers to know their budget. Once a price range is nailed down, there will be a group of builders in that price range for the buyer to choose from. Obviously, the aesthetic appeal of the builder is important. However, there are other important factors to consider when choosing a builder. How well does the builder work with the buyer? If the buyer wants to make small to large changes, how does the builder react? What type of warranty does the builder offer? Who will make the repairs under the warranty if issues do come up? How easy is the builder to work with? Can a meeting be arranged with a builder? Some of these questions are easily answered when a buyer goes to visit the builder or builder's representative; this is often done at a model home. However, all builders would have you believe that they are the best, so it is important for buyers to do their research. I often send my clients information on builders from the BBB, Consumer Reports reviews, and other research that can be found online. 

2. Working with a Realtor – One thing many clients do not realize, is that most builders have in house agents, or listing agents they hire to do their sales for them. This is the agent buyers normally meet at the model home. This agent is an agent of the builder. Their job is to sell homes for the builder. It is a good idea for a buyer to have their own Real Estate Agent to represent them in the transaction. Most builders will offer the Buyer's Agent a commission, so the buyer will not have to pay their commission. If a buyer has already decided to work with and chosen their Buyer's Agent, it is important for the buyer to mention that right away if they go in to visit a builder or model home without their agent. If a buyer does not mention it and ends up deciding to buy a new construction home, some builders will work with and still pay the Buyer's Agent. However, some builders will make it difficult for the Buyer's Agent to represent their client. This process is usually easier if there is a Buyer's Agency Agreement in place.

3. Negotiating a Deal – Builders do negotiate, however, it is not always apparent or easy to know how to negotiate with a builder. Most builders will get the price they are asking for a home, especially one that is not yet built. This is because the price a person pays for a home becomes public record. Therefore, if the builder sells one buyer a home for $5,000 less than the asking price, all other buyers will be able to find that information and use it as a negotiating strategy when buying their homes. Instead, builders tend to be much more willing to negotiate on finishes, upgrades, changes, and even closing costs for the buyers of their homes. Since these items do not become public record, a builder is much more willing to negotiate on them. To be able to effectively negotiate for upgraded finishes, changes, and closing costs, it is important to have a list of what is standard for the builder in the neighborhood a buyer is looking at. Once the buyer knows what is standard, then the buyer needs to decide what is on their dream list above and beyond what the builder already offers. It is usually a good idea to come up with several items with a total value of 1-3% of the purchase price. Buyers should include those items on their offer and expect to negotiate from there. More likely than not, the builder will not give the buyer everything they have asked for, but will agree to some of the items as part of the deal, thereby increasing the value of the buyer's home.

4. Picking & Paying for Finishes – Builders love to create beautiful model homes that showcase their ability to build a beautiful home. However, these model homes are usually filled with options and upgraded finishes that do not come standard with the home. When a buyer is out looking at a model home, it is always a good idea to ask the builder or builder's representative, what in the home is standard, what is an upgrade, and if the builder were to build this home on one of their available lots, what would they sell it for? It is also a good idea to ask if there is a price sheet available for all upgrades and options, so the buyer can see up front what each one will cost them. Now these are the items that can be negotiated on. However, it is important for a buyer to know what the finishes and options they like will cost them.

5. Inspection – Many buyers do not think it is necessary to have an inspection on New Construction. It is a new home, so everything must be in perfect condition and working order, right? It is rare for a home to undergo a professional inspection and not raise issues, this includes new construction. It is important to have an inspection once the home is completed to bring those issues to light. If the inspector does discover issues with the home, ask the builder to fix those items prior to closing (ideal) or within 30 days of closing (sometimes necessary based on timelines). It is important to put these expectations up front in the offer to buy the house, so the builder is contractually obligated to allow a buyer to have a professional inspection and fix the issues that arise at the inspection within a specific timeframe.

 

For additional information on buying new construction, or other real estate questions, feel free to contact me.

ErinWright@Windermere.com or (360) 356-1445

Your Local Realtor,

Erin E. Wright

Proudly Serving My Clients and My Community!