Blog

Stop here for your *Shelter in Place* date night ideas:

Staying in for date night can be just as fun as going out! Tell me which one you’re trying first!

1. “Insert your last name” Coffeehouse – Light a candle, turn on some Jack Johnson radio, pour your mugs of coffee and sit down at the table together (sans TV). Pretend you’re out at a coffee shop and chat about things like favorite vacations you’ve been on, the first place you’re going for dinner as soon as this is over, and home features you want in your next house (that you’ve realized since being quarantined!
2. The “At Home” Drive In Experience – This one is perfect for those of you with kiddos (or not)! Pop some popcorn and grab some movie snacks, get your laptop and head for the car. Pull it into the driveway and watch a good, suspenseful movie on your laptop (of if you’re really fancy, maybe you have a projector to put it on the house). PS: Get comfy – don’t forget the blankets and pillows. This one feels most like you’re out on a date (and if you have kids, bring the monitor with you).
3. Game Night – Mix up your favorite cocktails – spicy margaritas, old fashioneds, French 75’s, whatever sounds good – and get out the games. Whether you play an old school round of Battleship or race each other in Mario Kart, a little competition is always fun!
4. His & Hers Double Feature Movie Night – Uncork a bottle of the good wine you’ve been saving for a special occasion (this IS a special occasion)! You pick a movie they’ve never seen, then they pick a movie you’ve never seen and watch them back to back! OR you can each pick your favorite movie of all time. Don’t forget to turn your couch into a SUPER couch! Get all the pillows and blankets and get SUPER comfy!
5. Cooking Class – Put on your aprons, get out your fanciest wine glasses and get cooking! Pick a favorite recipe to create, do a wine tasting with a few smaller dishes or try a brand new recipe you find on Pinterest.
6. Virtual Vacation – Plan your dream vacation. Where would you go? Look up hotels, restaurants, things to do and plan out the vacation as if you were going. Look at pictures and plan your itinerary! Maybe you can actually take the vacation once this is over!
7. Get Outside and Pack a Picnic (for the backyard) – Go on a nice, long hike and when you get back, lay out a blanket and have a picnic in the backyard. Pre-make some yummy sandwiches, your favorite chips, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert! Or make it fancy with a variety of cheeses, meats, grapes and champagne.
8. Netflix and Takeout – Okay, maybe this one isn’t that “creative” but it’s always fun! Order takeout from a local restaurant offering curbside pickup and binge watch a new Netflix show OR a classic like The Office.
9. Painting and Pizza – Time to spruce up a room in the house or ready for a change? Relive the day you moved in! Have pizza delivered, drink wine out of plastic cups and get to painting that accent wall in the Master bedroom or freshening up the laundry room that’s looking a little dreary. Blast your favorite Spotify playlist and talk about when you bought your house and reminisce about how excited you were to tackle home projects. What projects have you tackled? How long have you lived there? What memories have you made since moving in?
10. Go for a Drive – Pick a nice, sunny day to go for a drive. Pick up coffee from a local spot offering curbside takeout. Drive out to a scenic spot, explore a new city, or drive through a place that brings back memories! Pack a lunch to go, play some music and have fun!

Now tell me which one you’re doing first!

I see you out there – the For Sale sign is up in your front yard, people have come and gone to the Open House (or maybe the Open House had very little traffic which left you feeling defeated). You are seeing neighbors sell their homes after only a few weeks and wondering why you haven’t gotten that accepted offer yet. Here are a few reasons that your For Sale sign still says For Sale. Or maybe you want to avoid being the seller who needs to read this blog post when the time comes for you to sell and in that case, keep reading!

#1: Condition – If your home is in need of some TLC, it can lead to a lack of buyer interest. Many buyers these days want to be able to move right in and avoid taking on big projects, especially when it comes to maintenance. At a listing appointment it’s important for the agent to tour your home and make recommendations on things to consider repairing or replacing. You might want to consider making minor repairs such as chipped paint, torn window screens, worn out carpeting and an overgrown yard. Many times, simple fixes can make a big difference to the eyes of a buyer.

#2: Location –  You’ve heard it before and here it is again: Location! Location! Location! People want to be in specific school districts, neighborhoods, a certain distance from the city or maybe they want privacy. Many buyers put a BIG (yes I’m emphasizing the word big) priority on the location of their new home. If your home is in an undesirable location, it’s going to need some help! When you take things like square footage, upgrades and condition into consideration, your home may be worth $300,000 in a popular area. However, if the location is undesirable, you might have to adjust the price to reflect that.

#3: Marketing – When you put the location, the condition and the price into perspective and those are all great, it could be that your home isn’t being seen and needs more exposure to reach the right buyers. How is your home being marketed? A lot more goes into the marketing strategy of a new listing than sticking a sign in the yard and putting the home on MLS. How many internet views is your listing getting? Do you have professional photos that show your home in it’s best light? Is your home being marketed on social media to the area around where it’s located? The more exposure your home has, the more demand it can create so marketing is a key piece of the puzzle to evaluate if your home is still sitting for sale.

#4: Price – At the end of the day, the price is going to make or break whether or not your home sells. Ultimately the buyer and the market dictate the value of your home. The price you come up with based on the home features, size, location and upgrades could be slightly off from where you think it should be. The price of a home is not set in stone because “it’s the amount you want” or because “it’s reflecting how much money you’ve put into the house.” The value of your house is going to be determined by what a buyer is willing to pay for it. It’s important to have a plan in place as soon as you sign the listing contract so that you can evaluate the activity and adjust the price if needed. In most cases, if your home has been on the market for a few weeks and you haven’t had any showings, it’s a good indication that your home is priced too high. If you’ve had several showings but no offers, then you could just be slightly overpriced. Again, this depends on the status of your market and is ultimately determined by the buyer and what the market is doing. Make sure to keep these things in mind when you’re ready to list your home.

If you’re thinking of selling and want to avoid ending up in this situation, I’d love to get together and walk you through the process in detail.

Click the following link to request a copy of my Home Seller Bootcamp: Getting Your House Market Ready.

Kim Fowlkes, Realtor
(434) 250-1851
kimfowlkes@comcast.net

After helping many first time home buyers successfully buy their dream home, I noticed something that I want to share with as many future first time home buyers as possible! What I noticed was that several of these buyers weren’t aware that they had the ability to use a buyer’s agent to represent them in one of the biggest purchases they will ever make!

I want to put this out there to help educate as many people as possible that you can and should have an agent who works for you when you are ready to buy a home because let’s be honest, buying a home involves a lot more steps than most people realize! So what does a buyer’s agent do? In a nutshell, they help you, the buyers; navigate the entire home buying process one step at a time. But let’s dive in and break this down! Make sure you read until the end because there is great news waiting for you there!

First things first, a buyer’s agent will start by meeting with you to go over the entire home buying process to get you fully equipped so you know exactly what to expect. They will help you identify your needs and wants in a home including your top priorities as well as your deal breakers. They will then set up a custom home search that will find listings that match your wants and needs only so that you don’t have to filter through hundreds of listings that don’t even fit what you’re looking for.

When you start looking at houses, you’ll notice that they will be listed by a real estate agent. What is great about a buyer’s agent that works for you is they work in your best interest, not the sellers. In addition to helping you find a house that meets your needs, they will also help you understand your options when it comes to writing an offer, advise you on the market, help you determine what price to offer the sellers and most importantly, negotiate on your behalf. If you find yourself in a multiple offer situation, they have strategies to help make your offer stand out while matching the seller’s priorities. Once you have an accepted offer, they maintain strong communication with both you and the listing agent so you will always be kept in the loop and never left wondering what’s next!

A buyer’s agent will remove as much doubt as possible. They will provide you with all the tools necessary to make an informed decision before you take on the investment of owning a home. Think of them as your go-to resource throughout the entire transaction. Not only will they educate you through each step, they will refer you to their trusted vendors. From lenders to home inspectors, title companies, and contractors, there can be so many moving parts in a transaction that you’ll be thankful to have the help of trusted professionals and save time trying to research them on your own. All of this will help you have peace of mind throughout the home buying process and prevent you from falling into the buyer’s remorse trap!

It’s time to fill you in on the best part about hiring a buyer’s agent. Here it is.. it costs you absolutely nothing! You might be thinking this all sounds great and I would love to have someone work on my behalf but how much is someone like this going to cost? Having a buyer’s agent won’t cost you anything because the sellers are responsible for paying the buyer agent’s commission. So if you’re already searching for homes online, googling questions you have about the process and you’re ready to dive in, what are you waiting for? It’s time to find yourself a buyer’s agent who will work for you and walk you through all of this – literally, one house at a time!

Look for a buyer’s agent who you feel is a good fit for helping you through the process of buying a home. When you’re interviewing different agents, you’ll want to make sure you choose someone who not only seems knowledgeable but someone who will be available, willing to educate you, able to communicate the way that you want and most of all, someone you feel comfortable working with!

Kim Fowlkes, Realtor
(434) 250-1851
kimfowlkes@comcast.net

You’re not just buying a house, you’re buying a lifestyle! That means when you’re writing out your list of must have home features and deal breakers, you need to think beyond the “house data” and figure out which features to focus on that will give you the lifestyle you want to live! As a buyer, you might say you’re looking for a 3 bedroom home with a finished basement on at least an acre and with an updated kitchen. An example of what you really might be looking for is a place to raise your growing family, a kitchen that overlooks the private backyard where you can watch your kids play catch while you make dinner, and extra space in the basement for games, toys and movie night! That’s just an example but I think you get the idea. So the lifestyle you are going to have in your new home is something you want to consider when determining which home features are best for your needs.

Number one – LOCATION MATTERS FOR YOUR LIFESTYLE! You hear it all the time in the real estate world – it’s all about the location, location, location, location… and it really is true! Because while you can change paint colors, counter tops and put on that massive deck you’ve always dreamed of, you can’t move your house to a new spot (not without a lot of money anyways).

Think of things like what your work commute will be like, how far of a drive you’re willing to have each day, the features you want in your community, and the school district you want to be in if that is important to you. Do you want to be in walking distance to the downtown? Do you want to be set further back from the road for privacy? What about the size of the city you live in? Do you want the feel of a small town lifestyle or are you happier in a busier city? The location of your home will be something that isn’t going to change so figure out what is essential to you when it comes to the location of your home and the lifestyle it will create!

Now let’s talk about the home features that fit your lifestyle. When you think of home features it’s easy to automatically jump to your running list of criteria such as the size of the garage, how many bedrooms you want, that must have updated kitchen and all of the “house data” like I mentioned. However, you are ultimately buying a lifestyle, not just a house. So I have some things for you to consider when it comes to the type of lifestyle you are ultimately looking for when you make a move! Write down these questions and really think about what your answers are:

1. Where do you spend most of your time at home? If you love to cook and spend most of your time in the kitchen, you’ll want to prioritize the layout of the kitchen when looking for a home. You can always add in upgraded quartz countertops or that dreamy double oven but the size, layout and location of the kitchen should be a top concern if you don’t want to do any major renovations.
2. What is something you wish you had in your current home?
3. What is something you don’t want any longer in your current home? Is your yard a lot to maintain and you want something smaller with a lot less maintenance? Maybe it’s the opposite and your current yard is just too small for the lifestyle you have making one of your top priorities having a bigger yard with privacy.
4. Which room in your house do you spend the most time in?
5. How much space do you need to live comfortably and be able to enjoy the things you love the most?

Are you hoping to have enough bathrooms to avoid chaotic mornings?

These questions will help you determine which features could be the most important to focus on when the time comes to look for a new home. Maybe features like hardwood floors aren’t as necessary as having a layout that is perfect for entertaining and hosting holiday parties. You can always swap out flooring later but the layout will be a little harder to change!

Think about how much time you want to put into your house. Do home flipping shows on HGTV resemble your homeownership goals? Many buyers are intent on finding a house they can remodel exactly the way they want which is awesome! However, they often don’t realize how much work, time and money it can take. HGTV can make remodeling and flipping houses look a lot easier than it is in reality. Consider how much time you have to spend on home projects before getting yourself into something that is over your head and potentially over your budget which leads us to…

Your lifestyle budget. Lastly, make sure to budget for your lifestyle, not just your house. It’s important to consider how much you can afford comfortably, not just what you can afford on paper.  Many buyers are pre-approved for a significantly higher amount than what they are actually comfortable spending on a monthly basis. Think about other expenses you have when it comes to your lifestyle – what else is important to you? Do you love to travel or go out to nice dinners on a regular basis? Do you love attending as many games of your favorite football team as possible? What hobbies do you have that cost money every month?  Make sure the amount you spend on your house doesn’t eat up all of your extra funds so you’re glued to the house and can’t have any fun doing the things you love!

There you have it, the top lifestyle considerations for buying a home! Location, home features that fit your lifestyle, how much work you’re willing to do and remember to budget for your lifestyle! If you’re considering buying a new home in the near future and you want to chat more about the type of lifestyle you’re looking for, comment below or send me a direct message so we can set up a time to grab coffee!