Auburn, ME

This February there are a lot of Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta Maine properties for sale, but if this is the month you’re seriously entering the hunt, all that matters is how to find the best one! If you are a first time buyer, where to begin may seem a bit daunting, but you can relax. In reality, there are no “wrong” ways to search for a new home – but there are a few great places you can start.

Internet

Statistics shows that at least 94% of buyers make use of the Internet when they search for properties for sale. This is the most convenient source of information for most Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta Maine buyers. A great website provides them with the most up-to-date listing information, price alerts, and market statistics. Real estate agencies and most individual agents have their own websites with ample photos, listing particulars, area information, etc.

The Lewiston Sun Journal, The Kennebec Journal (KJ) or The Real Esate Book

This may seem a bit out of date but good ‘ole fashioned print ads can be a source for rentals. A better source for homes for sale in Central Maine, particularly Lewiston, Auburn, and Augusta, is The Real Estate Book. You will find many of properties for sale in the book, which you may pick up at your local stores including Hannaford. Most of these ads have beautiful color photos meant to draw you in – so let them! (Then re-check the listing online.) If nothing else, viewing the ads can help you get a snapshot view of the current Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta Maine market. Be mindful this isn’t a complete database by any means, but it gives you something to do when you’re sitting in a waiting room!

Real Estate Agents/Offices

I may be a bit biased here, but this last tip is the most sure-fire of all: finding the right agent. Establishing a relationship with a well-networked real estate agent will make your search for Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta Maine homes for sale easier, smoother, and vastly more productive. A well-informed agent is your singular best asset during the home hunt. He or she can explain and answer all your questions about the properties for sale you see online or in magazine, can give you the inside scoop on the neighborhood, the “comparables” (homes sold), the potential resale or long term value. The right agent will have seen hundreds of homes in Lewiston, Auburn, Augusta and surrounding towns. Putting that experience and market insight to work for you couldn’t be easier: I’m right here and I can save you thousands of dollars with my negotiating skills and years of experience! You can reach me at 207-689-9880!

Homeowners Helping Sell a home

It’s winter – the days short, the weather frigid - and unless you are someone who is trying to sell a second home at Sunday River Ski Resort or Sugarloaf Mountain, chances are you understand this is a challenging time of year to sell your house.

Fear not: with the right agent, strategic pricing, and the right marketing approach, you homeowners still do have several things you can do to help sell a home no matter what the time of year.

Show Your Bills

If you have made energy-efficient improvements to your home -- like added insulation, double pane windows, a new energy efficient furnace, etc.-- this is the time to brag about it. Collect data on the average heating bill in Lewiston-Auburn for similar sized homes and compare it yours and display to potential buyers. Energy efficiency is a big selling feature with oil pricing as high as they are. Significant savings year after year can help sell a Lewiston-Auburn home this time of year.

Crank the Heat While we’re on the topic of heat, nothing makes a potential winter buyer warm up quicker than – you guessed it - a warm, inviting home! Comfortable homes also feel well cared-for and lived-in: that’s something buyers will not find in discounted foreclosed or REO homes they may also be viewing. Few things send a buyer out the door quicker this time of year than a chilly house, so even if you're conservative, crank up the heat before your scheduled showing. Makes sure that is part of your routine as well as turning on all the lights before you leave the house.

Shovel, Shovel, Shovel Few chores are as labor-intensive as shoveling snow, but if you want to sell a home in the winter, make sure your driveway is well plowed and walkways shoveled well. Do you want buyers slipping and sliding into your driveway? Even if you never use your front door, you enter through the garage, make sure every entrance is clear of snow and ice. You do not want a buyer thinking “Oh, that’s so much work, they don’t even bother”. A buyer may not fixate on whether or not the front steps were clear, but they will remember if they had to push through snowdrifts to get there. Or worse yet, they pass on going inside altogether! I’ve seen this. The competition amongst homes is too strong so get in the right mindset and burn off those extra holiday calories. Keep your entrances clear and you will help keep similar nagging thoughts off buyers’ minds. You want to keep their concentration back where it belongs – falling in love with their future house!

While the season may be beyond your control, the right approach to sell a home can make all the difference. If you are intending to sell a home this season or even down the road, do give me a call anytime. I’ve got a game plan for the Lewiston-Auburn market this winter or anytime -- and together we can make it happen!

If you are a Lewiston Auburn Maine property owner who is seriously considering whether to sell your house, you know there are many practical details that bear careful consideration. One of the first is the decision regarding whether or not -- and if so, to what extent - refurbishing or upgrading the property will be a sound financial strategy.

The first and most obvious advantage of making home improvements before you sell your house is that it will be more marketable in a highly competive market! You can be sure that it will become more attractive to potential Lewiston Auburn Maine buyers. A house that clearly signals the need for after-purchase repairs can be expected to below market offers, which may be exaggerated (or even wildly exaggerated due to ‘fear of the unknown’). On the other hand, a well cared-for home in move-in condition can be your biggest weapon in countering any Lewiston Auburn Maine Short Sales and foreclosure properties that might weigh in the opposite direction. Setting your home apart from the crowd can be a shortcut to a quicker sale. It’s still “A price war and beauty contest” at the same time and a challenging balancing act!

The ultimate advantage to making improvements before listing a Lewiston Auburn Maine home for sale is the lure of earning a higher price. A renovated house just feels like new to potential buyers. Fresh renovations justify a higher value to any property -- much more so than had you left those questionable white shag carpets in the family room!

On the other hand, a disadvantage to consider is the fact that making substantial home improvements before you sell your house could result in a measurable time delay. Home improvements that were expected to take weeks but actually require months to complete can result in a delayed listing date. It’s important to consult a Lewiston Auburn real estate professional to explore whether the market is appreciating or declining to understant the impact time has on your strategy as well as whether or not your improvements will add more value than cost in the sales price.

The greatest unknown in considering the advantages and disadvantage of doing home renovations before you sell your house is the impossibility of precisely predicting the bottom line resale value of the improvements. You may recall stories from others about the profits they made after a quick remodel or a “flip”. It doesn’t happen all the time or even most of the time.

The good news is that careful consultation with a qualified agent before you start a renovation campaign can reap concrete results. As experienced Lewiston Auburn agents, The Tanya Busch Team knows what repairs and improvements will make you money or cost you money. If you have been considering a renovation before you sell your house in the Central Maine market, please don’t hesitate to contact me to schedule a no-obligation consultation.

Even Cowgirls Get The Property Blues … or Not

Back in the ‘90s, Tom Robbins’ imaginative novel was repurposed into a forgettable movie – but the ‘Cowgirls’ theme was revived a few years ago in articles about the glum side of skyrocketing property value appraisals: excessive tax bills whose rise was the source of much gloom and doom.

At least today’s property owners don’t need to complain about rising property values – but they can (and do) worry about the slide in appraised value. Since no one who owns real estate in central Maine bought it so that they could lose sleep over it, how do you (and the cowgirls) make the best of the residential deep six?

The first thing you can do is to take a reality-based look at whether the property value situation has any actual impact on your personal finances at all. Those of us who have no plans to move for several years fall into the worry-free category. If you don’t plan on taking out a new mortgage, refinancing, selling or using your property as collateral for any other purpose, then a fall in property values is an abstraction as far as your future is concerned. In this situation: the cure for the blues? Settle down with a good book; go out to the movies; or go for a nice walk before we’re buried in slow! And cut down on reading the financial columns and listening to the news station that sell drama.

But what if you are planning on selling or refinancing? What if a house down the street has just sold low through foreclosure or a short sale? What if your property value this December is 15% less than it was a year ago? What then?

There are a number of ways to handle the situation, led by a first, common sense mental adjustment, which is to remember and appreciate the fact that all markets always fall, rise, fall, and rise again. In other words, our current Central Maine property values are part of a normal and predictable cycle, the same one other generations have been through in the past. After all, it’s gloomiest at the bottom of any property market cycle. And it’s only after a market turn is underway that its rise seems as if it ought to have been perfectly predictable to everyone (because even cowgirls have 20-20 hindsight!).

After stepping back enough to recognize the bigger picture and appropriate attitude adjustment, the next step is to dive into taking maximum advantage of the situation this winter.

Positive steps include using this time to make improvements that will ultimately increase your property’s value and/or save you cash! While the weather is cool, tackle those interior projects you’ve been putting off to be outside. Give the interior a fresh coat of paint, the ceilings too! Consider updating hardware in the bathroom and kitchen as well as lighting fixtures. These are reasonably priced and can make a big impact and really update the look of your home. These are things that can set your home apart from the competition when buyers are looking at the listing photos and comparing your house to the countless others on the market.

This might be a good time to consider some do-it-yourself weatherization. Button up your home and consider having a Home Energy Audit performed afterwards. You will benefit from the savings over the winter months and potential buyers will appreciate the added value of an energy-efficient home.

So in case you’ve been brooding over how your property isn’t worth what it used to be, forget about it!

Even cowgirls get over the blues!

The office parking lot started to fill today as our agents filed in for a meeting and celebration. Balloons, new faces, and a flurry of activity greeted us all as we rushed to make it in for the 11am meeting on 11-11-11.

We were told to be sure to be there "on time" and not on "Realtor time."

The purpose for the guests, the balloons, the food, and gathering? Today, our office (formerly Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine) officially joined the Maine Real Estate Network.

There was a lot of murmuring going on before the meeting, and it grew quiet as it all started. However, a few minutes into the presentation I could see the faces of my colleagues easing and the initial apprehension starting to give way to thoughts of the opportunities possible with this change. By the end of the meeting, the office was filled with a sense of excitement I haven't seen there in a while.

I am thrilled to now be a part of the Maine Real Estate Network, the largest independent real estate agency in Maine! Things truly are a bit different here in Maine...and we like it that way. Working with an organization that is Maine owned and Maine operated has re-energized our group. So many of us feel like we have come home as a group.

We have a bit to do in order to make the transition, but I have been personally blown away by the level of support we are receiving. So much has been taken care of for us.

These are exciting times here on Center Street in Auburn! Stop by and see us!