Polk County Real Estate Podcast with Renee Butler

2016 brings a fresh start and some excitement! If you want to sell your home quickly this year, focus on pricing. If you overprice a home, it will sit on the market for a while without significant activity. Plus, you will need to make numerous price reductions to lower the price and find the right buyer.

Here at the Butler Team, we price homes competitively. We don’t overprice homes. We want people to get into your house for showings! We want to recruit the right buyers. Ultimately, we want to sell your home quickly for top dollar; that’s our goal.

Buyers, however, can help by adding curb appeal to their homes. Clean up and declutter on the inside as well. Small things can be done to bring in more traffic to your listing.

Additionally, we want to target millennial buyers. We direct most of our advertising online to this demographic. For instance, the first showing happens online through quality, top-notch photos included on the listing. Millennials are ready to make that first home purchase.

If you have any questions about pricing or other real estate topics, please reach out to me by phone or email! I’d be happy to help.

Simple tactics can add value to your home without spending money.You might find these tips helpful if you want to have a successful home sale this spring:

Spring cleaning! Make the exterior of your home look nice by adding some curb appeal. Spruce up your garden to help your home pop from the street!

Clean up the inside of the house. Declutter the entire house. Take out the trash and organize your belongings to make it more presentable.

Open the windows. Brighten up your rooms with natural light and bring in fresh air from outside!

These are quick and easy things you can do to ensure a successful home sale. If you have any questions about selling, feel free to call us today! We’re always happy to help.

A lot of clients ask me about the upsides of owning a home. For one, monthly mortgage payments are often far cheaper than monthly rental payments. Plus, when you rent, you're really just throwing your money away every month. If you owned a home those payments would be going towards paying back the home loan, which is a direct investment in your future.

When you own a home you can also live as you see fit. You can decorate your home the way you want, have as many pets as you want, and paint the rooms like you want. You do have to accept the responsibility of maintaining a home, but that's just part of being a homeowner.

Personally, I would always recommend buying over renting. This will depend on a few things, but buying a home is almost always the better option if you have the finances for it.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to hear from you!

While there is helpful information on Zillow, it's important to use it more as a gauge for home value. As a real estate professional, I look at Zillow to see what they're thinking.

However, I also look at other gauges, such as the tax roll or MLS systems. That way, I can see what the true values of comparable sales are. There are a lot of factors that go into determining the value of a home, and Zillow can't know all of them.

Zillow provides metrics from an algorithm system. You need a real estate expert to take neighborhoods into consideration as well.

Ultimately, Zillow is a great place to see new listings, but you need a real estate professional to help determine the value of your home. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be more than happy to help you!

Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog. I just wanted to speak with you for a minute about the summer real estate market. 

During the summer, many people choose to move cities and relocate to another. This happens for a variety of reasons, including job transfers or to be closer to family, but whatever your reason is, we can help.

Regardless of the city or area you are looking to relocate to, we can help you get started on your journey. We have access to loads of information for you, including the best schools and neighborhoods in the area. We can isolate your specific needs for your family to get you the best possible price on a new home.

The average median days on market for a home right now is 35 days, so homes are moving quickly. If you are looking to relocate or just sell your home so you can buy another, give us a call or send us an email. This is an ideal time to get involved in the market!

Brock Jennings, a listing partner here at The Butler Team, joins us today with a couple great reasons to have our team sell your home! 

These are only a few of the many reasons to sell with us. If you would like our assistance in real estate, or if you have questions of any kind, give us a call today. We look forward to speaking with you soon! 

Today, we discuss the number one thing buyers are looking for in a home. If you plan on selling in the near future, you don't want to miss this! 

There's really only one thing buyers are looking for: a clean house! No one wants to purchase a home that feels lived in or worn out. Clutter, dirt, and stains make a house feel like a chore rather than a new opportunity.

Cleaning is something that can be done inexpensively, and buyers will greatly appreciate it. Sweep off the back porch, vacuum, clean the walls, windows, and baseboards. You want the home to look like new, so buyers can focus on the positive aspects of your home!

If you have any questions about how you can get your home looking fantastic, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to hear from you! 

Recently, someone came to me and asked why their home wasn't selling. This is a question I hear quite frequently, so today I want to explain why you may be having trouble getting your home sold.

There are many factors that could be preventing your home from selling. Lack of curb appeal or bad location can both have a negative impact, but it usually comes down to price. Overpricing your home is a great way to doom the sale of your home from the start, so it's crucial you put a competitive price on it. There are a few other factors that may play a role in your home sale as well. For instance, the time of year may not benefit your home sale if you're selling in a time period where there's not much foot traffic. Also, if there is a certain mortgage value you need to get out of your sale, you may be holding out for a sale price that will get it.  

As long as you keep the price of your home relatively tight, the days on market should be relatively small and we should be able to sell the home pretty quickly. Other factors do play a role, but whether your home sells is typically dependent on how you price it!

If you would like more selling advice, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to hear from you!