Like Cats & Dogs!

When you're ready to sell your Piqua real estate, your agent will inform you how to successfully price, present and market your property. However, some "family members" may be left out of the loop, completely unaware of the process and feeling the predictable anxiety. No, it's not your kids but your pets.

Unfortunately, there is no way to communicate to your pets what to expect during a showing, and sometimes barking, jumping, hissing or scratching can be a real turn-off to otherwise enthusiastic and qualified buyers.

We know that our animal companions are creatures of habit, and strangers visiting your home can be very stressful. How do you successfully show your home and protect your pets at the same time?

The ideal solution, especially early in the listing when you can expect multiple showings, is to make sure your pet is out of the home during showings. There is doggie/kitty daycare, or have a trusted friend or family member baby-sit your pet at their home. This can involve effort and cost, but it's ultimately safer and less stressful for your pet, while insuring your home is shown under the best circumstances. This is especially important when you have a pet that will try to bolt out the door when the agent and buyers open your front door. If this is just not possible, consider a large comfortable crate in a room with a television or radio.

Finally, keep pets, bedding, furniture and carpeting extra clean. Also, keep on top of the litter box odor and activity. Take a few steps and plan to make buyers and pets more comfortable during showings. It will pay off with your pet's happiness and safety and enable the buyers to take their time and really consider all the wonderful benefits your home has to offer them.

Editorial: Popping Bubbles

The "real estate bubble" is still a hot topic these days, and many homeowners looking to sell are concerned. Look back about a decade, and you'll see it's like deja vu all over again! In the 1990s, home prices dropped by as much as a third in major markets from coast to coast-the result of an inflation adjustment.

Sellers, buyers and agents all managed to survive, and eventually the real estate industry experienced amazing growth, which again may need adjustment. It's helpful to realize that real estate is like the stock market, meaning it's best to ride out the bumps on an otherwise smooth and profitable journey.

Home prices adjusting downward cause alarm for sellers, but just try to look at it in another way: What can be painful for sellers can be a great benefit to buyers, especially first-time buyers or families who would otherwise be unable to afford the purchase. Ultimately, this is good for the economy and for the Piqua real estate marketplace.

It's a natural law: What goes up must come down. What's bad for one party may be good for the other. Most people selling their home will also need to buy another, so a loss experienced on one side of the transaction will turn into a big gain on the other. The ultimate message is: Don't panic. In a little while, it will change again.

No Camels in Piqua Real Estate!

Have you ever served on a committee? How they work is interesting. Place any ten decisive leaders into a committee structure, and quite often no decision can be reached at all. Hence the phrase, "a camel is a horse created by a committee."

What do committees have to do with buying a home? Plenty. Say a young family decides to buy a home. The husband and wife work well together and can easily reach a joint decision. They decide, however, to include their relatives, or possibly a few friends in their home search, even though they will not occupy the home.

The committee has been formed. Each member approaches the various homes from a different perspective - forming personal value judgments - and expressing them. Soon - there is no hope of reaching a consensus and the entire home purchase scenario is "tabled" for lack of a decision. The committee has performed according to expectation!

What went wrong? The two decision-makers who are ultimately responsible ceded their authority to others who have no vested interest in the final outcome. The purchasers are left with confusion, indecision, and no new home.

Many times a young couple will spend several weeks touring homes. They will eliminate the ones in poor condition and ones that just don't fit their needs. Then when they finally decide on the home, they bring friends or relatives to the final visit. These friends and relatives have not seen all the other properties and decide the young couple doesn't have the wisdom to make the decision. Many of these friends and relatives have not been active in the current real estate market, so they may not be the experts they believe they are. So, the young couple continues to rent and continues to put money in their landlord's pocket. They lose out on tax deductions and miss an opportunity to start building equity. Usually, the young couple does have the wisdom and has used good judgment to select the home. They have seen everything else in their price range and chosen the property that is in the best condition and best priced.

When buying your next home, include in your search only those who will occupy or help finance the home. Invite your friends and relatives to visit after you take possession of your new home. Trust your own judgment and the guidance of your real estate professional. Avoid the indecision and confusion of the committee.

This is the editorial from the Kathy Henne Team.