Joseph Pettinella's blog

Happy New Year From Our Families To Yours!

Getting Ready to Sell Your Home? Do This First

Do this one important thing that will help you create your pre-marketing checklist . . . put yourself in a buyer's shoes and walk through/evaluate every area of your home, inside and out.

Make a list of items that need to be repaired or replaced, and items that will make your home more appealing.

For example, start in the entryway and make a list:

  • How is the front door?  Could it use a coat of paint?  Does the doorbell work?  Does the lock work, and do you have keys?  
  • How about the flooring?  Does it need repaired, or can you apply a product to restore the finish?
  • Look at the walls and trim.  Do they need a good cleaning, or should you repaint.  Any dings in the walls, doors or trim belong on the MUST list.  
  • Cleaning out the front entry closet is also a MUST.  Store away all out-of-season items, and donate all of those old coats you haven't worn for a couple of years.

My Listing Expired . . . & My House Didn't Sell . . . Now What?

Did your listing expire without selling? If you're serious about selling, then you're probably pretty frustrated by now. It's time to take a fresh approach.

Let's take a look at the most common reasons a house doesn't sell within the initial listing period as well as actions you can take to affect the outcome. 

1. Perhaps your house didn't sell because It is not priced properly for the current market. Pricing your home at or near the actual market value is the best strategy for getting your home sold at the best price within the established time frame. The actual market value is determined by comparing your home to similar homes that are currently on the market (your competition), and similar homes that sold recently (usually within the past 6 months). Adjustments are made for condition, location, and features among the comparable sold homes. This is an oversimplification of the process of determining the market value and the best listing price, but these are the most important determining factors. For a more detailed look at how a professional prices your property, see our Pricing Your Property Right page.

Our Favorite Things About Living In Hyde Park, New York

Historic Hyde Park is probably best known for being the hometown of U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  It's a beautiful, scenic place situated on the Hudson River with a great sense of community and all the amenities anybody would want in a home town.  It's a great place to live and raise a family!

Happy Halloween!

Buyers Be Prepared For Some Pitfalls When The Seller Is Getting Divorced

Buying a home is exciting.  It can also be challenging.  Because buyers and sellers are human beings with all different personalities, likes and dislikes, and different goals and life situations, it can get interesting.

When a couple is going through a divorce and selling, the challenges can be even more difficult to overcome.

Here are some issues you may encounter, so should be prepared to handle, when buying a home from a couple going through a divorce.