Right Price For Your Ottawa Home - Id, Ego and Superego

Freud aside, the right price for your home is not what your emotional investment is in the house.  Yes, you love the house and put a high value on all the very personal time and attention you put into the house and yard, how this reflects on you as a person and what status the house gives you in the community, but….

Your ego investment in the house may far outstrip the market value.  Some examples where ego gets in the way of setting a market price may be:

1.  The rocks that you hauled in from the lake and set up as a rock garden - your rocks, your cottage.  For the buyer - just a rock garden - no emotional attachment. 

2.  The baby’s room with special murals, lettering on the wall, and the baby’s name on the door.  The graphic zebra in this picture is adorable and great work but, for the buyer with no children - a removal hassle - negative value.

3.  The colour purple on the walls that matches the sofa that you are taking with you and all the coats of paint it took to get the right shade.  For the buyer - several coats of primer and white to erase your purple - negative value.

4.  The pigeon coupe that you built and that housed your much-loved award winning homing pigeons.  For the buyer - the cost and yuk factor to remove the coupe.

Your realtor can tell you what is getting in the way of setting a realistic value for your home.  It is a tough message to deliver and a much tougher message to hear.

Set your ego aside when you set the asking price.

Photo Credit:Room by Color:  graphic Zebra @  http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielleblue/199705090/in/set-72157594198881145/

Zingers #24 - What’s Your Plan?

If the city is under 3 feet of snow, how can a buyer know what your yard looks like?  Draw a plan of the yard with the location and names (not Judy and Sally but Juniper and Sumac) of the trees and location of perennials.  In summer, take some photos of your yard in case you sell in the winter.  

Leave (every pun intended) the plan for buyers to see.

Ottawa ~ November 11 ~ Lest We Forget

Open House @ 8071 Gerben Street in Metcalfe, Ottawa

I have a listing at 8071 Gerben Street in Metcalfe.  The MLS # 711631.  The house is priced at  $329,000.

Gerben is a short curved street that runs off Johannes Street.  In travelling back and forth to Metcalfe this fall, I can say that the time to downtown is approximately half and hour.  Like any commute, if the weather worsens or there is construction on Bank Street or accidents, the time will increase.  Metcalfe is on well and septic so the property for homes is at minimum large enough to drill the well and put in the septic system. 

The owners of this home have enjoyed  1) the open concept living-eating-kitchen area.  No one is left out if they are in the kitchen cooking.  2) none of the neighbours have built fences so there is large expanse of property from the back of the home 3) having three bedrooms on the main floor and the fourth on the lower level. 

I will be at the Open House from 2-4 on Sunday, November 9.  Come see the home and ask me about properties in this and other neighbourhoods.

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa, Ontario ~ T 613-723-5300 ~ E. vzinger@royallepage.ca

House Showing What Not To Do..

You are out with your real estate agent looking at homes.  There is a wonderful house with wall to wall carpet and you want hardwood.  Are you tempted to pull back the carpet in the corner just to take a peak?   

DO NOT DO THIS. 

This is not your house.  You are damaging private property.  If you really need to know, have your agent ask the listing agent if there is hardwood.  Certainly if the house is less than 10 or 15 years old - when hardwood became popular again - if there is hardwood, it would show.  If it is Granny’s house and very old, maybe yes, maybe no.  In all cases, leave the carpet where you saw it.

Now for a little lesson.  In some homes, the owner or builder put hardwood only up to a square or rectangle space in the room which was then carpeted.  You look at the floor.  You assume there is hardwood under the carpet and when you move in and start to remove the carpet - Voila - plywood.  Buyer Beware.  If you find carpet in the middle of the room that does not move, ask if there is hardwood beneath. 

Finding out about flooring should not be beneath you. 

Photo credit:  hardwood under carpet @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/view/510764000/

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa, Canada ~ P. 613-723-5300 ~ E. vzinger@royallepage.ca

Zingers #23 - Just fence me in.

Unlike the Lone Ranger, free to roam with Silver across everyone’s property, your city yard is improved with a good fence.  It will keep the dog in the yard and your kids out of the neighbours’ yards.  Make sure your fence is in good shape before putting your house on the market. 

Good fences make good neighbours and a good sale.

Sometimes it is not about real estate (4)

  

What is a zebra?

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26 sizes larger than an “A” bra.

Photo credit:  Zebra @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mape_s/333863114/

Buying at the Right Price - Principle of Change

No matter the offering price that the home owner has chosen, the right price for you (the buyer) is what you are prepared to pay and the owner is prepared to accept.  How do you get to that price?  There are several principle of value that consciously or sub-consciously play in arriving at the price. Here is one of the Principles.

The Principle of Change says that a value today is valid only for today.  There are social and economic forces in constant change that impact the real estate market.  All we have to do is look at the current economic situation to know that an economic downturn is changing the value of houses.

 

The right price for a home is the price today.  It is not a legitimate comment to say that you could have paid more (or less) for the house today based on what happens to the economy tomorrow.  Who has the crystal ball?  Today’s price IS today’s value for a specific house.

Photo credit:  price reduced @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetruthabout/2680694601/

Valerie Zinger ~ Ottawa, Canada ~ T. 613-723-5300 ~ E.  vzinger@royallepage.ca

Zingers #22 - Is this a lemon?

When selling your house put out a big bowl of lemons or a big bowl of apples. Fruit lasts longer than flowers but still gives an organic impact.  After the sale… 

If your sale has handed you a big bowl of lemons, make lemonade.

Sometimes it is not about real estate (3)

 What do you get from a pampered cow?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiled MIlk

Photo credit:  Highland Cow (or “Bad Hair Day”) @  http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxypar4/865111526/

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