Finding that perfect first home is often a stressful, but rewarding experience.  Consider these first-time home buyer tips when looking for a new home in Mobile AL:

• Be ready to tour homes with your realtor.  Put on comfortable shoes and bring a camera and something to take notes with.  Don’t expect to see 20 or more homes per day, but be ready to tour 5 – 7 and take good notes on each so you can refer back to them without getting confused.
• Look at the home’s surroundings.  Is it near a park or a business?  Are there noises such as trains or airplanes that could be a daily factor?  Take note of unusual features inside and out, such as colors or design elements that may or may not be to your tastes.
• You’ll likely remember a few homes that really stood out to you.  Ask to see these homes again before you make a decision to buy.  Looking at a home for the second time will give you a different perspective than the first run through and allow you to notice things you may have overlooked before.

For more tips on what to expect as a first-time home buyer, visit homebuying.about.com.

And for more on buying or selling real estate in Mobile AL, contact Barbara Reeves today.

Selling your home will involve ‘showing’ your home to potential buyers, and many home sellers do not know where to start to get their home ready.  Give home buyers a good experience by keeping these tips in mind when showing your Mobile AL home:

• Allow agents to show your home to buyers without being present or try to stay out of the way of viewing if you need to be there.  Many home buyers feel uncomfortable about viewing the home or asking questions of the realtor when the owner is present; remember you hired a realtor to help sell your house and they are the ones to deal mainly with the buyer to do just that.  If you cannot leave during the viewing, at least stay out of the way (e.g. stay in one room) and only add information when appropriate.
• Use lighting to your advantage.  Get ready for a showing by turning on all lights indoors and out.  A well-lit home will be viewed as cheerful and inviting.
• Pets should be out of the way and safe during a showing.  You will not want your pets getting in the way of the tour or getting scared and running away, so you will need to contain them in the most appropriate way.  Sometimes keeping them in the backyard, with you at a park, or at a trusted friend’s home during the showing is best.
• Regularly tidy up your home.  When you are in the process of selling your home and it can be shown to buyers on any particular day, be sure to keep things neat and tidy each day in anticipation.  Doing the huge task of cleaning everything just before a buyer comes will be exhausting and stressful; that’s why keeping things dusted, vacuumed, swept, and picked up on a regular basis will make the task easier to manage.  Also remember to take out all trash, even if it isn’t full.

For more tips on selling your Mobile AL home, visit realestateabc.com.

And for more on buying or selling homes in Gulf Coast AL, including Mobile, West Mobile, Fairhope, Spanish Fort, and Daphne AL, contact local realtor Barbara Reeves today.

Mobile Mystery Dinner performances are always a popular entertainment choice year round in Mobile AL, so mark your calendars for the next dinner that is scheduled for April 7^th.  This unique pairing of both dinner and performance is held at the Mobile Carnival Museum and advance reservations are required as these events fill up quickly.  The price per person is $59.00 and this includes a tour of the museum, unlimited wine bar for the duration of the evening, a delightful catered meal, and a 2 ½ hour hilarious play by the MMD Players that is sure to be enjoyed.  The April 7^th Murder Mystery will be themed “Murder on the casting couch” with a story line that follows an imaginary 1927 Hollywood.  Doors will be open at 6:30 p.m. and the event begins at 7:00 p.m.; the Murder Mystery and dinner will be for approximately 3 hours and dress is casual.

For more on the next Mobile Mystery Dinner at mobilemysterydinners.com.

And for more on buying or selling real estate in Mobile or West Mobile Alabama, contact local realtor Barbara Reeves today.

Having a professional real estate agent on your side is essential in helping you understand everything you need to know to sell your home.  Take a look at just a few of the services a realtor can offer that will aid in the process of selling your Gulf Coast AL home:

Market Data.  A good realtor has market data that can be view upon request about what types of homes have sold recently, how much they have sold for, and what the average listing prices are.  This data can help you price your home appropriately to sell in the current real estate market.

Advertising.  Your local real estate agent will be able to come up with a marketing plan to put your home in the best possible light and appeal to a buyer.  Advertising can include disbursing information via MLS, open houses, newspapers, and the internet.  Realtors have the quickest access to these outlets for advertising and can get your property out there in no time.

Negotiation and closing.  An experienced real estate agent will be able to negotiate for you throughout the process of appraisals, inspections, financing, and closing to make the experience less stressful.  A realtor will be able to understand what paperwork must be done and have experience dealing with unexpected issues that may arise.

For more reasons on why you should have a realtor on your side when selling your Gulf Coast AL home, visit realtor.com.

And for more information on buying or selling real estate in Gulf Coast AL, including Mobile, West Mobile, Daphne, Fairhope, and Spanish Fort Alabama, contact local experience Realtor Barbara Reeves today.

Selling your Mobile AL home takes some preparation as well as having the right realtor on your side.  Here are some tips on how you can prepare your home for sale in Gulf Coast Alabama:

Organize closets and cabinets for a neat appearance at first glance.  Potential buyers love to look into cabinets and storage areas; so do not just de-clutter your home by stuffing it in a closet or you will risk giving the wrong impression to buyers.  Neatly placing items in cabinets and closets will give buyers the impression that you take pride in the home you are selling and have taken good care of it.

Clear out personalized items.  When staging your home for a potential buyer it is often easier for the buyer to imagine their items in the home if you do not have personal items and family photos everywhere.  A few pictures are fine, but they should be tasteful and well-placed so as not to be a distraction.

Consider renting a storage unit to store extra items and furniture.  Presenting a home is not only easier with less furniture, but it will better showcase the space of a room and the room’s purpose as potential buyers walk through.

It’s worth it to fix small visual or functional features in your home to improve the overall beauty.  Just look around and you will likely see a few projects that you have put off that should be addressed before staging the home for sale.  For example, replace burned out light bulbs, worn bedding, leaky faucets, holes in walls, or cracked tiles.

For more tips on preparing to sell your home in Mobile AL click here.

And for more information on buying or selling real estate in Gulf Coast AL including Mobile, West Mobile, Fairhope, and Daphne, contact your local realtor Barbara Reeves today.

Want to stay informed on the latest real estate listings for Gulf Coast Alabama?  Receive real estate listings via email for Mobile, Daphne and Gulf Coast AL by signing up at barbarareevesrealtor.com.  Simply fill in your name, email and phone number and any other information you would like to add about your real estate interests and receive daily emails about new listings.  Also check the boxes corresponding to your categories of interest including investment properties, relocating, and selling a home for more customized service.  So sign up today and stay in ‘the loop’ for new listings in the Mobile, Daphne, and Gulf Coast Alabama area.

Need a realtor?  Please keep local Gulf Coast AL Realtor, Barbara Reeves, in mind when buying or selling property in Mobile, Daphne, Spanish Fort, or Fairhope AL.

The New Year is a great time to think about making resolutions, and those concerning your home are no exception.  So if you are looking for some goals to set this year for your Mobile AL home, consider these ‘resolutions’ for 2012:

• Cut down on energy use.  Check the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems and see if there is anything that needs to be replaced, repaired, or used less.  Replace old appliances with those that have good Energy Star ratings or simply replace your light bulbs with energy efficient ones.
• Budget for needed improvements throughout the year.  If you create a yearly budget you’ll be better prepared to avoid overspending and look to what improvements are classified in the ‘priority’ category, such as new roofing or appliances.
• Organize and De-clutter your home.  Your home can instantly look newer and more livable by just organizing a few well-used rooms.  Take a look at what’s on the floors or stowed in closets and how it can be better managed to look aesthetically pleasing and be easily accessed.  You may have to sort things in piles for those items that can be donated and those that need to be trashed.

So make some plans for improving your Mobile AL home this year and check out houselogic.com for more great ideas for ‘home resolutions’.

And for more information on buying or selling property in Mobile AL, contact Barbara Reeves today.

It might seem counterintuitive to think about your home’s resale value when you are about to buy it, but studies indicate that this might be the best time to consider it.  Most first time homebuyers today stay in that first home for only about 5 years and the home’s resale value will become relevant in that time.  Here are some factors to think about when looking at a Mobile AL home’s resale value:

Noise.  Even if you do not consider noise an issue, someone buying your home in a few years might; it is best to consider traffic, aircraft, or emergency siren sounds and their general frequency or proximity before deciding to buy.

Zoning is an important present and future factor when considering the resale value of a home.  Get to know what types of properties are allowed near your home, including commercial and residential laws, that might cause undesirable circumstances when selling your home in the future.

Traffic.  Besides traffic being a noise issue, it is also a safety and privacy issue.  Many potential buyers of your home will want a low traffic area so that their pets and children will be safer.

Home size and configuration of rooms, especially the number of bathrooms, can play an important role in a homebuyer’s decision.  With the exception of condos, it is generally wiser to buy a three or more bedroom home with at least 1.5 baths to ensure resale to a larger audience.

For more information on factors to consider in the resale value of a home, visit Mortgage News Daily online.

And for more on buying or selling real estate in Mobile AL, contact Barbara Reeves today.

The Gulf Coast’s serene beauty is highlighted in a new exhibit for the Mobile Museum of Art this month.  Running now until January 8th, visitors can view an exhibit entitled “Celebrating Our Maritime Heritage: A Coastal Holiday.”  This art display features local artists who have represented the Gulf Coast with their own unique mediums including oil and acrylic painting and photography.  One artist, Penny Lewis, a long time Mobile AL native, who enjoys the natural wildlife of the area represented this love in a brilliant painting called “Odd Man Out” which depicts local pelicans; her painting won 1st prize.  Another artist, William Morris, who won best in show, submitted a stunning piece called “Dusk on the Delta” using acrylics to show the port city at its finest.

The Mobile Museum of Art in Langan Park is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sundays from 1-5 pm with admission for adults set at $10 and $6 for students.

For more on this or other community activities in Mobile AL, visit al.com.

And for more information on buying or selling real estate in Mobile, West Mobile, Daphne, Spanish Fort, or Fairhope AL, contact local realtor Barbara Reeves today.

If you are putting up that fabulous display of holiday lights inside or outside your home in Mobile AL this year, check out some of these safety tips to keep your holidays free of accidents:

• Inspect each light strand.  Dispose of all the lights that are in any way damaged and the electrical cords that are frayed.  You might find you need to replace them completely so they do not lead to fire hazards.
• Do not use lights meant for outdoors inside.  These lights will be too hot for interior use.  LED lights are ideal for inside as they do not overheat and are energy efficient.
• Replace bulbs that have burned-out.  The empty socket can cause an entire string to overheat, so replace dead bulbs quickly.
• Pay attention to manufacturer instructions for connecting multiple strings of lights.  Generally speaking, limit this to three strings.  Stack plugs rather that plug them in end to end.
• Take exterior lights down within 3 months.  If you leave your holiday lights on, they are more likely to suffer damage from animals that might chew on the wire or due to weather conditions commonly associated with this time of the year.

For more Mobile AL homeowner holiday lights safety tips, visit houselogic.com. 

And for more information on buying or selling real estate in Mobile AL, contact your local realtor Barbara Reeves today.