Marjorie and Doug's Blog: November 2007

• While many people are taking their home off the market, because they believe that there are no home buyers out there, they are just making the odds of selling your home better.

• Your home will never look better, or smell better.  With all the Christmas trimmings your home will invoke pleasant memories of happy times for potential buyers.

• People looking during this season are serious.  Most people are very busy during this time and will not waste time looking at home unless they are serious.  So while you may have fewer showings they will likely be more serious buyers.

• Many corporate relocations are starting new jobs in January as the new budget year begins.  These buyers will be looking in November and December, and there will be fewer homes to choose from, making the odds of selling your home better.

If you are serious about selling you keep your home on the market until it sells.  You never know when the right buyer for your home will come along.  Before I was a realtor I was looking at homes personally.  As our realtor drove past our current home I told him I would love a home that looked like that one.  As he was an area specialist he knew that the home had been on the market for three years, but that they had taken it off of the market for a rest.  He called the listing realtor and we had a look, despite the fact that it was decorated with deep maroon, walls and ceilings we could see the potential.  We bought it and did the renovations.  What if they had missed us as a buyer how long would it have been on and off of the market before someone else could see through the deep, dark colors to find an absolutely beautiful home. 

There is no insurance policy against divorce, but it is a time of trial and adjustment, and often a time when a couple has to sell the family home. 

As realtors we can take steps to help make the process of selling the home go smoother.  When a couple is divorcing we can assume that the lines of communication are not as good as they could be.  For this reason I make sure that they both have equal access to all information regarding their transaction.  Thankfully technology is making this easier than ever.  I am using a product called Settlement Room for my clients.  Through this program they can log onto their transaction file on line.  The listing contract, MLS sheet, title, marketing material, link on MLS.ca, on line brochure and places where their listing appears, where it is being advertised, pdf copies of ads, a copy of their home brochure and any other relevant material.  All tasks and due dates are also noted on settlement room. When I have a request for information from one, I reply with an email to both parties through Settlement room.  All correspondence is visible to them when they log in.  When there is a showing they are both emailed a notification regarding the showing and both have access to feed back on the showing.

This week I even got a call from the husband (who is not living in the home) thanking me for our work and for keeping him informed.  I really appreciated that he noticed. 

The market right now is very challenging but they know that their agent is doing all that can be done so that they can get on with the rest of their lives. 

In the words of Mother Teresa "We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love."

This is my way of helping clients through a difficult change.

View more Chestermere homes for sale and learn about living in Chestermere Lake at (http://www.chestermererealestate.com/)