6 Tips for an Easy Move with Kids

Hope Gibbs thought her move from Clifton, Va. to Arlington, Va.—a mere 45 minutes away—would be easy. And it was for daughter Anna, 14, who found new friends on Facebook even before she moved. But Gibbs’ 10-year-old son Dylan found it more difficult.

“You’d have thought we moved to Mars,” says Gibbs. “He still wants to go home despite having made tons of friends.”

Moving is one of the most stressful events in life—even more so for kids. But you can help ease the transition. Here are some tips:

1. Involve children in planning. Help them find local Web sites so they can learn about schools, sports and events in their new city. The goal is to increase familiarity and build excitement for the new area.
2. Communicate. Take time to speak with children about the move--and particularly about their fears or concerns.
3. If possible, allow children to pick their own bedrooms. This makes it fun and exciting. Let them help decorate as well.
4. Keep a few prized possessions out of the boxes. Familiar items, such as a blanket or stuffed animal, bring comfort to skittish kids.
5. Encourage children to make new friends. Introduce them to children in the neighborhood. Invite a classmate over for a play date. Or throw a kiddie housewarming party!
6. Seek help from professionals. A knowledgeable CENTURY 21 Adams & Barnes real estate agent can help you learn the area, give you leads on local children’s activities and make the whole move go more smoothly.

We are San Gabriel Valley area experts and can point you in the right direction.

Do-It Yourself Improvements Help Sellers Maximize Sales Prices

Wondering what home improvements will benefit you the most when you sell your home? HomeGain.com, a Web site that provides home value estimates, recently released a list of the top 12 do-it-yourself home improvements that cost under $5,000 and benefit sellers the most when they go to sell their homes.

The list is based upon the responses of nearly 1,000 real estate agents nationwide. According to the HomeGain survey, the top five home improvements that agents recommend to sellers, based on cost and return on investment (from highest to lowest ROI), are:

1. Cleaning and de-cluttering ($200 cost/$1,700 price increase/872% ROI)
2. Home staging ($300 cost/$1,780 price increase/586% ROI)
3. Lightening and brightening ($230 cost/$1,300 price increase/572% ROI)
4. Landscaping ($320 cost /$1,500 price increase/473% ROI)
5. Repairing plumbing ($385 cost/$1,250 price increase/327% ROI)

Cleaning and de-cluttering always rank near the top of suggested home improvements for sellers. In fact, 99 percent of real estate agents recommend that their clients do so, HomeGain says. And it’s easy to see why—for a cost of about $200, cleaning and de-cluttering add an average of $1,700 to a home’s sale price, an 872% return on investment.
"Many Realtors agree, especially in a buyer's market, that sellers who make these recommended home improvements often get their homes sold faster and at higher prices," says Louis Cammarosano, a general manager at HomeGain.

Rounding out the top 12 of the list of projects: Updating electrical; replacing or shampooing carpets; painting interior walls; repairing damaged floors; updating the kitchen; painting the exterior; and updating bathrooms.

For more information about low cost do-it-yourself improvements that will help your home sell faster, call our CENTURY 21 Adams & Barnes office today at 626.358.1858 or 626.963.7621.

Changes, Challenges and New Year Resolutions

After much anticipation the new year has arrived and with it the promise of a recovering housing market and a stabilizing economy.

Though there will be many challenges faced in the months to come, our team at CENTURY 21 Adams & Barnes is beginning the year with a positive outlook and the energy to implement plans developed and announced during the latter part of 2009.

For the communities we serve this means a new focus on providing constant snapshots of the different markets (REOs, Shortsales) todays consumer faces, lending practices that affect the bottom line and relevant stats/data that may help you make important real estate decisions.

Our Facebook and Blogging pages are a quick and easy reference which are constantly updated with the topic of the week/day/hour....minute.

Our site has been redesigned to give you better access to the information that is important to you and give you more outlets to reach out to our team with your insights and questions.

In addition, in the weeks to come our team will be announcing a key move that will give us more access to past, present and future clients in the eastern San Gabriel Valley.

In all, we are thrilled to embark and take advantage of the promises laid out by the new year. Our team is ready to continue to provide the same levels of customer care that has made us a staple in the community.

Now we encourage you to reach out to our team with your questions, challenges and plans. Happy New Year...we are here to help!

We got the holiday spirit!

Every company has its traditions and at CENTURY 21 Adams and Barnes we look forward to our yearly Holiday Breakfast and Gift Exchange.

With dozens of our agents on-hand and a pleasant break in the weather, the team got together in downtown Monrovia for the anticipated festivities.As always, our very own Mr. and Mrs. (Tom and Sally Adams) were on hand to emcee the morning and coordinate the gift exchange.

The morning was full of laughs as usual as our agents browsed through the secret bags, made some colorful choices and "stole" prized items from one another.

Some big announcements were shared with the team that sets the company poised to take advantage on an increasingly healthier real estate market in the year to come.

Altogether it was another wonderful get-together and it reminded everyone the importance of friendship, good company, laughter and a little revelry. To see all the photos of this year's events we invite you to join the CENTURY 21 Facebook fan page. And also, from our team to yours, Happy Holiday season.

Should You Use a Real Estate Agent for Your Home Sale?

For most people, a house is the largest investment they’ll ever make. Yet when it comes time to sell that investment, some opt to do so on their own, without the help of a real estate professional. These do-it-yourselfers are known as FSBOs—short for “for sale by owner.”

It may be tempting to go it alone. But many FSBOs end up listing their home with a real estate agent anyway. That’s because an agent offers many advantages, such as:

• Local market knowledge. An agent knows what other houses are available and will price your house right. She will perform a comparative market analysis to determine its fair market value and will list at a price that will draw buyer interest without compromising value.
• Negotiating skill. Your real estate agent will negotiate on your behalf when you receive an offer—from price to date of possession to any necessary repairs.
• Exposure. FSBOs tend to market a house with signs, newspaper ads and online listings. Yet, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2009 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 42% of FSBOs sell to someone they already know. What happens if you don’t know someone looking for a house? That’s where an agent has a huge advantage. An agent has access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that lists homes for sale. An MLS listing is seen by other real estate agents—around the world—therefore bringing a tremendous number of buying opportunities to the table.
• Prequalifying buyers. Why open your home to anyone who sees your sign? Your agent will prequalify potential buyers to make sure they are really interested in purchasing and are financially able to do so. That means you don’t have to allow strangers into your home who aren’t qualified or serious.

For more information about selling your home, or for a complimentary comparative market analysis, call our CENTURY 21 Adams & Barnes offices today at 626.358.1858 (Monrovia) or 626.963.7621 (Glendora)