Posts made by author 'Jay Mattlin'

Your listing photos play a huge role in drawing potential buyers to your home—and, ultimately, getting your home sold.

But if you want your listing photos to attract buyers, they need to frame your home in the right light—and that might mean saying goodbye to some of your home decor prior to snapping your photos.

So what, exactly, needs to go?

A recent article from Apartment Therapy outlined advice from real estate photographers on things you'll want to stash away before you take your listing photos, including:

• Tall vases. Tall vases can make a statement in a room—but because they're so large, they can make too much of a statement in a photo. If you want to display f...

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When you sell your home, you want it to sell quickly and profitably. And if selling quickly and profitably is the goal, now is definitely a great time to sell.

According to data from the National Association of REALTORS®, in April 2021, a whopping 88 percent of homes in the United States were on the market for less than a month. On average, homes stayed on the market for just 17 days—down from 27 days in April 2020. And not only are homes selling incredibly fast—they're also selling for incredibly high prices. In April 2021, the median existing-home price in the US hit $341,600. That's a 19.1 percent increase from April 2020—and the highest median home price on record.

The Takeaway:

So, what does this mean for you? Homes are selling fast...

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The COVID-19 pandemic kept many people home for the majority of 2020. And while things are definitely looking up, many are still spending more time at home in 2021, which is driving an uptick in home renovations—including landscaping.

So, the question is—what are the trends homeowners are embracing to spruce up their outdoor space?

A recent video from realtor.com outlined the most popular landscaping trends of 2021, including:

• Vegetable gardens. The pandemic saw many people start their own vegetable gardens, both as a way to stay busy and a way to avoid any unnecessary trips to the supermarket. With spring planting season around the corner, vegetable gardening is, once again, poised to be one of the yea...

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This story isn't new, but it's epic. Although its origin and authenticity can't be verified, its message shouldn't be ignored. So that you don't miss it, here are the three main takeaways:

1. Men: Don't cheat on your wives.
2. Women: Don't get mad; get even.
3. Everybody: If you're buying or selling a home, and it mysteriously smells like dead fish, you'll now know the likely source of the stench.

After 37 years of marriage, Jake dumped his wife Edith for his young secretary.

His new girlfriend demanded they live in Jake and Edith's multi-million dollar home. Since Jake had better lawyers, he prevailed. He gave Edith, his now ex-wife, just 3 days to move out.

She spent the 1st day packing her belongings into boxes and crates.

On the 2nd day, she had two movers come and collect her things.

On the 3rd day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft backgr...

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You know that old phone prank…

Someone calls and says, "Is your refrigerator running?"

The person on the other end then says, "Yes. Why?"

And then the caller says something like, "You better catch it before it gets too far away!!"

The joke worked because, for the most part, everyone has a fridge, and it is probably working.

And that is when you should have a home warranty in place… when your fridge is working, not once it is broken.

Do you have a list of worries?

There's a lot of things you probably notice, but ignore around your house. Until it is too late, and becomes a much bigger problem.

It's not broken…but maybe you notice that your fridge is making a different sound lately.

Your garage door isn't working quite right. It goes half way down and gets stuck.

The bathroom faucet is dripping.

You notice a little leak in your bedroom ceiling.

Little worries like these are super co...

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