Posts made by author 'Jay Mattlin'

As a new agent, I have been given the opportunity to do open houses for other agents in my office. Twice now, I have held an open house at a home on Forest Rose Avenue in Lancaster for my friend, Jackie.

I love this house. It's so out of place where it sits but then again, it isn't. If you have ever taken a look at the architecture in Lancaster, you will see that it changes sometimes by block or even from house to house, depending on who built it and in which part of which decade.

The small details in this home are what make it unique. From the white and burgundy tiled floor in the half bath to the almost flawless woodwork – my favorite are the leaded glass windows in the front entry way and the...

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An open house sounds pretty simple doesn't it? There are a lot of things to think of though before you open your home up to potential buyers!

Open Houses are potentially one of the best marketing devices we are Real Estate Agents have in our arsenal. It gives prospective buyers the opportunity to come in, look around, ask questions, and not feel pressured. It also open up the possibility of having people come in and look at your home who may not be working with a Real Estate Agent and therefore would not have ever called and scheduled a showing to see your home.

To make sure each and every open house brings the most potential buyers, try and follow these simple steps.

1. Stay away from strong odors. You may think I'm just referring to things like taking out the trash, not cooking fish the night before or Febrezing the pet smells on your furniture but I'm also referring to those smelly good smells too.Some smells are great for you and you really like the...

Click Here to Read More...

An open house sounds pretty simple doesn't it? There are a lot of things to think of though before you open your home up to potential buyers!

Open Houses are potentially one of the best marketing devices we are Real Estate Agents have in our arsenal. It gives prospective buyers the opportunity to come in, look around, ask questions, and not feel pressured. It also open up the possibility of having people come in and look at your home who may not be working with a Real Estate Agent and therefore would not have ever called and scheduled a showing to see your home.

To make sure each and every open house brings the most potential buyers, try and follow these simple steps.

1. Stay away from strong odors. You may think I'm just referring to things like taking out the trash, not cooking fish the night before or Febrezing the pet smells on your furniture but I'm also referring to those smelly good smells too.Some smells are great for you and you real...

Click Here to Read More...

Growing up, the building on the corner of Cherry Street and Angle Street in Lancaster, there has literally always been a restaurant there. The first one I remember is Snead's and then Bib's and then nothing. It was strange to see this building sitting empty since I can always remember something with delicious food being in there.

One time, upon driving passed the Snead's building, I noticed activity going on in the building. The rumor was that the owners of Billy Crickets, which had closed earlier, were opening a new restaurant in the 100 year old building. Thus the Cherry Street Pub was born.

The first time we visited Cherry Street Pub, we were greeted by a very enthusiastic hostess who set the tone for the entire restaurant. Seriously, have you ever gone to a restaurant and the host is just thrilled to welcome you in? And I don't mean actually thrilled, I'm being facetious – Cherry Street Pub was the complete opposite. Because of how she greeted us,...

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Since starting real estate classes, I've been asked several times why I want to be a Realtor. In several classes, we have been asked for the instructor to go around the room, say our names and why we want to be in real estate. My answer is usually the same as the others – money – but only because the real reasons are too long to state in a class of 50 other people. 

My real answer is two part – hobby and personal need. 

At 19, I dated someone who was a Realtor and I was always fascinated by their line of work. They were always out meeting new people and helping them to find the exact home they were looking for. In our time together, we did a lot of DIY on our house and even looked into flipping homes. It was at this point that I considered first getting my license. The response from another real estate professional though was that I was far too young to be a Realtor. Unfortunately, that was enough to make me reconsider and go to school for someth...

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