Putting Your Hollywood Park Home on the Market this Spring? What Can You do NOW to Get it Ready?

Are you thinking of putting your Hollywood Park home on the market this Spring?  If so, what can you be doing NOW to get it ready? 

Our homes, for the most part, are reaching middle age, and many could use a bit of updating to appeal to today's buyers.  On HGTV's website, Frontdoor.com, Dona DeZube lists four updates for home sellers on a budget that are very on target!  They are:

Interior Paint - Paint Your Way to Profits
Painting your home before it goes on the market is one of the cheapest ways to get top dollar when you sell.  Inside the home, use soft muted colors like pale green or beige (no pastels, please!)  Add white baseboards and trim for additional style.

Flooring - Find a Higher Price Underfoot
If you've got hardwood under old carpet, as many of our older Hollywood Park homes do, rip up the carpet and refinish the floors.  Best advice is to hire a pro to sand, and then do your own staining and sealing to save money.  Got no hardwoods?  Buy a good grade pad and a mid-priced carpet.

Front Appearance - Tweak the Front Yard
Buyers form an opinion about the home before they even get inside.  So, trim the shrubs, especially those that have grown too tall and cover windows, cut the grass, paint the front door, and consider installing new door knobs, and house numbers.

Light Fixtures - Follow the Light
Update old fixtures.  Brass fixtures and florescent lights are dated.  Recessed lighting can be added in many of our one story homes to make them lighter and brighter. 

Looking for Something Fun to Do in San Antonio for Valentine's Day?

Are you looking for something fun to do in San Antonio for Valentine's Day?  There's an excellent article on the KSAT website with ideas for "20 Dates For Under $20" for Valentine's Day.  Most are possible in or near Hollywood Park, weather permitting, on Sunday, Feb. 14th.  My favorites from the list include:

1. Visit the Botanical Garden.
2. Spend the day window shopping, and end it with a stop for ice cream. (The Rim?  La Cantera?)
3. Get a map and explore, looking at possible dream homes.  Pack a lunch and stop to eat when you run across a park.
4. Visit San Antonio's historical centers.  You probably haven't seen them all in San Antonio!
5. Visit the San Antonio Zoo, especially if you haven't been there in a while.

Be creative!  A good walk through the Park could be a good alternative on a pretty day!  Happy Valentine's Day.

10 Must -Have Features in New Homes

In the Styled Staged and Sold website, Melissa Dittmann Tracey writes that a survey was done on home buyer preferences and found the following hot home features that reign supreme in today's market:

1. Large kitchens with an island.


2. Energy-efficient appliances and high-efficiency insulation and windows. (These were the most sought-after “green” features from buyers.)

3. Home office or study

4. Main-floor master suite

5. Outdoor living room

6. Ceiling fans

7. Master suite soaker tubs and oversize showers with seating areas

8. Stone and brick exteriors

9. Community landscaping with walking paths and playgrounds.

10. Two-car garages

Now, we in Hollywood Park, for the most part, live in homes that are not new.  So why do we care about what buyers seek in a new home?  Because, someday we are going to want to sell our Hollywood Park homes and those same features will help us compete with the newer homes at that time.  So if you're thinking of spending money to update or remodel, wouldn't it make sense to incorporate some of these desired trends?

We actually compare pretty well with our stone & brick exteriors, our two car garages, and master suites being on the first floor (since the majority of our homes are one story!).  But where we often fall short is not having updated our windows and appliances, nor enlarged our often small kitchens.  Sure, those are the "big-ticket" items, but they are often the difference in a buyer's decision to purchase or not to purchase. 

We don't want to invest the money to enlarge or update, but neither do the buyers, unless they can buy cheap.  The homes that have had the updates sell higher and usually faster than those that have not updated.  And if you don't wait until you're ready to sell to do the work, you will actually enjoy those updates yourselves!