IMPORTANT! Improving your Fairfield County, CT home that was built prior to 1978

If your home was built prior to 1978, there is a good possibility that there are lead based substances in your home. When you sell your home, you are required to disclose any lead based hazards that you are aware of, and the buyer needs to acknowledge that disclosure. But what if you're not selling right now? Why would you care about that?

What a lot of homeowners don't know is that the EPA passed a regulation in 2008 that became  effective in April of 2010. If you want somef urther details, See the EPA  website for details. 

There is a lead renoavtion pamphlet available as well. You can read the brochure here  (Requires adobe  .pdf reader)  It is very important that you make sure your contractor is Lead-safe certified through the EPA.  THIS IS A FEDERAL LAW AND NOT OPTIONAL for your contractor. It is a requirement!

There are a few reasons why you should be very cautious when remodeling, or even painting your home that was built prior to 1978.

When it comes time to sell your home, standard legal language that is incorporated into the sales contract includes the subject of home improvements, and whether permits were taken out on the work performed at the house. Some attorneys are already requiring that any work completed after 4/22/2010 was performed by a Certfied Lead Safe Contractor, if it falls within the regulation guidelines. A basic rule of thumb for the regulation guideline is that if more than 6 square feet of lead based material is removed or disturbed, that  a Certified Lead Based Contractor must perform the work, and that contractor has to submit paperwork  to that effect. So there will be a paper trail on your renovation. Let me put this into perspective for you. Six square feet!  That's about the size of an average window in your home. This  regulation applies to painters, too. I am not an attorney, nor a specialist in EPA regulations, and I cannot advise you legally. I can, and will suggest to you  to look into this regulation as it pertains to you, and contact an attorney if you have questions.




What should you do with your pet during a home showing?

When an agent is showing your home to prospective buyers, you want all conditions to be as favorable and friendly as possible. We all love our pets, but we all know people who are not animal lovers. Suppose your prospective buyer is afraid of dogs?  Trust me, they will be way too nervous to look at your home and think about buying it, when all they can think of is ,"I hope that dog doesn't bite me".

People can get very nervous around cats, too. I've had dogs, and I've had cats, too. No problem with me,  but I do remember one seller client that  I had a number of years ago, who had a pretty vicious cat. A very experienced agent who was only previewing the home, called me in utter panic from her cell phone, and told me that the cat had cornered her. She  shrieked on the phone for me to come save her. I still have a very solid visual of that event.  I walked into the house, and saw the agent literally shaking with fear while she was standing on a chair. I did  all I could not to laugh, and it really wasn't funny at all to her. She was truly scared. No matter how harmless you know  your pet is, please remember there is always someone who is petrified of that pet.  And, no..  that agent never stepped foot in that house again. She was a very good agent,, too. My client lost an opportunity with all of HER prospective buyers. So yes, some agents are afraid of animals, too. Don't risk losing a showing because of it.

Some people are so allergic to animals that they couldn't step in your house without bringing an epi-pen, Well, they won't be prospects for your home, but many people do have allergies to dander and will be uncomfortable minutes or hours after they see your home.  So, do two things religiously if you have a cat or dog in your home, and it's on the market. 1) Remove the pet from the house before showings- that could mean putting your pet downstairs in the cellar for a short time, outside on a leash, removing the pet altogether from the premises, or putting your pet in a crate. 2) If your pet sheds, make sure you vacuum more than usual, so as not to distract an allergic buyer.

How long does it take to actually close on a home?

If you have been trying to decide what to do, as far as buying a new home,or selling your existing one, here are some ways to see whether the timing is a good decision for you to start the process right now.

For example, if you would like to move around the end of June when the school year is done, and we leave just 60 days to negotiate a sale, we better get started right away! It takes 45 to 60 days to close, and  we need some time on the market to attract that buyer. Now what happens if a buyer comes along and wants to close sooner than that? We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Many buyers will wait an extra 45-60 days if they really want to buy your home, so let's not worry about that right now.

Sellers:
Get an idea as to what your home is worth. A  Market Analysis from me doesn't cost you a cent, and I certainly don't mind coming out to your home whenever it's convenient for you. Rest assured that I am not a fan of high-pressure sales tactics, so you can cross that off your list of concerns about having me over. I'll give you a true idea as to what your home is worth, and the time frame needed to secure a sale. From there, the next step is to figure out what which town you want to move to, if you don't already have an idea. I'll set you up with free access to the MLS, and we'll go look at a few homes to make sure that there is a home available that fits your needs and budget. If we find lots of properties that seem to fit the bill, well, then depending on your time frame for moving, we might want to get started right away, or plan for a future start date.

Buyers:  Let's work on an  estimated time frame. Let's say for instance, that we went to see a home today, and you wanted to buy it. If we found that property today, the very soonest that we would most likely close is at the end of March, but if you figured on finalizing the sale at the end of April, that would be a lot more realistic. And that's if we found a house today! We haven't even met yet! You should expect the closing to take anywhere from 45 to 60 days on average, and if you are looking at bank owned properties, the closing could take months! So depending on your time frame, it might be a very good idea to start the process now.

If you want to see what your competition is , or see what available homes are out there in your range, just click on the logo below to get your FREE, no obligation MLS account, complete with addresses. Remember you can always call me or email me, too. 

When and when not to allow showings on your home

A lot of people are watching the Superbowl tomorrow! But that should not preclude you from showing your home if it is on the market.  I have a client who needs to move immediately, and I was trying to make appointments for tomorrow. Believe it or not, two homeowners declined appointments because of the game. I'm not singling out sports fans, I like to watch, too, BUT, if your home is on the market,  please don't disallow buyers access during a televised sporting event, or a particular television show. They may very well be just as big as fans as you are, and are even more sorry to miss the game or the show  to go look at houses,  but not allowing  buyer access for a few minutes is just not a prudent business decision on any sellers part without good reason. In tomorrow's case, my particular buyer-client  may very well purchase something tomorrow, and those two houses are out of the running because... of a game.

Generally speaking, if a buyer would like to see your home at a reasonable time, let the buyer see it.  I've called to make appointments and I have gotten every excuse in the book- Like, "I have to pick up the house first", (by the way, when I get the seller to agree to the showing, and I usually do, the house tends to be one of the cleanest of the day- and it's not just because they had an extra half hour to clean the house. It was clean already. Here's another one- "We are doing work in the house, and you can show it next week".  Please remember that if you are doing work to sell your home while it is listed, it's an especially good idea to let buyers in during the project for two reasons,.. no let's  make that three.

1. They can see that you are doing quality work 2. If the buyers like the house, and want to make a minor change to your project, you can stop right there! and 3. I guarantee you the buyer won't buy your home if he/she can't look at it.

Reasons to put off a showing- Illness or personal event.

In the case of the above two properties, I think it's akin to  shirking your duty as an agent to forward buyer appointment  calls to the seller. That's what sellers hire agents for- Although the many of  agents in my area direct appointment calls directly to the seller, I  choose to personally  take all appointment calls, and I all my client for confirmation. It's much better all the way around.   If you'reone of the millions  watching the game tomorrow, I hope your team wins!

It's time to de-clutter!

I don't know know about you, but I have seen some of the worst cases of home clutter known to man during my career. I can be conservative and  estimate that I have been in more than 30,000 houses and I've seen more than you are probably interested in hearing about!  Even if you are not planning to put your home on the market for another week, another month, or sometime in the near future, take advantage of the nasty weather we're having right now and do something for you that will actually make you money when you sell.

DE-CLUTTER.

In a kitchen that means, take off all the magnets and pictures from the refrigerator , keep the counters clean (so you and prospective buyers can see that you have a lot of counter-space) and get rid of the extra stuff  that seems to accumulate in the kitchen.

Your living room is another place to get the extra "stuff" out. Unfortunately, that means getting rid of all, or almost all of the family photos on the wall besides getting rid of extra furniture to make the room look bigger.. You may ask why  remove personal photos?...Because it does not allow the buyer to imagine the home as his/her own when they see it. That's a subliminal message, but a VERY important one.

I'm happy to come out to your home,  give you the staging advice that you need, and assist you in the process. (Okay, another shameless plug! ) As always, feel free to call, text or email me, as well as post a comment on the blog if you like. All are welcome!