What do you do to earn your fee?

You have decided to list your Berkshire property with a discount agency or perhaps sell your Berkshire County property on a “for sale by owner” website. You know that Real Estate Agents  will usually charge a flat fee percentage of the sale price for selling your house. You believe that Realtors® get paid too much for doing too little.  We understand.  To help you know where your fee is going  we have compiled a list of activities that every Harsch Associates Realtor® performs for their clients whether buyers or sellers.

In fact we list 55 activities that are routinely done by your Harsch Associates’ Realtor® (H.A.) for every buyer and seller. A little more research would turn up well over 100 tasks that your Realtor® should perform for you in return for their fee. We think once you know the facts you will agree that the professional fee for selling your home is very reasonable.

Before your H.A. Realtor® lists your property on the local Berkshire County Multiple Listing service the Realtor® researches current properties on the market comparable to yours, looks at your towns’ recent sales in the MLS, looks at property tax rolls, verifies county public property records, completes a comparative market analysis, discusses marketing planning and strategies, explains the listing contract, disclosures and addendums, completes a listing presentation, presents the required state forms for signatures, and assesses the curb appeal of the home. All of these things occur before you even agree to list your home with the agent. Those are 10 tasks that must be completed to give you an idea of the value of your home. An top agent will also ask that you get a professional appraisal of your home before you decide to list. Keep in mind that if you do not list your property with an agent you speak with then all of these Realtor® tasks are completed without compensation.

Twenty two more tasks begin and continue after you list your property with a Harsch Associates Realtor® and they include: reviewing the title to your property, getting a plat map from the local public offices, reviewing any homeowner association fees and bylaws, reviewing lead based paint status, obtaining the owner statement of property condition, completing the forms required by the MLS system to list your property, completing a brochure to present to buyers, discussing inclusions and exclusions involved in the sale, compiling a list of needed repairs, making recommendations for improving the home to impress buyers, obtaining average electric and fuel costs per year, obtaining copies of keys to the property, completing a file with legal paperwork required by the state, discussing the listing with the Broker, measuring the rooms, verifying additional amenities and special fixtures or furnishings that add to the value of the home, photographing the interior and exterior of the home, preparing a video presentation virtual tour of the home, adding the home to the agency’s online website, adding the home to many syndication sites and creating written print ads.

Twenty three more tasks begin after the home is placed on the market. Now comes the matter of showing the home to its best advantage and screening buyers.

This means multiple car trips to and from the home to be present when a potential buyer tours the house to protect the sellers interests, multiple trips to and from the home to meet with other Realtors® who bring buyers, answering multiple phone inquiries, checking on the property if it is unoccupied on a regular basis, notifying the owner of any concerns or issues discussed by the potential buyers, receiving offers of purchases, mediating offers to purchase, delivering the sellers disclosure to the potential buyer, obtaining a pre-qualification letter from the buyers bank, delivering purchase and sales agreements to potential buyers and owners and co-brokers, confirming and handling deposits and escrow accounts, updating the MLS listing to pending if the seller approves the offer, arranging for Title V reports, being present at the inspection of the home by the buyers’ inspection agent, following up with the loan processing, reviewing the home inspector’s report for errors, verifying all inspection and contingency clauses in the purchase and sales agreements, attending appraiser appointments and reviewing the appraisal document, communicating with lawyers and lenders while making every effort to ensure that “no surprises” occur at or before the closing.

We are at 55 tasks for each and every home listed by the Harsch Associates Realtor® and we haven’t even begun to discuss handling referrals, continuing education to keep current on state laws regarding real estate, daily review of the MLS to seek homes for buyer clients, working the community to foster good will, covering for in house agents when they are on vacation or out of town, writing up offers of purchase for buyer clients, attending closings, updating websites, calling other agents for feedback on your home, handling rescission of offers, car maintenance, continual e-mail and voice mail return calls, counseling buyers and seller through the long process of the first offer to the closing date, office meetings, open houses, and handling negotiations (16 additional tasks).

Incredible amounts of work are being done by your Harsch Associate Realtor® behind the scenes as they present a calm and professional demeanor to clients and potential buyers. As an American author once said  “always behave like a duck, calm and unruffled on the surface but paddling like the devil under the surface.” From the initial listing presentation until the day of closing and handing you the check your Harsch Associates Realtor® is there paddling like the devil to sell your home. Another fact to consider is that if you accept a lower sale price your listing agent’s fee is also accepting lowered fee because their fee is tied to the amount the Berkshire County home actually sells for.

These tasks are just a few of the activities included in the professional fee you pay your Harsch Associates Realtor® at the closing. If your home does not sell the Realtor® receives no compensation for time and effort since no fee is paid upfront.  We believe that our agents are the best at selling Berkshire County Real Estate.   To discuss listing your home this 2012 spring season call a Harsch Associates Realtor® today to get the process started. 413-458-5000. We work haard for you from beginning task to handing over the key to the new owner.

Berkshire Real Estate

Selling your Berkshire real estate can be frustrating in this buyer’s market to say the least.  You have done all the right things including cleaning away clutter, increasing the curb appeal and even hired a stager to give you ideas on how to present your home in the best light.  Still no action.  You are not alone.  Even stars have difficulty in selling their real estate right now.  We gathered info on 6 celebrities whose real estate is on the market now.  Using our clues can you guess each celebrity whose home is currently on the market.

1.  A real estate tycoon who took a 38% loss on a home in Rancho Palos Verdes in 2011? But it sold!  The average selling price for Berkshires real estate can fall between 2% and 18% above the appraised value of the home, however it may require dropping the price below the appraised value to stir interest in this economic downturn.  This celebrity is a master at buying and selling real estate.

2. A star who is quite the spy reduced his home in Malibu by 30% in 2011.  The star is still waiting for an offer.  Location, location, location doesn’t seem to have the same meaning as it did during the first decade of the new millennium.   This home is located in a very desirable spot.

3. She impressed us by Dancing with the Stars and has reduced the price of her Maine home by 15%. No Sale.  New England home sales may be inching up very slowly but they remain down in Berkshire County.  Berkshire County is traditionally a second home market and unfortunately a second home will be low on the “must have” scale when the stock market reduces retirement savings and portfolios and bonuses shrink.

4.  He has a super model ex- wife and  a big string of hits but these things aren’t helping this fellow sell his house.   He has reduced his home  price by 26% since listing.  No sale yet.  Reducing the price of your Berkshire Home to stir market interest is emotionally difficult.  Consider some soul searching reflection.  Do you really want to sell, do you need to sell and are you totally committed to the sale.  If not, then take your home off the market and resign yourself to living in your home until times get better.  Economists are predicting better years ahead perhaps in 2015.

5.. Lovers can come and go but in this market real estate seems to stick with you forever or so it seems for this award winning country music singer who recently divorced and has lowered the price of her home 3 times  (16%) No Sale yet.    The moment you place your Berkshire “home” on the market it becomes your “product.”  Promoting your product is the most important goal in this highly competitive marketplace.  Make your Berkshire home available to show within hours and on weekends if you hope to interest a buyer.  Many sellers request a 24 hour notice and will turn down Realtors(R) who ask to show the home the same afternoon they call.  When a buyer finds the right home the home clicks and a sale is on the way.  If you turn any showing down, then the buyer will simply move on to the next house in a nanosecond without a second thought about your Berkshire property.

6. This hulky star who wrestled his way to the top is now wrestling with selling his home by lowering the price down 26.1 % since listed.  No sale yet.  Selling a home in the 2012 market will require patience and the skill of a master negotiator and experienced Realtor(R) whether you are a celebrity seller or a local seller in the Berkshires.  Harsch Associates Berkshire Real Estate will market your product and increase your chances of selling in many ways that other local agents cannot.  Call Harsch Associates today to discuss how we can help by  listing your home in time for the spring market upswing!  413-458-5000

Answers to Quiz-  1. Donald Trump, 2. Pierce Brosnan, 3. Kersti Alley, 4. Billy Joel, 5. Leanne Rimes, 6. Hulk Hogan

This is not your father's housing market... attracting buyers

Today’s buyer-take-all Berkshire County property bonanza is a boon for fence-sitters and buyers with great credit and deep pockets. But Williamstown MA home sellers are steeling themselves to new realities that include paying (rather than making) money at the closing table, providing extras to sweeten the deal, and spending more time and cash making the home camera-ready.

For Williamstown or Berkshire County MA home sellers who have never been through the process before, it’s a different world. One where the value of the house isn’t measured in the profit made on the sale, but by the enjoyment the owners had from living in the home.

Here are seven things experienced Berkshire County home sellers would tell you, if they could.

House-onality and Personality- Take the Quiz

Williamstown, Mass. 

This article is authored by Karen Wilken of the Wall Street Journal

Ms. Wilkin writes about art for the Journal.

The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute here is a magnet for summer visitors. A quirky collection with many high points, special summer exhibitions, a recently completed building by Tadao Ando, walking trails through prime Berkshire real estate, and glorious views all make the Clark a “don’t miss” destination from June through September. It’s also wonderful in winter. The walks through the woods and fields are less enticing in deep snow, and the seasonal exhibition galleries and terrace restaurant of the Ando building are closed, but the vistas are spectacular and the intimate main galleries, with their assortment of everything from Italian Renaissance masters to French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, from sleek academic “machines” to gritty Winslow Homers, are tranquil and inviting. And there are thought- provoking off-season shows, such as the delightful “Eye to Eye: European Portraits 1450-1850″ now on view.

Selected by Clark curators Richard Rand and Kathleen Morris from a single, recently assembled and still-evolving private collection, “Eye to Eye” comprises 30 paintings and one relief sculpture—an amazing group of works, testimony at once to rigorous connoisseurship, attention to good advice, and independence of mind. It’s obvious that each exhibited work was acquired solely because of its individual excellence. Some of the most celebrated artists in the Western canon—Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Jacques-Louis David, Hans Memling, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, among others—are impressively represented, but some of the most compelling pictures on view are by unknown or insecurely identified painters. In some works, such as David’s incisive images of a husband and wife, painted in 1820, or Alonso Sanchez Coello’s court portrait of Philip II of Spain’s teenage bride, painted about 1560, the sitter can be securely identified. In others, such as Alessandro Allori’s image of a magnificently dressed and bejeweled, strong-minded young woman (c. 1580s), the name of the subject is unknown, while in still others, such as Jusepe de Ribera’s imaginary portrait of an ancient philosopher or Lucas Cranach the Elder’s modishly attired 16th-century Saxon charmer, we are given an ideal or a general type, rather than a specific individual. But they all reward attention.

“Eye to Eye” clearly has no pretentions of being comprehensive, yet the cumulative effect is to present a coherent overview of the evolution of the portrait from the Renaissance to the dawn of the Romantic era, from exquisitely naturalistic 15th-century Netherlandish works, to lush 16th-century Italian paintings, to demonstrations of 17th-century Flemish, Spanish and Italian virtuosity, to early 19th-century French testimonials to a burgeoning intensity of feeling.

A wall text of Giorgio Vasari’s assertion, “Every painter paints himself,” reminds us that all pictures are, one way or another, self-portraits, but the dominant characteristic of the works in “Eye to Eye” is their astonishing particularity. The emphasis is on the human face—there are no full length portraits—so we are confronted by distinct individuals, each representative of a particular century, class and moment. Yet even as we interrogate the illusory, painted features as we do those of our living contemporaries, speculating about the meaning of expressions and about intimations of character, even as we read the portraits as documents of their eras, full of information about clothing, hair styles and manners, we become fascinated with them as paintings, as revelations of what their authors were capable of.

The appraising glance of a young 16th-century beauty suggests that she was not only well aware of her charms, but also of the privileged rank attested to by her gorgeous pink brocade and spectacular jewelry. But we’re equally engaged by the audacious, staccato brushwork with which the artist, Giovanni Battista Moroni, conjured up those emblems of wealth, contrasting the stabbing marks of costume and gems with the smooth rendering of face and hair.

Highlights? A young man holding a lira da braccio, with broken strings, painted about 1510-20 by an unknown Italian—perhaps the Sienese Beccafumi. Tendrils of curly golden hair and the patterns of an enormous padded sleeve compete with a powerful, near-abstract composition of geometric masses and a palette of silvery grays and cool blues. Parmigianino’s deep-toned image, c. 1530, of an uneasy man, apparently interrupted while reading. Oil-sketch heads by Bernini and van Dyck, miracles of economy and apparent effortlessness, evoking particular individuals with assured patches of color. Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s affectionate portrait of his fine-featured lawyer, painted in 1797 in gratitude for help rendered. A broadly handled, windblown head of a young man, by the too-little-known 17th-century Fleming Michael Sweerts, that points ahead to Romanticism. Thomas de Keyser’s feisty little Dutch bourgeoise, c. 1630-33, hand on hip, with a “don’t mess with me air.” And more.

If that weren’t enough to justify a winter trip to Williamstown, there’s also a splendid show from the Clark’s collection of Albrecht Dürer prints, every one of them impeccable and fresh.

Ms. Wilkin writes about art for the Journal.

Balancing Act in the Berkshires

Delicate Balance 

The Berkshires are a spectacular geographical location that blends culture, proximity to urban amenities yet sufficient distance from urban sprawl along with unmatched natural scenic splendor.  Apparently, the experts agree since the Berkshires are cited in National Geographic’s Traveler magazine as one of the top 10 places to visit in America.

 Berkshire property owners encourage  promoting the uniqueness of the Berkshires  to bring in new businesses.   However, we do so with more than a modicum of worry.   New business will bring with them employees who will buy and settle in the Berkshires.   The dilemma occurs when we compare the sedate atmosphere and quiet rural life style we treasure with that of a thriving  industrial community.

The Berkshire real estate market reflects this push pull dilemma of preserving the lifestyle we treasure while actively promoting and encouraging new businesses and entrepreneurs to settle in Berkshire County.   Loss of large industrial employers in the Berkshires has contributed to a lack of qualified buyers contributing  to the glut of real estate inventory.  We are experiencing a dilemma and a “Catch 22” in real estate .   In the Berkshire County Real Estate market sellers currently outnumber buyers four to one.   We are rich in homes for sale.  Buyers would increase if our business community began thriving again.  Attracting businesses will require political savvy, tax breaks and a compromise from both the business owners and the residential property owners.  Finding a middle ground in maintaining the value of living in the Berkshires with the value of having abundant employment is the goal.

Berkshire County MA is a buyer’s dream market; plenty of choices, increasingly eager and flexible sellers and great local lenders with terrific loan rates. Why aren’t  more buyers attracted to a home in the Berkshires?  The Berkshires are not widely known beyond the northeastern part of the United States even with the good press in travel magazines.    The reality is that most people need to sell their own home and have promise of employment before they can purchase another home.   

So that brings us back to the dilemma of  attracting new business to the Berkshires.  What kinds of impact would a large influx of new people have on the Berkshires? Many Berkshire small towns were all built in a much earlier era.  Accommodating larger numbers of people, cars and businesses would bring  parking lots, franchise stores and  increased traffic congestion on what are mostly two lane roads.

 Would these parking lots, franchises and crowded roads be inevitable?   To some extent, yes . The Berkshires will always attract new residents drawn to  the rural quality of life here while that quality remains rural.  Buyers today may be looking to live in the country but they are also wanting employment near to their home.  

Can the Berkshires balance the irresistible force of growth and maintain its’ unique charm?  What are your thoughts?  We would love to hear from you with comments about growing businesses in the Berkshires.

Heart and Home

As Valentines Day approaches we at Harsch Associates Berkshire Real Estate think of candy, roses, hearts, and the color red. February is the month we celebrate love and pay homage to Cupid.  It is also American Heart Health month. Most people are aware that heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, yet we still seem to believe that heart disease is something that happens to someone else.  Stress, environment and genetics all contribute to heart disease.    

This week we are sharing some tips and info about health, heart and home.   On the positive side, a happy home situation can contribute greatly to a healthy heart.   

Happiness at home translates to less stress which translates to a healthier heart.  On the negative side your home environment can cause disease.Your home environment, particularly indoors, is of considerable health interest because we spend so much of our lives in this setting. The home can be a place where the risk for children is greatly increased simply because children spend so much time at home. The most vulnerable groups of the population spend more of  time in the home environment. These groups include infants and children, the elderly, and those with disabilities and chronic illnesses such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).   COPD is a disease closely associated with heart health.   

Winters in New England are notoriously cold but also great for the winter sports activities that draw thousands to Berkshire County for vacations and often second homes.  However, cold damp housing can be  associated with poor health outcomes, and conversely, improving such conditions with home insulation results in significant health improvements.  Environments where mold and dust abound can contribute to increased incidences of asthma and can aggravate COPD. Getting your home checked for mold, mildew and other indoor air hazards can be the best investment you make in February for your heart and health.  Investing in a dehumdifier if your home is damp can relieve some symptoms.  On the other hand if your home is cold and dry that calls for a good humidifier to keep the air moist. 

Most people are unaware that stress can be a risk factor for heart disease but simple changes to lower the amount of stress in your life can make a difference. It is also important to think about how you can improve your diet and exercise routines at home to reduce your risk for heart disease.

Here are just a few things you can do to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke…

1. Know the signs of a Heart Attack. Many people have the misconception that a heart attack comes on suddenly and intensely, but many come on gradually with mild pain or discomfort.

2. Learn CPR. In just a few short hours you can learn CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) – two skills that can help save the lives of victims of sudden cardiac arrest. Take action for the ones you love and find a CPR class in your area.

3. Take control of your Heart Health. Be sure to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Research and read about preventative steps that you can make to reduce your chances of heart disease. Use your local library or the internet to inform and teach yourself the facts.

4. Get Involved. Join in the fight against cardiovascular diseases and stroke! Visit the American Heart Associations website to review the events available, locally and nationally, to see how you can participate and help us achieve the mission to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

As we learn more about heart diseases, we also learn about the steps we can take to help keep our hearts healthy. We already know that the leading cause of heart disease is obesity, high blood pressure (hypertension), and that smokers double their risk. But are you doing anything to quit smoking or to lose the excess weight and be more active?

Home is where the heart is.

Many artists, writers, and performers use the theme of heart and home. Thousands of quotes and poems have been written with heart and home as the theme. The famous published artist Thomas Kinkade even named two of his paintings “Home is where the heart is”, the first being in 1992.

Home and Heart themes thread through music and  lyrics. There is the song “Nobody Home” by Heart, a hard rock group formed in 1963 that found success in the mid 1970’s. Several well known groups and singers have had chart toppers that incorporated heart and home into the lyrics of their music.  These include…

• Elvis Presley’s recording of “Home is where the heart is” in 1961 for the movie Kid Galahad.
• Boys II Men performed “Your home is in my heart” for the 1998 soundtrack of the movie Stella Got Her Groove Back.
• Watermark performed the song “My heart, your home” on their acoustic-based album All Things New in the year 2000.
• Lady Antebellum released a more recent well known hit titled “Home is where the heart is” in 2008. 

The theme of Heart and Home often guarantees success because it touches our soul and all we hold close to us. Countless novelists and poets have made an even bigger contribution to history with poems, stories, and quotes using this common theme. A few of my favorite’s quotes are…  

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home.  ~Author Unknown

Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Homesick in Heaven

A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others. ~Wizard of Oz (1939)

This Valentine’s day may your home and heart be blessed with happiness.  Keep in mind that living a balanced lifestyle, paired with adequate exercise and good nutritional choices are the best weapons you have to fight heart diseases. Challenge yourself to do the research and participate in one or more activity in your community with The American Heart Association or groups with a similar cause. On Valentine’s Day this year while you celebrate with your sweetheart or some of your close friends encourage them to do the same. It can be fun to educate yourself and others on the subject while also setting a great example in your community! Join in and participate by creating your own activity to benefit Heart Health Month and most importantly help spread awareness!

Happy Valentine’s Day from the team at Harsch Associates Berkshire Real Estate.

Relocating with Compassion

Relocation Stress Syndrome: Providing Tender Care…..

Moving is a change that takes more than coordination, and can be quite a burden on the elderly.  These transitions are also difficult for immediate family members.  Assisting an elderly parent or relative in relocation involves both physical and emotional responsibility.  The stress of moving an older adult has many dimensions.  

The physical work of packing and moving takes a physical toll that is small compared to the emotional distress for the elderly in a move.  The fact is that the new residence will be too small to hold everything, and many years worth of treasured possessions will be inventoried and items will need to be parted with causing even more distress. 

Taking the time to communicate with the elderly mover is crucial.  Everyone involved should be up to date and informed on all decisions throughout the process. A few things to consider before the move are: 

• Scout out new resources ahead of time. Changing doctors, drug stores, and grocery stores can be particularly stressful for the elderly.  Doing your homework ahead of time and finding new social outlets, such as nearby senior centers, can help smooth their transition.
• Start early!  The sooner you start preparing an older person for a move the better.  Giving them plenty of time to adjust to the idea and reality of the upcoming changes will help to relieve some stress later during the actual move.
• Help sort, organize, and downsize.  Making decisions of what to keep and what can be given or thrown away is often the most difficult part of moving for a senior.  Try to let them make their own choices as much as possible but you can assist by making suggestions when appropriate.
• Choose your mover carefully.  Be sure to be comfortable with the moving company that you select.  Check references and read previous customer reviews.  Also, talk with the company staff before the move to notify them of any special circumstances, like moving medical equipment.  This will ensure that  unexpected problems will not arise at the last minute. 

Each situation is unique in its own way.  It is not uncommon for an elderly person to have different needs than that of an average person preparing to move.  There can be more medical issues or disabilities that need to be a priority.  When dealing with nursing homes, assisted living, or retirement homes it is possible to have an particularly longer list of “to do’s” in order to successfully complete the move.  Paperwork, downsizing personal belongings, and emotional matters could be at a much greater size.  In the situation of an Alzheimer’s patient, person with memory loss, or dementia even more planning, organization, and preparation will be required. 

Relocation Stress Syndrome or Transfer Trauma 

Did you know that the stress of a move can lead to a medical condition called RSS or Relocation Stress Syndrome?  The symptoms of RSS are loneliness, depression, anger, apprehension, dependency, confusion, anxiety and withdrawal and can affect anybody who moves to a new home. Minor characteristics include changes in sleeping and eating habits, insecurity, lack of trust and need for excessive reassurance.  These symptoms can last several months often persisting to over a year.  The elderly are more susceptible to this because changes in familiar routine.  RSS is also called Transfer Trauma.  Helping with the planning and details of the move reduces RSS.  

When assisting in the relocation of a senior the most important thing is to be patient and supportive physically and emotionally.  Moving to a new home can be considered the beginning of a new chapter in a life.  This can be scary and uncomfortable for most people especially the elderly.  Taking on the responsibility of coordinating and planning out the move for a friend, loved one, or parent who has lived long enough to acquire a large amount of personal belongings can be a challenge.  

During the day of the move, you can expect some things to come up unexpectedly but keep a positive attitude and you will see that the people around you will feel more comfortable.  We offer some important suggestions for the person who is assisting a senior during the moving process:

• Start the day rested.  As mentioned above moving day takes physical and emotional energy. Have the pre-move work done early in the day before the move, so everyone involved gets a good night’s sleep.
• Explain to your parent/senior how the day will go.  Have all activities planned and organized on paper as part of the preparation. Prioritizing an outline of the ideal schedule specifically for that day is great.  Patience is important on this day to allow the senior that is moving to take as much time as needed to comprehend and understand each change and how it will happen.
• Keep all medications with you and the senior moving!  The day could go from smooth and as planned until everyone is searching through moving boxes to find medications that are needed.  Also, make certain to refill any prescriptions that are running low, prior to the move.
• Be calmly reassuring about the safety of the senior’s material possessions.  It is hard for a senior to watch a lifetime of possessions drive away during an already stressful event. 
• Talk about where you’re going, not what is being left behind.  It’s a good idea to remind the older mover about some of the advantages of their new home and what they have to look forward to.  The person who is assisting the older mover should have memorized the list of advantages. 

The importance of being there and reassuring a senior during a move that changes just about everything in their life in one day is something that is needed and helpful in taking off some of the traumatic stress they can cumulate during this time.  It can be a better experience for them if the move is well planned, organized, and if the person or people helping them are patient and allow the time needed.  

When the move is complete and things are unpacked, make sure to first unpack things of emotional importance.  For example, hang pictures on the walls of the new residence that remind them of things they love and things that make them happy.  One of the most important activities in helping an elderly person relocate is to be available for them after the move is complete.

 Help introduce them to neighbors and local places they might use for shopping or socialization.  Assure the person that you are a phone call away.  Next, stick to your word and if they do call with an issue give them the encouragement and a solution that might help relieve the stress.  Relocating is a big step for anyone but is more mentally difficult to deal with the older a person becomes.  Especially difficult situations are those where the senior has a disability or illness.  

A win-win can happen (perhaps months later)  when the senior becomes settled and comfortable in the new home.  Tender care and a loving attitude will go far in helping the older person relocate to a new life and home.

          Brightening Your Home for Buyers

• Use timers and Sensors to your advantage. Set your indoor lights and outdoor lights to be on when buyers are present.
• Sparkle and Shine!  Clean anything that reflects light such as windows, chandeliers, bath enclosures and tile.  Polish chrome and mirrors. 
• Bake cookies, but beware some buyers are disappointed when no cookies are set out for visitors.  Ease up on artificial scents as many buyers today are allergic to certain scents and deodorizers.
• Create a mood.  Think of walking into a rented condominium on your first day of vacation.  What would make a lasting impression on you?  Place vases filled with flowers around the rooms.  Hang plush clean robes in the bathroom, and set up a grouping of guest soaps and washcloths rolled and tied with ribbons.
• Turn on the heat.  Turn the heat to two degrees warmer than you normally do.  Then set the thermostat to normal.  This will prevent the HVAC from kicking on when buyers are present.  Some HVAC systems can be very loud.
• Turn on every light in the house including appliance lights, and closet lights.  Turn off the TV.  Place spotlights behind furniture in rooms that have no windows or are naturally dark.
• Place good summer photographs of your outdoor landscaping and flower gardens where buyers are sure to see them.
• Most important of all– CLEAR A PATH-  shovel pathways clean and sprinkle with sand.  Put a rubber mat  by the door for shoes if the weather is wet.
• Take a break and go shopping or to a friend’s house and let your Realtor ® do the rest.  Leaving your home if possible during all showings is the best way to ensure buyers are comfortable discussing the home  with their agent. 

1. The number of active listings for Lenox MA in 2010 fell 19% over the number listed in 2009.
2. The number of new listings in Lenox MA for 2010 was down 11% over the new listings in 2009.
3. Homes under contract as of Dec 29, 2010 was up 24% over those under contract at the same time last year.
4. The number of residential homes sold as of Dec 29, 2010 was up 44% over those sold at the same time last year.

Active and new listings for 2010 were down and sales for 2010 were up compared to the previous year.  Would this be a good time to buy Lenox MA Real Estate?  If you are considering Berkshire County Real Estate Lenox looks like a great choice for 2011.  Contact the agents at Harsch Associates Berkshire Real Estate to begin your search today.

The Harsch Associates Berkshire Real Estate Team