http://jpeterken.seacoastrealty.com/blog/archive_201505/sort_entrydatetime-desc/ Listing one’s house for sale can be a taxing situation, or it can be a pretty easy one. Hopefully by educating yourself on what to expect you can take the stress out of one of the most important decisions that you will make in your life.Step One: FIND A GOOD REALTOR. I can not stress enough the importance of this first step. After buying and selling quite a few homes in my life, this step has played the most important role in keeping the process rolling smoothly. There are many many factors that need to be considered when finding the right agent for you. The last home that I listed created the most stressful situation that I had ever experienced. I made the age-old mistake of hiring my realtor based solely on the fact that this person was a close personal friend. There are a few major problems that can arise in a situation like mine. My realtor was not located in my city. This resulted in problems with her availability, and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by questioning her lack of commitment or knowledge of our area. In the end, we ended up letting the listing expire, and basically messing up what was a perfectly good friendship.From now on, I will be sticking with the, “no business with family or friends” rule. If you happen to have a really great friend or family member that is the world’s best realtor be sure to think long and hard about the various situations that could occur. Ask yourself is it worth it? If you really want to use your friend but don’t want to risk your friendship, you might ask for a referral to another agent. Most realtors love to give and receive referrals. There is usually some sort of compensation to the referring agent, so it is a nice way for you to help your friend without hurting your relationship.That being said, many people love to work with someone that they already know. For some, it turns out to be an enjoyable situation that deepens a relationship, and can often result in a lifelong realtor. One of my close family members always uses her close friend in real estate transactions. They are able to be 100% honest with one another without feeling like either party is going to hurt the feelings of the other. Every friendship as well as every realtor/client relationship is different. Think about what works for you, and do not feel pressure to use a friend’s service just because they are a friend. After you have decided not to use a friend/family realtor, there are a couple of ways to find someone with whom you can work. In the age of the Internet, the easiest route is to begin your search online. I picked the realty company before I picked an actual agent. After poring over reviews of different agencies, I settled on the largest in my area. By doing so, I have access to more potential buyers. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and I loved the idea that my realtor may be around (and talking on a daily basis in the office) hundreds of different agents. When the company was picked, I moved on to the actual realtor. I would suggest that you speak with a few different agents before settling on one. I spoke with three and found someone that I liked as person and that I also felt really was excited about my house. He presented me with his plan for “attack,” and it was just what I was looking for. I needed to move quickly and have someone that could be aggressive on the marketing front. Myself, being deeply involved in social media, had been witness to the power of social advertising. I knew I wanted someone who had a knack for giving properties a presence on the social scene. There are many many more questions that you might consider asking your potential agent. You might like to know what his/her success rate is? What types of listings does he/she generally list? How well do they know the area? How and how often will they communicate with you? This list could go on and on. Depending on what type of person you are, it might be a short list of questions or it might be really long. Googling “What to ask a potential realtor,” gave me a good starting point.After signing the “Working with Realtors” and the “Exclusive Right to List” paperwork our official Realtor/Client relationship was born! There are so many more steps to listing your house. Please check back next week to find out Step Two! In the meantime, let me know how you chose your Realtor. Did you end up working with a friend or family member? Did you love it? Spill it - The good, the bad, and the ugly!Share with me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/seacoastrealtyFind a great Realtor to work with here!www.seacoastrealty.com http://jpeterken.seacoastrealty.com/blog/1313/what-to-expect-when-listing-your-house-to-sell:-step-one:-picking-your-realtor/ Tue, 26 May 2015 12:00:00 -0500  My family is planning our next move. We are listing our house, and have started dreaming about what our next house will be like. As a mom to small children, I find myself looking for certain features in a home. My biggest “dream feature” would be close proximity to my own Mom. This is something that will not change anytime soon. We will most likely live hours apart for many more years. To make up for the fact that there is a long drive between us, I would love to have an in-law suite. I am hoping that this will not be too hard to find, as double master suites seems to be an option that many homebuilders are now offering. Having a comfortable place for my Mom would hopefully encourage her to come for longer periods of time! Mom is the best babysitter, counselor, and friend I have, so more time with her is always a plus. School districts are a huge factor in the homes that I will consider. Not only the schools, but the kid-friendly activities that are near the house, and kid-focused amenities that a neighborhood has to offer. Before having children these types of things were completely off my radar. Now, as I look at homes and neighborhoods it is the one thing that I can not overlook. It is my Number One priority. All moms want the best for their children, and want a safe place to send their kids. It is a huge bonus if the house and neighborhood are not near any busy roads. When summer days are stretching longer and longer and my nerves are growing thinner and thinner I want the kids to be able to play outside! Nothing can change a bad attitude like a quick dose of sunshine.Now that the kids are safe, let's move on to the next thing that a Mom-approved house might offer. It is storage. Moms want storage and lots of it. I don’t know very many moms that are able to totally conquer clutter. Toys breed while we sleep at night! If you walk into a house with kids and don’t see toys I will guarantee you that there is a closet somewhere that is stocked, stacked, and stuffed with them. That closet probably has a broken door from the hip bump needed for Mom to get it to shut. My next house will have storage galore! I want closets, cabinets, and attics. Throw in a dedicated laundry room for the piles currently residing on the bathroom floor and I am one happy Mama.A Mom-approved home will function flawlessly. The ability to multi-task and schedule is one of our most powerful attributes. We want our homes to offer a functionality that enables us to multi-task with ease. I want to be able to cook while watching the puppet show happening on the couch. The functionality of an open floor plan is so very appealing. I do know that as the kids grow I may want more walls...to separate myself from angry teens, but we will cross that bridge when we get there. At the end of the day, even a superhero needs rest. Moms need to take a little time to reflect and re-energize. The last and quite possibly the most important thing that a Mom-friendly house will have (the thing that I try to envision in every single potential new home I tour) is the Mom Retreat. It doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t have to be separated from the rest of the house, though that would be awesome. It just has to be MY space. It is a space that I will decorate totally for ME. A space where I may or may not allow kids to play. It is a space that will nurture me and provide moments of peace and solitude. Some of my mom friends are looking for huge tubs to soak away stress. Some of them are looking for gardening spaces. Some of them just want a bay window so that they can watch the world grow. It doesn’t matter what kind of space moms are looking for: we need it. Moms need to care for themselves to be able to care for everyone else!What features did I leave off the list that you think are Mom necessities? Is there any feature in your own home that has made life with kids a little easier? Let me know!On Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/seacoastrealtyAll Homes pictured above are current listings of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty. If you would like additional photographs, information, or homes tours please visit our website! http://www.seacoastrealty.com/ http://jpeterken.seacoastrealty.com/blog/1314/house-features-that-moms-love/ Wed, 13 May 2015 12:00:00 -0500 How do you feel about the idea of having robots in your home? I’m not talking about the ones that a child left laying in the hallway, but rather an actual robot with an actual job to do? Many of us have tried and either loved or hated robots in the past.My first venture into robots for the home was the Roomba robot that vacuums. http://www.irobot.com/For-the-Home/Vacuum-Cleaning/Roomba.aspxI loved Roomba until my anxious dog decided that there was room for only one thing, namely her, under the dining room table. Sure, the Roomba didn’t do the job quite as well as I do with the stand up vac, but it did allow me to go for longer times between actual vacuuming. Now there are also a variety of floor cleaning robots that mop, this could be a total game changer in my house, and I look forward to trying one...as soon as the price drops a little on them.http://www.irobot.com/For-the-Home/Floor-Mopping/Braava.aspxFor cat owners there is the Litter-Robot. Yes, a robot that scoops out the used cat litter and stores it in a baggie for you to dispose of. http://www.litter-robot.com/litter-robot.aspx?id=13 It is a little pricey, but if you really really hate scooping the litter box you might just find a way to buy one! If you go on vacation there is the automatic pet feeder. Robots have invaded our outside space as well. There is the Robomow. This is a robotic lawn mower. You can read more about them here http://usa.robomow.com/explore-robomow/. Even the gutters are getting a helping hand from robots. The iRobot Looj is comes with a remote that allows the user to just point and shoot and the little Looj will do its job! My husband has now left to look for a Looj. http://www.irobot.com/for-the-home/outdoor-maintenance/looj.aspxThere are pool cleaning robots, alarm clock robots, smartphone robots, robotic animals for kids (or people who can’t deal with the litter box even if a robot is scooping it).As a kid, I remember thinking that the cartoon The Jetsons was just one flying car away from becoming total reality. We aren't quite there yet, but I do see robots creeping more and more into our everyday existence. Soon Amazon’s Echo will begin showing up in homes. The release date on Amazon is July 8, 2015, and you must request an invitation to buy one. http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/will-echo-game-changer-homes/Echo is a voice activated computer, much like Siri is to iPhone users. Echo is simply there to scour the Internet and find the answers to questions for its owners. Sorry kids, Echo isn’t going to do your homework - or will it? Will she roll through the kitchen with a plate of freshly baked cookies that she baked in a slot on her chest? No. Will she find the recipe for the cookies? Maybe. Will I still ask for an Echo for my birthday? Absolutely. I am almost 100% positive that Echo will decrease the amount of times that I am asked to spell something from my first grader. http://www.amazon.com/oc/echo/ref_=ods_dp_aeSmart homes (though not entirely robot reliant) are all the rage. The Nest thermostat is evidence of that. https://nest.com/thermostat/life-with-nest-thermostat/ I am seeing Nest in more and more homes and it was even suggested that I install one as a selling point when listing my house on the real estate market. Buyers are aware that a change is occurring. Here is a great list of 25 Smart Technologies that Matter Most to Home Buyers http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/selling-a-smart-home/A few days after the completion of this blog post (I thought) Tesla made a huge announcement. Tesla unveiled a home battery system. Yes, a battery that powers your entire home! The battery is charged with the use of solar panels. This may be a huge game changer in the energy sector. The battery is called Powerwall and is reported that it will cost around $3000. Tesla is taking reservations for the system, which should be delivered sometime in the summer of 2015. You can read more about the Powerwall here http://www.teslamotors.com/powerwallAre you an open and willing participant in the robot, smart homes, tech tech everywhere movement that is happening? Do you believe that a change is occurring at all, or are all of the adults just attempting to create another Jetson fantasy that is still decades away? Let us know what you think! And, if you have tried any of the products listed above please give me your take on them! You can communicate with us via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/seacoastrealtyVia Twitter at @InsideSeaCoastIf you are looking for a home that has smart features or if you are looking for a regular house with regular features you can find them all here!http://www.seacoastrealty.com/ http://jpeterken.seacoastrealty.com/blog/1315/robots-in-the-home?/ Mon, 04 May 2015 12:00:00 -0500  1.Parade of Homes 75+ homes in Pender, Brunswick, and New Hanover county will be open for viewing in the 29th annual Parade of Homes. This event is a great chance for buyers to see some of the new homes in our area, and get the opportunity to see what makes each of the local homebuilders unique. This event is free. Homes are open Sat. and Sun. from noon until 5pm each day.http://wilmingtonparadeofhomes.com/2. Airlie Gardens Summer Concert SeriesThe summer concert series at Airlie Gardens kicks off Friday from 6:00-8:00pm. Enjoy music in the stunning setting of Airlie Gardens, surrounded by the beauty that is Eastern NC. Tickets are $9/Adults, $2/Children (4yrs-12yrs), Free/Children under http://airliegardens.org/airlie-events/summer-concert-series-jack-jack-180/  Photo courtesy http://www.bellamymansion.org/ 3. Wilmington Wine and Food FestivalWilmington’s 3rd annual Wine and Food Fest featuring some of Wilmington’s top chefs and culinary experts. This festival benefits The Bellamy Mansion Museum and Nourish NC. Sample wines and beers paired with amazing food. Sounds like you can’t go wrong with this one!http://www.wilmingtonwineandfood.com/4. Cape Fear Habitat Re-Store Upscale ResaleTreasures galore at the UpScale ReSale benefitting Habitat for Humanity. Find unique creations by local designers working with ReStore finds. Friday evening kicks off the event with a preview sip, see, and sale. Saturday continues the fun with a sale open to the general public. http://www.capefearhabitat.org/Photo courtesy http://www.capefearriverwatch.org/gallery/photos5. LakeFest Kayak Race at Greenfield LakeA family friendly event with the Cape Fear River Watch. The festival should be lots of fun with kayak races, educational eco-tours, animals, arts and crafts, face painting and more! Enjoy all that Greenfield Lake has to offer!http://www.capefearriverwatch.org/education/lakefest-2015With spring in Full swing our area is bustling with things to do! Here are a few more of the events happening around our area, and links for information.Southport Naturefesthttp://stateportpilot.com/news/article_d1d2b224-c5a6-11e4-9255-fb7bbee9cea4.htmlFundraiser - Kentucky Derby Party at Poplar Grovehttp://www.poplargrove.org/events/kentucky-derby-party/Topsail Island Surf and Pier Fishing Challengehttp://fishermanspost.com/tournaments/topsail-island-spring-surf-fishing-challenge Boogie in the Park at Kure Beachhttp://www.visitkurebeachnc.com/events-calendar/boogie-in-the-park-presents-uncle-hairy/ Cape Fear Comedy Festivalhttps://capefearcomedy.com/***AND AS ALWAYS - VISIT ANY OF OUR OPEN HOUSES THIS WEEKEND TO BE ENTERED TO WIN $500 IN OUR COAST IN AND WIN***http://www.seacoastrealty.com/property/property-list.asp?VAR_SearchType=openhouse&VAR_MapStatus=LISTMAP http://jpeterken.seacoastrealty.com/blog/1316/fun-things-to-do-in-wilmington-this-weekend/ Fri, 01 May 2015 12:00:00 -0500