3 Reasons to Buy in the Fall and Winter

Despite the misconception that the fall or winter months aren’t prime times for buying a home, buyers can save a lot of money and even reap some tax benefits. Here are a few reasons why you should buy your home before the new year.

Less Buyer Competition

While many buyers have already rushed to buy their home in the spring and summer, coasting into the market during the fall and winter months allows you to appeal to more sellers since they aren’t getting as many offers. Your offer will be among the few that sellers will have to choose from, which can give you an edge. Lenders, appraisers, and inspectors also have more availability after the spring and summer rush, ultimately getting you closer to closing.

More Motivated Sellers

You’ll find that sellers can be more motivated during the fall and winter because their home either has been sitting on the market for months with no luck or they’ve made a sudden decision to sell and need to sell quickly. At the end of the year, many sellers are feeling the pressure of selling their home since most buyers have put their home search on hold until the beginning of the year.

End-of-Year Tax Benefits

Some of the greatest perks about year-end home buying are the tax benefits. Closing on your home by December 31st allows for some sweet mortgage-related deductions. Home loan interest, property taxes, and interest costs can be used as deductible items when filing your taxes and save you hundreds of dollars. While access to these benefits doesn’t disappear on January 1st, but if you want to claim these deductibles as soon as possible it’s best to buy before the new year. According to the National Association of Realtors, new homeowners can deduct a percentage of purchasing expenses in the tax year when the home was purchased.

At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are a team of experts who can help you find your dream home even during the holidays. If you’re looking for a home in Roswell, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, , and the surrounding Atlanta area, give us a call at 770-352-9658 or send us an email at Info@KarenCannon.com. You can check out our current listings here.

5 Reasons You Should Sell Your Home During the Holidays

Just after reading the title of this blog, you might be thinking something along the lines of “no way, I’ve always heard that spring is the best time to put my house on the market.” Let us be the first to tell you that is no longer the case.

Here’s why putting your home up for sale during the holidays can be a smart move:

Low Supply, High Demand

One of the greatest benefits of having your house on the market during the winter is simply the fact that not many people will be doing the same. The majority of homeowners still believe that spring and summer are the best times to sell their home. With greater demand than supply in the colder months, you’ll have less competition and a greater chance of selling your home.

Top Agents Know How to Maximize This Time of Year

Expert Realtors understand the advantage of selling a home this time of year and have unique plans and resources to attract the best buyers. Whether buyers are relocating for a job or transferring into a new school, a knowledgeable agent will be able to market to the right buyers and agents.

People are Ready to Move

If people are actively looking for homes during the holidays, there’s a good chance they need to move quickly. Therefore, they are more serious about buying a home. Most of the time, people only want to spend their holidays house hunting if they really need to move. If that’s the case, your odds of being able to sell your home quickly are looking “merry and bright.”

Decorated Neighborhood

Last but not least, remember the appearance of your neighborhood. Any potential buyer will be paying attention to the area around the home they’re interested in. With the holidays just around the corner, your neighbors will likely adorn their homes and yards with holiday decorations. The festive decor and hanging lights will have most potential buyers feeling welcome in the neighborhood before they even view your home. If you decorate your listed property, keep a tasteful and simple aesthetic in mind. Overdecorating can make your property feel crowded and unappealing. We recommend adding just a few warm touches to make the home feel cozy.

Expedited Transaction Process

There are typically fewer transactions, loan applications, and home inspections around the holidays. Selling your home this time of year creates the potential for an expedited transaction process. That means a faster turn-around once you have found a committed buyer and a less stressful holiday season for you!

If you’re thinking of selling your home in Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, or the North Atlanta area, we can help. Give us a call us at 770-352-9658 or email info@KarenCannon.com. You can also check out our current listings here.

6 Home Staging Dos and Don’ts

Properly staging your home can make a huge difference in the time it takes to sell. In a 2019 National Association of Realtors report, a quarter of buyers’ agents said that staging a home increased the buyer’s offer by 1-5% compared to similar homes that weren’t staged. It’s safe to say that going the extra mile is worth the time and money.

DO Enhance Your Curb Appeal

The outside of your home is a potential buyer’s first impression, so you have to make it count. Spruce up your landscaping and your home’s exterior appearance. Plant flowers, mow your lawn, trim the hedges, repaint the shutters and front door, and add a charming welcome mat.

DO Declutter

Clutter is your kryptonite when staging. The goal of home staging is for the buyer to imagine themselves living in your home. That’s difficult when rooms are overcrowded with too much furniture and personal belongings. Keep it simple and declutter each room. This will not only help keep the buyer focused on the home’s amenities, but also make your rooms look bigger.

Do Remove Personal Items

You are more likely to make a sale if the buyer can visualize themselves in the home. This can be difficult if your listed property feels like your home instead of their home. While you cannot predict the tastes of each individual, you can create a tasteful but neutral aesthetic that is appealing to most buyers. Remove any personal items, artwork, photos, or other decorations that reflect your unique personality and interests.

DON’T Overstage

While staging is important, don’t overdo it. You don’t need to buy a bunch of new furniture and cover every inch of space on the wall. Remember, the goal is to appeal to the most buyers by keeping it simple and spacious. Today’s buyers often prefer neutral paint and uncluttered furniture spaces. This will leave more opportunity for them to easily imagine themselves living in your house. Staging can be as simple as rearranging furniture and displaying tasteful items you already own to present your home favorably online and in-person.

DO Focus On The Rooms That Count

Don’t feel the need to perfect every room. The 2019 NARs report also found that staging the living room was found to be most important for buyers, followed by staging the master bedroom, and the kitchen. Focus your energy on making sure these rooms capture buyers’ attention the most.

DON’T Do Major Renovations

We understand the pressure is on when selling your home. But most likely, there’s no need to turn your home into an HGTV project. Best practices are to make improvements where they have the most impact like re-painting, replacing old flooring, and updating fixtures.

At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we offer professional home staging for listings as a value-added service to help our clients sell faster at top dollar. If you’re looking to sell a home in Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, or the North Atlanta area, give us a call us at 770-352-9658 or send us an email at info@KarenCannon.com. Check out our current listings here.

close up of male hand packing cardboard box

4 Downsizing Tips for Empty-Nesters

Sending your birdies off to fly in the world can make any parent anxious, let alone having to deal with the possible idea of downsizing. You don’t want to lose space or part ways with the memories you’ve made in their childhood home. The good news is you don’t have to. Downsizing has many benefits and doesn’t mean moving into a smaller home. It could be that you want a home that requires less maintenance, an HOA-free neighborhood, or something that’s a better fit for your budget or new empty-nester lifestyle.

Whatever your situation may be, we have 4 tips to help make downsizing as an empty-nester simpler and stress-free:

Get an Idea of What You’re Looking For

Before you make any sudden decisions, it’s best to get an idea of what you want. Do you want a master on the main? Fewer bedrooms? A smaller yard? A home that requires less upkeep? Smaller neighborhood? Solidifying this list early-on will make your transition much smoother, as you will have a sense of direction and structure to find what you want. Ask your realtor to help you narrow down your choices. A realtor provides extensive knowledge about neighborhoods, price points, and can lend an expert perspective to make your vision crystal clear.

Declutter & Organize

Your kids are all grown up and have gone off to college and many of their childhood possessions have been left behind. You’ll want to keep some things, but that old drum set that never quite got used could go, right? Downsizing is a great time to declutter and make your home fit the new season that you’ve begun as an empty-nester. Don’t be afraid to part ways with old items your children have grown out of or things you know you won’t use. A wonderful way to make cutting the cord easier is donating the items to local second-hand shops or charities. Even though you’re parting ways, you know someone else who really needs it will get it. It’s a win-win.

Create a New Lifestyle For Yourself

Finally the fun part! Empty-nesting is a great time to rediscover yourself and create a new, vivacious lifestyle for yourself. Take up that salsa class you can’t stop thinking about. Join a local sports club. Commit to monthly spa days and golfing. This is your time to enjoy YOU. Turn that extra bedroom into your personal den or hobby room. You could even redecorate or renovate parts of your home to fit your style. Whatever lifestyle you want to create for yourself, this is an exciting and invigorating time to do it.

Reduce Your Monthly Expenses

Downsizing is also a prime time to start saving extra cash for retirement. As your adult children begin supporting themselves, your monthly child-care expenses will start disappearing. Use this transition to look for ways to repurpose the extra money. A home that requires less maintenance, lower HOA dues, or infrequent landscaping may eliminate even more expenses and allow you to put your money to better use. The stash you create for yourself today will surely come in handy for retirement later.

While the thought of downsizing may be daunting, it can be done! Use these tips to give yourself a head start on this new journey as an empty-nester. Still need some advice or have questions? We want to help make this transition as smooth as possible for you!

We have helped hundreds of clients downsize and paired them with the right resources to start the process. We can help you find the right place to make your move. Give us a call us at 770-352-9658 send us an email at Info@KarenCannon.com. Check out our current listings here.

5 Extracurricular Activities That Will Improve Your Child’s Cognitive Function

Now that school is back in session, many parents wonder if the school’s curriculum is enough to promote their child’s cognitive development. Fortunately, opportunities for young minds to think, reason, and grow don’t stop when the last bell rings.

Here are five extracurricular activities that will help improve your child’s memory, information processing, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

STEM Clubs

Extracurricular activities that involve critical thinking are an excellent way to boost brain function. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) clubs have become increasingly popular over the last decade at all education levels and are available through many after-school programs. Unlike the typical classroom, these clubs encourage experiential learning. Children involved in STEM activities develop stronger problem-solving skills and are more likely to remain interested in science and mathematics courses through high school and college.

Athletics

Physical activity is a fantastic way to promote a healthy mind and body. Sports and other recreational activities improve cognitive functions through social, psychological, and fine/gross motor skill development. These activities also promote achievement and recognition, which directly affect a child’s self-esteem. Children who have confidence in their self-worth become better problem solvers and decision-makers. If your child isn’t a fan of team sports, there are plenty of individual sports like tennis, swimming, golf, and fencing in your area that are equally beneficial.

Art Classes

A child’s capacity for creativity plays an important role in how they process new information. Time should be made available for both structured and unstructured creative activities. Unstructured creativity also allows a child to more effectively process, reflect upon, and absorb traditional subject areas in their academic curriculum. Structured creative projects combine the freedom of imaginative thinking with the logic and reason required to complete a task or goal. Art classes, clubs, or camps are a wonderful way to engage both halves of the brain and promote cognitive development.

Scouting

Scouts BSA and The Girls Scouts are accessible in almost every community across the country with millions of scouts in thousands of troops across the nation. In addition to survival and citizenship education, scouting organizations teach self-reliance and decision-making skills. Many of their activities provide an outlet for children to apply these skills in real-world scenarios or incorporate aspects of the other activities listed above. Scouting at a young age is intended to be a family activity and a fantastic way to actively engage with your child.

Virtual Teams

In moderation, screen-time doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Schools are investing in the eGaming industry, which may even become part of the Olympics by 2024. Competitive games improve strategic thinking and making decisions under pressure while creative world-building games improve spatial perception, logistics, and cooperation to achieve a common goal. With the appropriate guidance and structure, virtual activities can be so much more than a way to pass the time.

Nearly all of these activities are already available in your area. Offering a healthy and fun outlet for children to learn and grow is essential for their mental development. Cognitive development is all about change. Extracurricular activities like these are the perfect way to start your child on a path for success in an ever-changing world.

At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and North Atlanta. We live, work, and play here, and our agents are handpicked for their connections in the community. Our clients know about homes coming on the market before anyone else. And our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!

If you are thinking about selling your home, or are interested in moving into Dunwoody, Sandy Springs or the surrounding areas, call us at (770) 352-9658 or send us an email at Info@KarenCannon.com. Check out our current listings here.