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When selling in Altadore, making some improvements to your property is a good way to attract multiple offers and increase your home’s market value. Many real estate agents will tell you that it’s so much easier to sell a property that’s ready to move into, because most buyers don’t want to be burdened with the extra costs of renovation or home improvement. Before you rush into your home renovation plans, here are three things to consider:

Get more bang for your buck

Not all renovations will offer you a good return of investment. According to an appraisals firm, renovation projects, regardless of the size, will bring you a 50 to 75% return of investment. Before selling in Altadore, choose your renovation job so it results in dramatic improvements to your property.

What kind of renovation jobs should you choose? Repainting is one of the easiest and most affordable home improvement projects you can do. It’s the fastest way to impress a potential buyer, and it gives you a 110% return of your investment. Aside from repainting, adding an in-suite laundry to a condominium unit or renovating a garage brings in a return of up to 100% of your investment and can be a good reason to increase your selling price.

Make it look professional

Many sellers attempt to bring down the cost of a renovation job by doing it themselves. I don’t see anything wrong with this, as long as the job ends up looking professional. From experience, I do know that a haphazard job can be a turn-off to any potential buyer.

If you’re serious about selling your property in Altadore, get professional help from experienced interior designers or architects. By knowing what’s in style and what’s hot, you’ll know what improvements will bring attention to your home’s best features and attract interested buyers.

Make your property look good inside and out

If you’re selling your home in Altadore, you simply can’t rely on the fact that it’s in one of Calgary’s best neighborhoods. Buyers will be looking for more than strategic location and proximity to Calgary’s best park and busiest shopping district.

Add value to your home by paying attention to details, both inside and out. It’s easy to overlook the outside of your house, but remember that the façade is the first thing potential buyers see when they visit your property. Little things like a well-manicured lawn, freshly watered grass, and colorful flowers and garden accessories do not take a lot of time and effort but can do wonders to your property.

So when you’re selling in Altadore, remember these three renovation tips and you’ll certainly make a good impression on potential buyers.

Know someone who is looking to make a decision in real estate? If you know any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate within the next six months, would you forward this email to them or reply with their contact information? I’ll send them important information about the Calgary, AB surrounding area real estate market and politely ask for their business. I greatly appreciate your valued referrals; it’s the only way I build my business. Free Market Report on value of your home: www.CalgaryMarketSnapShot.com

Bryon Howard is a top-producing real estate agent with Re-Max House of Real Estate in Calgary, Alberta. He is in love with his high-school sweetheart, an enthusiastic dad, and crazy about endurance sports. To learn more about Bryon and his real estate tips, head on over to his website

I’ve been returning to the ‘home land’ every year since moving to Calgary in 2003 (like a good Maritimer does) however I thought that I maybe able to ‘hold off’ this year.   However, by the end of August … I was missing my annual return.  I began to think about running the PEI Marathon on October 14/12. I pulled out Hal Higgdon’s guide to running a Marathon … set my sights on a 3 hour Marathon (I did it 10 years earlier in PEI) … and pretended the race was not just 7 weeks away.

At about 16 km … my legs were hurting.  I was kind of concerned … as I had never experienced this.  I was thinking … “hmm, just 16 km in … why do my legs hurt?”

I was very pleased with myself at the half way point in a time of 1 hour 27 minutes. (I had an extra 3 minutes to hit my goal of 3 hours.)

At Kilometer 25 … my legs begged me to stop … and they won.

I seen quite a few old friends along the course, at water stations … stopping for hugs. In my mind … I figured I would try to enjoy the finish … and be okay with a 4 hour time.  I was very pleased (and surprised) to finish in 3 hours 17 min.

… I’ll be back. I figure that I have another 3 hour marathon in me … before exiting my 40’s.  (I’ll need more running miles and pace myself in the first half.)

Bryon Howard - Gangster Style - at PEI Marathon

Hiring an Altadore realtor to help you find a home in one of Calgary’s best neighborhoods need not be a difficult and stressful experience. Keep in mind these top three tips for hiring an Altadore realtor, and that big move to your new home may happen sooner than you expected:

Look for an experienced realtor

When you’re hiring an Altadore realtor, find someone who has a lot of experience in real estate. Talk to several realtors before narrowing down your choice.

Ask them how many years they have been realtors, whether they worked full time, and how many homes they successfully sold in recent years. Find out if they’re affiliated with any national real estate group and what companies they represent. Years of experience in real estate and the number of homes sold do not always mean one is a skilled realtor. But it’s a good way to compare candidates when hiring an Altadore realtor. It can be helpful to you as you come up with your shortlist.

Find someone who knows the neighborhood

Another important detail when hiring an Altadore realtor: Get someone who knows the area really well.

An experienced realtor who is familiar with Altadore can offer you great advice on many of your concerns and answer all your questions about buying a property in the Calgary area. If you have a particular budget in mind, or if you’re looking for a unit that is accessible to schools, parks, and commercial areas, your Altadore realtor can certainly help you find properties that meet these specifications. Your Altadore realtor can drive you around town and show you why Altadore is considered one of Calgary’s best neighborhoods. By having a better understanding of what you’re looking for in a new home, your realtor can recommend which neighborhoods would be a best fit for you and your family’s lifestyle.

Hire someone accessible

When hiring an Altadore realtor, choose someone that you can easily reach. Because your realtor will act as a bridge between you and the property owner, it’s important that he keep communication lines open at all time. If he is serious about getting your business, he will answer the phone when you call and reply quickly to your e-mails. Or he can assign someone from his staff to be your main contact. A good realtor will also make himself available to you even during weekends, because that’s when most open houses take place.

With these three helpful tips for hiring an Altadore realtor, here’s hoping that you’ll quickly find your dream home in the Calgary area.

Know someone who is looking to make a decision in real estate? If you know any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate within the next six months, would you forward this email to them or reply with their contact information? I’ll send them important information about the Calgary, AB surrounding area real estate market and politely ask for their business. I greatly appreciate your valued referrals; it’s the only way I build my business. Free Market Report on value of your home: www.CalgaryMarketSnapShot.com

Bryon Howard is a top-producing real estate agent with Re-Max House of Real Estate in Calgary, Alberta. He is in love with his high-school sweetheart, an enthusiastic dad, and crazy about endurance sports. To learn more about Bryon and his real estate tips, head on over to his website

Generating multiple offers for your Altadore real estate property is possible if you know what steps to take to make it happen. Many real estate sellers become frustrated with a property that takes too long to sell, not realizing that by applying a few techniques, they can easily attract buyer interest and even drive up the market value of the estate.

Ignite buyer interest in your property by applying these five tips:

1. Get your photos professionally done. Many real estate buyers start searching for homes on the Internet, so showing great-looking photos of your property can help a lot in driving up buyer interest. A professional photographer can find the best angles to make your property look really good in pictures. 
2. Improve the property with a quick makeover. Eye-catching photos are only the first step in generating multiple offers for your Altadore real estate property. Make sure your property looks good to buyers by hiring a professional stager or an interior designer to do a quick makeover. A makeover costs very little when compared to the price you can command from the offers you’ll get for your Altadore home. 
3. Make a few small repairs. A creaking floor, an unhinged door, old and rusty bathroom fixtures can be a turn-off for many potential buyers. A few small repairs will not cost a lot, and these can even help you nail down multiple offers for your Altadore real estate property. 
4. Be flexible with the viewing schedule. It can be difficult to sell your property if buyers are unable to see it. Aside from doing an open house during the weekend, make your property available for viewing even during the weekdays. Some buyers may want to take an hour early off work just to see your home. Being more flexible with the viewing schedule may get your house off the market fast. 
5. Be strategic with your pricing. You may be selling a property in one of Calgary’s best neighborhoods, but you still need to be realistic about your asking price. Pricing it too high may drive buyers away, but pricing it just right may help you drive multiple offers for your Altadore real estate property.

Sometimes sellers feel like they don’t have much control over the economics of the market, but by paying attention to little things that you can control, you increase your property’s chances of getting sold and potentially generating multiple offers!

Know someone who is looking to make a decision in real estate? If you know any friends, family, or co-workers who are looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate within the next six months, would you forward this email to them or reply with their contact information? I’ll send them important information about the Calgary, AB surrounding area real estate market and politely ask for their business. I greatly appreciate your valued referrals; it’s the only way I build my business. Free Market Report on value of your home: www.CalgaryMarketSnapShot.com

Bryon Howard is a top-producing real estate agent with Re-Max House of Real Estate in Calgary, Alberta. He is in love with his high-school sweetheart, an enthusiastic dad, and crazy about endurance sports. To learn more about Bryon and his real estate tips, head on over to his website