Welcome!

I am an Atlanta native and made the decision in 2007 to leave my job as an architect/urban planner to get my real estate license. This was a difficult decision but has been great since my very first day in my new career and I am really enjoying it! It is so rewarding helping people find that perfect home, and it allows me to continue to satiate my love of good architecture and great neighborhoods!

I attended Georgia Tech (GO JACKETS!!!!) which is where I met my husband. For almost a decade we lived in one of Atlanta's fabulous in-town neighborhoods in a great 1920's Craftsman bungalow with our two dogs and two cats. Following the birth of our first child, we bought a foreclosure in the west Buckhead area and fully renovated it using an FHA 203k loan, which was a fun and sometimes daunting process. And just prior to the birth of our second child, we purchased and renovated a home in downtown Historic Roswell, completing our personal tour of some of Atlanta's best neighborhoods to live in!

I decided to create this blog in order to share useful information and resources about the real estate market and home buying process, as well as hopefully bring some humor and levity to what is often a complex and intimidating process. Enjoy!!!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

When your Realtor tells you to declutter - just do it

Admit it - you are just as addicted to HGTV as the rest of America. So don't pretend you don't know what is coming when I meet with you to list your home. Every buyer wants to walk into some version of Pottery Barn, and that means clearing out all of those mementos of life that you have collected over the years. I am sympathetic, it isn't easy; the way you live in your home is innately counter to the way buyers want to experience it. You drink coffee every morning - buyers want to see wide open expanses of empty counter in kitchens. You have a 2 year old - buyers want every living space to look like something out of Dwell magazine. Believe me, I understand it isn't easy. But if you want to get the most money for your house, it is important.

This is an extreme example, but see what happened to one couple who had an amazing home in an amazing location but just couldn't bear to box up the mementos from their life.

As I remind clients: you are moving. Go ahead and pack away all the "extra" that you can - it will make it that much easier come moving day because much of your belongings will already be in boxes, and in the meantime it will make your house much more show-ready. That's not to say the 50 porcelain roosters that your grandmother passed down to you aren't special, they just may not be everyone's taste so best to go ahead and bubble wrap them now.

We have the same goal as you: sell your home as quickly as possible, for the most money as possible. So in this vein, the more you can do to maximize your home's first impression, the better.

Trust us, we are the experts.
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