Make-A-Wish to Bring Balance to the Force

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We are here today with Diane Kuppermann of the Make-A-Wish Foundation to talk about a great holiday gift we are working on.

We rented out the largest theater at Shoppingtown Dewitt for a special private screening of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” on December 28th at 3:50 pm!

The theater only has 333 seats, so you need to reserve your tickets quickly. Your WHOLE donation of $25 goes to Make-A-Wish Foundation, which works year round to help dreams come true for those who are in need of a miracle. The sponsors of this event have covered the cost of the movie, drinks, and popcorn.

We'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors.

Call Make-A-Wish to order and reserve your tickets at (315)-475-9474. We look forward to seeing you on Monday, December 28th. Until then, may the force be with you!

Don't Miss Our Special Event this Winter!

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Today, I just wanted to let you know that we will have a special event between Christmas and New Year's.

Not only will this event be a lot of fun, but we're also working with a great charity, the Make-A-Wish foundation. We won't tell you too much about the details now, but here's a hint: Star Wars!

Mark your calendars and be on the lookout for any updates. We look forward to seeing you!

What Are the Benefits of Owning a Second Home?

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When you're thinking about buying a second home, you might be wondering how to shop around for it. How can you look at homes in Colorado and Vermont when you're here in Syracuse? It's a great question.

One thing you can do is have your real estate agent assist you in doing research on finding a good agent in a particular area that you're searching in. You need an experienced agent like myself to find you another good agent. I can check their credentials and ensure you that you'll be in good hands.

It's really important to have the right agent because you probably don't know the areas where your second home will be. A reliable agent will be able to steer you in the right direction and get you an excellent price on a home.

If you have any questions about how to start this process, or if you have any questions about Syracuse real estate in general, please don't hesitate to contact me!

The Key to Great Exterior Photos of Your Home

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Right now is the time of the year when your home looks fantastic. The grass is as green as it's going to get, the flowers have bloomed, and the trees are full of leaves. If you plan on selling your home anytime in the near future, now is the time to get the most stunning outdoor photographs of the exterior of your home.

Take pictures of the front of the house, from the side of your house, and from as far back in your backyard as you can go. If you have a deck, you want to be sure to get great pictures of that as well. If you plan on listing your home in March, April, or May, your landscaping won't be looking as pristine as it does now. When the time comes, having photos from this time period to market your home will make your home stand out next to the others.

If you need any real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We're always available to help!

How Can You Stage on a Budget?

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If you are looking to sell your home, your goal is to get the most money possible in the shortest amount of time. One of the best ways to add value and appeal to your home is through home staging. You have a lot of options for how you want to go about it. You could hire a professional staging company, but that comes with a hefty price tag. Most of the time, a few simple fixes is all it takes to transform a living room. 

Today we are going to go through some of our most favorite, inexpensive home staging tips or you. We hope these will help you save both time and money when it comes time to sell your home.

A fresh coat of paint is always a good idea. Neutral, warm colors work best for highlighting the natural light in your home. This will make it easier to punch up the room with some colorful accessories and pull everything together.

A common design problem facing many homeowners is that they have no real entry way, as their front door opens up to the living room. To fix this, you can add a table, some lighting, and a rug to "fake a foyer" and make it feel like the living room and entryway are two different spaces.

A patterned rug, some pillows, or bright curtains add a ton of texture and an eclectic layer to the space, which is essential to a well-designed room.

In some cases, a "make-under" is just what you need. In the case of most fireplaces, taking some accessories and clutter away enhances the look and feel of the room greatly.

You could spend well over a few thousand dollars with a staging company, or you could do these fixes yourself for around $500. That's a small investment considering the value that you add to your home by adding those pieces.

If you have any questions for us about staging your home or anything else real estate related, give us a call or send over a quick email. We are always here to help, and would love to hear from you!

Why Should You Refinance Today?

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I want to apologize to you all today. I should have told you this sooner. If you are a home owner, now is the perfect time to refinance, based on market conditions. 

The average American would save around $250 per month if they refinanced today. That's $3,000 a year! If you refinance, you can make the same payment, but put that $250 back into your mortgage, so you can pay it down faster. You could also just use that $250 to pay for something else.

Our advice to you if you're considering refinancing is to call a mortgage broker, or call us if you need one. We can get you in their office and discuss your options. The Mortgage Brokers of America met and redid their forecast. They are saying that interest rates are going to start to rise at a faster rate than they have been in the past. If that's the case, now might be the lowest we see rates for quite some time. In fact, my wife and I just recently refinanced our home, when we should have done it a year ago. 

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We want to help you take advantage of this opportunity today!

What's Going on in Syracuse Real Estate?

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Hey everyone, thanks for joining us again. As you can see from the graphic in the video above, our market is up on a national level, which is great news for everybody. We are seeing home sales go up by double digits in the West, Midwest, and South regions of the country. However, the Northeast is only up 1.6% and home prices are down by 1.6%. 

So, what's happening in Syracuse? Well, since the bottom of the market in 2011-2012, Syracuse is only up 2.5%, which is not a lot. What does this mean for buyers and sellers? For sellers, it means they need to be aggressively marketed and aggressively priced, more so than the rest of the market, otherwise your home could sit there for a long time. 

The average days on market nationally for a home is 30 days, but in Syracuse it's over 65 days. If you want to sell your home, this is the time of year to do so in our market. Homes that are properly staged, photographed, marketed, and priced will sell aggressively to the market, while homes that are casually priced and casually marketed will take much longer to sell. 

So, call the agent you think has the best strategy for getting your home sold. If you'd like to hear ours, just give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

Is New York Following National Real Estate Trends?

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Just because something is or isn't happening in our area, it doesn't mean that the rest of the nation is experiencing or not experiencing the same thing. This way of thinking often alienates us from other parts of the country. Take, for example, the recent snowstorm we experienced. Outside of New England, nobody is really dealing with what we are right now.

The opposite of this happens in real estate.

What has been happening lately is that 80% of houses over a certain price range are being professionally staged and photographed. Why? Because those homes sell for more money and sell faster. Although almost the entire nation stages and professionally photographs their homes, Central New York does not. 

This trend started about 7 or 8 years ago, but did not spread to our area for whatever reason. When you look at homes online outside of Central NY, you'll see that most, if not all of them, are professionally staged.

We understand that this is a national trend and and that 98% of home buyers begin their search online, so we professionally stage and photograph all of our listings with help from 3 different staging companies and a professional photographer. 

If you want to talk about getting your home staged and photographed so you can sell it for more money in a shorter period of time, give us a call or send us a quick email. We would love to be of assistance!

Where Can You Find Expert Advice For Current Real Estate Trends?

Looking to buy or sell a home in Central, New York? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (315) 449-6685 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.  

Hey there, I just wanted to stop by today and tell you about a great program coming up on February 6. If you are a fan of the ABC show "Shark Tank," or real estate in general, you already know who Barbara Corcoran is.

What you may not know about Barbara, however, is that she is a real estate guru. She has been extremely successful in the business for many decades, and is one of the top agents in the world based out of New York.

Coming up on February 6, Barbara will be featured on an episode of ABC's 20/20. Barbara is going to be talking about the dangers of the real estate market, from both a buyer and seller's point of view. This is sure to be a great talk with some really relevant information for anybody who is looking to buy or sell real estate in the near future.

Just wanted you to be aware of this program, I think it will be very informative for you. If you have any questions, I am just a phone call away. Talk to you soon!

Thank you for everything

   I recently received a letter that I could not be more excited about. It was from our CEO and Owner, Peter Hunt, congratulating my team and me. The Chip Hodgkins Team was recognized as the #1 real estate team for the ERA franchise system in the State of New York, and 22nd in the Nation. 

  First, I would like to say thank you to Peter Hunt for his recognition. My team and I would not have been able to achieve the level of success we have without your help, and your belief in us.

  Second, I would like to congratulate my team. The hard work you put in every day has resulted in our team being recognized among the top producers in our industry. This is an award for each one of us.

  Finally, I want to offer my sincerest thanks to all of our great clients and friends. Without you putting your trust in my team and me, none of this would have been possible. We are thrilled to have been able to serve you, and we are committed to operating with the same professional level of service for years to come.