Houston Real Estate Blog

From the category archives:

Before Selling Your Home

Why Won’t They Come See My House?

October 9, 2010

Three Top Reasons

Buyers are sometimes hard to figure out. Of course, we all want to think that our house is the most amazing home on the market. So why don’t the buyers feel that way? Why can’t we get more buyers to at least come take a look at our wonderful property? If they would just come see it, they would surely fall in love and make an offer, right?

#1 Well it is time to face the cold hard truth.

“It’s not you..it’s me” applies here. The buyers today have more information at their fingertips that help them decide which properties they want to see. They can pull up past sales, recent sales, and all kinds of statistics to justify “snuffing” your home and seeing the homes that seem to be more aggressively priced to sell. If your home is overpriced…they already know that and they are willing to skip it and spend time first seeing the ones that meet the middle range of what is selling. They may keep you in the back of their mind and hope the price drops, but in the meantime they have no interest. Look at the information for yourself as a buyer and see where you stand, or talk to your agent.

#2 Picture me Perfect

Look at your home on johndaugherty.com and your agent’s website and see what buyers see. If your photos were not professionally taken, you go way down in the eyes of a buyer. Make sure your pictures are full of detail descriptions and cover every part of the house. The more the better. If your rooms look cluttered, dark, or small, re-shoot. Take a sunset shot or update your photos with the seasons. If you have a great mantle display for the holidays, ask your agent to come take a new photo to add. Many buyers pull up their favorite homes over and over again so a new photo may excite them and encourage them to finally come and take a look.

#3 Words, words, words….

If your home sounds boring because of the agent remarks in MLS, please re-think and meet with your agent. Your home’s description should be accurate, detailed, and full of all the wonderful reasons a buyer should come see. Make it interesting and full of life. If it sounds just like all the others, then what is the point to come see? This is your chance to sell your home, neighborhood, and area. Don’t be shy…make them want to see it!

A few changes can make your experience more enjoyable. I hope buyers will line up to see your home be glad they did. Athompson@johndaugherty.com

The branding of luxury with John Daugherty

May 11, 2010

By Sarah Rufca

April 29th, 2010 at 1:40 PM

Anyone who knows anything about real estate knows the name John Daugherty.

His real estate firm, founded in 1967, handles Houston’s toniest estates, and John Daugherty Realtors signs sometimes seem ubiquitous around River Oaks, Southamption, and Tanglewood, with yearly sales that now surpass $8 billion.

But it’s the man behind the famous name that will be featured on tonight’s new episode of Profile (10:30 tonight on Channel 8, Houston PBS).

“With John, I was interested to talk to him quite frankly because you see his signs all over town,” Profile host Greg Scheinman tells CultureMap. “He’s someone that has done such a great job of building a personal brand off of his name. When you see the John Daugherty sign, you immediately think of luxury. That’s a tough thing to do, build a personal brand and have your name really stand for something.

“We talked about how he got started and has grown and built himself this high-end niche,” Scheinman continues. “He was really niche before it was a buzzword. John has an interesting story, and really knows how to attract a certain type of buyer and a certain home seller. We talked about how you sell yourself and how to manage hundreds of agents and independent contractors. It’s a very different challenge than just selling.

“Also the risks that he’s taken — real estate by Internet was very scary to him for a while, especially when you pride youself on personal service. But he embraced it and now he’s a leader in online sales.”

Scheinman interviewed Daugherty in the latter’s home on Lake Conroe. They even took a ride around on Daugherty’s classic Chris-Craft boats.

“Most people dreads commutes, but he enjoys it because he can be with himself and gather his thoughts,” Scheinman says. “Daugherty does have a place inside the loop, but he spends more and more time at his Conroe house. We talked about the need to balance a personal and professional life, and that’s why he enjoys spending time out there.”

Thinking of Selling Your Home – Organizing Your Garage

January 19, 2010

It is important to have a neat and organized garage before placing your home on the market for sale. The garage is the most often overlooked part of the home. Keeping a well organized garage while your home is being showed to potential home buyers shows that you take great pride and ownership of your home. It just takes a little bit of elbow grease and the right storage solutions to get into shape. Here are some great tips to help you get started.

Start by sorting through the clutter; determine what stays and what goes.

Place the items that you want to save in a clear container and labeled. For items that are hazardous chemicals place them in a locked cabinet out of the way.
Open and adjustable shelves are perfect for storing items away and off the floor.
Clear off you workbench, hang tools on a peg board or on the wall with hangers. Bikes can also be hanged from the ceiling or on the wall.
Anything that can’t be hung put them in a storage compartment.
Keep the floor swept and possibly give it a fresh coat of paint.