Are you feeling stressed and challenged about moving from your comfort zone neighborhood to a new one where you know no one? Is this especially difficult because you have young or teen children who are not happy at all with your decision to move and tear them away from their friends and the school they love? Then take advantage of a medium you’re probably already very familiar with to “move in” to the area before you ever make the physical move.

1. Check Facebook pages for Neighborhood Posts for the area you are moving to. If you find one, send a post or message to the administrator for that Facebook group introducing yourself and letting them know that you’re moving into the neighborhood with children (mention ages) and would love to join the group and glean input and general info about all the area offers you and your children.
2. Check Nextdoor.com and see if your new neighborhood has a group on there and do the same thing.
3. Go to the new school’s website and see if they have facebook/instagram/twitter groups that you can join and follow.

Not really a social media follower or subscriber? Be bold and create a postcard on a site like shutterfly with a family photo and take a walk around your new block(s) leaving them at your new neighbor’s homes with a note on it introducing yourself. If you don’t feel comfortable having your family’s photo out there like that, simply buy a pack of note cards, write a short note and leave those in the neighbor’s doors. (Do NOT put in mailboxes as that may not be allowed by the city or your association.)

Another friendly proclamation of your becoming their new neighbors is to plan an open house once you move in and invite the neighbors on your block and surrounding blocks if not a huge area to come on over and meet you.

Once your kids make some new friends in the neighborhood and school, not only will their stress level be reduced, so will yours!

If you’re more interested in spending time with family and friends (or desire to be a one income home w/an at home parent) than working a gazillion hours just to own a home and pay ridiculous “keep up with the Jones’s” cost of surviving, then you might be interested in moving to one of these 5 cities, all which, when factoring cost of living including housing to average household income come in at under 25% ratio of income to expenses.

Listed from Best to 5th:

#1:  Huntsville AL      Avg Household Income: $52,960   Living Expenses Less than 23%

#2:  Fort Wayne IN    Avg Household Income: $42,250   Living Expenses Less than 23%

#3:  Des Moines IA     Avg Household Income: $49,420  Living Expenses Less than 24%

#4:  Grand Rapids MI:  Avg Household Inc.:    $43,610   Living Expenses Less than 25%

#5:  Indianapolis IN:  Avg Household Income: $46,840  Living Expenses Less than 25%

Unlike in days of old when you could tease your buyers with a few photos and, if intrigued, they would come and view your home in person, modern day online shoppers want to walk entirely through your home visually before they take their time to do so physically. You have one chance at a first impression. Here are a few tips to help you maximize on your advertising to effectively intrigue the most potential buyers.

• Your photos will either encourage your discourage prospective buyers. If you take mediocre photos, consider having them done professionally (offered with both BuyOwner Elite and Premium ads). The reality is, if someone doesn’t like your photos, they aren’t reading your description. They’re moving on to the next home.
• If you have a 4 bedroom home, unless not possible due to clutter you can’t clear, show all 4 bedrooms. If you only show one, buyers are creating their own reasons why you’re choosing not to show the others ie: too small, bad closet, damaged walls or floors, etc…..none of that may be true…except in the buyer’s mind. Next!
• Take your time when taking your photos. It’s not ok that the laundry is laying on the floor next to the bed or that dishes are in the sink or you can’t see the daylight through the dirt on your window.  Your friends might not care but if your home looks messy and unkempt in your photo, prospects are probably thinking how much worse it must be behind the refrigerator. Next!
• Consider eye distractions.  Those pretty towels hanging on the door of your oven look attractive in person BUT in a photo, they’re an ‘eye distraction’. What that means is that when the photo opens, your buyer’s eyes are drawn to the towels instead of your Kitchen.  Unless you’re selling your home fully furnished, your goal is to showcase your spaces, not your stuff. An easy test to know if you need to remove something is to stand in the doorway, turn around and then quickly turn back to your room. If your eye sees something instead of the room, that’s what needs to come out before you take your photo.
• Capitalize on natural light. Nothing is more enticing than sunlight wafting across a hardwood floor and nothing is harsher than a photo discolored or filtered by the glow from a lamp or overhead light. Abundant natural light is typically a very positive draw with buyers so capitalize on that feature if offered by your home.  Tip: Recessed lighting typically enhances a photo while illuminated lamps do not. Tip: Shoot photos on a partly sunny day so your photos are clear and not hazed over from too much sunshine coming in through the windows.
• When writing your description, be direct and to the point. The days of cozy, charming cottages and fluff filled adjectives is for the most part, gone. In our fast paced world of short attention spans, people want facts instead of fiction. That doesn’t mean cold and industrial. You can be ‘warm’ without being wordy.
• Put the buyer in the ad and take yourself out. Ex: “We’ve loved having our whole neighborhood and family over for Thanksgiving  dinners”  vs “You’ll enjoy hosting holiday dinners and parties in your spacious, formal Dining Room.”
• Choose your words wisely:  Ex: Use the word ‘home’ instead of ‘house’. Though on the surface this might seem minimal, a house is a building,  a home is the place where you want to relax at the end of the day and raise your family.           Ex2: Instead of detailing every upgrade in your Master Bath try “Luxurious en-suite Bath”.  When you’re writing, say the words out loud and you’ll ‘feel’ the difference.  Fact is, unless a buyer is an investor, more homes are purchased emotionally than pragmatically.

When your prospective buyers are looking at your ad, they are asking themselves one main question, “Why should I pay this price, for this home in this location?” The job of your ad is to answer with “this is why, this is why, this is why.” If your home ‘makes sense’ to them they’re coming for a closer look!