The right lighting can make your home appear bigger and fresher. It makes a small room look bigger and a large room seem more intimate.  It can also add value to your Brooklyn New York home for sale.

Just like furniture, lighting can be used as home décor to make your home more beautiful and functional.  Done correctly, lighting can positively impact the way buyers view your Brooklyn New York home for sale – and for far less money than other decoration options.

For maximum impact, every room in your home should have three layers of light:

1.      Ambient Lighting: Ambient lighting provides overall illumination for the whole room.  Typical lighting fixtures for this layer include ceiling fixtures such as recessed lights, chandeliers and surface-mounted lights.

2.      Task Lighting: Task lighting focuses on a specific area of the room where activities like playing cards, reading or sewing require additional light.  It can be as simple as under-cabinet lighting in a kitchen or a reading lamp by a chair.

3.      Accent Lighting: Accent lighting creates drama in a room by highlighting architectural features, paintings, statues and other decorative items.  Accent lights should be small and specifically directed toward the decorative piece you want to accentuate.  One of the most popular forms of accent lighting is track lighting.

Thinking of putting your Brooklyn New York home up for sale?  Let me give you a free in-home consultation to determine if subtle changes in lighting, or other home improvements, can improve your sales price or time on market.  Call Charles D’Alessandro of Fillmore Real Estate today at (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email at [email protected] to schedule your free consultation.

Are you a first-time home buyer?  There are a lot of things you’ll want to learn before making that first purchase.  Here are 9 tips to help you get a Brooklyn New York home you’ll love and be prepared for additional costs you may not have considered:

1. Ask yourself if you’re ready. Are you financially ready to buy a Brooklyn New York home?  Do you have a steady job and income?  Do you have money for the down payment?

2.      Get pre-approved. When you get pre-approved for a mortgage loan, your lender checks your credit and lets you know the amount of mortgage for which you qualify.  Having a pre-approved loan will put you at the top of the list when presenting an offer.

3.      Identify closing costs. The cost of closing on the sale of your Brooklyn New York home shouldn’t be overlooked. Closing costs include origination fees, title and settlement fees, taxes and prepaid items such as homeowner’s insurance or homeowner’s association fees.

4.      Calculate your total monthly housing cost. Include taxes and homeowners insurance.  In some areas, what you’ll pay for your taxes and insurance escrow almost doubles your mortgage payment.

5.      Include home maintenance expenses in your budget. Maintaining your investment can be labor-intensive and expensive. Unexpected costs for new appliances, roof repairs and plumbing problems can drain your bank account.

6.      Find a Brooklyn home. Identify the neighborhood, you want to live in.  Hire a full-time REALTOR® who specializes in that neighborhood to help you find and negotiate the purchase of the home.

7.      Get a home inspection. Make sure your agent includes a home inspection contingency in your offer to buy a home. If you’re unsatisfied with anything found in the home inspection, have your agent negotiate with the seller to make repairs, pay for repairs or lower the price.

8.      Make it to closing. You have your financing, your offer has been accepted, and you’re anxiously awaiting the day you close on your home.  Now, you just have to make sure you don’t do anything to jeopardize your credit.  Do not change jobs, buy a new car or apply for credit cards.

9.      Celebrate. Congratulations!  You’re now the proud owner of your first home.

Buying your first home can be exciting, especially if you’re knowledgeable about the process and prepared. Follow me for more Questions &  Answers About Buying a New Brooklyn Home .

If your goal for this year is to be a first-time homeowner, let me guide you through the process of finding and buying a home. For a FREE copy if Michael Reinhardts book “Buying Real Estate does Not Have To Be Stressful, call Charles D’alessandro your Brooklyn Realtor® of Fillmore Real Estate today at (718) 253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected] for more information.

For some frustrated sellers, the answer to “Why isn’t my Brooklyn home selling?” is “It’s the agent’s fault!”  If your immediate instinct is to drop your Brooklyn NY real estate agent for a new one, you might want to take a deep breath and consider the following:

1.      Do you think agents are like lottery tickets? Going through Brooklyn real estate agents as fast as scratch-off lottery tickets isn’t going to get your home sold faster.  In fact, it usually slows down the process.

2.      Is your Brooklyn home priced correctly? That’s probably the number one difference between homes that sell fast and homes that sit on the market.  A poorly priced home could be your real estate  agent’s fault.  Then again, you could be partially to blame.  Did you insist on a specific price even though your agent strongly recommended a lower price?  Did you refuse to lower the price when your agent suggested lowering it?  If you’re inflexible about price, switching agents will not help.

3. Did you make the home improvements recommended by your Realtor©? If your agent suggested you paint, clean carpets, reduce clutter or complete any other inexpensive, easy-to-accomplish task, and you didn’t do it, you’re greatly reducing your opportunity to get your home sold.  You chose to work with your agent because he is a knowledgeable professional.  Take his advice and get those home improvement tasks done now.

4.      Has your listing agreement expired? If your listing contract has expired, this is the perfect time to consider switching agents.  Go back to the start, identify 3 new agents and interview the agents.  If you find one that fits your needs better than your current agent, let your agent know you won’t be renewing your contract.

5.      Did your agent market your home? If your agent has not done all the marketing he promised, point this out and ask him when he’ll get the marketing in place.  Follow up to be sure it’s done on time and professionally.  If he still doesn’t market your home like he said he would, it may be time to switch agents.

6.      Are you being impatient? If you made all the home improvements recommended by your agent, your home is properly priced, and all marketing tasks are completed, you may just need to have a little patience.  This is a slow real estate market.  That means your home isn’t going to sell overnight.  Ask your agent the average number of days it takes a home to sell in your area, then wait that length of time before thinking about changing agents.

Don’t replace your agent just because you don’t know what else to do.  You’ll be wasting time and effort.  Instead, work with your agent to determine what else can be done to get your home sold.

If you decide to search for a new Brooklyn real estate agent, I’d be honored if you’d allow me to interview for the job.  Call Charles D’Alessandro of Fillmore Real Estate at (718)253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected] to schedule an interview.