Even though we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this month, do not count on the luck of the Irish when it comes to selling your Brooklyn home. Finding the right buyer in this housing market can seem about as easy as spotting a leprechaun. However, with a little bit of research, you can identify the type of buyers most likely to purchase your home and develop a marketing strategy to target that group.

Pinpointing the buyers most likely to purchase your home and marketing specifically to that group is a tool that real estate professionals use all the time. Below are two crucial steps to identifying potential buyers of your home, appealing to the people most likely to purchase your property and selling your house quicker — which means claiming your pot of gold.

1. 1. Identify the lifestyle fit. Think back to when you initially bought the property and what qualities caught your eye. Were you a single man looking for a bachelor pad or an empty nester looking for a place to retire? Coincidentally, whoever buys your Brooklyn home will probably have a lifestyle similar to the one you had when you bought your home. So, be sure to highlight attractive features, such as a game room for a bachelor or one-level living for a retiree.
2. 2. Notice the neighborhood. Once you’ve identified the type of buyer, it is important to examine your Brooklyn neighborhood. People want to live in areas where they have the amenities they need. Do you live close to a desirable school district? Is a new shopping development going in right down the road? Are there multiple parks within walking distance? These can all be things that attract the right buyer, but are often left out of advertising.

Do not count on leprechauns and luck to sell your Brooklyn home! While your buyer could turn out to be the complete opposite of your target market, you are more likely to have house-selling success if you reach out to a specific demographic.

If you could use help developing a marketing strategy to sell your real estate, please call Charles D’Alessandro of Fillmore Real Estate at (718) 253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected] today.

If you’re considering selling your  home in Brooklyn New York, you probably already know most of the questions you should ask Brooklyn real estate agents you’re thinking of hiring, such as:

• How long have you been a Brooklyn real estate agent?
• Are you a full-time REALTOR®?
• Do you specialize in my Brooklyn neighborhood?
• How would you market my home?

Unfortunately, most sellers forget one of the most important questions to ask  Brooklyn real estate agents:  How many of the homes you listed in the last 12 months actually sold?

The answer to this question gets to the heart of whether the agents are good at selling real estate. They’ll have very few sold homes in comparison to the number of homes they listed, if they:

• Over-price homes
• Under-market homes
• Don’t know how to negotiate
• Aren’t good at (or simply don’t do) the multitude of tasks knowledgeable real estate agents perform to get homes sold

If you discover that an agent has a higher percentage of listings that are withdrawn or expired and not renewed than other agents in the same area, keep looking.

Searching for an agent who gets homes sold?  Congratulations, you’ve just found one ! Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor®. I’d be honored if you’d give me a chance to interview for the job of selling your Brooklyn home.  Please call me at (718)253-9600 ext.206 or email me at [email protected] to schedule an interview.

Living in New York City there is plenty of  things to do! Here is one that is absolutely free!

Shaping Up has never been this easy! Shape Up NYC offers free fitness classes every week at dozens of locations across the five boroughs.

Our free Shape Up NYC classes are taught by expert fitness instructors who know how to make fitness fun. Class offerings are varied and include aerobics, yoga, pilates and zumba. No pre-registration is required, so just find the location in your Brooklyn neighborhood and start to Shape Up today!

As a life time Brooklynite I have seen times change, but not always for the best.  Consider the change we’ve seen in attitudes toward Brooklyn real estate over the last few decades.

Brooklyn Home Owners used to love their homes because they were their safe havens.  Many now only worry about whether or not their houses will appreciate enough in value to allow them to upgrade to McMansions or refinance to buy luxury vacations in Hawaii.

What’s your stance on the Brooklyn real estate you own or wish to own some day?   Is it a house or a home to you?  There’s no right or wrong answer to this question, simply a varying point of view.

It’s a house if you:

• Bought it because you want to build equity
• Value it most because of its monetary value
• Worry primarily about it because it might lose some of its value in today’s market
• Appreciate it if it gives you short term profit
• Like the Brooklyn neighborhood because it increases the Market value of your property
• Plan to sell when you can make the biggest profit

It’s a home if you:

• Bought it because you want to build a happy life there
• Value it most because of its emotional value
• Worry primarily about it because without it you wouldn’t have a roof over your head
• Appreciate it if it gives you long term profit
• Like the neighborhood because of the people who live there
• Plan to sell when your lifestyle needs change

Personally, I’m nostalgic for the days when a house was called a home because of the love that was inside.

Whether you’re interested in buying Brooklyn real estate as an investment or as a home to raise your family, I can help you achieve your goals.  Give me a call today ask for Charles D’Alessandro your Fillmore  Agent (718) 253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected]

What is A 203k Rehabilitaion Mortgage?

Shopping for a Brooklyn home isn’t always so easy. After you go to a lender to learn how much of a mortgage you qualify for then research the Brooklyn neighborhood and maybe school district you would like to live in.

Now it’s time to find a Realtor to show you houses. As you look around at the houses that are for sale you find some are too big, too small ,not the right street, just right but I hate the kitchen or  the property is in total disrepair, sound familiar to anyone? Well for the Brooklyn house that is in disrepair there is an answer. 203k Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance, this mortgage Section 203(k) fills a unique and important need for home buyers.

When buying a house that needs repair or modernization, home buyers usually have to follow a complicated and costly process. The interim acquisition and improvement loans often have relatively high interest rates, short repayment terms and a balloon payment. However, Section 203(k) offers a solution that helps both borrowers and lenders, insuring a single, long term, fixed or adjustable rate loan that covers both the acquisition and rehabilitation of a property. Section 203(k) insured loans save borrowers time and money. They also protect the lender by allowing them to have the loan insured even before the condition and value of the Brooklyn property may offer adequate security.

This option allows you to buy the handyman special and borrow the repair money needed to get the house renovated.  Now it does have a process and requirements but it’s a great way to get that perfect ugly duckling to what you want it to be. For the houses that might just need a little sprucing up like kitchens and baths there is  another option called FHA’s Streamlined 203(k) program permits home buyers to finance up to an additional $35,000 into their mortgage to improve or upgrade their home before move-in. With this new product, home buyers can quickly and easily tap into cash to pay for property repairs or improvements, such as those identified by a home inspector or FHA appraiser.

This program is not for everyone it can be time consuming with a lot of involvement, the program is just another option to explore and an example of  the great mortgage programs out there to help buyers and sellers to achieve their goal, Remember research is a top priority. Always do you homework !

If you’re ready to buy a fixer upper or would like to know more about the 203k Rehabilitation Mortgage call me  Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate a call today at (718) 253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected]