Season's Greetings from the Donovan Team

It may surprise some of you to know that we at the Donovan Team are as passionate about music as we are about real estate! Please check out this year's Singing Christmas Card!

Want to listen to the song? Play Song
Want to watch the full video? Play Movie

With the holidays in full swing, we wanted to share something special with you today.

As many of you may know from prior posts - when we aren’t busy helping our clients buy and sell real estate or helping our team members design their dream real estate career, we love writing and performing music!

We are proud to present our 5th Annual Singing Christmas card for your musical entertainment! This year's presentation is entitled: “Memories Are Evergreen”. With guest vocalist Paul Donovan on lead, Joe Donovan, musical producer on harmonica, and Karen Donovan, singer/song writer, on backup vocals. Warning - this video could bring a tear to your eye as you recall happy memories from your past!

Click here to hear the track and see the music video, which is comprised of our home movies from years ago. You may even recognize a few members of the Donovan Brothers Realty team in it!

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Wishing you and your loved ones a Christmas & Holiday Season that is truly Evergreen!

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From all of us at the Donovan Team, we’d like to wish  all of our Clients, Friends, Colleagues & Loved ones a Blessed Holiday and Happy and Healthy New Year and may all your wishes come true!

In the meantime, if  we can help you or a loved one make your real estate dreams come true in 2017 - don't hesitate to give us a call!

How to Avoid a Botched Sale in Long Island

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report

There are many reasons why a home may not sell. However, I'll be speaking about three major reasons why homes don't sell in Long Island. There are a few reasons why this is happening, and I see a trend among sellers. They're usually related to these three things:

1. Do you need to do repairs? Buyers don't like to see homes that need a lot of work. They want them in 'turnkey' condition so that they can move in and not worry about a failing garage door or a leaky faucet. Repair as many things as possible because they're all going to come up in the home inspection.

To see what buyers are looking for check out the Buyer's Guide!

2. Is your home in a good location? Is your home on a busy street? There's not a whole lot you can do to change your home's location. You can focus on other nice aspects of the home or you can reduce your price.

3. Is your home priced too high? Price is everything, especially right when your home hits the market. If you think the price is too high, adjust it quickly. Otherwise, your home will sit on the market and eventually go stale. Your price is your #1 selling point, so make it a very attractive number.

We have a new report that is completely free. It's called "Things to Consider When Selling Your Home". Call 1-800-822-1222 to get your copy!

As always, please refer to me as your #1 resource for Long Island real estate!

Don’t Let CO Problems Derail Your Sale

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report

Today we are going to talk about why you don't want that CO problem to derail your sale. Significant alterations and additions to your property require paperwork, permits, certificates, compliance, and more. The bank generally won’t let you close without filling all of this out. The buyer and their agent will also make you get those before they buy. That means you care about it as well.

A typical scenario is that a week before closing, you will see there is no CO or open permit on your property. This is a problem. Now the buyer won’t move in, and it may take you weeks or months to get everything in order. You’ve got to be in compliance with the latest building codes, even if the codes were just recently upgraded. That is going to cost you time and money.

How do you avoid this scenario? Invest the time before you sell, check with your building department to make sure things are in order, and don’t let a CO problem derail your sale in Long Island!

If you have any questions about your CO’s and what you should do about them, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to get you pointed in the right direction.

What Common Mistakes Do Home Sellers Make?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report

Today I wanted to highlight some mistakes I’ve caught some of my sellers making lately. Hopefully, you will be able to take these tips and apply them to your home to ensure you have the best possible showing. Here are the 5 most costly mistakes that a seller can make:

1.  Pet odors

These really turn off buyers. If you have pets, make sure they are out of the house and you have cleaned up after them. Neutralize any odors they may have left behind.

2. Loose laundry

I recently was in a home where laundry was strewn about the bedrooms and floors. Your showing is important; make sure you pick up after yourself and at least have your dirty clothes in a laundry hamper, if not cleaned and folded in your closet.

3. Dark rooms

Make sure there is enough lighting in all of your rooms. Believe it or not, we have run into homes that have rooms without any lights in them. Don’t make that mistake.

4. Toys

Make sure all the toys in your home are picked up. You don’t want potential buyers tripping over or stepping on anything and hurting themselves.

5. Stay away

This goes for the seller during the showing. If you are around and following the buyer around from room to room, it puts them off and makes them uncomfortable.

If you are in the process of selling your home, remember these tips. If you are thinking of buying and run into one of these situations, listen to my advice. Once you buy the home, none of the other stuff will be there. Overlook the little things like this so you can get the home at a good price, and make it your own once you have it.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Long Island Real Estate Market Update

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report

We're here to give you a Long Island real estate market update. Whether you're planning on buying or selling, this information should be very useful to you.

We're currently situated in a seller's market, so this means that there are not enough homes available for buyers. There is a lot of demand, and not enough supply to keep up with the demand.

This results in upward pressure on prices, meaning that if you want to sell for top dollar, now is the time to do so. You have a chance to get multiple offers on your home and sell above your listing price! If your home is in good condition and priced well, you have a good chance to sell for top dollar.

The good news for buyers in the area is that interest rates are still at historic lows. They have been going up lately, but they are still very, very low. If you've been thinking about buying, this means now is the time to pull the trigger. You can save thousands and thousands of dollars over the life of your loan by locking in low interest rates now.

If you have any further questions about the Long Island real estate market, please don't hesitate to contact us! We look forward to speaking with you.