Selling Your Home During the Holidays

There may be no busier time of the year than the holidays. With all the preparations, decorating, baking, gift buying and wrapping, and holiday parties to attend, many home sellers decide to take their home off the market during the holiday season.


Here are some suggestions for you should you decide to continue marketing your home over the holidays. When it comes to holiday decorations, less is more. Put up your tree, hang a wreath and the stockings and give your home that general holiday glow, but don’t go overboard. You want potential buyers to feel that your home is a warm and welcoming place where they can envision themselves enjoying holidays in the future, but you don’t want so many decorations that your home begins to look smaller than it really is because every nook and cranny has a decoration. Keep it simple, but pretty.


Put out some candy canes or a plate of cookies. Better yet, bake some cookies just before the buyers arrive and leave some on a plate with a note for them to help themselves. Not only will the buyers remember that your home is the one where they got the treats (a real plus if there are children) but they will also remember that your home is the one that smelled so good.


Having your home on the market during the holidays does not mean that you have to let people into your home no matter what. If you are planning a holiday party or having out-of-town guests, simply let your agent know in advance that you need to block out that period of time.



The holidays are a great time to sell your home if you make it available. Everyone is in a celebratory mood, you have less competition and the buyers are serious.

Five Quick Tips to Get Your Home Ready for Winter

The winter months are quickly approaching. Follow these quick tips to have a warm and cozy season in your home.

Roof repairs: If you can safely get onto your roof to inspect for missing shingles or other factors that may lead to a leaky roof, now is the tome to do it! If not, call a professional and have them take care of the rooftop work for you.

Seal it off: Inspect doors and windows to ensure that the weather stripping is in good condition. Consider adding plastic film to your windows. This will do an amazing job of keeping your house warmer and cozier.

Hot stuff: Make sure that your heating and ventilation system is in good working order. Clean out accesible ducts and replace filters where necessary. Have your system serviced annually.

Chimney sweep: Creosote, a black substance that builds up in the chimney when wood is burned, can cause chimney fires. Inspect your chimney for creosote and call a chimney sweep to keep your fireplace safe and functional.

Gutter check: Now is the time to clean out those rain gutters again. If you want to do it yourself, make sure that you can safely access the gutters and then scoop out any debris, blast the drains clean with a high-powered hose and repair any leaks you may find along the way. (What? You don't have rain gutters? Get some installed pronto!)