The Patz McMillan Team

As anyone who has ever purchased a used car will tell you, looks can be deceiving. To get a true picture of the quality of the product, you have to "look under the hood."

What does this have to do with shopping for a new home?

When you find a property you like on the market, it's easy to fall in love with its appearance and features. However, there may be issues you won't notice, such as fo ...

When shopping for a new home, one of the most important considerations - yet one most people don't pay enough attention to - is the lot type. Selecting the right one can significiantly increase your enjoyment of the home. Picking the wrong one can have the opposite effect.

There are three special types of lots that homeowners tend to find most desirable. Yet, even though they are considered ...

One of the most common mistakes made by home buyers and sellers is not arranging for moving day well in advance. Even if you've just put your property on the market, or are only in the beginning stages of shopping for a new home, you should start planning for moving day now. If you don't, you might find yourself scrambling to make arrangements, which can be - to put it mildly - stressful.

St ...

You are probably already aware of the major things you need to do around your home to get it ready for sale. These include getting rid of clutter, doing minor repairs, and making everything clean and tidy so every room is as much of a showcase as possible.
But there are a myriad of little touch ups you can do that you may not have thought of before... touch ups that can make a big difference ...

When you're showing your home to a potential buyer, you obviously want to make the best impression possible. You don't want to make a mistake, and miss out on an opportunity to sell. So here are some of the most common home viewing blunders and how to avoid them:

1. Being inflexible with scheduling

Don't be too strict about when you're willing to schedule a viewing. After all, if a buyer is ...

When preparing a home for sale, most people focus on making the inside look as appealing as possible. But the outside of your property deserves your attention too. After all, it's the first thing a potential buyer sees.

You can dramatically improve the appearance of your property by giving it a "wash and haircut"!

Clean the driveway, walkways and deck or patio. A pressure washer - which can ...

One of the best things you can do to ensure you get the home you want is to arrange for financing before you go shopping. This is often referred to as getting "pre-approved".

Getting pre-approved simply means that your lender has calculated how much of a mortgage they're willing to offer you, depending on your down payment and current financial situation.

There are two advantages to having ...

There are dozens of ways to make your property more enticing to potential buyers. For example, you can invest in getting your home professionally "staged", which involves making it look a little like a model home. Or, you can do a major renovation to improve your home's look and value.

But what if you don't have a lot of time and are on a limited budget? What can you do today to make your ho ...

You're probably familiar with the term "home staging". It involves cleaning, de-cluttering, reorganizing, and decorating specifically in order to make your home more attractive to potential buyers. Furniture stores do something similar when they "stage" a bedroom suite in a showroom.

Most sellers focus their staging efforts on the inside of their homes. But the outside is important too. Aft ...

"It's alright to have butterflies in your
stomach. Just get them to fly in formation."
Dr. Rob Gilbert

"The emotions aren't always immediately
subject to reason, but they are always
immediately subject to action."
James Joyce

"Many of life's failures are people who did
not realize how close they were to success
when they gave up."
Thomas Edison