Whether you are considering a Backyard Cottage on your at least 4,000 square foot lot as a rental property, for an elderly family member, or a grown child you need to know the max square . . . → Read More: Backyard Cottages in Seattle]]> I wrote a blog earlier about Backyard Cottages in Seattle or Detatched Dwelling Units.  Since then, I’ve had numerous questions about them. 

Whether you are considering a Backyard Cottage on your at least 4,000 square foot lot as a rental property, for an elderly family member, or a grown child you need to know the max square footage the structure can be is 800 sq ft.  This includes any carport, attached garage, or storage. 

You can decide to go through a contractor and architect or get a panelized or modular fabricated design.  Fabricated is the fastest, and designed much like building blocks.  Panelized takes a little more time and can be more customized.  

It’s no secret adding a Backyard Cottage on your property can add extra monthly income.  However there are some costs involved.  Here is a link to a handy worksheet that breaks down Hard Costs and Soft Costs.  Example of a Hard Cost is demolition or site preparation.  A Soft Cost is a mortgage, or fees for utility hookups.  Which aren’t cheap, by the way!  Seattle City Light  recommends separate electricity meters.  This will save you way more money in the long run.

Make sure you save room for a parking space for your Backyard Cottage – this is a requirement!

For more information regarding Backyard Cottages and self help steps to diagrams, permits, and more – this site wins, hands down.

Check back frequently to www.cooperjacobs.com for our Backyard Cottage listings in Seattle City Limits.

We have seen a lot of Green Lake homes sales in the Seattle MLS through the years and the homes that always sell faster and for money have one thing in common in most cases.  They all follow the seller tip guidelines below.  We thought . . . → Read More: Good Housekeeping: Five Points To A Sale On Your Green Lake Home]]> Good Housekeeping: 5 Points To A Sale of your Green Lake Home

We have seen a lot of Green Lake homes sales in the Seattle MLS through the years and the homes that always sell faster and for money have one thing in common in most cases.  They all follow the seller tip guidelines below.  We thought we would go ahead and share them with you in case you are thinking about selling your Green Lake home.

The goal is to sell your Green Lake (Greenlake) house as quickly and as profitably as possible. To do that sellers need to Stage the home – not just have it Staged professionally, but all the items that go along with that.  Here are four-steps designed to maximize the value of your house:

1. De-cluttering Tips
2. Repairing Tips
3. Cleaning Tips
4. Revitalizing Tips
5. Showing Tips

Make four distinct piles: Trash, Return, Donate, and Might Need.

It would be overwhelming if you tackled the whole house at once. Delegate the work to other family members accordingly and go at it. Put checkmarks next to each completed room. It’s important to know you’re making progress. Golden Rule – Consider hiring a garbage collection agency or rent a commercial garbage bin if you have a lot to throw away.

Repairing Tips

Green Lake Buyers expect a trouble-free home. They want to buy a house, move in and start enjoying it right away. They don’t want to waste time and money fixing up the place. If you don’t repair your house now, it will be seen as a fixer-upper and you will not be able to attract the right kind of buyers, nor will you get the price you want for it.

Know whether you need a pre-listing home inspection and understand the difference between repair and renovation can save you money and headaches. Golden Rule – Repair cracks in the foundation immediately.

Cleaning Tips

Cleaning your house for sale goes well beyond dusting, mopping and vacuuming. You must clean it like you mean it. You must minutely examine every square inch of your house and restore it to near-new condition. An advantage of a well-cared-for house is that you’re less likely to receive a low offer. When buyers can’t find faults they focus less on how much money they can squeeze out of you and start thinking that the house is right for them. If you don’t have the time to clean then you should hire a professional. It’s a smart investment. Golden Rule – Clean the area around your fireplace and then the fireplace itself.

Revitalizing is not remodeling, which is usually expensive and delays the selling of your house. Revitalizing starts with improving your curb appeal, follow up with lighting, and painting. Only then can you start staging your house for sale.  Golden Rule – Home Office: Move your filing cabinet into the basement.

Showing Tips:

You’ll need to dust the undisturbed rooms once in a while but you can see how this strategy ensures your house is always ready for showing with minimal efforts. For the rest of the living space create three to-do lists:

• A weekly must-do checklist
• A daily must-do checklist
• A final checklist before the open house

Golden Rule – Put away personal valuables. Turn off your computer.

Full service Green Lake Realtors help with all of the above.

Often we are asked to go through a Green Lake home and give the seller a check list of some of the items above.  We also usually hire a Stager and a housecleaner on your behalf.  Selling Green Lake real estate requires knowing what Green Lake buyers want. Curious what YOUR Green Lake home value is and what’s been selling in the neighborhood?

Contact us and we can help or at least answer any questions you might have.