Real Estate Tips

from BOB RICH

Bob Rich, the President and Founder of The Rich Company established The Rich Company in 1972. He has grown the company to the largest real estate company in eastern North Carolina. Bob's philosophy is that service and reliability come first in this business. Go the extra mile for your client, work harder, do your homework, and good things will happen.

Tip #1 - Selling a House - Not a Scrapbook

If you are selling your home, remember that you are putting just a house on the market and not the pleasant memories you have accumulated there over the years.  To the critical buyer, a house for sale is not yet a home and your fond reminiscences may not fit into the buyer’s lifestyle.  After preparing your house to show to its best advantage, step into the background.  Leave all the selling to a Realtor who is trained to be objective. 

The Realtor will have already gained all the required information from you.  So let him or her alone conduct inspection tours and answer questions.

Your reason for selling may be important to you but a prospective buyer is unlikely to place any value on them.  Don’t let your reasons for selling overshadow the prospect’s reasons for buying.  Of course you’ll be sad to leave your home, but push memories aside.  If you allow sentiment to intrude when studying an offer to purchase you can lose not only your objectivity but the sale.

Tip #2 - Watch the Trend

It is a well known axiom that location is one of the most important elements in property value.  Let’s talk that one step further.  An even better buy, would be an investment of a sound property in a so-so area that will INCREASE in value in the future.  Buying into an area that is shortly on the comeback trail is one way to do this and shorten the success odds.

In an area of this kind, trend is everything.  The trick is not to get in so early that you are one of the earliest pioneers but early enough that there is still plenty of appreciation left.  Being an early pioneer is fine if you are a gambler possessed with lots of patience.  It’s safer, though, to buy into such an area AFTER the restoration trend is unmistakably established.  A neighborhood that’s a good candidate for restoration must have in intrinsic location advantage:  say, nest to a prestigious area or in a good walk-to-walk location.  It must also have good basic houses.

Tip #3 - On Pumping Septic Tank

If you have city water and sewer pipes reaching out to your property, you don’t have to worry about septic tank maintenance.  However, 2/3 of homeowners live on areas that DO have septic tanks.  If you are one of them, you may ask:  “If my septic system is working properly, is it still necessary to have it pumped?”  The answer is YES.  The time to pump is before you have problems.

A properly working system traps the digesting solids in the septic tank so that only rather clean water drains off into the drain field.  Eventually the pores in the soil under the drain field will plug up and require the tank to be pumped out.

How often should it be pumped?  It depends upon the size of the tank and usage, of course.  Generally, once every one to three years is suggested.  Even if a septic system does not apply to your present home, it may be a consideration if you purchase a vacation or second home in the country, or in the outskirts of a major city.

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Bob Rich, President and Founder of The Rich Company, has answers to your real estate questions.