Giovanna Guillen Keyes Realtor

Keeping Your Home Showing-Ready While You're Busy
Selling a home is rarely easy, especially when showing requests arrive during the busiest part of the week or at the worst possible time. Fortunately, a few simple preparations can make it much easier to keep a home looking good for showings.
First Impressions: The Front Door
Much of the work involved...

Keeping Your Home Showing-Ready While You're Busy Selling a home while juggling everything else doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how to keep your house ready for showings without much extra time or effort.

Weekend Projects That Improve Your Home's Function & Appeal
You don't need to wait for the perfect time or hire a professional to make worthwhile improvements around your home. A few hours of work over the weekend can help surfaces, fixtures, and other features last longer while also improving how the property looks. Many projects require only basic tools and...

Weekend Projects That Improve Your Home's Function & Appeal Small weekend projects can improve both the function and appeal of your home with minimal time and expense. Here are the areas to focus on first.

Evaluating Storage Space When Touring Homes
Storage is rarely the first priority for buyers touring a home, and it shouldn't be the first thing they consider. Kitchens and floor plans usually command the most attention, while storage receives far less notice. But a home that looks spacious during a showing can feel cramped once the boxes are unpacked.
Inspect...

Evaluating Storage Space When Touring Homes Storage often gets overlooked during a home tour. Here's what to check in closets, the kitchen, the garage, and other hidden corners before you make an offer.

How to Prepare Your Home for a Summer Open House
A summer open house asks more of a home than people realize.
Buyers may arrive warm from the car, distracted by weekend plans, or already tired from seeing other houses. They arn't always walking in with a blank slate. The house has to win a little patience from them.
That doesn't mean every room needs...

How to Prepare Your Home for a Summer Open House Summer open houses bring heat, glare, and quick first impressions. Here's how to help your home feel comfortable before buyers start looking closely.

How to Improve Your Home's Outdoor Lighting
Most people don't think much about outdoor lighting until something feels off. The front walk is hard to see, or the porch feels dim. The backyard is pleasant during the day, then disappears once the sun goes down.
Small changes can help more than a full redesign. The point is not to make everything...

How to Improve Your Home's Outdoor Lighting Better outdoor lighting can make your home feel safer, warmer, and easier to enjoy. Start with the areas people actually use after dark.

Why Commute Times Matter More Than You Think
Commute time is one of those things buyers tend to round down in their heads.
Forty minutes becomes "about half an hour." A route with three bad intersections becomes "not too bad." A home that's farther out starts to feel reasonable after you've seen the kitchen, the yard, or the extra bedroom you...

Why Commute Times Matter More Than You Think A commute can seem simple during a home search, but daily routines tell a different story. Here's what buyers may want to test first.

What Sellers Should Know About Buyer Requests After an Inspection
A clean inspection report is rare. Even homes in excellent condition tend to generate a list, sometimes a short one, sometimes several pages long, and how you handle what comes back can shape the rest of the transaction. Buyers aren't trying to nickel-and-dime you when they ask for repairs or credits....

What Sellers Should Know About Buyer Requests After an Inspection After a home inspection, buyers often come back with requests for repairs or credits. Here's what sellers should expect and how to respond without losing the deal.

Simple Ways To Make Your Laundry Area More Functional
Laundry rooms rarely get the same attention as kitchens, bathrooms, or living areas. They're often squeezed into whatever space was left over: a hallway closet, a basement corner, a mudroom, or the pass-through from the garage.
Still, this small area can affect daily routines more than people realize....

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How to Balance Location, Layout, and Long-Term Needs
Almost every home search eventually hits the same wall. You find a layout you love in a neighborhood you're not totally sold on, or the location is right, but the floor plan needs more work than you expected when you walked in.
There's rarely a house-hunting scenario where all three of these line up...

How to Balance Location, Layout, and Long-Term Needs Location, layout, and long-term needs rarely point in the same direction when you're house hunting. Here's how to weigh those tradeoffs before you make an offer.

Simple Ways to Help Your Home Stand Out to Buyers
Buyers decide how they feel about a home in the first few minutes, sometimes sooner, and that reaction is more fragile than most sellers realize. It doesn't take much to tip it one way or the other, and fixing the things that do usually costs less than people assume.
Start With the First Impression
Most...

Simple Ways to Help Your Home Stand Out to Buyers Selling soon? These practical, low-cost tips help your home make a stronger first impression and stand out to buyers touring the market this season and beyond.