Trulia Suggests Fall is the Best Time to Buy or Sell a Home

The folks over at Trulia recently indicated that Fall may be an ideal time to sell or buy a home – we’re not necessarily opposed to their insights related to the proposition and, be it that we are a chimney and masonry company, the closer to fire-burning season, the more attentive we get to how you can add a little value to your buyer/seller.

The first consideration to be had is that while many agents may consider the Fall to be their down-time, it doesn’t necessarily mean that homes are off of the market. In fact, some sellers may have re-considered the value of their homes, they may have redecorated, and frankly the Fall could be the season in which some of those homes look the most attractive – bottom line, some sellers may take the price down a few notches because, come winter, holding onto the home until the Spring is a huge sunk cost – double-mortgages are not generally a thing to be celebrated.

Sellers are worn out and the buyers are serious – it seems to be a season of insanely fast selling in the Broad-Ripple/Meridian-Kessler area. We’ve heard of homes selling within in hours, if not less – and in some cases, selling for more than their original asking value – that is some serious wheeling and dealing if we may say-so ourselves!

However, as an agent who has been to this rodeo a time or two, we want to leave you with some tips as you consider the things above as we head into fire-burning season – you’ve got to be the calm in the whirlwind of home buying/selling:

Many of the homes we service here at Brick + Ember Outfitters (Broad Ripple/Meridian Kessler) have older masonry chimneys – inspections, which include a sweep and camera inspection, are critical for these homes.

The chimney serves as the exhaust to the furnace and the fireplace – those flue tiles (or stainless steel chimney liners) need to be up-to-snuff and free of creosote, cracks/holes, and any other potentially hazardous issues related to their proper function. As an agent, we suggest you deliver this sort of advice to your home-buyers or sellers as it can certainly create a more informed buyer/seller, with potential to negotiate and leverage in the sale of the home.

“Home Includes a Beautiful Wood-Burning Fireplace that has been Cleaned & Inspected by a Certified Chimney Sweep (of the CSIA)” sounds pretty up-to snuff, doesn’t it?

As an agent you must also know that not all of the chimney sweeps are here are certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America and could end up burning a bridge with you and your client if you don’t choose wisely.

Brick + Ember Outfitters sweeps are certified by the CSIA to ensure the safety and functionality of your home’s chimney systems.