Anahi Clouthier - Real Estate Agent

04/08/2022

🍦🍨🍧 Giveaway time!!! 🐰🌸🐣

09/09/2020

According to the National Association of Realtors, 93% of buyers are first seeing your home online (which probably has only gone up since Real Estate has gone virtual)!

That means the quality of your home photos is CRITICAL. One way I help my clients achieve this is through the use of a professional photographer (this is a NON-NEGOTIABLE).

But before those photos are snapped, your house has to be prepped and ready! Here is a sneak peek of my go to checklist I share with my sellers to help them prep for listing photos ⬇️

✨Open all the blinds and curtains
✨Clear off the countertops, (small appliances, mail, cords, clutter)
✨Fluff couch pillows
✨Turn on every lamp and light
✨Clear off your dressers, nightstands, and tables
✨Bring symmetry to your bedroom with lamps anchoring both sides of the bed, add a hint of greenery, and get a neutral duvet cover
✨Replace family photos with artwork
✨Paint bright walls a neutral shade
✨Hide garbage cans
✨Clear the driveway
✨Refresh landscaping - pull weeds, water flowers, fill in bare spots
✨Store all charging cords and cables
✨Turn off TVs and computer screens
✨Close garage doors

Would you be interested in seeing the entire list? Comment Y if you are and maybe I'll put it in a share-able format for next month!

09/08/2020

A message to the parents who are doing double duty:
Let's not pretend like this year has been easy, it's been anything but! Many parents have taken on new roles in addition to parenting and their day job, they're now taking on the teacher role too. (That definitely makes us grateful for our teachers)!

I wanted to write you a message to let you know that you are incredible and you can do hard things. You probably never thought you'd be having virtual school from your very own living room but here you are killing it (even if you feel like you're not, you are)!

Take a deep breath when things feel crazy and don't forget to take care of YOU.

A quick bath before bed, spending 10 minutes reading a good book in the morning, going for a long walk, letting the kiddos play on their iPads a little bit longer than usual, ordering takeout when you don't feel like cooking, listening to a podcast with your air pods while the kids do homework... do what you need to do!

We're all in this together! 💪

09/07/2020

My top tips for a healthy home (& happy homeowners) 🍋

🌱Diffuse essential oils for that clean home smell
🌼Trade in dryer sheets for wool dryer balls for healthy laundry
🍃Clean the places we tend to forget weekly: like doorknobs, light switches, cabinet hardware, and remote controls
🌻Make a "no shoes in the house rule" - it's seriously pretty gross to wear shoes in the house. Maybe save one pair that's for inside only if you don't like to be barefoot (OR invest in some fuzzy Ugg slippers - it is almost Fall afterall)
🌿Create a kid hand washing rule - set a timer to make sure they're scrubbing for long enough, sing a fun song, make it fun!
🌺Have a basket in your drop zone (mudroom, entryway, etc) for dirty masks and hooks for clean ones (wash daily)!
🍀Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer on the kitchen counter so after you put groceries away or open mail, you can quickly disinfect

What healthy home tips do you follow already? Do you have a favorite essential oil combo? My go to is lavender, rosemary and lemon! It makes your house smell squeaky clean!

09/04/2020

DO NOT DISTURB: Home sanitizing in progress - just kidding but I am here to talk to you about *Healthy Home Selling* and what that entails!

This year has challenged us to do things in new ways and some of them are actually pretty great! When it comes to selling your home, pandemic or not - my goal is to have healthy homes and happy homeowners!

I've added a few new ways of working with me when it comes to selling starting from the initial meeting. Here are things I'm doing now (that I plan to continue doing).

📲 Virtual Listing Appointments: I'm offering my listing appointment via Zoom where we can chat face to face about your home sale goals (with our favorite beverage).

🏡 Virtual Open Houses: These are actually quite popular! With more and more people hanging out at home these days, we're seeing more buyers tune in virtually! When I run a virtual open house, I create an event on Facebook that allows people to click that they're interested (and most importantly be reminded). That way, I can give tours and answer questions virtually - keeping your home germ free!

📍 Digital Marketing Strategies: It's 2020 which means your agent should be utilizing digital marketing strategies to reach and attract as may eyeballs as possible to your listing.

This can be done with a combination of live video, buyer interest generation, Facebook ads, and 3D tours.

What is one thing causing you to hesitate with your home sale? Tell me in the comments or send me a DM so we can chat! @ Elkton, Maryland

09/01/2020

Whether in person or online, have FUN students and teachers! 🙌

Best wishes to all the students, teachers, and parents preparing for school in the days ahead. We are rooting for your success! 👏💐✏️📚🖍️

08/29/2020

WOULD YOU RATHER:

You move into a house with a brand new kitchen – YAY! But maybe it’s not your exact style…

So you already have a list of changes you want to make but at least most of it is done!

Would you rather build a house and design your dream kitchen Joanna Gaines style or move into the house with the brand new kitchen?

or

08/19/2020

Should you include an escalation clause in your offer? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Answer: MAYBE!

Let’s take a walk in the sellers shoes. Pretend you’re selling your home and you 2 offers on day one.
You have your house listed for $350,000 and offer 1 has a price of $350,000 but an escalation clause that increases the price to $360,000 if another offer comes in.
BUT – offer 2 comes in at $368,000 – no escalation clause.
As a seller would you take the offer who went higher from the get go or take the escalation clause offer and increase the price by $2,000?

Here’s what you need to know before including this in your offer – some sellers may choose the offer that chose to initially come in higher and valued their home at a higher price.. meaning maybe skip the escalation clause and offer your highest and best instead!

What do you think? If you sold your house would you like or dislike the offer with the escalation clause?

07/24/2020

Mortgage rates have reached historic lows – but what does that actually mean for you as a buyer? Let me explain!

First, swipe to see average historic rates by decade compared to where we are currently. Let’s be glad we’re not buying houses in the 80’s, am I right? But let’s do some quick math to see how the mortgage rate actually affects your purchasing power as a buyer:

For this exercise, let’s say you’re buying a house for $350,000 in 2020, you’re putting down 5% and you lock in the average rate of 3.21%. With these calculations using my mortgage calculator, your monthly mortgage (not including taxes or homeowner’s insurance) would come out to be $1439.78/month.

Now let’s say you decide to wait to buy and the rate jumps up 1% by the time you are ready. That $350,000 house with 5% down and an interest rate of 4.21% would come out to be: $1627.93 / month. A rate increase of just 1% would increase your mortgage by $188 / month.

And let’s not even talk about what that increase would be if we went back to the average rates of the 1980s! The moral of the story is, when you’re trying to decide if now is the right time to buy and take advantage of the current rates – it’s easier to make a decision when you break it down into realistic numbers, like what your monthly mortgage payment would be. To sum it all up, the more that mortgage rates increase, the less purchasing power you ultimately have. So your budget of $350,000 could potentially decrease depending on where mortgage rates are headed (or your payment goes up even if you can afford the difference)! While rates aren’t being projected to go up anytime soon, it’s good to have a handle on what’s happening in the market so that you can make smart real estate decisions.



***All of these numbers are estimates and not direct reflections of what YOUR mortgage payment would be! To learn more about your own personal numbers, I’d love to connect you with one of my go to mortgage pros in the area!