Colleen FitzPatrick Tabatneck Real Estate

Colleen FitzPatrick Tabatneck Real Estate Bergen County Real Estate Sales Real Estate Sales

09/06/2026

How did your garden do this year?

Our flowers did amazing. So much squash, we couldn't eat it all. I think we'll skip that next year. Cherry tomatoes were the bomb.

09/04/2026

Because nobody can tell me where these came from, and I've broken every single one and turned out fine.

RULE 1 You have to wait until spring to list.

Housing is based on the law of supply and demand. We have low supply so we see strong demand all year round. I just listed and sold a property in August, which is a slow time of year. The seller received multiple offers and sold well above list price and walked away very happy .

RULE 2 You have to redo the kitchen before anyone will even look at it.

I had a seller about to drop fifty grand on a new kitchen and I talked her out of it, and good thing, because the couple who bought had a very different vision than she did.

RULE 3 And the one that gets me every time: you have to spend months sorting, packing up and emptying the entire house.

That rule keeps people stuck in a four bedroom they don't want because they are too overwhelmed with sorting through the entire house. You can take what you want, leave the rest and I'll take care of the rest.

Yes it can be that easy.

Here's what I think actually happened. Someone said this once, it sounded smart, and everyone repeated it, nobody questioned it.

After twenty five years of doing this, the thing I know for sure is that every situation is different, so the plan has to be built around yours. That's why I created my five-step guide, the Downsizing Blueprint. I help empty nesters close a chapter and make the whole transition simpler.

Send this to the friend who keeps saying they'll list 'once everything's sorted.' They've probably been saying this for years.

And if you're stuck in a holding pattern, message me. I'll send you my Downsizing Blueprint. It's a great place to start.

09/02/2026

The things I have learned along the way. Curious which one lands for you.

Nobody wants to be the one who brings this up.The adult kids don't want to sound like they're pushing their parents out....
09/01/2026

Nobody wants to be the one who brings this up.

The adult kids don't want to sound like they're pushing their parents out. The parents don't want to admit the stairs are getting harder. So everything stays the same.

Until the day it can't.

I've seen too many families in the middle of that emergency, trying to make a huge decision because nobody wanted to have the conversation 72 months earlier.

The parent doesn't get a say by then. The kids are running on fear and guilt. And the "choice" they land on is really just whatever was available.

It doesn't have to be that way.

The families who move early get something the emergency movers never do: time. Time to look around, time to compare, time to get on a waiting list.

That is moving from a position of strength instead of a position of panic.

If you've been putting off this conversation with your parents, or your kids have been gently trying to start it with you, this is your sign. Have it now, while it's still your decision to make.

Would you bring this up or is it too hard to have this conversation? 👇

08/31/2026

Welcome back to "Can I Sell This Home” where I take you behind the scenes to find out if I can sell my client's home for her “magic number”. If we hit it, we celebrate. If we don't, the home comes off the market and we relaunch next spring.

I really struggled at getting this client to see the benefits of dynamic pricing. Which is pricing a tad bit below market value. She unequivocally did not want to do it but in the end agreed.

I felt the pressure. When only two offers came in, I was sweating it. I thought, can two offers really get her well above her list price?

Tune in to find out if I was able to meet the seller's magic number with just the two offers.

08/28/2026

Empty nesters always apologize for how much stuff they still have.

What they don't know is I've accumulated a lot of stuff too.

I get it.

That's exactly why I created the Downsizing Blueprint — so a full house is never something you have to apologize for.

Every client of mine starts with a full house.

Getting you from full to empty is my job.

The house being paid off was supposed to be the finish line. For a lot of Bergen County Boomers, it slowly turned into t...
08/27/2026

The house being paid off was supposed to be the finish line. For a lot of Bergen County Boomers, it slowly turned into the thing they feel stuck inside.

Too big for two people. Taxes climbing every year and skyrocketing repair costs. Most of your savings locked in the house.

It looks like this: deciding the furnace can wait another winter, because the estimate landed higher than you expected and nothing extra is coming in.

Nobody talks about it because leaving the house the kids grew up in feels too emotional. Yet you're starting to question whether staying is the right financial decision.

If any of this landed, that's usually the sign it's worth running the actual numbers. Not to sell tomorrow. Just to see whether something smaller and lighter is even possible.

Send me a message if you want to know what your version looks like.

08/25/2026

I got asked this question and I think a lot more people need to hear the answer: “How do I choose the best list price?”

I am going to pose a question to you. What list price would you choose?

$899,000
$900,000 even
$910,000

Understanding buyer behavior when they're searching online is the key to the right answer.

Buyers search in round numbers. No one has ever walked into my office and said, "My price range is 899k to 972k."

A clean price of $900,000 lands squarely inside two search ranges instead of one.

By nature of falling within two search ranges, your home will appear in more search results. This gives the home more exposure which will translate into more showings.

Maximum exposure combined with a competitive price is how you get a higher sale price as a seller.

I challenge you to prove me wrong.

08/24/2026

Here's what makes downsizing different from what most baby boomers expect in Bergen County.

Most baby boomers assume they are going to spend months clearing out a house full of belongings they can’t take with them. Facing 30 or 40 years of memories, one drawer at a time, feels so heavy that many people just give up before they start.

What I actually offer is simpler. You take what you want and leave the rest. I handle everything that's left for you.

Yes, it can be that simple.

The reason is, clearing out room after room for months and months on end is just not feasible for some people. Some don't have the physical mobility, some don't have the energy and some don't have the time.

So if downsizing is on your mind in the next 12 months, the first thing I'd have you do is collaborate with me to come up with a game plan that works for your situation before touching one single item.

That's the part nobody tells you - you don't actually have to sort an entire house.

Thinking about downsizing in Bergen County? Send me a DM with the word MOVE and I'll walk you through where to start.

08/22/2026

This page is for you you’re looking for the following:

-You want the real, step-by-step picture of downsizing in Bergen County (my Downsizing Blueprint)

-You’re overwhelmed with the whole idea of sorting through all that stuff and need to know how to get started

-You need sorting methods that get you making quick decisions. (that’s my 7 Second Sort!)

-You need a plan for getting your kids to clear out their belongings.

Now, who is this NOT for?

-You want to leave everything in the house and not do anything with me to prep it for sale.

-If you have a price in your head that no one has ever seen in your area…then we will likely butt heads.

-If you want to list high rather than list competitively to spark a bidding war…then we will definitely butt heads.

-You want to do custom renovations before selling (they don’t pay off!)

-You want to run the sale yourself and have me just unlock the door, that's not the help I give.

My belief: do it right or don’t do it at all.

So if that first list hit and felt like I was reading your mind… hit follow. We're gonna get along. 👇 I help empty nesters close a chapter with my 5-step Downsizing Blueprint. If you're interested in a copy, comment "BLUEPRINT" below and I'll send it right over.

Address

74 Godwin Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ
07450

Telephone

+12012486873

Website

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