The number one rule is to allow your home to shine online and here’s how to do that. 

In order to capture the highest and best offer and maximize return, on most likely your biggest asset, a homeowner should consider doing the following: 

1. Paint. Painting both interior and exterior to create a fresh, clean slate.  
2. Update Light Fixtures. I like to say, lighting is jewelry to the home.  Light fixtures make a big impact with very little investment. 
3. Staging. Staging allows the buyer to see the home rather than look at the furniture. It is very difficult for a home buyer, even a Realtor, to imagine what a home could be if it is currently occupied by a seller as a buyer tends to dwell on “their” things rather than home. 
4. Landscaping. You get one chance to make a good impression and the first thing a buyer will see is the front of the home. 

1. Window Washing & Detailed Interior Cleaning. I always tell my clients after they purchase a home to remember to have their windows cleaned inside and out, yearly. It makes such a difference.

Beyond the shortlist, and depending on condition here are 5 additional improvements that can be made. 

• Kitchen Refresh: Paint kitchen cabinets, replace countertops, and replace knobs & pulls. 
• Bathroom Refresh: Paint bathroom cabinets, replace the mirror, update lighting and replace knobs & pulls. 
• Flooring: Replace carpet
• Refinish hardwood floors 
• Replace sewer lateral  

Allow the home to be presented in its best light.

Prior to any work being done, we like to gauge the condition of the home thereby generating the following reports. Depending on the market you are buying or selling a home varies as to whether the Buyer or the Seller will assume responsibility for any of the reports provided by a Seller. In the Bay Area market, for the most part, these reports and inspections and any work to be done on the home being sold will be passed onto the Buyer. In order to compete in a multiple offer situation, a Buyer has to put his/her best foot forward and that will include a very clean offer without any contingencies.

• Pest Inspection 
• Home Inspection 
• Sewer Lateral 
• Roof 
• Fireplace/Chimney 
• Foundation Inspection (as recommended by the Home Inspector) and any others the home warrants further investigation

and depending on current market conditions a home is located and whether it is a Buyer or Seller's market — the work to be done as is outlined in each report will either be passed onto the Buyer — as is the case in our area, however, if you are selling in a Buyers market - a credit towards repairs may be likely. 

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of properly preparing a home for market in order to gain the maximum return on investment. 

Today, Buyers begin their search online. If a home fails to sparkle online there is a good chance many Buyers will not contact their agent to preview the home nor attend any of the public open house opportunities. Depending on what a Buyer sees online, a decision will be made in seconds whether to preview or skip it. Buyers are busy at work, travel, and play— we live in busy times. If a home misses out on being seen by potential Buyers an opportunity is missed. In order for a home to sell over the asking price that entails multiple bidders. 

In conclusion, don’t short-change yourself or cut corners and leave money on the table; allow your home to shine online and make it readily and easily available for homebuyers to preview.  Should you seek further advice and information please do not hesitate to contact us. 

The post Debbi DiMaggio Gives The Top 5 Home Improvements A Homeowner Should Invest In Prior To Market appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

1) Teddy Bear Tea is always a festive favorite for children, parents, and grandparents. It’s an opportunity to get dressed up, bring your favorite teddy bear, and enjoy family time in the City at the Ritz Carlton.  I always looked forward to this when our children were young. Book Early!

2) Take a day trip to Half Moon Boy to pick out your Christmas Tree. Santa’s Tree Farm is open year-round. Then lunch at the former Ritz Carlton or Half Moon Bay Brewing Co overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

3) Macy’s 32nd Annual Union Square Christmas Tree Lighting. Take center stage beneath the tree or book a hotel room across the street at the St Francis Hotel —sip, socialize and watch as the sparkling lights illuminate Union Square. Nothing says Christmas like a big light tree. And as of November 3rd book your tickets for a spin around the Union Square Ice Rink. 

4) Festive Fun at the exquisite and historic Fairmont Hotel. Gingerbread house ribbon cutting Saturday, November 27th at 11 AM. Consider booking Santa’s Suite. You’re never too young to book Santa’s Suite and dine on chocolate and candy canes. What a perfect place for Mr. and Mrs. Claus to wrap gifts!

5) The Nutcracker is also a holiday favorite. From San Francisco and Oakland to San Jose and the Silicon Valley — get your tickets to this beautiful holiday extravaganza. 

6) Cookie and ginger house decorating. This is a tradition that can be done in your own home with your family or a group of friends. This cheerful and creative tradition never gets old - and it’s perfect for everyone — young and old. 

Other Highlights

Cavallo Point Festive Traditions

Ferry Building Marketplace Holiday Events

The post Holiday Magic – Top 6 Things To Do In And Around The San Francisco Bay appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

12 years ago, during the recession, we created HIGHLAND PARTNERS with the desire to build a luxury boutique real estate brokerage with like-minded agents dedicated to serving their clients while giving back to the communities in which we serve through education and involvement. We wanted to create a culture of collaboration and a professional environment that never lost sight of what it means to support our clients and peers. Through the years we have had great success, some learning moments, and even a new understanding of family. Through the last several years we sought expansion opportunities and studied countless marketing platforms. ... Just as the day we started HIGHLAND PARTNERS, sometimes the best opportunities arise when you are not looking. --Heidi Marchesotti

Adam and I, along with our partners Heidi Marchesotti and Mindy Sun are proud and honored to announce our recent merger and partnership with Corcoran Global Living.

After 12 years of countless hours, learning, growing, expanding, with endless passion and dedication into creating our Highland Partners brand we now say goodbye, but welcome the change as we adopt the CGL brand. However, we are still the same 2 offices, same great staff, same passionate agents, same unique culture, and still just one family, only larger.

The post HIGHLAND PARTNERS HAS A NEW LOOK appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Agents are hit up daily by companies offering their services, tools, and apps. It is never-ending and exhausting. I have tried some and canceled many. In the end, here are my TOP 8 real estate tools and apps that made the cut, and that I do use daily.

1. ​Calendly: An ideal calendar tool. Calendly makes it easy to keep track of who is showing your listing and at what time. This tool documents their contact information making it easily accessible rather than buried in an email. Calendly is an excellent way to stay organized.

2. DocuSign: No matter where you or your client may be in the world, as long as each has access to the internet, documents can be signed and business performed. One can utilize Docusign on a mobile phone as well, but it is more difficult to read the fine print on a contract or disclosure, so I don't recommend it for lengthy documents unless of course the documents have been read and thoroughly understood, beforehand.

3. REveo: REveo ​All-in-one-click Real Estate Virtual Showing makes showing a home virtually, as easy as 1, 2, 3. Simply CONNECT with your client from your iPhone by sending a link to their mobile device, laptop, or smart TV. Then TOUR your clients live, as you walk through the home together. The tour can also be saved and shared again later. Now REveo has a Matterport component. Go to REveo.co to learn more. Here is an example of a big REveo win for the DiMaggio & Betta Group: During COVID our clients were in New York and unable to come out to the Bay Area. So my husband utilized REveo to show homes to our clients, virtually. Show, Share, Close! 

4. Canva: As the Marketing Director of HIGHLAND PARTNERS, and for our team the DiMaggio & Betta Group, I am simply obsessed with creating ads and coming up with marketing campaigns, CANVA makes it easy to implement while providing templates you can use, edit and adjust. CANVA can be used on both your laptop or mobile device. It is an intuitive app that allows you to resize your template from Twitter to LinkedIn, Facebook to Pinterest, and more.

5. Ladies of Real Estate: Ladies of Real Estate social media and networking platform. This platform offers a variety of stylish real estate templates that can be saved to CANVA and edited to fit your needs. It also provides a referral network where Realtors are showcased. This is just the tip of the iceberg, so go to Ladies of Real Estate to learn more.

6. RealScout: A listed alert search platform that allows an agent to share listings in their desired price range. At the same time allowing the Realtor and client to communicate through RealScout.  RealScout offers market snapshots and other valuable information that can be shared with clients. RealScout is also easy to use and displays the listings beautifully.

7. Social Media Channels - Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Pinterest: Once you create beautiful marketing pieces on CANVA or other similar tools you have to post them somewhere. Each of our social media channels will have unique followers, so it is ideal to post across all platforms.

8. Dropbox: Real Estate is visual. Any agent who represents Sellers and their homes should always have professional, high res photos taken. Dropbox allows the easy transfer of high-resolution photographs for both web and brochures. Dropbox allows our photographers to share the images they shoot for all our listings with our marketing team so we can create brochures, websites, and upload them to the MLS. Dropbox is a convenient place to keep and categorize all of your photos, real estate related and personal.   

The post Top 8 Must Have Real Estate Apps, Tools And Platforms | Debbi DiMaggio, DiMaggio & Betta Group appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Chase Betta is the next generation of a family of real estate professionals dating back to the early '70s when his grandfather Vince DiMaggio syndicated his first building in the Grand Lake neighborhood of Oakland. Chase has worked for Vince for as long as he can remember and grew up learning valuable business acumen from his parents Adam and Debbi at HIGHLAND PARTNERS. A Piedmont native and longtime Bay Area resident, Chase has a special understanding of the markets in and around the flagship brokerage of HIGHLAND PARTNERS. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies and Communications, which he aims to use to further support his clients as they navigate the nuances of their own journey. Chase’s additional experience working for a commercial brokerage in Los Angeles adds to his already strong base of real estate fundamentals.

Chase is back in the Bay after traveling throughout Asia before the pandemic. While in the Philippines, he worked at a freediving facility where he met and made new friends daily. In his pastime, Chase likes to travel and stay active. As his passion for lacrosse shows, Chase is a strong team player — he has always skillfully combined interpersonal communication, physical activity, and a drive towards a common goal. He is excited to bring this tenacity to HIGHLAND PARTNERS and looks forward to meeting you!

DiMaggio & Betta Group

Chase DiMaggio Betta

510.418.3667

Chase@TheHighlandPartners.com

www.DiMaggioAndBetta.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-betta/

The post The DiMaggio & Betta Group Welcomes Their Son, Chase DiMaggio Betta, To The Team appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.