Willy Olsen

Get prequalified for a home loan first. This is the most important first step in buying a home. You will then be able to know your buying power. Make a list of what you are looking for in a home. Understand that the harsh reality is that you may not find everything you want in a home. So be prepared to be a little flexible. Paint, flooring and remods can be done.

(Outside) Curb appeal. If someone pulls up to the curb and they don't like what they see on the outside, you have no chance that they'll want to see the inside. (Inside) Clutter and odors are deal killers. Too many things in a room can make a room feel small. You might need to consider moving some of your furnishings and personal possessions into storage. If you are an animal lover like myself, you may want to have any carpeting or flooring professionally cleaned. As animal owners, we get use to the odors of our critters, but potential Buyers may pick up on those odors and get turned off by them. And just like cigarette odors can get absorbed into drywall, so can animal odors.

I have worked with many different clients. When I had my automotive repair business my clientele consisted of some notable names in the entertainment and music industry. And that has also carried over to my real estate business. But the majority of my clients are just everyday people, like myself, who I help in fulfilling an important need for them.

I'm one of those people who like challenges. So I like going after unique properties. I had a client that owned one of those geodesic homes that was on a fairly large parcel of land. The home had a hybrid grid-tie electrical system. They also owned 23 horses. So there were barns and horse stalls and the works. This was not your typical suburban home. Which meant that any buyer for this property had to be one who was a horse lover and enjoyed a country lifestyle. Right away I knew that marketing that property to the right potential buyers was going to be a challenge. Without that, there was little chance in getting the property sold even within a year. So I had a friend who does real estate marketing take on the marketing for me. With his 20+ years in marketing we were able to get the home sold within 60 days. And the seller was able get more than they were asking. We had 4 buyers for that property that created a bidding war.

I sold my auto repair business and had an interest in fixing and flipping homes.

Being GREEN Certified will make it where I can help the client choose homes or pick out items in a home that will save them in the long run when it comes to utility and energy costs. The future of real estate is Net Zero homes and communities.