​We were all there--we all saw how COVID-19 has caused multiple economic sectors to decline and subsequently shatter in 2020. Surprisingly, despite the worrying fallout caused by the volatility of the stock market and global trade, the real estate market has somehow managed to thrive. In fact, over 5 million houses were sold in 2020; an impressive 5.6% leap from the previous year. 

Whether you marketed your property for sale or for rent during 2020, the pandemic, shelter in place rules, and quarantines sure proved to be a challenge. As we enter 2021, some of the challenges we faced might actually serve as lessons and help us bring creativity into our real estate marketing efforts.  
Take video for example. Video has long been an effective marketing tool, with real estate listings utilizing video receiving 403% more inquiries than those that don’t, however, up until now, video had not been used widely, but rather for luxury or top tier properties, and rarely used as a substitute for in-person showings. 2020 and people’s inability to see properties in person, made buyers and renters more willing to buy and rent sight unseen, relying on video alone. This was a huge step in embracing technology in an industry as traditional as real estate, however, we have a long way to go from landlords and sellers walking around a home with their video conferencing apps on. 
To provide your property with a strong and attractive presence in the market, you need good quality video that affords your prospective tenants or buyers with an experience as similar to an in-person visit as possible. 
We understand video can be quite intimidating, but we are here to help. Whether you decide to give your audience a live tour or pre-record a video, video can be a fun way to make your property the talk of the town. ​

Guess what happened while we’ve been cooped up at home for over a month… Spring arrived! Being at home this month trying to balance remote work and the kids’ online schooling, cooking what feels like 24/7, and trying to keep the house from chaos, totally made me miss the fact that winter is over and spring has arrived. I went to the store yesterday wearing a long sleeve shirt because that is where I left off the weather, and that’s how I realized the seasons changed. And now that I’ve realized it, I want to take advantage of my time at home to make my yard beautiful, since that is where I’ll be spending most of my days until this situation is over. Here are some tips for you to get your garden green and beautiful by the time spring reaches its peak:

Keeping an impeccable credit score during the current health crisis might seem trivial in the grand scheme of things. A record-setting 6,648,000 unemployment claims were filed before the week ending on March 28th according to the Department of Labor, and with most Americans under lockdown, which translates into people not shopping, traveling, dining out, flying, staying at hotels, etc, many more will lose their jobs, making the current situation only the beginning

As a landlord, part of the job description involves clearing out the property after your tenants move out. If you’re lucky, you should just be handling trash such as old newspapers, takeout boxes, and other items that belong nowhere but the trash bin. 
Some tenants, however, may leave things of value such as appliances, furniture, and even clothes. While the temptation to throw this out might be hard to ignore, there are certain steps that you need to undergo first to avoid facing serious liability.