Karen Crowson's Blog

Let’s Take a Step BackBy now, most of us have heard a first-hand story about an instance where a buyer or seller has been a victim of fraud during a real estate transaction.The scams are merciless, with fraudsters hacking into emails of real estate agents, title and escrow companies, even inspect...

Debbie Reynolds September contest has challenged me to re-form a habit. Blogging!  Let's see if this will be the push I need to jump back in!Years ago I'd heard that it just took 7 days to form a habit. More recently, I read a book entitled "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg that claimed 21 d...

Brokers’ Tour: Stop #5On my 5th round of the Brokers’ Tour, I got quite a wide array of home decor. Here are a few of the awesome rooms I saw that I’d love to share with you!The “Let’s Get This Party Started” RoomWow! In 9 years of touring homes, I’ve never seen a room I just wanted to immediatel...

Brokers’ Tour: Stop #4This brokers’ tour has brought about many firsts for me. This tour marks the first time I’ve seen a shocking pink bedroom. So many folks repaint with neutral colors when their house is on the market, that colorful rooms aren’t the norm. I have to say, in this case, it defini...

Brokers’ Tour: Stop #3On my third stop of the Brokers’ Tour, I realized why so many people want to own homes in Downtown Livermore: there are no cookie-cutter homes there. Each home has its own uniqueness that sets it apart from the rest. There are still remnants of days gone by with stately Vict...

A taste of Halloween in LivermoreGhoulish fun awaits on Maple Street for Halloween in Livermore. Close to the high school, I saw 3 homes which definitely show off Halloween ‘spirit’, but this particular house really stood out. The homeowner was still adding more characters and decor to her alread...

The DIY BackyardSeen on brokers’ tour last week was this backyard in Livermore. This homeowner invested in moderate enhancements to a mid-size backyard with very appealing results. A do-it-yourself backyard project, this really added to the overall appeal of the home. He did the work himself, and...

Brokers’ tour is an interesting event. It’s kind of like a box of chocolates; “You never know what you’re going to get.” So, I’ve decided to start writing about some of the stuff I see! Much of the time, I’ll share tips and professional insights, but on occasion I’ll find those wild and wacky hom...

Once you’ve decided to sell your home, most people want to get the best price that the market will bear. Reality is that every home sells – it’s a matter of when and for how much.To maximize your home price and minimize time on market, home preparation in advance of your list date will give you a...

What catches your attention best – ‘fixer’ or ‘move-in ready’? At opposite ends of the scale, these two options have very different audiences. Both audiences require different levels of home preparation to garner interest.CONDITIONMove-in Ready – functionally sound, and cosmetically appealingFixe...