Now is a great time to list your home to sell! Check out the top ten reasons to sell your home during the holidays by Coldwell Banker:

1. People looking are generally more serious buyers.

2. Serious buyers have fewer houses to choose from, so you have less competition.

3. Houses are especially appealing with holiday decor.

4. After the holidays the supply of listings increases substantially, which lowers the demand for your home.

5. Buyers tend to be emotionally motivated at year-end.

6. Buyers have more time to look with less constrained work schedules than non-seasonal times.

7. Many people will purchase by year-end for tax purposes.

8. You can still be on the market, but have the option to restrict showings to 6-7 days during the holidays.

9. Sell now, and specify a delayed closing or extended occupancy until early next year if needed.

10. By selling now you have an opportunity to buy during the spring, when many houses are on the market.

BOTTOM LINE – By listing during the holidays, you may have fewer actual showings, but more qualified buyers. The reason: You have less competition!

The Lawhead Team would like to share some great tips to stage your home to sell during the holidays this year. Happy Holidays from The Lawhead Team!

• Make it subtle – Remember, less is more. Avoid over-powering your home with décor for the holidays. Instead add a few pinecones to your tables centerpiece and a couple evergreen wreaths.
• Create a cozy feel – Cider simmering on the stove or winter scented candles will create a warm and inviting holiday feel.
• Make sure your décor for the holidays match the rest of your home. If your living room wall is a cool color, avoid using warm holiday colors to decorate.
• Use holiday décor to attract your home’s best features. Is your fireplace an elegant focal point of your home? Hang elegant stockings from your fireplace.
• Avoid tacky holiday décor – Simple strands of white lights on your home will draw much more attention than blow up inflatable snowmen in your yard.
• Keep your tree on the smaller side – While a tall Christmas tree will show off your great room, make sure the base is not too wide as to take away floor space from you home during the holidays.

Looking to sell your home during the holidays? Call The Lawhead Team for all your home buying and selling needs. “Because Two Lawheads Are Better Than One!”

The Holidays are a time for friends and family to gather. Are you planning on company? Even if you aren’t sometimes unexpected company arrives and The Lawhead Team would like to share some tips to quickly prepare your home for company.

• Act like a first time visitor at your home. Walk through your home as if you are a guest visiting to help see through the eyes of your guests. The first impressions your company will have is your front door. Is your entry-way clean? Is there room to place coats and purses? Most of us don’t use our front door often if we enter through the garage. Make sure the formal entrance of your home is pleasing.
• De-clutter your home quickly. Pick up junk you don’t need laying around such as mail, shoes, jackets, etc. Stash these things in a pile hidden away to be sorted later. Walk around with a laundry basket, filling it with “clutter” and stash it away in a room your company won’t be seeing such as an office or closet.
• Do a quick scrub and dusting. Wipe down kitchen counters with some wet wipes and do a quick dusting of the rooms your company will primarily be in. Make sure your guest bathroom is stocked with paper products and the shower curtain is pulled closed. Do a quick sweeping of your entry-way a once over vacuuming of your living room.
• Use proper lighting. Candles are a great way to create ambiance plus you get to avoid turning on bright lights so your company doesn’t see any dust or dirt you may have missed! Table lamps with low wattage bulbs are a good idea as well. And now that it is Christmas, the twinkle lights you have in your home should create enough light for everyone to see!
• Add your finishing touches. Set your table with decorative place-mats, put some music on enjoy your home and company!

The Lawhead Team would like to share some tips to preparing your home for fall and winter.

Fall is just around the corner and soon it will be time to start that fire in the fireplace and decorate for the holidays.

Here are 5 home maintenance tips to prepare for the fall months:

1. Check for leaks – Cold air can get in around doors and windows during the fall. Use a flashlight to check for door and window drafts. If you notice a leak you should add weather stripping to doors and use caulking on windows. This is also a good idea to do during the summer to keep cooling costs down.
2. Check smoke detectors – Replace your batteries every time fall and spring come around. So many fires are caused by Christmas trees so it is extremely important to check your smoke detectors to make sure they are working properly and can warn you in the event of an emergency.
3. Check your heating system – Just as you want to do before summer starts for your AC unit, check your heater to make sure it is working before the colder months of the fall and winter set in.
4. Check your watering schedule – As temperatures begin to cool, plants need less water. Adjust your watering schedule for lawns, borders, and containers. Pay close attention to containers as they tend to become waterlogged.
5. Check to make sure your fireplace is ready for use – Make sure your fireplace is free of ashes and your chimney is cleaned out before having your first fire. You may also want to ensure your flu is open before lighting a fire if you closed it up over the warmer months. Nothing says Fall like a cozy fire in the fireplace.

Happy Thanksgiving!  The Lawhead Team is so thankful for all our wonderful clients we have had the pleasure to do business with over the years.  We wish everyone an enjoyable and joyous Thanksgiving this year.  We all have so much to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving is a holiday surrounded by myths and legends. Many societies have a day set aside to give thanksgiving for the many blessings they enjoy. In the United States, Thanksgiving has become a time for families and friends to get together, eat probably too much, and give thanks. In recognition of Thanksgiving, we’d like to share some Thanksgiving facts:

• Approximately 50 Native Americans attended the first Thanksgiving including Massasoit and Squanto – the Pilgrim’s translator.
• The First Thanksgiving was actually a secular event that was not repeated. A Calvinist Thanksgiving actually did occur in 1623 and did not involve sharing food with the Native Americans.
• The first national celebration of Thanksgiving was declared in 1775 by the Continental Congress. This was to celebrate the win at Saratoga during the American Revolution. However, this was not an annual event.
• In 1863, two national days of Thanksgiving were declared: One celebrated the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. The other began the Thanksgiving holiday we still celebrate today.
• While most Americans think of the Pilgrims as celebrating the first Thanksgiving in America, there are some claims that others in the New World should be recognized as first. For example, in Texas there is a marker that says, “Feast of the First Thanksgiving – 1541.”
• The date of what is typically recognized as the first Thanksgiving is not precisely known though it occurred between September 21 and November 9, 1621. The Plymouth Pilgrims dined with the Wampanoag Indians for the first Thanksgiving.
• The First Thanksgiving lasted for three days.
• According to Edward Winslow, a participant in the first Thanksgiving, the feast consisted of corn, barley, fowl including wild turkeys and waterfowl, and venison.
• 52 Pilgrims attended the first Thanksgiving in 1621 including John Alden, William Bradford, Priscilla Mullins, and Miles Standish.
• The author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Sarah Josepha Hale, was key in getting Thanksgiving officially recognized as a national holiday.
• Each year the President officially declares a day of National Thanksgiving.
• Since Harry Truman, every president has pardoned a turkey for Thanksgiving.

The holidays will be here soon and it is a good time to spruce up your home to get it ready to entertain and enjoy the festivities.

When the holidays come, so do holiday guests.  If you want your home to look its best when family and friends gather but are short on time and cash, check out five ways to spruce up your home quickly and inexpensively.

Freshen up with paint. Paint is one of the most economical ways to revitalize a tired room. Paint over dingy walls to give a room a clean, like-new appearance and to provide a perfect backdrop for your holiday décor.

Freshen up your floors. Have the carpets professionally cleaned before the holidays. Newly cleaned carpet looks like a million bucks (figuratively, not literally, of course), and you’ll have great peace of mind when young tykes start crawling or playing on the floor. Not all carpet cleaners are created equal, so get recommendations from your friends or go online to Angie’s List to read reviews. Speaking of the floor, a new area rug can add warmth, color and design to a foyer, family room or other space in your home.

De-clutter your gathering spaces. For the holidays remove plant stands, end tables and cocktail tables from the living room and family room to provide more space for party guests to mingle. In the kitchen, store away small appliances that only get occasional use—i.e., blenders, toasters, mixers, etc.. This not only provides a nice, cleaner look, but it also provides extra counter space for cookies, party trays and other holiday deliciousness that will be making their way into your home.

Bring in the greenery (and other holiday plants). This is where the song “Deck the halls” definitely applies. Decorate with the proverbial boughs of holly as well as evergreen boughs, mistletoe, festive Poinsettias and, of course, the traditional Christmas tree.  The entrance way of your home can set the immediate stage for a festive holiday welcome with a wreath on the door, swags of greenery and several holiday plants grouped creatively on a foyer table.

Update accessories. Add new pillows to your sofa or loveseat for the holidays. Refresh your wall décor and tabletop accessories. Consider custom-framing a beloved family portrait or treasured piece of artwork. Perhaps add decorative shelving units to a wall in your family room or living room—all the better to display some of your holiday décor.  Speaking of holiday décor, bringing out the pieces that have become a holiday tradition is nice. However, don’t feel guilty about retiring the pieces that have done valiant duty but are beginning to show their age. Add new pieces to your holiday tradition—i.e., candles, ornaments, ceramics, sculptures, etc.—and provide some new life to your surroundings during this happiest of seasons.

Looking for some Fourth of July fun activities to do with the whole family?  Check out The Lawhead Team’s suggestions.

Fourth of July is a fun time to get together with family and friends, enjoy the summer sun and have some fun. If you are looking for something to do this 4th of July, consider these family activities.

Watch a parade – Most communities have some sort of parade, 5K walk/run or special event happening for Fourth of July. Check your city’s event calendar to find out what’s going on in your area. Many of these events require sign up in advance, so plan ahead. If there isn’t a parade in your community, you can put together a mini parade in your own neighborhood. Dress up the kids in red, white and blue attire and give them flags to carry as they march around block singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Head to the park – Spend the day at the park, beach or lake with your kids on 4th of July. Even though the fireworks don’t happen until after dusk, there’s plenty to do during the day. Pack a picnic, bring a Frisbee and just enjoy some time outdoors with your family.

Brush up on your history – Teach your kids more about Independence Day. Considered America’s birthday, Independence Day is the anniversary of the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress — July 4, 1776. Independence Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. In 1941, Congress declared the Fourth of July a legal public holiday. On 4th of July talk about our country, freedom and liberty. Read Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, as well as age-appropriate books, poems and quotes about the 4th of July.

Create 4th of July crafts – Get crafty on 4th of July. Sit down with your kids and make American flag tissue paper wreaths, a DIY 4th of July banner and other creative and patriotic 4th of July crafts. Making crafts together is great for family bonding.

Host a potluck barbecue – Host a backyard barbecue for family, friends and neighbors. You don’t need to do all the cooking yourself. Make it a potluck. You can supply the meat and your guests can pitch in with side dishes, desserts and drinks.

If you don’t feel like cooking or hosting a party yourself, head to your local amusement park. Many amusement parks, baseball stadiums and other major tourist attractions hold fireworks shows, festivals and other events for Fourth of July. Kids will love it — and you won’t have to do any work.

If you have people over, check out these fun games to play with everyone:

Horse Shoes. Many people already keep a set of horse shoes handy for family picnics. If you don’t have a set of horse shoes check with a few friends. Iron horse shoes are a little more expensive than newer PVC sand-weighted horse shoes. For a true Fourth of July party experience nothing replaces the clink of metal on metal in a game of horseshoes.

Darts. Your BBQ guests will strike up traditional July 4^th fun around an old fashioned game of darts. Dart boards are so inexpensive that you can set up a safety tipped dart board for the kids, and a regular dart board for the adults. Party goers can’t help but get caught up in the competition.

Volleyball. Volleyball is another classic July Fourth game, perfect for your mid-summer party. There is no need for a regulation field for players to have fun. A game or two of volleyball is also a great mixer. If it is an especially hot day, cut the water sprinkler on in spurts, or adjust your game.

Water Balloon Volley. You may think a game involving water balloons is just for the kids at your Fourth of July Part, but chances are the adults will not be able to resist getting involved. Pre-fill one hundred to two-hundred water balloons with water and set up the game like volleyball. Don’t be surprised if the game degenerates into an all out war. Who cares, as long as your guests are having fun!