Come Home for the Holidays in the Village of Fairport

Come Home for the Holidays in the Village of Fairport for an Open House this Saturday at Nothnagle Realtors! The office is located at 65 South Main Street and the hours are from 3:00-6:00.

Refreshments will be served and make sure to bring your camera because Santa will be there to take a picture with! Pets are welcome to come for a picture, too!

Nothnagle's Penfield Branch Raises Money for Safe Journey

Nothnagle Realtor's Penfield branch is collecting donations for Safe Journey to support their "Sleep in Heavenly Peace" fundraiser. Safe Journey is a non-residential resource and support center for women and children rebuilding their lives after domestic abuse and violence.

For every $100 that is raised, Safe Journey will purchase 1 new mattress to give a survivor of domestic abuse a safe place to stay during their transition.

For information about how you can donate, please call our Penfield branch at 585.381.0502.

Nothnagle Realtors is Collecting for Ronald's House

This holiday season, Nothnagle Realtors is seeking donations for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester. The house, located at 333 Westmoreland Drive, provides a warm and peaceful “home-away-from-home” for families traveling to the Rochester area for their child’s medical care. There are many reasons a family may need to use the Ronald McDonald House, including premature birth, organ transplants, accidents and injuries, cancer treatments and other childhood diseases.

The house is in constant need of supplies to be able to offer their service, which is why Nothnagle Realtors is seeking donations in 22 of their branch locations. Suggested items not exceeding $20 in value per item are: gift cards to Wegmans, Walmart, and Target, any restaurants close to Strong hospital, gas gift cards, cash, laundry supplies, snack foods and cleaning supplies.

Please call your local Nothnagle branch today if you would like to help!

Tips to get Prepared for Thanksgiving!

With tomorrow's holiday coming full speed ahead, you might want to read these tips to ensure nothing has slipped your mind. If you have friends and family staying with you it can be overwhelming to remember every detail when trying to prepare a meal and entertain, but hopefully these can help. Some tips are also great to consider if your home is on the market over this holiday season!

1. Supplies-get anything that your guests might need out of their usual storage space such as toilet paper, q-tips, toothpaste and any other item they might need while staying in your home and could have forgotten. Place them in open places or in decorative baskets if you are short on storage. You can also declutter linen closets and drawers to give your guests their own space during their stay for their own toiletries.

2. Guest rooms-you might be fortunate to have enough spare bedrooms, but if you don't you can create makeshift sleeping spaces. Use bookshelves, curtains or folding screens to give your guests some privacy. Think about everything your guests might need such as towels, pillows, extra blankets, etc. and have them readily available.

3. Make Room in the Kitchen-clear off counter tops to make room for anyone who might help with dinner preparations and have space for food as it is prepared. Move your coffee maker, cups & supplies into another room so guests won't gather in the kitchen (unless you want them to!). Put out extra stools and chairs if you do want the added company.

4. Safety Check-it gets dark around 4:30 this time of year, so make sure your entry way and any sidewalks are well lit. If you have any snow or ice in your area, make sure to shovel and put down plenty of salt to prevent slips and falls.

5. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Benefits of a Buyer's Agent

As a buyer, you are entitled to use your own agent to help you during your home search and to help you with negotiations. A good, knowledgeable buyer's agent will often be a tremendous asset to you in your search - whether you are a first-time buyer and new to the process or a veteran buyer looking for a new home.

First, your buyer's agent will give you advice on cities/towns, particular neighborhoods, and council you on many other things to consider while conducting your home search, such as the benefits of a condominium vs. a single family, the actual cost of buying/owning multi-families, and ideas on increasing equity in your home and resale factors.

Your buyer's agent will also be able to make good referrals to additional real estate-related professionals, such as insurance agents, home inspectors, mortgage professionals, moving companies and other professionals/services you may need.

Once you find a property, your buyer's agent will do a market analysis, often referred to as a Comparable Market Analysis (or CMA), and will discuss with you his/her professional opinion as to market value based on similar sold properties, the current local real estate market trends, inventory, and other factors. Lastly, the most crucial service a buyer agent can provide is as a skilled negotiator. An agent highly skilled at negotiating could assist you in purchasing the home that best meets your wants and needs for the best price.

Best of all? Most of the time your buyer's agent will be paid from the commission offered by the seller, yet they still owe their full fiduciary duties to you, their client.

Nothnagle agents are trained to know market conditions and are skilled negotiators, offering superior services to buyers. Nothnagle also offers a number of tools to help you in your home search, from a comprehensive database of listings throughout 25 counties in upstate New York (as well as connections to national and global listings), to video tours on YouTube and Nothnagle.TV, to "MyNothnagle" which allows you to register to be notified of new listings meeting your criteria as they hit the market.

Leaving Your Home on the Market Over the Holidays?

With the holiday season approaching, it is easy to get wrapped up in festivities whether you are looking to buy or selling. Home sellers may ask themselves if they should leave their home on the market or wait until a busier time of the year. The good news is that if you do leave your home on the market and get activity, the buyers out there are most likely very serious.

As a seller, if you decide to leave your home on the market during the holidays, how extravagant should you decorate? Although you may love decorating for the holidays, it is distracting to the potential buyer. Minimal, tasteful decorations can create a feeling of comfort and holiday cheer, but too many will not allow the home to show off it's best features.

While some sellers take their home off the market during the holiday season, "I feel it's a game many agents play, by taking a home off the market only to put it back on, as if it was a brand new listing," Wilson said. "In this day and age, buyers are much smarter than they used to be, and they have access to so much more information than they ever did. If a house has been on the market for a very long time, there is no hiding it."

Wilson thinks it's best to keep a house listed in the Multiple Listing Service during the holiday season, in case there is a serious buyer looking who needs a house because of a relocation or some other life situation.

Agents differ on whether a home should stay on the market during the holiday season. Mark Siwiec, of Nothnagle Realtors in Brighton, thinks that if the seller is not in a hurry to sell, the home should be taken off the market between Thanksgiving and New Year's because people are too focused on other activities. Potential buyers this time of year tend to be bargain hunters, he said.

No matter the decision about keeping the house on the market or waiting until spring, pricing remains crucial in this market, Wilson said. If the house does not sell over the slower months, it is very important to adjust the price in line with the competition during the busier season.

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Through their partnership with trusted Rochester area contractors, service partners, and retailers, Home Services provides Nothnagle clients with home-related products and services before, during, and after their move.

Home Services does so much more than just providing moving services. There are service partners that specialize in whatever you may need. From paint, cleaning, interior decorating, roof repairs, mowing, pest removal, remodeling, trash/garbage pickup, home security, or heating/air conditioning, Home Services will help get the job done. A full list of our service categories can be found here.

Each one of our service partners provides some special benefit exclusively to Nothnagle clients who go through Home Services. Every partner is required to maintain a 95% satisfaction rate with our clients, so you can be sure you are getting the highest quality service. Take comfort in knowing the job will get done right. A full list of our service partners can be found here.

Take advantage of what Home Services can offer! Register now and get started.

Visit our Facebook page to stay up-to-date with our newest partners and special promotions!

Nothnagle Offers Property Search, Videos on Facebook

As a result of today’s booming social media presence, Nothnagle has added a feature to search properties and view “Guided Tour” videos on their Facebook page. Consumers can now go to www.Facebook.com/NothnagleRealtors and select “Property Videos” on the left-side of the page. Similar to Nothnagle.com, a consumer can conduct a property search by the type of property they are seeking, location and pricing parameters, then view the Guided Tour. The videos give potential buyers a more realistic sense of the property by seeing it in a video format.

“It is so very important to keep current with how today’s consumers are seeking information. Instead of going to a phone book to search for a business, more and more people are turning to Facebook as a means of obtaining information such as phone number and business hours. It is crucial to have as much useful information as possible available on a businesses’ Facebook page,” said President & CEO Armand D’Alfonso.

The Advantages to Homeownership

Many people may feel skeptical about homeownership because of the economy over the last several years. However, homeownership can be a truly worthwhile investment if you choose a home that is right for you and your affordability. Take the following reasons into account when facing a possible decision to purchase a home:

1. It's a Buyer's Market: Right now there is ample inventory with affordable prices. If you have steady income and enough money for a down payment, the timing could not be better especially with interest rates at historical lows. This means huge savings over the term of your mortgage.

2. Equity: Many areas in the country are currently experiencing average home appreciation (4-6% per year), which is what should normally be expected. For areas that have been hit harder, experts predict that the housing market will recover. Why pay rent that will never amount to anything in the end when you could be making similar mortgage payments that turn into equity? Purchasing a home does require more initial expenses, but in the long run it will be a worthwhile investment that you can sell at a profit.

3. Freedom: As a renter have you ever wished that you could paint your walls a different color or have hardwood instead of carpet? As a homeowner the options are endless to fit your own taste! Owning a home truly means making it yours to enjoy and there are no consequences if you redecorate or renovate.

4. Community: Rentals can seem like a revolving door sometimes with neighbors constantly coming and going after living in the building a year or less. There is more consistency in homeownership (usually 5+ years to recover closing costs) which allows for people to get to know their neighbors and share the community that they live in.

5. No Hidden Fees: Has your rent ever been raised at the end of your rental term? If so, you don't have to worry about that if you own a home and have a fixed-rate mortgage. Your monthly mortgage payment today is what it will be next year and the year after. This predictability allows for planning renovations, vacations, new car, etc. Of course there are costs that come with owning a home that can come monthly or annually (appliances breaking, window cleaning, etc.), but your major expense (your mortgage) will be the same year after year.

Call a mortgage or real estate professional today to get pre qualified for a mortgage and start looking for your perfect home!

Nothnagle's Lakeville branch merges with Geneso!

Over the past eighteen months, Nothnagle REALTORS® has expanded greatly in Livingston County. Last year Youngs & Linfoot and The Edmond agency merged with the Nothnagle REALTORS® name. Nothnagle’s market share in Livingston County is currently 37% with the next closest competitor ranking at 15%.

In the past year, the Nothnagle Geneseo office, which began as a two-room satellite office in 2008, increased their sales volume by over 322% and has evolved into a 3,500 square foot office space. The newest Nothnagle location in Dansville accounts for 58% of the total sales in that market. With the increased growth of our presence in Genesee and Dansville, many agents are choosing to work out of these busier Nothnagle offices.

As a result of the tremendous response to Nothnagle in the area, President & CEO Armand D’Alfonso has decided to merge the Lakeville and Geneseo offices to bolster resources, position the offices to continue to be the dominant force in each marketplace, and continue to gain market share by bringing more business to our agents.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for the Company and we take great pride in the growth we have experienced in this particular market,” said President & CEO Armand D’Alfonso. “Through this move, it will allow the Company to bolster our resources, position our offices to continue to be the dominant force in each marketplace, continue to gain market share and bring more business to our agents.”

Most of the 15 Lakeville agents will be relocating to Geneseo with one transferring to the Canandaigua branch. The Geneseo office is located within seven miles of Lakeville and both Geneseo and Dansville are strategically positioned to continue to service the entire County.

Keeping Your Home's Value at it's Best

Proactive maintenance is essential to preserving the value of your home—without it, your home could lose 10% of its value. Regular, routine maintenance enhances curb appeal, ensures safety, and prevents neglected upkeep from turning into costly major repairs.

Outright damage to your house is just one of the consequences of neglected maintenance. Without regular upkeep, the property could easily lose 10% of its appraised value. That could translate into a $10,000 or $15,000 adjustment.

In addition, a house with chipped, fading paint, sagging gutters, and worn carpeting faces an uphill battle when it comes time to sell. Not only is it at a disadvantage in comparison with other similar homes that might be for sale in the neighborhood, but a shaggy appearance is bound to turn off prospective buyers and depress the selling price. Remember, first impressions mean a lot to potential buyers.

A study by researchers at the University of Connecticut and Syracuse University suggests that maintenance actually increases the value of a house by about 1% each year. However, maintenance costs money. How much money is required for annual maintenance varies. Some years, routine tasks, such as cleaning gutters and changing furnace filters, are all that’s needed, and your total expenditures may be a few hundred dollars. Other years may include major replacements, such as a new roof, at a cost of $10,000 or more.

Setting aside a cash reserve that’s used strictly for home repair and maintenance can be helpful. That way, routine upkeep is a snap and any significant replacements won’t blindside the family budget.

Some other strategies include:



Play offense, not defense: Proactive maintenance is key to preventing small problems from becoming big issues. Take the initiative with regular inspections. Create and faithfully follow a maintenance schedule. If you’re unsure of what needs to be done, a $200 to $300 visit from a professional inspector can be invaluable in pointing out quick fixes and potential problems.



Plan a room-per-year redo: Pick a different room every year and go through it, fixing and improving as you go. That helps keep maintenance fun and interesting.



Keep track: Having a notebook of all your maintenance and upgrades, along with receipts, is a powerful tool when it comes to sell your home. It gets rid of any doubts for the buyer, and it says you are a meticulous, caring homeowner. A maintenance record also proves repairs and replacements for systems, such as wiring and plumbing, which might not be readily apparent.

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