Welcome to MIDWEEK with MIDTOWN: Episode 16!

What makes a house a home?

There is certainly a difference when we show a house to a prospective buyer that is completely empty, from one where the owners still live here. The previous homeowners have moved out, and on to the next step of their journey. As we walk through the house, you can hear the echo of your voice as you speak. With the exception of a few nail holes where pictures once hung from the walls, all evidence of who used to live there is completely gone.

It's the moment that a home is just a house again. That is, until, you move in. That moment when you fall in love with the layout. The kitchen is the perfect size for your growing family, and a fenced in  backyard has space for your fur babies and kids to roam and play. The shift from a house to home has begun as you see your family living there.

The shift from house to home arrives when hearts connect, voices no longer reflect, but rather are absorbed by the warmth you bring. Pictures, furniture, quilts, toys, books, and so much more. The depth of who your family is being rooted in your new beginning as you turn a house into your home.

So why the reflection on the difference between a house and a home?

It's important to pause once in a while, and remember how very lucky we all are. To have the family and friends surrounding us that turn a house into a warm, family home. The laughter, the stories, the memories made. Not just a box of drywall, electric, plumbing, and the like. But a real refuge from the world, created from the love of a family.

Life is more fragile, and shorter, than we'd all want it to be. Our encouragement to you and your family tonight?

Walk slower down the hall tonight, past all of those pictures on the wall. Take them in. Smile at the memories. Sit a little longer at the dinner table. Tell more stories. Pay attention to every smile, wink, giggle, and funny joke someone shares. Take a little more time at every turn you can find with your family and friends.

The house you bought, today, yesterday, last year, or years ago?

It became a home because of you. It became a home because of your family. Your heart. Your words. Your love. Your compassion. Your invitation to share it with your neighbors and other friends.

All of these thoughts are what go through our agent's minds when we walk through an empty house with a prospective buyer. And we are willing to walk through as many as one needs to, so that their dream of turning a house into a home, becomes their reality.

And while it can be a challenge to see a home with someone else's memories still there as your forever home, we can help you with that, too. We can help you see how that small dining room could be the home office you've always dreamed of. Of how the living room is laid out perfectly for your furniture, and the many conversations you'll one day have there. 

Our team has never looked at what we do as having a "job". We are honored to have an opportunity. To walk with you through empty homes, and full ones. To listen to your heart as you share the needs your family has. To apply our years of experience to help you find a house you can turn into your dream home.

Thank you for thinking of us. Thank you for choosing us. Every time our phone rings, we smile. Why? Because we know it means it might just be another journey we get to take, with another family.

That is what puts a smile on our face every day.

You.

Your family.

Helping you find a house, that you'll one day turn into your dream home.

Helping you sell your home, knowing someone else will one day find the love you found within it's walls is possible for them, and their family.

That's a lot of love.

Perfect.

The world could use all the love it can get.

Snuggle in wherever you are tonight. It's a chilly one. Pull your spouse, kids, fur babies, family, and friends close. Thanks for making a stop by our blog part of that process.

Talk to you soon!

-Your friends at Midtown Realty Company.

Welcome to MIDWEEK with MIDTOWN: Episode 15!

Today we want to highlight an all too familiar challenge around the house that we think you'll be able to relate to. We sure do!

Does this sound familiar?

You get the dishes done, laundry all folded and put away, and grab a cup of tea and curl up on the couch. You read a book, or a watch your favorite sitcom. You get up to take your cup to the sink, and on the way there, you proceed to trip over clothing that your kids have strewn everywhere like it was an Olympic event that they clearly won the gold medal in.

You arrive in the kitchen to find the second event was apparently seeing how fast snack plates, cups and other dish items could be left all of over the counter. In the sink? No way! That's a whole other story. But we digress, as another gold medal was won by your kids in the dirty dish stacking event!

What if we told you that our team at Midtown Realty Company had the perfect answer for how to make sure your home didn't host the clutter Olympics every single night?

We thought you might like that!

Your home should be a place of rest, relaxation, and refuge after a day of hard work. One of our friends had a great idea to make sure your home is that place for you, instead of a training ground for budding clutter Olympians.

Instead of tripping over their favorite sweatshirt, pick it up and put it in a special bin. Since they obviously have other items they can wear, collect the ones they choose to leave laying around. When they ask where they are, simply let them know you have them, and would be willing to sell them back to them. Genius!

It works the same way for the dishes. This one is a little trickier, since sometimes it's hard to prove whose they were. That's where you institute the "kids, you are all on the same team" clause. Any dish is all of your dishes. Brilliant!

You can set whatever price works for your family. "Dollar a dish" has a  sweet little ring to it. "A buck for your britches" works nicely as well. If your kids have an allowance, implementation is a breeze. If they don't, you can use other chores around the house as currency.

And if they don't do those chores? Keep the hoodie and tell them they can't go to their friends to hang out, the school dance, or some other event they need you as a taxi service for until they are done. At this point, you are pulling into the lead for parent of the year!

At the end of the day, it will instill the values of taking care of what they have been given, organization, and our favorite...honor. Honoring their parents that work hard to provide a nice home, and all the things they need for their upbringing.

Someday they'll look back and thank you. Now that day may be quite a while away, but in the meantime they'll learn, grow, and be thankful for the many blessings they have in your care, even if they don't say it out loud. Actually, you are more likely to hear grunts and moans of how "life isn't fair". Perfect. That means we are right on track to helping them win at the game of life!

This little home challenge also serves as a great way to keep the house picked up if you are selling your home. That makes it easier to book showings, and potentially helps your home sell faster as well!

We hope you are having a fantastic week. Thanks for taking the time to stop by our blog today. We hope Episode 15 of MIDWEEK with MIDTOWN has helped remove the clutter obstacle for your family now, and set you up for a big win later if you ever sell your home.

Take Care!

-The Midtown Realty Company Team

Welcome to MIDWEEK with MIDTOWN: Episode 14!

One of our favorite things about the holidays that we all just experienced is seeing how different people decorate their home. Everyone has a different take on what brings the holiday spirit to life for them, and their family. We love the idea that ambiance can create that warm, inviting feeling for everyone who enters their home.

That got us thinking about how we could all bring that same sense of closeness and family into the new year. While the holiday decorations may be all packed up, boxed up, and back in the attic for storage we wondered if there was a way to bring the joy from the holidays into our everyday lives at the beginning of 2018.

We saw this picture, and a light went on. Actually, to be more specific, a warm light. The coziness of a fireplace in a living room, with family and friends gathered around its hearth. 

​It's a simple reminder of a place to gather. 

The truth is, we need to make a point of spending more time connected to one another, face to face. Most of us have a myriad of different digital devices that grab and keep our attention. They are helpful, informative, and have created fantastic advancements in life. You are probably using your favorite device to read this blog right now. But when these helpful tools outrace our attention for one another, we begin to miss the moments we experienced around the holidays throughout the rest of the year.

​Our challenge in this week's episode of MIDWEEK with MIDTOWN is to slow down, put it down, and look around. Are you intentionally shutting digital devices off, and plugging into the people closest to you? Are you making time for family game night, story-telling, or any other family tradition that you enjoy together? Maybe it's themed around music, food, or something else.

Whatever it takes to come together, let's make sure 2018 grabs hold of the spirit from the holidays and pulls it into our reality to start this year. Let's not wait another eleven months to gather. To laugh. To sing. To play. To simply slow down, unplug, and relax in the company of those closest to us.

Thanks for stopping by our digital living room at Midtown Realty Company. We hope you find the time to spend with your family and friends this week in your actual living room.

Have fun. Make memories. Leave a legacy your kids will teach their kids, and be talked about for generations to come.

From our heart to your hearth.

​-Your friends at Midtown Realty Company.

Welcome to MIDWEEK with MIDTOWN: Episode 13!

Can you believe we are almost two weeks into 2018?

Last week we talked about a great way to kick-off the new year is to say good-bye to excess. By getting rid of all the extra stuff around the house that we squirrel away, it's a fresh start for a brand new year. It also stands to help someone in need to start their year off on a positive note.

The process of meeting two needs at once, both yours and someone elses, is very familiar to our team at Midtown Realty. We identify with it because it works the same way as walk with our clients as they buy and sell their homes. It's the combination of packing up and moving on, and unpacking and settling in. Our team knows that can feel like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be.

Having a team that stays out in front of the most important details you need to know is key. That starts with finding an agent you connect with, feel comfortable talking to, and trust. We are confident you have landed in the right place. We have a large team, with many different types of backgrounds and stories. Those stories are unique to each agent and how they came to the real estate world. We have built our team like this intentionally so that you feel right at home. When we say we are here for you every step of the way, we mean all 5,280 feet of every mile of your home buying and selling journey.

We love what we do, and the opportunity to meet new people. When you are ready to start your journey of buying or selling your home, we would be happy to answer all of your questions.

It would be an honor to be there with you as you close one chapter of your family's life, and say hello to a brand new one.

New year. New opportunities. New journey.

We look forward to meeting you!

​-The Midtown Realty Company Team

Happy New Year from our team at Midtown Realty Company!

​We noticed something kind of fun as we were beginning to write this Episode.

Watch this...

It's Episode 12, and it's January 3rd.

It's the start of a new year.

1...2...3...HERE WE GO!

What a perfect way to kick off the new year than having a little fun right out of the gate. And with that idea in place, we thought it would be neat to think about some of the fun ways you can get your home off to a great start in 2018.

Here is an easy one to start with that will help you, and others!

Say good-bye to excess in 2018.

We bet if you look around your home, you'll notice things that are hanging out that you could do without. Extra coats in a closet you haven't worn for years, too many pairs of shoes (yes...that is actually a thing if you aren't wearing them), or how about furniture stored in the attic that is just collecting dust.

So what do you do with all of that "stuff"?

Great question! The answer is that it's a win-win for you and someone else. That someone else will likely be someone you'll never meet. But they may very well need that extra coat you have (it's been VERY cold lately). They could replace the shoes they are wearing with holes in them with your extra shoes. And that furniture that is collecting dust in your attic? It could be collecting memories in someone else's home as it's repurposed for their family to enjoy.

Saying good-bye to excess stuff at the beginning of 2018 opens you and your family up to new opportunities throughout the rest of the year!

Lean and ready without all the excess.

Ready to lean in for everything 2018 has for you.

If you think of something else that would make the list we've started here, we'd love to hear it. If you share it with us, we could share it with others. When we learn from one another, that's another win-win.

New year.

Less stuff.

More purpose.

On purpose.

Don't squirrel it away...give it away! :)

Sounds like a solid way to kick off 2018!

-Your friends at Midtown Realty Company.