Tag Archives: selling a home

Help! My House is Under Contract but my New Home Isn’t Ready

When you are selling your current home and buying a new one, there is a lot that goes into the process. You will start with listing your home, marketing your home and finding a buyer for your home. Once you find a buyer for your home, you will then know exactly when you have to move out of your home. What happens if you haven’t found a new home to buy yet or you can’t close on the new home in time to move everything out of your old home?

There are a few different things you can do to ensure a smoother transition between houses. One option that you might consider is asking the new buyer of your home if they would consider delaying closing or letting you rent back the house for a period of time after closing. Once they start the loan process, they will have a limited amount of time to close on the home so it may not be an option for them to close later but if they have another place to live and don’t plan to move right away, they may be willing to let you stay in the home for a period of time. This is a great option to avoid having to move more than once and would be first option to explore.

If staying in the home beyond the closing date isn’t an option or the buyer isn’t willing for you to stay, you might consider a short term furnished rental or an extended stay hotel. The benefit to this is that you don’t have to worry about moving your furniture multiple times. You might also consider asking family or close friends if they have room for you for a short period of time until your new home is ready.

Even if you can’t work out any of the previous options, you can always do a short-term rental until you close on your new home. Depending on the size of the home you rent, you will likely want to store some of your furniture and other possessions that you don’t need to have with you the whole time. Moving is time consuming and a lot of work so if there are things you don’t need, put them in storage and save yourself as much time as you can.

Every situation is different so it will take some time figure out the best scenario for you. If you are struggling to come up with the right solution, talk to your real estate agent. They have helped many people move and have a wide range of resources they can tell you about that you may not have considered. If you have any additional questions about selling your home, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, help you to find your dream home and/or determine the value of your existing property.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

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Renovate or Sell?

If you have lived in your home for a while and no longer feel like it meets your needs, you have two choices. You may sell your home and buy a new one that has the options you are looking for or remodel your current home so that it meets your needs. How do you know what is best? Here are four things to think about.

Is your home in the location you want? If your home is where you want to live and homes in that area are not always available, you may consider making updates to your home and staying right where you are. All changes aren’t possible, but many are. Add more space, update the kitchen and bathrooms or add a garage. All of these are things you can do. It is important to consider the impact these changes will have on the value of your home. While changes don’t always increase your home’s value, make sure you don’t over improve your property. A five-bedroom home surrounded by two-bedroom homes will be a tough sell no matter how nice it is.

Schools are another reason you may want to stay in your home. If you have kids in school, moving may disrupt the schools they are enrolled in. Some school districts are highly coveted and if you are lucky enough to live in one of those, you may want to stay where you are as opposed to moving to the perfect house with schools you aren’t happy with.

What about your neighbors? If you have lived in your home for a long time, you may have neighbors that you are very close with. While you will have new neighbors when you move, it can take a long time to redevelop the relationships you have spent years building. If your neighbors are more like family, do you really want to leave that?

Lastly, moving is expensive. If you are moving because you think it will be cheaper and easier than renovating, think again. Moving is expensive and stressful and selling your house may have its own challenges as well. Weeks of packing, hiring a mover, unpacking at the new house and lots of other things will add up significantly in time and money. If you are moving to save money, make sure you factor the cost of the move into your plan.

Any home you purchase will have things you don’t like unless you custom build a new home. No home is perfect so its important to balance everything about a home when you are trying to decide so you know what will be best for you. If you have any additional questions about renovating or selling your home, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, help you to find your dream home and/or determine the value of your existing property.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

Image by ElasticComputeFarm from Pixabay

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Skip these Five Upgrades if You Want to Increase Your Home’s Value

When you are thinking about home improvements, it’s easy to get excited about having the latest and greatest features in your home to enjoy. Even if you have no intention of selling your home soon, you will need to eventually and wouldn’t it be great if the changes you made also increased the value of your home. Many people assume that all upgrades increase their home’s value but that isn’t the case and the amount of the increase is rarely equal to the cost of the improvement. If you want to make sure you aren’t spending money on things that don’t count, skip these five upgrades and opt to improve another area of your home.

1. A swimming pool will not add value to your home. Though a pool seems luxurious to most people and like it would be a fun thing to have in your backyard, many people don’t want the responsibility of a pool to maintain and worry about the danger it could be as well.
2. Extensive landscaping can look beautiful, but it will not change the value of your home. Landscaping can change drastically in a month if it isn’t property maintained so because it isn’t a permanent improvement, don’t expect it to change the value of your home. If you are trying to sell your home, it may very well appeal to buyers, but they won’t be willing to pay more for it.
3. Routine home maintenance updates won’t increase the value of your home. Did you just replace your 30-year old roof or install a new HVAC or new carpet? While this is great, the return on investment is zero. A home is expected to have all of these things functioning when a buyer purchases your home. Having a new roof may mean they like your home more than your neighbors but doesn’t mean they will pay more for it.
4. Upgrades that are inconsistent with the rest of your home aren’t going to improve your home’s overall value. If your home is in a moderate neighborhood and you install a luxury kitchen or bath similar to those found in million-dollar homes, you won’t see a return on that. Buyers will base their purchase price on the total space your home has and if you over-improved a room with updates that don’t make sense with the rest of the house, your home likely won’t be the price range of someone that is looking for those features or can afford them.
5. Invisible upgrades like extra insulation, new pipes or updated electrical wiring won’t improve the value of your home. Even if these things really needed to be done, they won’t make a difference to a buyer of your home.

All of this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add these items if you really want them. Your house is more than its value. While you live in it, enjoy every minute and if exquisite landscaping and a beautiful pool help you enjoy your home, then add them. Just remember when it comes to sell that your payment was in your enjoyment and won’t be in the sales price of your home. Contact me today to determine what home updates would be best for you. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, help you to find your dream home and/or determine the value of your existing property.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

Image by pjmverbeeck from Pixabay

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Make Your Home Shine Online

In the real estate world, there are few things as important as the online presence your home has. Even if you have a great real estate agent handling your listing, they need your help. If an average picture is worth a thousand words, home photos are worth ten times that due to syndication. Like the nonstop episodes of Friends and Seinfeld playing at all hours of the day, when you list your home, the agent will place the listing online and from there, syndication will begin quickly. Across town, beyond the county, throughout the state, country and world, your home will show up on thousands and thousands of websites providing your home almost unlimited exposure. Make sure that is good exposure to increase your chances of selling quickly. If your pictures show a lackluster house, you won’t get a second chance to change that so make sure it is right the first time.

Take the necessary time to prepare your home for its photo shoot. Your home should be clean, decluttered and well-staged for photographs. Buyers need to be able to picture themselves in your house. If your home has too much stuff for them to do that, clear out the necessary items so your home looks its best. The pictures online should be focused, bright and inviting. They should show compelling images that make the buyer want to see your home in person. While great photos aren’t likely to sell a home, poor photos will keep buyers from coming to look at in person and keep it from selling.

As important as the photos are the words used to describe your home. A two-line description with errors and few adjectives will leave people assuming your home has nothing special to offer. Your favorite features will likely be the buyer’s favorites so make sure they see those items in photos and read about them in the description.

Take the time to review what is posted online right away as your listing will begin syndicating immediately. Once the listing goes out incorrectly, people likely won’t give it a second glance. View your listing on the most popular websites and apps what it looks like in different places. Some websites show different things so while one site may only have a few photos, others may have many, so you need to check several sites to get an accurate perception of your property.

Another great thing to do is to check out your competition. The house down the street may be the exact same as yours but they may mention a feature that you didn’t think about. Make sure your home stands up to its competition by reviewing those homes as well.

The Internet made a major difference in the real estate industry and is continuing to do so every day. Make sure you use it to your advantage by preparing your home for its closeup with time and effort. If you have any additional questions about selling your home or what affects your homes value, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, help you to find your dream home and/or determine the value of your existing property,

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

Image by p_kennedy123 from Pixabay

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Selling Your Home in the Fall

We are out of the busy spring and summer housing markets and you may think that means you shouldn’t try to sell your house now. Don’t assume that to be correct. Depending on your real estate goals, fall can be a great time to sell your home.

To start with, home inventory often starts to drop off as we reach the fall season. Many sellers don’t want their home listed around the holidays so as listings expire, they are unlikely to extend the listing since the holidays are just around the corner. The lower inventory can mean your home gets much more attention than it would during Spring and Summer. Also depending on the demographics in your market, many buyers don’t want to move during the school year if they have kids, so they aren’t looking at homes now. The buyers that are shopping now are serious and motivated, so you are more likely to see an offer from the showings you have if your home is in good condition and priced appropriately.

Here are some easy tips that will ensure your home looks its best this fall.

- Maximize lighting, both indoors and out

As the days get shorter, outdoor lighting becomes more important if you want to do things outside later in the day. Fall is when many stores place their solar lighting on clearance. This can mean you can make a nice upgrade to your property with a low investment and attract some good attention from buyers interested in your home. Solar lighting makes a nice statement and can used to line your walkways, driveway, showoff trees and enhance your entrance. Utilize your hard-wired exterior lighting fixtures as well. Show off your house, even at night. Potential buyers don’t stop looking for their future home just because it is starting to get darker earlier. Leave your outdoor lights on at night until you go to bed while your home is listed so someone driving by could see your home better. An attractive peak at night will likely encourage them to come back for a showing during the day.

Maximize your interior lighting by opening all shades and blinds prior to all showings. Also, turn on all lights, both overhead and lamps. Buyers are looking for light and bright and need to be able to see the space they may call home.

- Tidy up the yard

A well-maintained yard is pivotal in the initial reaction of a potential home buyer. Do not ignore your driveways, walkways, or flower beds. Remove all dead flowers, plants, and bushes and add a fresh layer of mulch to your beds. The outside of your home is the first area that a buyer will see. They will have an immediate reaction to what they see and you want that first impression to be good. As the leaves start to fall, take care of them quickly so your yard looks nice as much as possible.

- Add seasonal color to your home

Color attracts the eye and grabs people’s attention. It isn’t winter yet so there are still lots of options to add color to your home inside and out. Pumpkins, mums and other fall plants will be attractive and inviting so use them to help your home stand out.

As you are thinking about when is the right time to sell your home, give me a call and let’s discuss how you can reach your real estate goals with my help no matter what the season. I will be happy to go over any questions you may have and help you determine your home’s value.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760-937-2301 mobile
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

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What Your Agent Wants You to Know When Selling Your Home

If you are ready to sell your home, it does require some work on your part to prepare your home to sell and make it through the selling period. Your real estate agent will be a wonderful advisor when it is time to sell your home, but it is important to remember that there is only so much your agent can do and they will need your help. Here are three things your agent wants you to know before you list your home.

Declutter Your Home

When buyers come to view your home, they need to be able to picture themselves in your home. This can be really hard if your home is cluttered and full of personal items that distract them from the home. Before your list your home for sale, take time to put away most of your personal items and truly declutter the home. This applies to all parts of your home. Just because it is hidden behind a door or cabinet doesn’t mean buyers won’t look there. Declutter and organize closets, cabinets and laundry rooms along with the more public parts of your home.

Don’t Stay Home for Showings and Open Houses

Think about if you were the one buying a house. A house is a huge commitment and when you are shopping for one, you will want privacy to discuss it openly without feeling uncomfortable in front of the owners of the home. Remember this when buyers want to look at your home. They should feel completely comfortable and able to speak freely. With this in mind, make every effort to leave home during showings and open houses so buyers feel comfortable. The biggest problem with being home is that buyers may be uncomfortable and leave your home before they have adequate time to fall in love with it.

Listen to Your Agent

When you hire a real estate agent, you are saying that you trust them and want their help. When you have that help, it is then important to follow their advice. Like a doctor, attorney or other professional, a real estate agent is the expert in their field and if you have chosen them to help you, you should follow their advice. This doesn’t mean you have to do every single thing they suggest but listen and try to understand their logic if you want to give your home the best opportunity to sell.

It is important that you invest yourself in selling your home and that means both your time and using all of the resources you have available to you including your real estate agent. When you are ready to discuss selling your home, give me a call and let’s talk about your property and how I can help. If you have any additional questions about selling your home, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, help you to find your dream home and/or determine the value of your existing property.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

Image by HobokenHome7 from Pixabay.com

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What Buyers Want

If you are thinking about selling your home soon or just know that one day you will, you may wonder what home buyers are currently looking for when they are shopping for a home. If you are in the process of making updates to your home, it makes sense that you consider what the future buyer of your home might want so that you can make choices that will appeal to people when the time does come for you to sell.

With that in mind, what are buyers really looking for today? In today’s market, buyer’s expect homes to be nicely updated especially the kitchen and bathrooms. No Formica countertops, dark rooms and closed up floor plans. Here are five things you should consider if your home doesn’t already have them.

Open Floor Plans…this isn’t going away. Buyers want space where they can gather with family and friends or supervise kids while they are making dinner in the other room. If your home doesn’t offer this, consider removing a wall or two for an open feel and blending separate spaces together for an easy flow.
Outdoor living space is still big so add features that make the space usable for multiple seasons like a covered space to block the worst sun, a firepit for cool nights or a kitchen for easy weekend entertaining.
Flexible living spaces. We have moved away from the growing homes of the 90’s. Homes are still spacious but not getting any bigger because buyers want to use the space they have. Formal areas that are rarely used have been eliminated in favor of flexible spaces that serve multiple purposes and get used daily. From offices to playrooms and exercise rooms to guest space, buyers opt to use their space wisely.
Buyers are interested in finishes that will last while providing low maintenance such as hardwood floors and ceramic tile. Today’s homeowners are busy and don’t want to spend every weekend taking care of their home. Maintenance to make things last will be done but they would rather use their free time for recreation than home maintenance.
Buyers want storage space. Walk-in closets, a linen closet, pantry, coat closet and an organized garage. Buyers want space for their stuff, and they want the spaces organized so add shelving and organization systems to make the space work well for you and it will benefit you down the road too.

Think about all of these things before you make any changes. Chances are you will enjoy them as well as the buyer that one day buys your home. If you are in the process of making updates soon, call me and let’s discuss your ideas so you can maximize your investment. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, help you to find your dream home and/or determine the value of your existing property.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Image by Jesse Bridgewater from Pixabay.

How to Get Your Luxury Home Sold

If you are ready to sell your luxury home, it may be a new experience for you if you have never sold a home before or your last home sale wasn’t a luxury home. Buyers of luxury homes often have different expectations then the average home buyer. Preparing your home with this in mind will ensure a smoother process and that your home appeals to those that are coming to look at it. To appeal to luxury buyers, you will need to be extremely attentive to detail and will need the assistance of a real estate agent with experience in luxury home sales.

Making Preparations

It is common practice to clean a property prior to showing. With a luxury property, it’s not enough just to clean the home; it needs the white glove treatment. Every little detail must be perfect, so you may want to hire a professional cleaning crew to go over the property with the proverbial fine-toothed comb.

If you don’t regularly use professional landscapers, this would be a good time to have them do a refresh of your yard. Landscaping can require time to make things look their best so if your yard is far from perfect, allow time to get it the way you want it. Depending on the season, your grass, trees and flowers may not be growing so some things can’t be changed until things are growing and blooming again.

It is also a good idea to have your home professionally staged. Staging is the process of using furniture, artwork and other embellishments to create a look that is appealing to the discerning luxury homebuyer. It may replace some of your furniture with new and often rearranges things to create spaces that will help buyers envision themselves in your home. While your furnishings should like nice, the goal is to help buyers see your homes and any furnishings that distract buyers from seeing the home itself need to be changed. Studies have shown that luxury home sellers typically sell their home from between five to 20 percent more than those that do not go through the staging process.

Professional Media

Most luxury home buyers – or their agents – begin the home search online, and the only thing they have to judge a property by is a photo. This is why it is imperative to use the services of a professional home photographer. A professional will take photos that stand out and make buyers want to come see your home in person.

Many sellers will opt to have professional video incorporated into their marketing. Luxury properties are unique and possess so many distinctive architectural features and amenities that it may be hard to capture everything with still photography. It will pay off in the end to have the video recorded and edited by a professional

Luxury Marketing

The pool of buyers for luxury properties is smaller than other properties so it is important that your home is exposed to as many people as possible to find the right buyer. Talk to your agent about the marketing they will do to expose your home to luxury home buyers. It is important that your home is available on a variety of online including the local MLS, Trulia, Zillow, etc but will also need specialized exposure in luxury targeted marketing as well. A large number of luxury property buyers live outside of the United States as well so make sure your property will have global exposure too.

Showings of your Home

It is important to allow all possible showings of your home even if they aren’t convenient. You never know when the right buyer will schedule an appointment so consider all showings to be important and try to accommodate as many as you can. Some luxury homes take a while to sale so plan for that and then you can be pleasantly surprised if it sells faster.

Having an expert real estate agent at your side will make showing your home much easier. Your agent will handle all the showings, and it is normally better for both parties if the owner is not present while the house is being shown.

Hard work pays off and even if the first buyer isn’t the right buyer, their agent will see your beautiful home and hopefully tell their other luxury buyers about it. Contact me today if you are ready to sell your home. I will be happy to go over any questions you may have and help you determine your home’s value.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

^{Photo courtesy of Alberto Castillo.unsplash.com}

Get Your Home on the Market before the Spring Rush

As we start the new year, there is always an increase in the number of home sellers that want to put their homes on the market for the Spring season. While buyer interest does often pick up at this time of year, the number of homes on the market is so high your home may not receive the attention it deserves due to the increase in competition. If you too want to sell your home in the coming months, it would be a good idea to beat the rush and get your home on the market as soon as possible. Here are 10 things to do NOW so you can get your home listed in the next 30 days.

Take down all of your interior and exterior holiday decorations. Nothing will distract buyers more than Christmas decorations in February.
Pack up excess belongings in your home whether it is furniture, out of season clothing or anything else. A clutter free home will show much better than one with furnishings filling every available space.
Eliminate all the dead and drab from your yard. Leaves, limbs and other debris that are laying around your yard need to be cleared out.
Add some color to the outside for curb appeal. With many things not growing this time of year, even a small pop of color will help your home stand out.
Take the time daily to open blinds and curtains before you leave for the day. Some showings won’t provide much notice so you may not have time to make last minute preparations so adding this to your morning routine will make sure your home is ready no matter where you are.
Eliminate signs of your pets as much as you can. If you normally leave pet bowls and beds sitting out all the time, find a place to store them when they aren’t being used so they aren’t so obvious during showings.
Purchase new towels for the kitchen and baths to display on the towel racks or countertops (and don’t use them.)
Don’t prepare foods with smells that linger. It can be hard to smell your home when you live in it all the time, but visitors will notice odors right away. Try not to cook bacon, garlic, fish and other items with strong smells.
Add a fresh centerpiece to your dining room table.
Call your trusted real estate agent and discuss what else you should be doing to prepare your home for the market and begin discussions about price and other contract details you will need to finalize.

These are all simple things you can handle in a day but will pay off greatly when your home is on the market to help it stand out from the crowd. If you are considering selling your home, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, help you to find your dream home and/or determine the value of your existing property.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
800 421-7005 office
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

^{Image courtesy of Andrew Barrowman/unsplash.com}

Holiday Decorating While Your Home is for Sale

If you are one of the few brave individuals that is trying to sell your home during the holiday season, it can be challenging to find a balance between your holiday decorations and a beautifully staged home that buyers will love. Don’t take this as a deterrent from selling your home this time of year. It really can be a great time for your home to get more attention when there are frequently fewer homes on the market and the buyers that are looking are often more serious. With a little sacrifice on your side (depending on your usual decorating style), you can still have a festive home for the holidays while trying to sell your home. Where should you start?

If your holiday style swings more in the direction of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation than Martha Stewart, you will need to make some adjustments but you don’t have to skip decorating all together. Throughout the process, take a minimalist approach that will allow the natural beauty of your home to show through and not be hidden behind a dozen trinkets in every room. One or two pieces of stylish and simple décor per room should be the goal.

What should you do about your Christmas tree? You normally select the largest one that will fit in your house and it partially blocks the fireplace, so the lights twinkle just right in your picture window for all the neighbors to see. This year, downsize your tree so your cozy fireplace can be seen (and have a lot fewer pine needles to vacuum up come January.)

If you usually go all out in the yard with multiple light displays and cords running in every direction, pick one or two items and place them in areas that won’t become hazards for buyers walking through the yard. If a buyer is really considering your home, they will likely want to walk through the yard as well and tripping over Santa on their way to the storage shed won’t leave them ready to make an offer. If decorations are outside, consider placing them in a flower bed or another area that isn’t likely to see any traffic.

Don’t feel like you must completely neglect the outside. An evergreen wreath with a bright bow or holly berries on the front door can improve curb appeal during an often drab season when most things outside are brown. Consider adding a large poinsettia to your dining room table. The color will be beautiful and festive.

For many home buyers, seeing your tree can evoke an emotional response that may be to your benefit. Use that emotion to your advantage to get them off the fence and writing an offer. The right decorating can do just that. Ultimately, let your focus be to make your home inviting and the right decorations can accomplish that no matter the season. Then, next year when you are in your new home, you can pull out all of the decorations and leave no spot unglittered. For additional information regarding prepping and selling your home for the holidays, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, help you to find your dream home or determine the value of your existing property.

Nancy Davidson
Mammoth Village Properties
760 937-2301 mobile
800 421-7005 office
866 278-7765 efax
nancy@mammothcountry.com
www.MammothCountry.com
CA Broker’s License #01264041

Nancy Davidson is your ultimate real estate resource for Mammoth Lakes, CA and The Eastern Sierra. Visit my website for detailed information regarding today’s real estate markets.

^{Image courtesy of Free-Photos/pixabay.com}