News

Spring Into Action with Mars Hill! 

As we step into the beautiful month of April, we’re excited to bring you helpful tips. With the change of season comes new opportunities to enhance your property and home, celebrate the joys of spring, and care for the environment! 

Earth Day-April 22nd: Go Green and Save Green!

Earth Day is a wonderful reminder to focus on sustainability and environmental responsibility. At Mars Hill, we’re committed to helping our tenants and property owners reduce their environmental footprint. Here are some eco-friendly tips to celebrate Earth Day:

✓ Host a community clean-up: Gather a group of friends, family, and neighbors to clean up a local park.

✓ Start or support a recycling program

✓ Go paperless

✓ Walk, bike, or use public transportation

✓ Turn off lights when not in use

✓ Get outdoors and connect with nature: Go hiking, bird-watching and enjoy all that nature has to offer!

A Time for Renewal!

Spring is often seen as a season of renewal and fresh beginnings. The longer days, warmer weather, and blossoming nature reminds us that it’s a perfect time to refresh our lives, our spaces, and even our mindsets. Here are a few ways to embrace spring’s spirit of renewal for our home and ourselves:

✓ Spring Cleaning – power washing patios and driveways

✓ Exterior Spruce-Up – trimming reachable tree limbs and bushes.

✓ Annual checks – checking for winter damage and functioning A/C’s

✓ Personal renewal – for your body, mind and soul with good eating, reading and church!

Wishing you a happy April,

Margaret Strain, Team Leader

Business Development and Marketing

Updated Landlord and Resident Handbooks

Each quarter, we draw from our extensive experience managing hundreds of leases, renewals, and work orders across Texas, Virginia, and Washington, DC, to update our handbooks with the latest and greatest practices in property management. We’re excited to announce that our 1st quarter handbooks are now finalized and available on our website or through your portal. These handbooks are included in all rental and landlord contracts, offering clear guidance on our policies and procedures to promote transparency and accountability. To make it easy to identify updates, all changes are highlighted in RED.

Month of LOVE!

Loving your home means caring for it year-round, especially during cold weather. Preparing your home for winter not only protects it from potential damage but also keeps it cozy and energy-efficient. Start by sealing drafts around windows and doors to keep the warmth inside and the cold out and don’t forget to clear gutters of debris to avoid ice dams. Simple steps like these help you create a comfortable, safe haven that’s ready to weather the chill, so you can truly love this season.  TIP:  To avoid excessive electric bills, lower your thermostat when the temperature is below freezing to avoid using emergency/auxiliary heat systems. 

This February, show Mars Hill Realty Group some love by sharing your positive experiences with friends, family, and online communities. Your referrals and reviews mean the world to us and help us continue providing exceptional service to our clients. Whether it’s a quick shoutout on social media or a glowing testimonial, your support keeps us motivated and thriving. Look us up on Facebook and Instagram, click “follow” and stay updated on upcoming National Days celebrations. Thank you for being a part of the Mars Hill family!

There are two types of methods you can use to find a home for sale or rent.

The first is the old-fashioned way.  You email or call up the phone number for every home you are interested in and set an appointment with those respective owners/listing agents. Since you are setting the appointments and talking directly to the owner/listing agent, you may feel like you have more control of the process.  However, what you may not realize, is that the owner/listing agent has no duty to represent your best interest in the transaction.  Furthermore, calling multiple properties and dealing with multiple owners/listing agents is cumbersome and a waste of time.  It’s very unlikely that you’ll be able to get 4-5 different people to meet you on your busy timetable and you’ll end up making multiple trips on multiple days just to see the properties you’re interested in.

• Advantages:  Direct interaction with the owner/listing agent
• Disadvantages:  No professional representation; inefficient coordination for home showings; SLOW

The second way is to get representation.  Having a real estate professional represent you enables you to schedule property showings in a much more efficient manner since they have access to the home via a secure keycard.  You have a much higher likelihood of grouping your property showings of up to 3-5 homes in a 1 hour period.  Furthermore, if you work with me specifically, you get a Master Certified Negotiation Expert to go to bat for you and you get my market insight to help you determine if the price you pay is a fair amount.

The “advantage” of interacting directly with the owner/listing agent can turn out to be your greatest disadvantage due to your lack of market knowledge and negotiation expertise in this industry.  Just ask yourself, would you consider it an advantage to represent yourself in court?  As a property manager and real estate broker, I can use my experience to help my clients in the buying process and share proven tips to increase their chances of success.

• Advantages:  Professional representation – negotiation expertise, market insight, broker and property manager experience; 100% commitment from an agent who cares about your interests; FAST
• Disadvantages:  None

Which way do you want to do business?

If you’re ready to do business with us, we’d be honored to help! Contact us to conduct an initial phone consultation so that we can start by sending you a list of homes that meet your criteria!