Feb. 3, 2007 - Selling your Home
5 Ways to Speed Up Your Sale
Price it right. Set a price at the lower end of your property’s realistic price range.
Get your house market-ready for at least two weeks before you begin showing it.
Be flexible about showings. It’s often disruptive to have a house ready to show on the spur of the moment, but the more often someone can see your home, the sooner you’ll find a seller.
Be ready for the offers. Decide in advance what price and terms you’ll find acceptable.
Don’t refuse to drop the price. If your home has been on the market for more than 30 days without an offer, be prepared to lower your asking price.
Reprinted from REALTOR
® Magazine Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. www.REALTOR.org/realtormag
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Jun. 26, 2006 - Virtual Home Inspection
Wondering how your Home might measure up to a Home Inspection? Take this online Home Inspection Tour to help identify areas your home might need repairs in.
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May. 16, 2006 - 10 Secrets for Better Curb Appeal
10 Secrets for Better Curb Appeal
By Don Vandervort, HomeTips.com
When driving down a residential street, have you ever noticed how some houses just seem to have it all together… from paint, to plantings, to proper proportions? That quality, often called curb appeal, can be somewhat elusive. From a real estate standpoint, curb appeal makes a home more valuable and easier to sell. For a homeowner, it inspires pride.
What about your own home? When you look at it objectively, does it immediately elicit a strong first impression? If not, what is it lacking? Following are ten techniques that are guaranteed to perk up your home’s curb appeal.
1)Clean up. This is often one of the least expensive yet most significant things you can do to improve the look of your home. Simply picking up the front yard, putting away unused items such as lawn furniture or other random items, and cleaning up the driveway can make a world of difference.
2) Prune and plant. Cleaning up your landscaping is another relatively easy step. Start by pruning trees and shrubs to enhance their beauty. Then do some planting. Use trees to create majesty and focal points. Tall shrubs can frame and accent interesting features of your house and yard, and conceal unsightly garbage cans, structures, and the like. Low plants and groundcover tie everything together.
Brightly colored flowers in the foreground are a sure way to make a yard look lively.
3) Wash the siding. If you can work safely from the ground or a ladder, this is a job you can do yourself; otherwise, call a handyman or professional pressure washing service. If doing the cleaning yourself, protect stone and brick walls, patios, and plants with plastic sheeting. Sweep off dirt, working from the eaves to the base. Hose off the walls, again working from the top down. If necessary, scrub them with a stiff-bristle brush attached to a long handle, using a mixture of water and non-phosphate detergent. If you decide to use a pressure washer yourself, be very careful to keep the nozzle moving; holding it in one place will remove the paint.
4) Paint. If cleaning doesn’t revive your house’s paint job, painting—though relatively expensive—will give you plenty of bang for your buck, transforming your house with an entirely fresh, new look. If painting the siding is a bit beyond your budget right now, consider painting just the trim.
5) Green-up your lawn. Because a front lawn often carpets much of the front yard, its condition is critical to how a house looks from the street. You can start with regular mowing, raking, edging, weeding, and watering. If necessary, fertilize, de-thatch, or aerate it to get it looking great.
6) Create visual interest. Front-yard gardens, fences, arbors, water features: These are just a few of the elements that can add style, character, and visual interest to your front yard.
7) Punch up the path. The walkway and/or steps that lead to your front door can do more than provide safe passage—they can set the tone for your home’s style, from casual to informal, simple to stately. Brick, concrete, stone, tile—you will not lack for choices of materials or styles.
8) Focus on details. Small things can make a big difference. Your mailbox, house numbers, front light, and potted plants on the porch all present a relatively inexpensive but highly influential opportunity to project style and excellence. Above all, be sure your front door is in great shape. If it isn’t, either refinish or replace it.
9) Light the way. Outdoor lighting is very effective at highlighting your home and yard’s features after daylight hours. Your front yard should have functional path and front porch lighting as well as accent lighting to help create dramatic effects. Home improvement centers carry a variety of low-voltage lighting kits that are made for DIY installs.
10) Garage your cars. Many of us turn our garages into storage rooms and park our cars in the driveway where they clutter the view of the house. If this is the case with your household, maybe it’s time to pare down the paraphernalia to make room for the cars. © 2005, Don Vandervort, HomeTips.com
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May. 2, 2006 - Does Moving Up Make Sense?
Answer these questions to help you decide whether moving up makes sense.
- How much equity do you have in your home? Look at your annual mortgage statement or call your lender to find out. Usually, you don’t build up much equity in the first few years of paying a mortgage, but if you’ve owned your home for a number of years, you may have significant unrealized gains.
- Has your income increased enough to cover the extra mortgage costs and the costs of moving?
- Does your neighborhood still meet your needs? For example, if you’ve had children, the quality of the schools may be more of a concern now than when you first purchased.
- Can you add on or remodel? If you have a large yard, there might be room to expand your home. If not, your options may be limited. Also, do you want to undertake the headaches of remodeling?
- How is the home market? If it’s good, you may get top dollar for your home.
- How are interest rates? A low rate not only helps you buy more home, but also makes it easier to find a buyer.
Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. www.REALTOR.org/realtormag
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Apr. 6, 2006 - Garage Sale Success
The following is from an article found at http://www.homestore.com
The Secret to Garage Sale Success
How to clean out your junk and make a profit
A garage sale is a beautiful thing. You not only clear out stuff you consider junk, but recycle it and give it a second life for somebody else's use. And you can make some significant coin while you're at it.
Pre-sale Preparation
Someone should be present to staff your sale at all times—preferably two people, to discourage shoplifters. (Some people come to garage sales to find out what's worth burglarizing later.) Kids of any age can help with straightening items and bagging and toting purchases. You'll need a stock of startup cash in various denominations for making change, but keep as little as possible at the sale site and keep it secured.
Presentation is Key
The better shape things are in, the more likely they'll sell. Check the condition of the merchandise in your for-sale pile: a minor repair or a few stitches can make the difference between a sale and a leftover. Consider bundling items that go together, such as pots and potholders. If clothing is for sale, clean and hang or fold it.
Determine prices for each item. Make them appealing, and allow room for dickering. Small self-stick labels or snippets of masking tape make dandy price tags. Remember, it's called a garage sale for a reason: People are here for bargains, you're trying to clear space, so price things to move!
Similar to a retailer's approach to merchandising, presentation cannot be underestimated at your sale. Make your wares appealing to shoppers, starting with these display tips:
• Whether you use folding tables or lumber over sawhorses, allow room in between for browsers.
• A clothesline works well for hanging clothes.
• Display books so their titles are easily read.
• If selling electrical appliances, be sure there's an accessible power supply for testing.
• Use boxes or baskets for smaller items.
Reduce prices toward the end of your sale. Remember: making a few dollars is secondary to getting rid of the stuff.
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Mar. 30, 2006 - Spruce Up Your Home
20 Low-Cost Ways to Spruce Up Your Home
Make your home more appealing for potential buyers with these quick and easy tips.
- Trim bushes so they don’t block windows and cut down on light.
- Buy a new doormat.
- Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch.
- Put new doorknobs on your doors.
- Put a fresh coating on your driveway.
- Edge the grass around walks and trees.
- Keep your garden tools out of site.
- Be sure kids put away their toys.
- Buy a new mailbox.
- Upgrade the outside lighting.
- Use warm, incandescent light bulbs for a homey feel.
- Polish or replace your house numbers.
- Clean your gutters.
- Put out potpourri or burn scented candles.
- Buy new pillows for the sofa.
- Buy a flowering plant and put it in a window you pass by frequently.
- Make a centerpiece for your table with fruit or artificial flowers.
- Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light.
- Buy new towels.
- Put a seasonal wreath on your door.
Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. www.REALTOR.org/realtormag
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Mar. 14, 2006 - Secrets to Selling Your Property
THE SECRETS TO SELLING YOUR PROPERTY !
There are ONLY 5 Reasons why any property does NOT sell,
and the SELLER controls 4 of them:
1. LOCATION - (The property may be located near a busy road; lack of privacy - the property may be tooclose to other homes or lack a nice yard; the property may be located on low terrain or lack of proper drainage; over-improved - the property may be located in an area where the average home price is much lower.)
2. CONDITION - (Carpeting, wallpaper, kitchen, baths, etc. may be "too dated" or "too busy" and need replacement or "neutralizing". The property may be too cluttered with furniture and other items which do not present the property in its most attractive condition. The property may be very untidy and needs a good cleaning. The property may lack "curb appeal" with lack of landscaping . . . or, the property may look like a "jungle" and with overgrown landscaping, and need pruning, trimming, etc.)
3. PRICE - (The property may be priced too high for the neighborhood, OR too high for current market conditions.)
4. TERMS - (The Seller will not move or allow occupancy for 6 months or longer, limiting prospective Buyers who may need to purchase in 30 or 45 days. The Seller may have unreasonable showing demands, i.e.1) listing agent must be present at all showings, or 2) Seller will not allow a lockbox for easy access by Realtors. If the current market interest rates are at a high level which makes it difficult for a Buyer to qualify for a loan, the Seller may need to assist with Buyer closing costs, points, or worst case, hold Seller financing).
5. MARKET - (Seller needs to be informed of the current market conditions for the area as well as what comparable homes have sold for as well as other similar homes currently listed. A current Market Condition report is the best indicator of market.
Which one does the SELLER NOT Control?
(Answer: Location)
What can the SELLER DO to compensate for Location:
(Answer: Make "adjustments or changes" to any one of the other 4 reasons.)
LET ME HELP YOU SELL YOUR HOME…
712-330-2221 dlefevre@mchsi.com
OkobojiFever.com
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DAWN LEFEVRE
Serving the
Iowa Great Lakes Area.
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DOWDEN-HINN REALTORS Broker-Associate, e-Pro Certified
Spirit Lake, IA 51360 800.373.1241 x49 Cell: 712.330.2221
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