Archives

January 2007

Is Your Home Ready For Its Close-up?

Posted at 7:26 PM, Jan. 18, 2007

When you make that exciting decision to sell your home, suddenly there are dozens of things on your  "To-Do" list. Your Realtor® will talk you through what to expect from listing to settlement, and one of the topics will surely be how to show your home to best advantage.

There are tips galore on getting your home ready to show and you probably know the logical and obvious ones:

·        Look at your home through the eyes of a buyer – inside and out

·        De-clutter and when you think you've done enough, de-clutter some more (think of it as packing sooner rather than later)

·        Make sure everything works – appliances, faucets, light switches, etc.

·        Make everything look fresh and clean – paint, replace carpet, clean the windows

·        Make your home welcoming when buyers are coming – soft music, scent of cinnamon

In recent years, "Staging" has become a popular means of getting your home ready for its close-up.  Staging includes all the things above, and more. A professional stager is able to look at your home from a fresh and unemotional perspective. Using a combination of your furniture and new or rented furniture and accessories, a stager can turn your house into a model home.

We know that first impressions count, and that potential buyers have formed an opinion about each house they see within seconds of approaching the door and going inside. Staging a home is like designing a movie set. You create an environment in which the buyers can visualize themselves living happily ever after. For this reason, staging is especially valuable if you have already moved and the house is empty.

Home staging has been shown to be a good investment - a staged home usually sells faster and at a higher price, regardless of the state of the real estate market in your area. Make the effort to stage, and your home will be ready for its close-up!

Three Resolutions You Can Actually Keep

Posted at 8:06 PM, Jan. 10, 2007

How are you doing so far with those resolutions you made a couple weeks ago?  You know, the ones about getting in shape and eating right and all the others we make every year. 

If it's not going so well, you're not alone. But there's no need to feel bad about it – simply replace those unattainable resolutions with a few that you really can accomplish.  Forget about giving up a favorite food. Think instead of these three resolutions that will help protect what you have and build for the future.

1.  Manage your mortgage. If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, look into converting it to a fixed rate.  30-year mortgage rates are still relatively low, and that ARM could soon start eating you up – if it hasn't already.  Even if you do have a fixed rate mortgage, if it's more than a few years old, look into whether you could save by refinancing at a lower rate.

2.  Improve your home and your tax bill.  If you're thinking about doing some home improvements, consider taking a home equity loan to cover the costs rather than financing them through a credit card or other loan.  Interest on this kind of loan can be deductible just as is mortgage interest when the funds are used for home improvements. Depending on the type of improvement, you may be able to recover most of the cost through the increased value of your home when you sell it someday. 

3. Keep Uncle Sam out of your pocket.  Do you usually get a tax refund because you pay in too much over the year, either through payroll deduction or by estimate payments?  Stop it!  Sure, that refund feels like found money, but all you've really found is money that you might as well have buried in the back yard.  Uncle Sam had your money for months and paid no interest – zip.  Work with your tax professional to adjust your withholding or estimated payments so you come out as close as possible to what you owe each year. The trick then is to not spend the extra you take home, but instead increase your savings either through an IRA, a 401(k) or similar plan, or a well-managed investment plan.

For all of these you'll want to have some expert advice from your tax and financial adviser.  Always consult your professional before making a decision about changing your mortgage, taking a home equity loan, or changing your withholding and/or estimated tax deposits.  It will be time well spent and give you peace of mind. 

And as for those other resolutions?  Well, there's always next year!

Selling Your Home? Know Your Comps!

Posted at 8:21 AM, Jan. 4, 2007

One of the things you'll need to know is the comps. Comparable sales of houses in the same area in recent months are one of the factors that your Realtor® will take into account as you work together to set your price. Notice I said "sales" not "houses for sale." The price of other listings only tells you what other owners hope to sell their houses for. Sales tell you where the prices ended up; they tell you what real buyers actually paid. 

Comps give you a starting point. Once you know what a house sold for you can look at the features of that house and compare it to yours. Then you make adjustments up and down to come to an approximate equivalent price. For instance, if another house has more square footage that might sell for more than yours, but a new kitchen or deck in your house will give it a higher market value. Again, this is where your Realtor's® experience will be invaluable in setting a price that reflects your home's condition and location.

Where do the comps come from? The data are collected from a variety of sources including the multiple listing service and public records of sales, by professionals who know the neighborhood and the specific market. One place they do not come from is an internet "estimating" site that is not based on solid, proven information. Several sites have sprung up over the last year that promise an estimate of the value of your home and every other one around. So far, they don't have a good record for accuracy or completeness. What they provide is nowhere near a true comp. Their computer data banks simply cannot make the considered judgments that only a human, in this case a Realtor®, can make to recognize the differences in details that lead to differences in pricing.  

Comps can be valuable to sellers in setting the price, and also to buyers in understanding the price range in a particular area. But whether buyer or seller, always work with your Realtor® to get the best value.

Comments are welcome.

Thank you.

Michael Trust, Realtor® and Broker

www.MichaelTrustRealty.com