Subscribe Feed (RSS)Spring is here and with the warmer weather comes a surge of homes available for sale. The 2010 market may be tempered a bit with some local markets still working their way through a rash of foreclosures and lower home prices.
That’s all the more reason why you should carefully plan just how you will prepare your home for sale, working on giving it the edge it needs in a touch market.
We’ve scoured our archives and pulled together some tried and true tips to help homeowners get ready including the following smart ideas:
Evaluate your home. Is your home ready to sell or do you need to invest in repairs and updates first? Look inside and out as well as around the yard and decide what needs to be taken care of before you place your home on the market. Don’t expect a dollar for dollar return on your repairs, but do realize that “new stuff” can help your home sell in a tough market. Establish a budget and adhere to it; find ways to keep your costs down while maximizing your return on investment.
Maximize curb appeal. The first thing potential buyers see when they pull up in front of your home is the lawn and your home’s exterior. If both are in good shape then you have acceptable curb appeal. But if there are problems such as peeling paint, a broken gutter, overgrown shrubs or poor lighting, you will need to put those items on your “to do” list. Consider painting the front door, power washing the house, planting fresh flowers, resealing your driveway and patching holes in your lawn.
Enhance inside attraction. Just because your exterior looks great doesn’t mean you’ll get visitors much beyond your threshold if there are glaring problems inside. Your first step is to remove all of your clutter; if you can’t part with a piece of furniture, then store it. Then, take a look at your walls, ceiling and carpeting and flooring and decide if they have a sparkle that would attract buyers. Fix dripping faucets, running toilets and give bathrooms a good cleaning is a start. Clean up and clean out the garage, basement and attic. Work with your real estate agent to stage your home for maximum buyer appeal.
As the weather continues to warm, make sure that you have your lawn under control, check for bug infestation and consider enhancing yard appeal by hanging up a colorful wooden birdhouse or chimes. If you have a patio bring out the summer furniture while also tidying up the woodpile, laying down fresh mulch and planting annuals.
Adv. — Just a few week remain before the federal homebuyer tax credit is set to expire. Barring another extension by Congress, you could miss out on a special opportunity if you are looking to purchase your first home. To review related lending tools, please stop by SayLending.com today!
Tags: agent, curb appeal, home for sale, home sell, housing, real estate, realtor
The US economy probably pulled out of its most recent recession sometime in the third quarter of this year. As we close in to the end of the fourth quarter and end of 2009, there are nagging fears among many that unemployment has yet to hit its peak rate, most recently touching 10.2% in October. Moreover, though consumer spending is up and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is on the positive side, many people are sensing that the economy has yet to find solid footing.
According to Trulia.com, which tracks the US real estate market, nearly one in four homes currently on the market has already gone through one round of price reductions. This is taking place even as sellers are pricing their homes at rates much lower than a year ago. Finding that their homes are not selling at the original asking price, 23.6% of homeowners have lowered their home prices at least once. Trulia’s data excludes foreclosed homes.
Suddenly, what appears to be a white knight steps forward, offering to help you get through your predicament. He could come to you in many different forms, offering to buy your house from you and letting you live there as a renter, perhaps promising to sell the home back to you when your finances improve. Or, he’ll offer to you a new loan, one that he says will pay off the old loan making your payments more affordable. Of course, he tricked you into signing the deed to your home over to him!
