An article I read today that I just HAD to post!
Could this be yet another sign of housing market on the mend?
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2013/04/navy-federal-feeds-the-bubble-with-no.html?page=all
So you want to sell your house, eh? Well apart from hiring yourself a knowledgeable Realtor who knows your market, it’s time to start thinking about ways to get that marketing edge!
One of the first things you need to do is clear out that clutter!! Show off the space in your home by boxing up the junk and minimizing furniture. With more open space, you have more room to assess any repairs to walls and baseboards, you can reach those dusty corners that you couldn’t before, and you have easier access for painting.
But where to put all that stuff?? Well, fortunately for us here in the Northern Virginia area we have several companies around offering rental storage units — many of which are only short distances away from our neighborhoods. We are also fortunate to have companies who bring the storage units to our front door. These front-door-service units are great because it saves you the hassle of having to haul all those things to a remote location. You can keep the unit at your door for a period of days, which means you can take your time loading in your items, and when it’s full, the company will pick it up and take it too their climate-controlled facilities. After you’ve moved into your new home, they’ll deliver your unit there for you, too! Talk about convenient!
So don’t sell yourself short by hiding the square footage in your home. Temporary storage is a great option and with several of these delivered-to-your-front-door units around, there’s practically no excuse for a cluttered house on the market. They might cost a bit more than regular storage units, but its well worth it in the long run. Do yourself a favor and get rid of that clutter!’
You’ve got it all at your fingertips. Computers, smart phones, the iPads, and of course, the internet which is chock-full of resources on all sorts of topics. You’re surrounded by technology that brings an unimaginable amount of data in an instant.
So who needs a Realtor when you have sites like Zillow or Homes.com for all your research when you go to price your home to sell or when you go to buy your next home?
It’s true, there is a wealth of information out there — some good, some bad, but think about this one question:
Well, it’s probably safe to say that the average person isn’t buying or selling a house every month, let alone every year or every couple of years. That being said, it’s definitely not IMpossible to buy or sell a house without a Realtor, but why would you want to do such a thing? I mean we’re talking about transactions involving huge sums of money and in most jurisdictions, there are also a lot of legal aspects to consider.
Look at it this way: I play golf every so often. I love the game. Whenever I feel like it, I can go to the internet and find several articles that offer golf tips or advice — sometimes from pros who have worked with golf celebrities. All this information at the click of a few buttons, but would that prepare me for a tournament against the likes of Tiger Woods? I highly doubt it.
You see, just like everything we do in life, practice makes perfect. Repetition makes us better at what we do, and the same rule applies to buying and selling real estate. It’s highly likely that a good Realtor has bought or sold several houses in a year. They’re dealing with all aspects of real estate on a daily basis. They’re constantly keeping up-to-date with the ever-changing laws in the jurisdictions they serve. They’re forming long-lasting relationships with business entities that are part of real estate transactions. The bottom line is that their repetitious activities make them the experts when it comes to real estate.
There are plenty of sites that can be very informative and can provide a lot of insight when buying or selling a home, but please, please, please, leave the real work to the experts. Hire a Realtor!
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been around for a long, long time and it sounds like they’re about to get what some may think they deserve — the pink slip. But what’s to take their place? Are we asking the banks to take charge? That’s a very real possibility and I guess we’ll just have to wait to see how it all plays out.
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/banking-financial-institutions/143445-administration-housing-plan-no-more-fannie-freddie?page=4
Happy 2011!!
It’s been a crazy year again, and I didn’t even get a chance to blog these past couple of years!
Hopefully, with me new wireless devices, it will be easier for me to post more often!
So, are there any 2011 real ester resolutions out there? Any home projects planned? If so, I hope my posts can provide insights and inspiration for you!
[phpbay]calendars, 10[/phpbay]
If you’re a savvy investor, you’ve noticed that now is the best time to invest in real estate. Home values have dropped tremendously and there are more and more short sales and foreclosures on the market every week.
But for even better deals, many real estate investors turn to real estate or tax lien auctions. And why wouldn’t they? The potential to buy property at half it’s assessed value is appealing to any smart investor. It’s like a dream come true!
Or is it?
Just when you think you got the deal of the century, but what if that “gold mine” became a money pit of endless liens? Were there second or third liens in place? What about mechanic’s liens? Try to take advantage of what little time is offered to preview the property and do your due diligence — research! Find out as much as you can so that you know what you’re bidding on.
Finding a great deal at an auction IS possible, but just remember that there are always risks involved in any investment transaction. Minimize that risk by preparing yourself for the worst, and if all is well, then that makes the deal even sweeter!
[phpbay]real estate auction, 10[/phpbay]
Are wedding bells in your future?
Weddings are big business no matter where you live. The price couples spend on that special day can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands! Not to mention the cost of the honeymoon! But after the adreneline of the event dies down and couples return to “the real world” with hopes of starting a new life together, thoughts of buying a first home together is usually one of the first things that come to mind.
With tighter lending restrictions and fewer lending products in today’s market, having great credit is not enough anymore. Lenders want to make sure they’re lending money on property with equity, so downpayments are becoming the norm once again, and that’s a big hurdle for that a lot of newly weds have to face.
Even a 3% down payment on a $200k home can be a hefty burden, so what’s a couple to do?
[drum roll]
Introducing the Housing and Urban Development’s Bridal Registry Account!
[ta-da! sound]
What a great idea! Instead of, or in addition to, a traditional wedding registry, brides and grooms can now open up a Bridal Registry Account!
Similar to traditional savings account, brides and grooms can have monetary gifts placed in a gift account — which most likely will be the institute with whom they plan on obtaining a home loan.
Okay, okay, so the concept isn’t brand new. Actually, it’s been around since the mid 1990’s, but still isn’t widely known. So, I’m doing my part to share the knowledge…. now do your part and pass it on!
Interested blushing brides and bashful grooms can get more information and find participating lenders by calling 1-800-CALLFHA (225-5342).
[phpbay]wedding, bridal, 10[/phpbay]
If you’re selling your home and you’ve talked with your hired expert, an experienced real estate agent, you know that having a “Wow!” factor in your home is one of the biggest influences you can make on potential home buyers. Do you have that grand gourmet kitchen? Are you showing off that luxurious master suite and master bathroom combination? Don’t forget to dim the lights to add ambiance to that high-tech media room. What’s that you say? You don’t have any of those? You think you just have a plain-Jane cookie-cutter house and there is no “Wow” left? Well, here’s where you’re wrong! Aside from offering seller concessions for new carpet replacement or general repairs, here are a few ideas to get your creative noggin running on ways to give your home the competitive edge:
So, how’s THAT for a “Wow!” factor? Use your creativity! Use what you have available locally. By incorporating ideas like these you will definitely give those potential home buyers something to think about.
[phpbay]gift certificate, 5[/phpbay]
It’s bad enough that the mortgage crisis continues to linger, causing a negative impact on real estate market conditions. But now more than ever, the rising cost of oil is also contributing it’s share of the damage too.
Everyone knows that gas comes from refined oil, so the rising cost of oil causes rising gas prices as well. So what kind of impact is this making on real estate these days? Let’s take a look:
For Home Buyers:
For Home Sellers:
For Real Estate Investors:
Take your time and make smart decisions. The high price of oil doesn’t have to have such a big impact on your home transaction, if you play your cards right. And remember to use your real estate agent’s knowledge and experience as much as possible. They’ll be able to help you make choices that benefit you.
Most home owners know the value that home improvements can add to their home. Updates to kitchens and bathrooms can add thousands to your home’s worth, as can the addition of more square footage, landscaping, and various other improvements. Anything that you can do to make the space feel newer, bigger and expensive can help add lots of value to your home.
Planning and window shopping for your next improvement can be a fun and great way to organize your thoughts and ideas prior to starting your home improvement project, but one critical step is often overlooked by many do-it-yourself’ers trying to save money: failing to find out if your home improvement project requires a county or city building permit. Of course, if your DIY improvement project consists of painting a room or installing carpet, you probably won’t need a building permit, but if you’re looking to add square footage to your house by drywalling that unfinished basement, adding a new deck or replacing a deck, you should definitely check with the county or city offices in your area for any necessary building permits.
So what’s the big deal about getting a permit? DIY’ers probably plan to do a better job than any contractor coming into their homes, and most homeowners wouldn’t purposefully do anything to harm their home or the people living in it, but the fact is, there are building codes to adhere to when you live in a community of many homes. These codes can vary from state to state, or even city to city, not to mention the fact that building codes could change due to newer materials or methods.
But wait! There’s more!
Here’s an example. Let’s say you’ve already drywalled your basement and put in that rockin’ new media center– without getting a permit. There are two things that you could do:
Your first option may cause some headaches, maybe even a lot of headaches, but at least you’ll know that whether or not your work was done to code. Your second option may sound like an easy out, but you could be setting yourself up for an even worse headache than just ripping out new walls. Let’s say you went with the second option. What could go wrong, right? Well, let’s see some different scenarios:
The bottom line is that although it may cause some headaches in the beginning- going out of your way to obtain a building permit and schedule inspections, it could save you from an ugly legal situation and a lot of out-of-pocket expenses later on. Don’t make the biggest DIY mistake ever– get that permit!
[phpbay]home improvement, 5[/phpbay]