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Seller's Advice: Your Checklist for An Impressive Showing

Once your home goes on the market, real estate agents may call to show your home anytime, day or evening. Keeping your home "showtime" ready can be challenging, especially if you have children and pets.

What you need to stay organized is a handy checklist so you can be ready to show at any time. When you get the call that buyers are on their way, give everyone in the household a basket and assign them each to a room to pick up clutter quickly. Set a timer and tell everyone to grab up any toys on the floor, clear tabletops and countertops of junk, and quickly Swiffer-sweep the floors. Check for hazards like dog chews on the floor.

Turn on all the lights, and get ready to skedaddle. You have to let buyers have privacy so they can assess your home honestly. Take the kids for an outing. Put pets in daycare, sleep cages or take them with you:

Keep your home show-ready with these nine tips:

Eliminate clutter: Not only is clutter unattractive, it's time-consuming to sort through and expensive for you to move. If you have a lot of stuff, collections, and family mementoes, you would be better off renting a small storage unit for a few months.

Keep, donate, throw away: Go through your belongings and put them into one of these three baskets. You'll receive more in tax benefits for your donations that pennies on the dollar at a garage sale. It's faster, more efficient and you'll help more people.

Remove temptations: Take valuable jewelry and collectibles to a safety deposit box, a safe, or store them in a secure location.

Remove breakables: Figurines, china, crystal and other breakables should be packed and put away in the garage or storage.

Be hospitable: You want your home to look like a home. Stage it to show the possibilities, perhaps set the table, or put a throw on the chair by the fireplace with a bookmarked book on the table.

Have a family plan of action: Sometimes showings aren't convenient. You can always refuse a showing, but do you really want to? If you have a showing with little notice, get the family engaged. Everyone has a basket and picks up glasses, plates, newspapers, or anything left lying about.

Remove prescription medicines: Despite qualifying by the buyer's agent, some buyers have other intentions than buying your home. It's also a good idea to lock your personal papers such as checkbooks away. Do not leave mail out on your desk.

Get in the habit: Wash dishes immediately after meals. Clean off countertops. Make beds in the morning. Keep pet toys and beds washed and smelling fresh.

Clean out the garage and attic: Buyers want to see what kind of storage there is.

Tips for making your home ready for sale

If you have to put your home up for sale, prepare your home as you would like to find a home when you are house hunting. For potential buyers, it just takes seconds to decide whether the house feels up to their standards or not. No one is going to give second thoughts to your home if they feel that they will have to make additional expenses towards renovation, unless, of course, you are giving away your property at throw-away prices.

Tips to Make Home Ready for Sale

Here are some tips that will immediately enhance the look of your property, and help buyers make up their mind about making it their home.

• Spruce up the Door:

A door is the first thing that people will look at. A brightly painted door immediately attracts attention and sets the tone of the house. So, get your front door painted nicely. If you are lousy at DIY, don’t do it at all – nobody likes to be welcomed with a door that has dried dripping paint on the edges.

• Lighting is Important:

Good lighting can completely transform a dull area into a warm, comforting space. If the entry to your house is via a garden, make the pathway to the front door inviting by installing lights concealed in trees or shrubs.

• Clean the Windows:

Dirty windows are easily spotted from a distance and they can mar the look of a house from the outside like nothing else. If you have casement windows, clean the edges of the sashes well. Rotten window frames are a big turn off; it is advisable that you replace them with good quality ones. You can check out products from Fenesta which is one of the best door and window manufacturers in India.

• Add Some Green:

Even if you have limited space, adding some greenery can bring life to your house. Creepers trailing up houses or main entrances are a beautiful sight to behold, and all you need is a little piece of ground to grow them. Alternatively, get some window boxes and plant ivy or a flowering creeper that will drape your house.

• Brighten up the Façade:

Re-paint your dull walls and repair damaged brickwork. Peeling plaster will scare buyers away even before they enter the house. Choose a subtle paint color for the exteriors, reserve the bright ones only for the door.

There’s something called the “curb appeal”. It’s a term that refers to the overall impression your house makes when one looks at it from outside.  Apart from the building, the impression will also be made by the surroundings around your home that also includes your neighbor’s home. So, instead of whining about their garbage cans lying helter skelter around the premise, clean them up as you would do to your own. Make sure that your lawns or gardens are not littered with leaves or covered with over-grown grass. Because when they say the first impression is the last impression, they are probably right.

Buying or Selling?  Please go to my website; http://www.joebunch.com; for powerful search tools and more real estate information.

Selling Your Home? 5 Things You Should Never Do

When you prepare to put your home on the market, you hope that everything will go the way you imagine and that is your home will sell for over listing price the very first day it goes on the market.
The reality isn't so rosy. The market may slow down. Your home may get few showings or no offers.

You may have to lower your list price. Or, your home may not sell at all because you made a big mistake.

So if you're thinking of doing any of the following five no-no's, stop yourself right now.


Don't hire the first REALTOR® you meet. Selling your home is one of the largest transactions you'll ever have, so why wouldn't you interview several applicants to help you? You can ask friends and family for referrals, but there are several questions you should ask. Make sure the agents you interview are experienced selling homes in your neighborhood and the type of home you want to sell. To get the listing, potential agents may employ a number of strategies, including suggesting or agreeing with you to list a high price for your home. Don't fall for it. Choose the agent who is straight with you, about the market and about your home.

Don't ignore the market. Every market is different and those differences can impact the sales price of your home, the number of days your home spends on the market, and whether your home sells or not. You have to face the reality of market conditions to influence the success of your home's sale. If home prices are going up, you'll do well, but it will be more expensive to purchase your next home, unless you move to a less expensive market or home.

And if prices are going down, you may not net what you were hoping for, but your next purchase may be a bargain, if you stay in the same area.


Don't hide problems the home may have. If you've had a major water leak or had your foundation fixed, you need to disclose that in a formal seller's disclosure form for all potential buyers to see. While it may be tempting to check the I-don't-know box, remember that any lie can come undone. You don't want to face legal problems because you tried to hide the truth. And if your buyer wants to know more, you can show the receipts for what you did to fix the problem.

Don't overprice the home. When your home is overpriced, it's underdressed for the party. Everyone notices that it doesn't quite fit in. Buyers who can afford your home quickly notice that your home doesn't quite measure up to others in the same price range. Buyers who could afford your home if it were priced correctly are unlikely to make offers because they'll be searching in a different price range.

Don't ignore your agent's advice. A real estate agent is a professional. When she or he tells you that you'll get a better offer more quickly if you'll declutter, stage your home, make certain updates or repairs, it's a proven truth. Buyers are more negative when they see homes that need work, and tend to make offers or withhold offers based on their feelings.
If your agent showed you a comparable market analysis, he or she may have suggested a listing range to price your home. If you go over that, you're risking a negative response from the marketplace, long days on the market, and probable price reductions.

Do things right from the beginning and you'll have a smoother, easier, and more profitable transaction.

Interested in Buying or Selling a Home??  Go to my website, http://www.joebunch.com, for more information about Real Estate.

How Important is Square Footage??

MLSs use it. Insurers use it. Appraisers use it. Tax Assessors use it. When it comes to real estate, there's no avoiding square footage as a measure of any home's value.
But how much is square footage worth to you as a homebuyer? Knowing the square footage can be helpful, but it shouldn't be the main tool to determine your offer price.


Square footage measurements aren't exact, nor are they taken the same way by every person. For example, your local tax assessor or appraiser may determine square footage by measuring the outside of the house. A real estate professional, on the other hand, typically counts only indoor living space to determine square footage.

Real estate listings for single-family homes do not include square footage for covered "outdoor" spaces, including porches, verandas, balconies and porte-cocheres. Yet, in high-rise buildings, square footage quotes often include balconies.

Further, some elements such as stairways and closet spaces are also open to interpretation. If you're buying a home with a two-story foyer, is that foyer space also counted on the second floor?
Another measure that's subjective is the price per square foot, which is determined by the number of square feet divided into the price of the home.

High-end homes with expensive materials such as granite countertops and finishes such as hardwood floors tend to have a much higher price per square foot than more affordable homes. But what if those high-end features are 20 years old, and you're comparing them to other similar homes in the area that are brand new?
Hallways, landings and stairs can add hundreds of square feet to any home, but is that space really livable? An open floor plan may have smaller square footage, but be much more pleasant to live than a larger home with too much space allocated to getting from one room to another.

All this means that valuations based on square footage are and should be somewhat subjective.
If you're confused about what you are paying per square foot for your next home, ask your real estate professional how the home was measured for the listing and compare it to local tax roll data you can find. If there is a bank appraisal, you can ask the appraiser how the square footage was determined.

9 Reasons to Purchase a Home Right Now

Buying a house is like having a baby: there's no absolute perfect time to do either.
The down payment-interest rate-economic factors-qualification quadrangle can be so confusing. Rising rates, loosening requirements, down payment options, buyer's markets, seller's markets - what does it all mean to you if you want to buy a home? The truth is that while the banks might have a magical formula to determine your mortgage-worthiness, determining if the time is right really comes down to three main questions:


Do you want to buy a home?

Are you financially prepared?
 
Is your credit where it needs to be?

If yes, then go for it. Here are nine reasons to do it now.

1. Prices are good. According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller report, home prices are still gaining, but have slowed. "The 10-City Composite gained 5.5% year-over-year and the 20-City 5.6%, both down from the 6.7% reported for July," they said. "The National Index gained 5.1% annually in August compared to 5.6% in July." This is good news if you were afraid that big price gains would put homeownership out of reach and also bodes well for your long-term equity once you purchase.

2. Rates are low. "Imagine paying over 18% interest on a 30-year fixed mortgage. It's almost unthinkable. But that was the reality for home buyers in October 1981 -- a year when the average rate was almost 17%," said Yahoo Finance. "The average rate has been 5.18% since the start of this country's history," making today's rates, which hover around historic lows at 4%, sound even better.

3. Loan requirements are softening. They're not approaching the look-the-other-way-and-stamp-it-approved levels that led to the market crash, but the overly tough restrictions that followed have loosened. "Major lenders are making adjustments," said The Street. "Wells Fargo has lowered the minimum FICO score for borrowers applying for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration to 600 from 640." They also count JPMorgan Chase's lowered loan-to-value "standards in certain markets for both jumbos and conforming mortgages." For buyers that can mean an easier road to loan approval, even without a ton of money upfront and perfect credit.

4. FHA loans make it even easier for first-time buyers. If your credit is less than stellar and you don't have a large down payment, an FHA loan can get you in the door. Credit scores can be as low as 620 to qualify and only 3.5% down is required. Whether you've never bought before or have been out of the market for a few years, an FHA loan can be your answer.

5. Fewer buyers around the holidays means less competition for you and more negotiating power. "Sellers who are actively looking to sell their homes during the holiday months -- namely, October through December -- are serious about shedding the weight of their residences," said US News. "This often works in favor of savvy buyers looking to get a deal on discounted homes. Having less competition on the buyer's side can mean lower prices on homes, in addition to fewer counter-offers to compete against."

6. Rates are predicted to rise. "The Mortgage Bankers Association expects the average rate on a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage to rise slowly to 5.1 percent by the end of 2015," said the Washington Post. If you want to take advantage of low rates, now is the time.

7. Pent-up demand could zap affordability. "The housing market is about to get even more competitive," said Yahoo. "The pent-up demand of younger professionals, who moved back in with their parents during the recession, is about to explode. This eager subset of buyers will create some steep competition for homes, especially if they have been saving up to make larger down payments or high ticket offers. If the current homes on the market have more potential buyers, bidding wars develop, and the purchase prices are driven up.

8. "Buying is cheaper than renting in most markets," said Housingwire. With a little knowledge of loan options and low down payment programs, you can easily flip the switch from renter to homeowner.

9. Because you want to buy a home. There really is no more compelling reason than that. You want it. So make it happen.

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