Selling Your Home? Here are some Suggested Repairs

Are you thinking about listing your home for sale? Before you do, take a good, hard look around and see what you need to change. Most homes need a little bit of TLC before they are ready to go to the market. Spending some time sprucing up yours will improve its appeal and even drive up the selling price. Here are some areas where it makes sense to spend a little time and effort as you prepare your home for the market.

Add a Coat of Paint

You'd be surprised how dingy your paint is looking. When you start to paint over it, you will realize how badly you needed to tackle this job. A new coat of paint makes the home look fresh and new, and adding a neutral color helps give your home a more universal appeal. Also, painting gives you the chance to address cracks in the paint or drywall that can make buyers wonder if the house is in good repair.

As you paint, keep these tips in mind:

• Paint the ceiling: The ceiling needs to be painted along with the rest of the home. You are probably used to looking at your cleaning and no longer notice the grease spots and dust, but they are there. Buyers will notice, so give it a fresh coat of paint.
• Remove or paint over wallpaper: Even if your wallpaper is tasteful and modern, your buyers don't want it. They want their own look for the home. Remove the wallpaper, if you have the time to do so, and paint the wall. Sometimes you can get by with painting over wallpaper, if it is not peeling, to freshen up the look of your space.
• Paint wood paneling: No matter how much you like it, wood paneling is simply not in fashion. Coat it with primer, then paint it a neutral color to improve your home's salability. Remember that you can paint over fake wood paneling, too, with the right primer.

 Upgrade Kitchens and Bathrooms

Kitchens and bathrooms sell homes. Buyers can overlook many things, but if the kitchen is outdated and the bathroom is ugly, they immediately see dollar signs as they consider the cost of these upgrades, and your home will lose potential value.

According to Zillow, mid-range bathroom remodels will bring back over 100 percent of the investment cost when you sell the house, while kitchen remodels will bring 80 to 90 percent, depending on the extent of the remodel. Yes, these improvements will be more costly than throwing on some new paint, but they will pay for themselves when you go to sell the property.

So what should you tackle? Consider these tasks:

• Updating cabinets: Cabinets that are outdated don't have to be scrapped completely. If the shape and design is fine, consider resurfacing or repainting. Then upgrade the hardware for a more modern look.
• Countertops: Affordable laminates can update outdated countertops, or you can opt to resurface and event paint these to make them look like marble without the high cost of replacement.
• Lighting: Swapping out an outdated lighting fixture for something more modern will brighten up the space and improve the overall ambiance.
• Sinks and faucets: Again, a modern sink and faucet will do wonders for these spaces, and these do not have to cost much.
• Flooring: If the flooring is broken, stained or outdated, a simple laminate, which you may be able to lay yourself, can make a world of difference.

Spend Some Time Outside

Finally, take your home repairs outside. Curb appeal means the difference between drive-by buyers and buyers who stop and take a closer look. What needs to be upgraded in your home's exterior? Consider these things:

• Replace or repair the roof
• Improve the look of driveways and sidewalks
• Add flowers or potted plants
• Paint the exterior
• Clean windows
• Upgrade doors
• Replace hardware

As you are looking, don't forget to trim up your bushes and cut the grass. A fresh layer of mulch in your gardens will do wonders as well to the overall look of your home.

Remember, as you consider the home repairs to make before selling, you have to think like a buyer. What will the buyer notice, and what will cause them to choose a different home? Make these changes, and enjoy a home that sells quickly and for a better value.

Five Ways Bargain Hunting For Homes Can Backfire

It's natural to want to save money when you're making a purchase as large as a home. You want to buy the best home in the best neighborhood at the best price, and to do that, you may think you have to shop in the bargain bin.

FSBOs (for sale by owner,) foreclosures, and short sales aren't as plentiful as equity listed homes -- homes listed with a real estate agent by the seller. You may even scour the MLS (multiple listing service) for signs of desperate sellers, such as homes priced AS-IS, or homes that have been on the market for months.


While some people are successful buying a bargain basement home, you may not be so fortunate, if you put price first. Here are five ways a low price can backfire on you:

The home doesn't suit your needs. A home is a good buy only if it suits your family's needs for space, features, comfort, and function. If you buy a home without enough bedrooms or baths, it's not as comfortable or functional.

A bad fit costs you later. To get out of a home that's too small, too old, or too far from where you need to be, you'll likely to pay more in transaction costs to sell the home and buy another than if you'd chosen more wisely in the first place.

Bargains are rare. If a home is priced lower than others in the area, there's a reason. Sometimes bank-owned home will appear to be a bargain compared to other similar nearby homes, but you may notice a real difference in the way it's been maintained. It's not much of a bargain if you find out that all the appliances have been stolen or all the copper wiring has been pulled out of the walls.

The home needs updating. A home priced below market value usually requires expensive repairs or updates. Are you willing to perform the work or pay someone else to do the work? Any remodeling you do will be at today's prices. Before you buy, get a home inspection and then talk to professionals who can help you bring the home up to today's standards.

You lose ground trying to lowball the seller. Just as you want the home you buy to appreciate in value, sellers purchased their homes as investments, too. They want to net as much as possible, because they've already taken on the risks of buying and maintaining a home. That makes sellers less willing to negotiate on homes that are well priced and well maintained.

If a home has been on the market for a long time without a price reduction, there's usually a good reason. You have an unmotivated, unrealistic, or upside-down seller, any of which could waste your time unmercifully.

An unmotivated or unrealistic seller simply won't negotiate to your level. For example, for-sale-by-owner homes are typically priced the same as listed homes, even though the sellers aren't paying real estate agent commissions, including for your agent, if you have one. Why would you pay the seller not to represent your interests?

Furthermore, a bank foreclosure or bank-approved short sale could take months to close. What if interest rates go up before you close? You may get the home at a bargain price, but the savings could evaporate in higher interest payments.

Right now, home prices are still below previous market highs. Mortgage interest rates are hovering near historic lows. And inventory levels are improving in most areas.

Under these circumstances, you're buying a home at a bargain already. The best strategy for today is not to try to beat the seller down, but to offer a fair price for the home you think is best for your household

Sleepy Hollow Charmer!!

This Home is truly one of a Kind in the peace and quite of Sleepy Hollow. This Home features 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on muilt levels. Home has been remolded and shows pride of ownership.There is gorgeous stain glass thru out the home and outside over the koi pond.The sale includes 2 lots #46 and #47 also no information regarding year build and square footage show up on property profile.

Great Glendora Townhouse!!

Beautiful Glendora Springs one of the largest in the complex new roof new appliance six month old. beautiful hardwood floors only one year old. Ceiling fans through out home. large kitchen w/duel pantry opens to family room with fireplace nice large backyard. Bathroom upstairs remodeled.

Baldwin Park FIxer Upper!!

This is a nice home that needs some TLC. It is conveniently located near schools, Walmart, shopping centers and the 10 freeway. It has a larger backyard with many different types of fruit trees, and a covered patio that accommodates well for entertaining your friends and family.

Purchasing a Condo or Townhouse? Read this!!

Condos were once thought of as homes that attracted singles or couples, often without children. But today, condos are growing in popularity and attracting families of all sizes.
Condos can be an excellent choice for the right buyers. Here are a few things that should considered before purchasing a condo. Most buyers start with the condo itself. That may be a good place to begin but, before they buy, buyers should also consider other factors outside of the condo.


Some developers are building condos that have a look and feel like single-family homes. These modern condos have great rooms and open, flowing floor plans that look and feel like a single-family home rather than an apartment or condo.

One of the major attractions of condos is the low maintenance. The community area is maintained by an association funded by the dues that homeowners pay into it.

That's why buyers' first consideration should be to explore the development and make sure they like the look and feel of the complex and surrounding community. There are codes and restrictions, often referred to as CC&Rs (covenants, codes, and restrictions) that buyers will have to abide by once they purchase a condo. Buyers should ask to review them before making an offer to purchase a condo. These regulations help ensure that the community maintains its general appearance and any necessary repairs of the external areas.

Review the association's budget. It may be necessary to get the seller to provide this information because it may not be released to a non-owner who is only a potential buyer. However, in considering buying into a development, it's almost like going into business with the neighbors in the complex. It's important to make sure that the association is running properly and has enough of a reserve for necessary expenses and maintenance. The budget and CC&Rs will give an idea about how stable the association is and if increases in the homeowners' association dues are likely each year.

Find out how many owners in the development are delinquent on their dues. A condo complex that has a high level of delinquencies can cause problems for buyers when it comes time to get a loan or sell the condo. Some loans are not approved if delinquency rates are higher than 15 percent.
Review the minutes from the association's board meetings. They will reveal the day-to-day issues that occur each month and give an indication of how the development is run. For instance, lots of complaints and filings about noisy residents, loud parties, or dog droppings on the lawn reveal potential problems with neighbors. The minutes will also reveal if the development is engaged in any lawsuits.

Understand what your responsibilities are for the upkeep of the condo. Find out what the association takes care of and what the homeowners have to maintain. Look at the association's property management team and see how many times the association has changed management companies. Find out why. This will may reveal how responsive the association will be should residents need its assistance.

Ultimately, buyers need to ensure that when they purchase a condo they're not buying into any legal battles the association is in the middle of and that they will be able to live in their condo the way they want. Study the CC&Rs and do due diligence before buying.

Large, Newer, Single Story in San Bernardino!!

This single story 5 bedroom, 4.5 bathroom Mountain View home is located near Cal State San Bernardino. This home offers a bright open floor plan. The main house includes a master bedroom with a large master bathroom and walk in closet, a junior master bedroom with private bathroom and walk in closet and 2 additional bedrooms with a Jack and Jill bathroom. The Castias also has a private bathroom. There are 3 AC unites (2 for the main house, 1 for the Casitas). The spacious kitchen includes granite counters, upgraded appliances, tile floor and lots of cabinet and counter space. The indoor laundry room has a utility sink and lots of cabinets. The casitas is perfect for a home office, a college student, a guest room or even a craft room.